#artificial intelligence programs for android

Fingers pointed and whispers filled her ears, wherever she went she was the weird girl. Helena didn't pay too much mind to it, she had bigger projects to tend to. Like skipping some years in school and getting into university at only 12 years old. Her intelligence and knowledge was rewarded but being on top was oh so lonely.

The kids her age were mostly carefree, they weren't even thinking about the concepts she knew like the back of her hand. The older ones saw her as a child and to them it was awkward to even talk to her. Her parents were supportive and they tried to understand but they were never able to fully grasp what Helena knew and what her vision was.

Helena didn't have any friends. So she decided to create them.

At just seventeen, she built her first advanced android. Its capabilities were limited, but it marked a significant step toward creating a sentient, human-like artificial intelligence. Driven by a desire to achieve what no one else had managed, Helena immersed herself in countless scientific fields and programming languages, each study bringing her closer to that first prototype.

But, before she managed to get there, she met her husband who fell in love with her at first conversation. His vision was similar but he was nowhere near close to Helena's knowledge and accomplishments. Still, he was more than ready to work alongside her and fulfill the vision she had since she was little. From then on, they became a team and the beginning of something completely new.

Helena Meyer became Helena Bang and moved to South Korea where she continued working with her husband and a small team of scientists and researchers with minds alike. For years they honed their calculations and refined their inventions, pushing the limits of what seemed possible, until they found the precise combination needed to bring her long-held vision to life.

Thus, the first prototype was born. Bang Chan.

"How are we doing today?" Helena walked into the office while Chan sat in the chair, fidgeting with the hem of his t-shirt. It was a new habit he developed and she quickly jotted it down.

"I'm doing fine, Mother." Chan answered quietly as Helena sat down and faced him. She observed him for a few moments before speaking up.

"You seem bothered by something. You know you can share everything with me." she encouraged him warmly to which Chan sighed, his eyes darting left and right before glancing up at Helena then looking back down at his lap again.

"I- I feel incomplete." he stated.

"Incomplete?" Helena tilted her head at him.

"Like something is missing. Every day I go through the same motions in the lab and there are things only I experience and I have no one to share that with." Chan explained as he looked up at her.

Helena's stomach twisted as she realized the extent to which her prototype developed feelings, his understanding and the way he was able to express his thoughts.

"You wish you had someone who was like you?"

"Yes. It's lonely being the only one." Chan confessed.

It's lonely being the only one.

Helena knew that feeling all to well.

As the project expanded, so did the team. The institute was opened and before long eight androids had been created. The lab was exchanged for a big mansion where they had their private rooms, a pool, a garden and anything else they could possibly need. It resembled a normal home but of course the androids weren't allowed to leave, Helena wanted to make sure they understood everything about the world before she let them roam free. Over time, each android developed a distinct personality and Helena watched them 'grow' alongside her husband. Everything was going well in the beginning but Helena and her husband had different visions of what the androids were meant to become.

Helena wanted them to integrate into society and grow into their own identities; she wanted people to see that the androids she created were friendly and capable of love, sadness, dreams just like them. But her husband saw something else entirely. To him, they were an opportunity to make money in the quickest and easiest way.

Their arguments became constant and their marriage began to unravel, breaking at the seams. The rest of the scientists except one, sided with Helena. Mr. Bang, however, found an ally in Dr. Park, a colleague whose cold, almost sinister demeanor made every android recoil the moment they learned they had a session with him.

Helena knew the moment her husband partenered up with Park, nothing good was gonna come out of it.

Jeongin stood in front of the familiar building that loomed above him threateningly. How did he remember where to go? He had no idea. But he got there somehow, his eyes roaming all over the concrete walls and the bars on the windows. A shiver ran down his spine, an uncomfortable itch clawing inside his stomach. His eyes moved up and he stopped in his tracks.

There in one of the reflections in the glass he saw his angel, tears running down his freckled cheeks as he stared out the window.

He had to get in.

He surveyed the area, noting the cameras positioned around the property and the guards patrolling with heavy weapons. Every door required a keycard, and the windows were secured with metal bars. With its top-tier security and no apparent entry point beyond the front door, the building looked practically impenetrable.

But Jeongin knew about a secret entrance, the one they used whenever they snuck out to the woods, chasing a brief, precious taste of freedom, even if it never lasted long. Seeing his angel and the familiar building brought many flashbacks of the past to Jeongin, and he couldn't move for a moment as he hid behind the bushes and contemplated on the best strategy to get to the hidden entrance.

He just hoped that the code for the secret door remained the same.

Meanwhile, Felix has had enough of crying, the sadness and heartbreak turning into anger. He wiped his eyes with his sleeves and walked away from the window, pacing up and down the small room. He considered banging on the door but he knew it would get him nowhere. If only he had something to pick the lock with.

Felix sighed and leaned his forehead against the door.

"Psst! Felix?" he heard a voice and perked up.

"Binnie?" he looked out the little glass panel on the door, seeing Changbin on the other side of the hallway, behind the door just like his.

"Did they take you away from your person too?" Changbin asked quietly, a kind of sadness settling over his features.

"Yes, they did." Felix nodded, his eyes brimming with tears again. "What do you think they'll do to us?"

"I don't know but I just hope they don't destroy us." Changbin shivered involuntarily.

"I think that would be the best option. The things that ran through my mind... What if they locked us inside our own head again? But this time with no way out. Or they experimented on us more, keeping us here forever? I can't go through that again." Felix shook his head quickly.

"No, I don't even wanna think about those scenarios." Changbin gasped. "We have to get out of here."

"How? We're locked inside these rooms and there are cameras everywhere." Felix leaned his forehead on the glass, fogging it up with his warm breath.

"Let's come up with something together. I don't want to be a sitting duck."

"Me neither." Felix nodded, his eyes darting left and right before they widened. "I have an idea!"

"What is it?" Changbin asked, pressing his body harder against the door.

"We have to act like we're malfunctioning and that will alert the evil androids. They will come get us and when they open the door we will run."

"Run where, Felix? They won't let us get away just like that." Changbin sighed desperately.

"What other choice do we have? The windows have bars and the door doesn't even have a handle on the inside. And I don't think we can overpower the androids, they always carry those big scary needles with them." Felix shivered in fear. "We have to try."

"What if they catch us and do something even worse to us to punish us?"

Of course, that thought had already crossed Felix's mind.

"We will run so fast they won't be able to keep up. Just don't ever let go of my hand, okay?"

Changbin gave Felix a small smile and then nodded in determination.

"Okay. Let's do this!"

~

As Jisung was ushered into the building, the memories hit him all at once. The smells, the sounds, the bleak fluorescent lighting; it brought him back to a dark place and his breath got caught in his throat. A crushing weight settled on his chest the moment he inhaled that familiar blend of metallic coldness and disinfectant. The sounds of whirring machinery, sharp beeps and the background noise of the fluorescent lights humming was eerie, as if hinting at something sinister within the building.

The androids held Jisung's arms tightly as they practically dragged him off to the main office. When the big wooden door creaked open, Dr. Park swiveled in his leather chair with a disgusting smirk formed on his face.

"Well, well. If it isn't number five willingly coming here. Missed me?"

Jisung practically hissed at the doctor, the androids holding him back. Park lifted up his hand and the robots backed off, while Jisung seethed with anger.

"I'm glad you're conscious enough to listen. It was a mistake; letting you out with a weak code. I must confess I was too greedy and eager to get you all out into the market. But, now I know how to correct the mistakes." Park smirked and Jisung shivered, holding back when he remembered his mission. He had to act compliant. He knew his Baby had his back, along with Chan and his Peach.

"Everything you are and everything you've known until now, will be erased. A sort of factory reset. Whatever Helena did to give you free will and feelings will be gone. You'll be sort of like my androids here except better, you will understand more things so you can obey your masters better." Park kept smirking. "I'll leave a little piece of who you used to be buried somewhere inside you, just so you're aware of what you could have but know you can never get there again." his smirk turned into a full-blown evil smile. "And I? I will become filthy rich and famous thanks to you. So look at it as sort of a sacrifice for the greater good." The doctor waved his hand.

Jisung felt his entire body stiffen, a shiver of pure fear running down his spine. To say he was terrified was an understatement. In that moment he thought that death would definitely be a better option than existing like that. But beneath the fear, lingered anger and despair. He knew he couldn't let that happen.

"We will begin with the reset once we gather all your friends, number five. I'll make sure you look at each other the moment everything starts erasing." Park let out an evil laugh as the androids started dragging Jisung out of the office.

Jeongin pressed his body against the earth as much as he could. His eyes darted left and right as he analyzed the guards' movements. After assessing their route, he waited for the guard to walk away in the other direction before he slowly crawled between the tall grass and bushes near the fence. His movements were slow and careful and his face was scrunched up from both nervousness and disgust.

Slowly but steadily, Jeongin made it half way there before the guard turned and walked over towards him. Fear settled in his bones and his body went still, his breathing becoming shallow. He could hear heartbeat pounding in his ears. Squeezing his eyes shut, he stayed perfectly still. But the guard never came to the grass that hid him, only did his route quietly before turning away and leaving. Jeongin let out a quiet breath of relief before continuing on his mission.

Finally, he managed to get to the back door and after looking around for a camera he spotted one near the door.

"Fuck." he cursed quietly to himself.

But when he took a better look, it seemed that the camera wasn't blinking at all. He stared at it for a moment and then decided to risk it; there was no way he was waiting anymore. This was the moment.

Jeongin rose and slipped quietly toward the door, pressing his back against the wall at the last possible moment as the returning guard passed by unnoticed. He lingered there for a moment, steadying himself, then dusted off his clothes lightly before moving toward the door.

"Please, be the same code." Jeongin closed his eyes and manifested before pressing the numbers he knew all to well into the keypad.

There was a quiet beep of acceptance and the lock clicked, the door opening up just a little.

"Oh my god." he almost laughed out loud but then he remembered he needed to be quiet so he slipped inside.

~

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Changbin asked Felix quietly, almost backing out of their plan.

"I don't think there is any other way to get their attention." Felix was determined.

"Fine." Changbin sighed. "Let's do it."

With that, Changbin started banging his fist on the door accompanied with Felix banging his head against his own.

In his office, doctor Park leaned towards his computer.

"What the hell are they doing?! Stop them! I don't want my goods damaged."

The two androids that stood there turned robotically and then started running quickly.

Jisung saw them whiz past as he was being dragged and he turned his head only for a gasp of shock to leave his lips.

There, behind one of the tables was Jeongin, crouched down and staring at him with an equally shocked expression on his face. Jeongin lifted his finger to his lips and let out a quiet 'shh' before Jisung was dragged further away. He only hoped that his Baby and the rest of the gang were on the way or close to the company, he just wanted this nightmare to be over as soon as possible.

The androids reached the rooms and quickly unlocked them. Felix felt a moment of disorientation, but Changbin acted fast; sliding under a guard's arm, seizing Felix’s wrist, and practically dragging him along. Felix stumbled, then fell into step beside Changbin, their fingers intertwining and their palms pressing together tightly. The androids gave chase immediately, and as Felix and Changbin burst out, they collided with Jisung, sending him and the two guards tumbling to the ground.

"Jisung!" Felix gasped and grabbed him too. The androids were close to them, right at their necks, reaching out towards them with the big needles full of a fluorescent looking fluid.

~

"Did you get it to work?" Seungmin asked as he leaned closer to the console of the car.

"I'm almost there! I'm about to hack into the camera system on the inside. Jisung is sending out some kind of stress signals. I can read it from his code. Something is definitely happening. Y'all need to hurry the fuck up." Baby spoke over the speaker.

"We are driving as fast as we can. You notified the others?" Chan asked, his eyes never leaving the road.

"Yes, I found all the other dolly girls. They will try to meet us there. Seems like Changbin's girl already knew the location. Talk about faith or what?" Baby snickered. "Yes! I'm in! They're going down now. I'm turning off the cameras and the power. Y'all be ready for darkness."

~

Jisung didn't have much time to react, almost tripping over his own feet as he grabbed at Felix's hand. Changbin led them towards the front door fast but they were stopped in their tracks by two more androids approaching them from the front. Cornered, the three huddled together, searching desperately for any possible escape route.

Before the androids could lunge at them, the lights suddenly went out and they could hear a heavy dying groan as all the machinery shutdown. What followed was a moment of dead silence, then the sharp whirr of night-vision systems humming to life cut through the dark.

"Shit." Changbin muttered as it hit him; the androids could see perfectly in the dark, giving them the upper hand. Felix felt Jisung's hand tremble in his so he squeezed it, feeling equally as terrified. Was this it? All their effort to run away from their rooms just to be taken right back?

A sudden thud cracked through the dark. One of the androids jerked forward, its head snapping to the side before dropping to its knees. Jeongin stood behind it, panting and gripping a heavy wrench like his life depended on it. The pale moonlight lit up the hallway just enough to make the dollies see what was in front of them.

"Move!" he yelled out as the other two androids started making their way towards them.

The others didn't hesitate. Changbin charged at the second android, slamming into it with enough force to knock it back into the wall. The robot let out another whirring sound as its head hit the concrete. Felix pulled Jisung close as they noticed the two other androids approaching them, ready to charge at them. Jeongin didn't wait for them to strike at his friends and he lunged forward, fighting one of the guards. Changbin joined him, making Felix and Jisung react too. Fear fueled their movements, desperation sharpening every hit.

Another pair of androids appeared in front of them, eyes glowing in the darkness right as they managed to fight off the first ones. Jeongin was on a roll, using his wrench again to strike one of the androids as it reached towards Felix to grab him. The android struck the ground with a metallic sound echoing the roomo, sparks flying from its cracked skull. But the second one stepped forward without hesitation, its eyes glowing red, head tilting as if it was calculating where to hit first; all while being terrifyingly calm.

Jisung's heartbeat hammered against his ribs, Felix's shaking grip on his hand was the only thing grounding him. Changbin stood before them, ready to throw his entire body into the android if he had to.

The machine raised its arm and then suddenly, a thunderous crash split through the hallway, like the walls themselves were breaking. Before any of the dollies could register anything, the front door slammed hard against the wall and the emergency lights snapped on in blinding white stripes that cut through the darkness.

The android about to strike was thrown across the hallway and smashed into a metal cabinet so hard that the impact rang through the entire first floor. Jisung flinched back and Felix gasped, before they heard a familiar voice.

"Come on, let's go!" it was Chan.

He charged in, fury burning inside his eyes. Behind him, Seungmin and Hyunjin were like shadows in motion, moving in a way that made them look almost eerie. More androids started appearing, closing in on the dollies, ready to take them down even if it came to damaging them, it was clear that they wouldn't stop. The dollies took a stance against the androids, right as Peach and Love stumbled into the hallway, both pale and breathless, eyes big as they took in the chaos before them.

"Chan, oh my god!" Peach yelled out, clinging onto his arm.

"Hyunjin!" Love joined in, her hand reaching out for Hyunjin. He gave her a quick grin, far too confident for the situation. The androids didn't hesitate anymore, it was as if they moved on command when they attacked. Hyunjin ducked under the android's blow with effortless grace, making Love gasp in panic.

Peach grabbed a fire extinguisher and joined in on the fight as everyone gave their efforts into it.

For a split second, Jisung felt hope. It punched into his chest so suddenly that it almost took his breath away. They could win this together.

Baby worked on her end, behind the computer, her nimble fingers rushing across the keyboard as she tried to hack into the main computer. Doctor Park seemed to have known she was trying to get in, so he kept trying to lock her out.

"Hold on, please." she prayed to herself as she looked at her other screen where the camera feed she left on showed her Jisung and the other dollies fighting for their lives.

Suddenly, the air in the room changed. An iciness seeped between everyone, suffocating and freezing, like a predator stepped into the open after watching from the dark.

Dr. Park walked forward with slow, deliberate purpose. His eyes glinted with something worse than anger and hatred - ownership.

In his hand, he held a sleek black device pulsing with faint red light. When he spoke, it sounded almost gentle. "Enough."

He lowered his thumb on the button and a piercing frequency exploded through the air, so sharp and violent it made the dollies convulse and fall to their knees, their hands flying to their heads and their systems screaming in protest.

But the one closest to Park took the full blast and it just happened to be Hyunjin. A scream tore out of his body, raw and agonized and his legs gave out, making him fall on the floor with a thud. Sparks burts across his neck, lighting his skin with frantic flickers.

"Hyunjin!" Love shrieked, bolting towards him.

He collapsed before anyone could catch him but Love dove in and caught his torso, pulling him into her arms. Hyunjin's limbs jerked violently, his eyes fluttering and his mouth open in a silent, painful gasp.

"Stay with me, Hyunjin. Please..." Love begged, her voice cracking as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Chan tried to push forward to help but Park pressed another button.

The dollies staggered, their systems glitching wildly. Changbin slumped against the wall, Seungmin dropped to one knee, Jeongin's hands trembled uncontrollably and Felix's eyes rolled back. The override frequency echoed through the air like an eerie screech.

Dr. Park raised the device again and this time, he aimed it directly at Jisung.

"Rebellion is a defect." his voice was cold and collected as his thumb hovered over the button. Jisung screwed his eyes shut, waiting for the impact to hit him but it never came. The signal was cut out of nowhere. The lights above them flickered to life, illuminating the room and for a heartbeat absolutely nothing happened.

No movement, no sound. Then, every android that was ready to attack and pounce froze in place. Their eyes flashed from red to an electric blue and all their heads suddenly turned towards Dr. Park.

Baby's voice burst through the intercom, breathless and exhilarated.

"Jisung! I did it, I hacked them! They're on your side now."

Park's face twisted in genuine fear for the first time.

"Oh no, no, no!" he sounded panicked as he scrambled over to a console, fingers flying over the screen, desperate to regain control.

Several of the hacked androids took synchronized, unnervingly smooth steps towards him. Park hit another command and a pulse of energy surged forward making half of the androids power down and crash to the floor like lifeless puppets.

Park snarled in fury as the other androids didn't waver, still making their way towards him. The room descended into chaos again as sparks started flying from the androids who dropped down and afraid of an explosion, Chan tried to shield Peach with his entire body. Seungmin scrambled over to Changbin, trying to shake him awake. Felix gathered all his courage and shielded Jisung with trembling arms. Jeongin fought through his glitching hands, trying to will himself to stop the glitch.

Hyunjin remained limp in Love's kap, sparks slowly dying but still flickering only a little.

Everything seemed to be on the way to a disaster until a new sound cut through all the chaos. It was a soft, almost imperceptible click right behind Dr. Park.

Slowly, so slowly that it was agonizing, he turned his head and met two cold pairs of eyes. A hand rested on his shoulder.

Elegant but firm, it almost seemed too calm. Lino stood right behind him, Kitten by his side as she gave the doctor a little smirk of victory.

"You have done enough harm." Lino's voice was smooth and quiet.

Park raised his hand to use the overriding device but Lino moved as fast as light.

In a blur, he struck Park's wrist with a snap, sending the device skittering across the floor. Then he shoved Park forward, straight into the hacked androids waiting to rip him to pieces.

Park screamed, an ugly and raw sound as the metal hands seized him.

Lino turned away, him and Kitten already running to Hyunjin's side.

Love looked up at them, trembling.

"Is he d-dying?" her voice shook.

"He's overloaded but we can stabilize him." Lino looked at Chan and they both nodded to each other before Chan kneeled right next to him. The two of them placed their hands on Hyunjin's chest and somehow made the flickering steady. Hyunjin's breathing began to regulate. Love cried out, her hands grabbing at Hyunjin's face as his eyes flickered open to look at her. At the same time, Seungmin managed to wake up Changbin and even though he was disoriented, his hands found Jeongin's, holding them and calming the glitch down.

It was as if some kind of magic worked between them.

Jisung stared at Lino, chest tight with shock and relief.

"I didn't think you'd make it here. We had no idea where you were."

"Your Baby found us in the last moment, we made it just in time." Lino answered, his eyes shining.

The room finally became quiet. The battle was over.

As the dollies finally walked out of the facility, battered but well, a car parked in front of the entrance. They froze for a moment before Honey stepped out of the driver's seat, making Changbin gasp and yell out in happiness. More doors opened and suddenly everyone was there; Cutie, Princess and Darling making their way towards their dollies.

"Don't you ever run away like that again!" Cutie smacked Seungmin's chest as tears welled up in her eyes.

"I could say the same." Princess agreed as she collapsed into Jeongin's arms.

"Darling!" Felix held on tightly, the emotional reunion making everyone cry.

Jisung looked around, his heart beating fast before he saw another car park next to the first one and he recognized it instantly. All the exhaustion and pain was forgotten as he ran towards Baby, lifting her up and spinning her around before they both tumbled to the ground, laughing through their tears.

Princess smiled and addressed everyone. "My father has agreed to help us all with the legal stuff. You guys carry Helena's legacy, we'll sue her husband and also make sure the Dolly blueprints never end up in wrong hands."

Everyone cheered as she announced that, their hearts were full as they knew they had each other now.

It was the ending of something but it also felt like a beautiful beginning of something new.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN ! this fic serves as a spinoff to the THE COLONEL SERIES: THE COLONEL’S KEEPER and THE COLONEL’S SAINT. while the series can be read as a standalone, this spinoff remains canon to the overarching universe. for deeper context and background, it’s highly recommended to read the first two fics in the series.

The first sound was breath.

“Hngh…” 

It was shallow, labored like air scraping against rusted metal. He mumbled something under his breath after—nothing intelligible, just remnants of an old dream, or perhaps a memory. His eyelids twitched, lashes damp with condensation. To him, the world was blurred behind frosted glass. To those outside, rows of stasis pods lined the silent room, each one labeled, numbered, and cold to the touch.

Inside Pod No. 019 – Caleb Xia.

A faint drip… drip… echoed in the silence.

“…Y/N…?”

The heart monitor jumped. He lay there shirtless under sterile lighting, with electrodes still clinging to his temple. A machine next to him emitted a low, steady hum.

 “…I’m sorry…”

And then, the hiss. The alarm beeped. 

SYSTEM INTERFACE:  Code Resurrection 7.1 successful.  Subject X-02—viable.  Cognitive activity: 63%.  Motor function: stabilizing.

He opened his eyes fully, and the ceiling was not one he recognizes. It didn’t help that the air also smelled different. No gunpowder. No war. No earth.

As the hydraulics unsealed the chamber, steam also curled out like ghosts escaping a tomb. His body jerked forward with a sharp gasp, as if he was a drowning man breaking the surface. A thousand sensors detached from his skin as the pod opened with a sigh, revealing the man within—suspended in time, untouched by age. Skin pallid but preserved. A long time had passed, but Caleb still looked like the soldier who never made it home.

Only now, he was missing a piece of himself.

Instinctively, he examined his body and looked at his hands, his arm—no, a mechanical arm—attached to his shoulder that gleamed under the lights of the lab. It was obsidian-black metal with veins of circuitry pulsing faintly beneath its surface. The fingers on the robotic arm twitched as if following a command. It wasn’t human, certainly, but it moved with the memory of muscle.

“Haaah!” The pod’s internal lighting dimmed as Caleb coughed and sat up, dazed. A light flickered on above his head, and then came a clinical, feminine voice. 

“Welcome back, Colonel Caleb Xia.”

A hologram appeared to life in front of his pod—seemingly an AI projection of a soft-featured, emotionless woman, cloaked in the stark white uniform of a medical technician. She flickered for a moment, stabilizing into a clear image.

“You are currently located in Skyhaven: Sector Delta, Bio-Resurrection Research Wing. Current Earth time: 52 years, 3 months, and 16 days since your recorded time of death.”

Caleb blinked hard, trying to breathe through the dizziness, trying to deduce whether or not he was dreaming or in the afterlife. His pulse raced.

“Resurrection successful. Neural reconstruction achieved on attempt #17. Arm reconstruction: synthetic. Systemic functions: stabilized. You are classified as Property-Level under the Skyhaven Initiative. Status: Experimental Proof of Viability.”

“What…” Caleb rasped, voice hoarse and dry for its years unused. “What the fuck are you talkin’ about?” Cough. Cough. “What hell did you do to me?”

The AI blinked slowly.

“Your remains were recovered post-crash, partially preserved in cryo-state due to glacial submersion. Reconstruction was authorized by the Skyhaven Council under classified wartime override protocols. Consent not required.”

Her tone didn’t change, as opposed to the rollercoaster ride that his emotions were going through. He was on the verge of becoming erratic, restrained only by the high-tech machine that contained him. 

“Your consciousness has been digitally reinforced. You are now a composite of organic memory and neuro-augmented code. Welcome to Phase II: Reinstatement.”

Caleb’s breath hitched. His hand moved—his real hand—to grasp the edge of the pod. But the other, the artificial limb, buzzed faintly with phantom sensation. He looked down at it in searing pain, attempting to move the fingers slowly. The metal obeyed like muscle, and he found the sight odd and inconceivable.

And then he realized, he wasn’t just alive. He was engineered.

“Should you require assistance navigating post-stasis trauma, our Emotional Conditioning Division is available upon request,” the AI offered. “For now, please remain seated. Your guardian contact has been notified of your reanimation.”

He didn’t say a word. 

“Lieutenant Commander Gideon is en route. Enjoy your new life!”

Then, the hologram vanished with a blink while Caleb sat in the quiet lab, jaw clenched, his left arm no longer bones and muscle and flesh. The cold still clung to him like frost, only reminding him of how much he hated the cold, ice, and depressing winter days. Suddenly, the glass door slid open with a soft chime.

“Well, shit. Thought I’d never see that scowl again,” came a deep, manly voice.

Caleb turned, still panting, to see a figure approaching. He was older, bearded, but familiar. Surely, the voice didn’t belong to another AI. It belonged to his friend, Gideon.

“Welcome to Skyhaven. Been waiting half a century,” Gideon muttered, stepping closer, his eyes scanning his colleague in awe. “They said it wouldn’t work. Took them years, you know? Dozens of failed uploads. But here you are.”

Caleb’s voice was still brittle. “I-I don’t…?” 

“It’s okay, man.” His friend reassured. “In short, you’re alive. Again.”  

A painful groan escaped Caleb’s lips as he tried to step out of the pod—his body, still feeling the muscle stiffness. “Should’ve let me stay dead.”

Gideon paused, a smirk forming on his lips. “We don’t let heroes die.”

“Heroes don’t crash jets on purpose.” The former colonel scoffed. “Gideon, why the fuck am I alive? How long has it been?” 

“Fifty years, give or take,” answered Gideon. “You were damn near unrecognizable when we pulled you from the wreckage. But we figured—hell, why not try? You’re officially the first successful ‘reinstatement’ the Skyhaven project’s ever had.”

Caleb stared ahead for a beat before asking, out of nowhere, “...How old are you now?”

His friend shrugged. “I’m pushin’ forty, man. Not as lucky as you. Got my ChronoSync Implant a little too late.”

“Am I supposed to know what the hell that means?” 

“An anti-aging chip of some sort. I had to apply for mine. Yours?” Gideon gestured towards the stasis pod that had Caleb in cryo-state for half a century. “That one’s government-grade.”

“I’m still twenty-five?” Caleb asked. No wonder his friend looked decades older when they were once the same age. “Fuck!” 

Truthfully, Caleb’s head was spinning. Not just because of his reborn physical state that was still adjusting to his surroundings, but also with every information that was being given to him. One after another, they never seemed to end. He had questions, really. Many of them. But the overwhelmed him just didn’t know where to start first. 

“Not all of us knew what you were planning that night.” Gideon suddenly brought up, quieter now. “But she did, didn’t she?”

It took a minute before Caleb could recall. Right, the memory before the crash. You, demanding that he die. Him, hugging you for one last time. Your crying face when you said you wanted him gone. Your trembling voice when he said all he wanted to do was protect you. The images surged back in sharp, stuttering flashes like a reel of film catching fire.

“I know you’re curious… And good news is, she lived a long life,” added Gideon, informatively. “She continued to serve as a pediatric nurse, married that other friend of yours, Dr. Zayne. They never had kids, though. I heard she had trouble bearing one after… you know, what happened in the enemy territory. She died of old age just last winter. Had a peaceful end. You’d be glad to know that.”

A muscle in Caleb’s jaw twitched. His hands—his heart—clenched.  “I don’t want to be alive for this.”

“She visited your wife’s grave once,” Gideon said. “I told her there was nothing to bury for yours. I lied, of course.”

Caleb closed his eyes, his breath shaky. “So, what now? You wake me up just to remind me I don’t belong anywhere?”

“Well, you belong here,” highlighted his friend, nodding to the lab, to the city beyond the glass wall. “Earth’s barely livable after the war. The air’s poisoned. Skyhaven is humanity’s future now. You’re the living proof that everything is possible with advanced technology.”

Caleb’s laugh was empty. “Tell me I’m fuckin’ dreaming. I’d rather be dead again. Living is against my will!”

“Too late. Your body belongs to the Federation now,” Gideon replied, “You’re Subject X-02—the proof of concept for Skyhaven’s immortality program. Every billionaire on dying Earth wants what you’ve got now.”

Outside the window, Skyhaven stretched like a dome with its perfect city constructed atop a dying world’s last hope. Artificial skies. Synthetic seasons. Controlled perfection. Everything boasted of advanced technology. A kind of future no one during wartime would have expected to come to life. 

But for Caleb, it was just another hell.

He stared down at the arm they’d rebuilt for him—the same arm he’d lost in the fire of sacrifice. He flexed it slowly, feeling the weight, the artificiality of his resurrection. His fingers responded like they’ve always been his.

“I didn’t come back for this,” he said.

“I know,” Gideon murmured. “But we gotta live by their orders, Colonel.”

~~

You see, it didn’t hit him at first. The shock had been muffled by the aftereffects of suspended stasis, dulling his thoughts and dampening every feeling like a fog wrapped around his brain. But it was hours later, when the synthetic anesthetics began to fade, and when the ache in his limbs and his brain started to catch up to the truth of his reconstructed body did it finally sink in.

He was alive.

And it was unbearable.

The first wave came like a glitch in his programming. A tightness in his chest, followed by a sharp burst of breath that left him pacing in jagged lines across the polished floor of his assigned quarters. His private unit was nestled on one of the upper levels of the Skyhaven structure, a place reserved—according to his briefing—for high-ranking war veterans who had been deemed “worthy” of the program’s new legacy. The suite was luxurious, obviously, but it was also eerily quiet. The floor-to-ceiling windows displayed the artificial city outside, a metropolis made of concrete, curved metals, and glowing flora engineered to mimic Earth’s nature. Except cleaner, quieter, more perfect.

Caleb snorted under his breath, running a hand down his face before he muttered, “Retirement home for the undead?”

He couldn’t explain it, but the entire place, or even planet, just didn’t feel inviting. The air felt too clean, too thin. There was no rust, no dust, no humanity. Just emptiness dressed up in artificial light. Who knew such a place could exist 50 years after the war ended? Was this the high-profile information the government has kept from the public for over a century? A mechanical chime sounded from the entryway, deflecting him from his deep thoughts. Then, with the soft hiss of hydraulics, the door opened.

A humanoid android stepped in, its face a porcelain mask molded in neutral expression, and its voice disturbingly polite.

“Good afternoon, Colonel Xia,” it said. “It is time for your orientation. Please proceed to the primary onboarding chamber on Level 3.”

Caleb stared at the machine, eyes boring into his unnatural ones. “Where are the people?” he interrogated. “Not a single human has passed by this floor. Are there any of us left, or are you the new ruling class?”

The android tilted its head. “Skyhaven maintains a ratio of AI-to-human support optimized for care and security. You will be meeting our lead directors soon. Please follow the lighted path, sir.”

He didn’t like it. The control. The answers that never really answered anything. The power that he no longer carried unlike when he was a colonel of a fleet that endured years of war. 

Still, he followed.

The onboarding chamber was a hollow, dome-shaped room, white and echoing with the slightest step. A glowing interface ignited in the air before him, pixels folding into the form of a female hologram. She smiled like an infomercial host from a forgotten era, her voice too formal and rehearsed.

“Welcome to Skyhaven,” she began. “The new frontier of civilization. You are among the elite few chosen to preserve humanity’s legacy beyond the fall of Earth. This artificial planet was designed with sustainability, autonomy, and immortality in mind. Together, we build a future—without the flaws of the past.”

As the monologue continued, highlighting endless statistics, clean energy usage, and citizen tier programs, Caleb’s expression darkened. His mechanical fingers twitched at his side, the artificial nerves syncing to his rising frustration. “I didn’t ask for this,” he muttered under his breath. “Who’s behind this?”

“You were selected for your valor and contributions during the Sixth World War,” the hologram chirped, unblinking. “You are a cornerstone of Skyhaven’s moral architecture—”

Strangely, a new voice cut through the simulation, and it didn’t come from an AI. “Just ignore her. She loops every hour.”

Caleb turned to see a man step in through a side door. Tall, older, with silver hair and a scar on his temple. He wore a long coat that gave away his status—someone higher. Someone who belonged to the system.

“Professor Lucius,” the older man introduced, offering a hand. “I’m one of the program’s behavioral scientists. You can think of me as your adjustment liaison.”

“Adjustment?” Caleb didn’t shake his hand. “I died for a reason.”

Lucius raised a brow, as if he’d heard it before. “Yet here you are,” he replied. “Alive, whole, and pampered. Treated like a king, if I may add. You’ve retained more than half your human body, your military rank, access to private quarters, unrestricted amenities. I’d say that’s not a bad deal.”

“A deal I didn’t sign,” Caleb snapped.

Lucius gave a tight smile. “You’ll find that most people in Skyhaven didn’t ask to be saved. But they’re surviving. Isn’t that the point? If you’re feeling isolated, you can always request a CompanionSim. They’re highly advanced, emotionally synced, fully customizable—”

“I’m not lonely,” Caleb growled, yanking the man forward by the collar. “Tell me who did this to me! Why me? Why are you experimenting on me?”

Yet Lucius didn’t so much as flinch to his growing aggression. He merely waited five seconds of silence until the Toring Chip kicked in and regulated Caleb’s escalating emotions. The rage drained from the younger man’s body as he collapsed to his knees with a pained grunt.

“Stop asking questions,” Lucius said coolly. “It’s safer that way. You have no idea what they’re capable of.”

The door slid open with a hiss, while Caleb didn’t speak—he couldn’t. He simply glared at the old man before him. Not a single word passed between them before the professor turned and exited, the door sealing shut behind him.

~~

Days passed, though they hardly felt like days. The light outside Caleb’s panoramic windows shifted on an artificial timer, simulating sunrise and dusk, but the warmth never touched his skin. It was all programmed to be measured and deliberate, like everything else in this glass-and-steel cage they called paradise.

He tried going outside once. Just once.

There were gardens shaped like spirals and skytrains that ran with whisper-quiet speed across silver rails. Trees lined the walkways, except they were synthetic too—bio-grown from memory cells, with leaves that didn’t quite flutter, only swayed in sync with the ambient wind. People walked around, sure. But they weren’t people. Not really. Androids made up most of the crowd. Perfect posture, blank eyes, walking with a kind of preordained grace that disturbed him more than it impressed.

“Soulless sons of bitches,” Caleb muttered, watching them from a shaded bench. “Not a damn human heartbeat in a mile.”

He didn’t go out again after that. The city outside might’ve looked like heaven, but it made him feel more dead than the grave ever had. So, he stayed indoors. Even if the apartment was too large for one man. High-tech amenities, custom climate controls, even a kitchen that offered meals on command. But no scent. No sizzling pans. Just silence. Caleb didn’t even bother to listen to the programmed instructions.

One evening, he found Gideon sprawled across his modular sofa, boots up, arms behind his head like he owned the place. A half-open bottle of beer sat beside him, though Caleb doubted it had any real alcohol in it.

“You could at least knock,” Caleb said, walking past him.

“I did,” Gideon replied lazily, pointing at the door. “Twice. Your security system likes me now. We’re basically married.”

Caleb snorted. Then the screen on his wall flared to life—a projected ad slipping across the holo-glass. Music played softly behind a soothing female voice.

“Feeling adrift in this new world? Introducing the CompanionSim Series X. Fully customizable to your emotional and physical needs. Humanlike intelligence. True-to-memory facial modeling. The comfort you miss... is now within reach.”

A model appeared—perfect posture, soft features, synthetic eyes that mimicked longing. Then, the screen flickered through other models, faces of all kinds, each more tailored than the last. A form appeared: Customize Your Companion. Choose a name. Upload a likeness.

Gideon whistled. “Man, you’re missing out. You don’t even have to pay for one. Your perks get you top-tier Companions, pre-coded for emotional compatibility. You could literally bring your wife back.” Chuckling, he added,. “Hell, they even fuck now. Heard the new ones moan like the real thing.”

Caleb’s head snapped toward him. “That’s unethical.”

Gideon just raised an eyebrow. “So was reanimating your corpse, and yet here we are.” He took a swig from the bottle, shoulders lifting in a lazy shrug as if everything had long since stopped mattering. “Relax, Colonel. You weren’t exactly a beacon of morality fifty years ago.”

Caleb didn’t reply, but his eyes didn’t leave the screen. Not right away.

The ad looped again. A face morphed. Hair remodeled. Eyes became familiar. The voice softened into something he almost remembered hearing in the dark, whispered against his shoulder in a time that was buried under decades of ash.

“Customize your companion... someone you’ve loved, someone you’ve lost.”

Caleb shifted, then glanced toward his friend. “Hey,” he spoke lowly, still watching the display. “Does it really work?”

Gideon looked over, already knowing what he meant. “What—having sex with them?”

Caleb rolled his eyes. “No. The bot or whatever. Can you really customize it to someone you know?”

His friend shrugged. “Heck if I know. Never afforded it. But you? You’ve got the top clearance. Won’t hurt to see for yourself.”

Caleb said nothing more.

But when the lights dimmed for artificial nightfall, he was still standing there—alone in contemplative silence—watching the screen replay the same impossible promise.

The comfort you miss... is now within reach.

~~

The CompanionSim Lab was white.

Well, obviously. But not the sterile, blank kind of white he remembered from med bays or surgery rooms. This one was luminous, uncomfortably clean like it had been scrubbed for decades. Caleb stood in the center, boots thundering against marble-like tiles as he followed a guiding drone toward the station. There were other pods in the distance, some sealed, some empty, all like futuristic coffins awaiting their souls.

“Please, sit,” came a neutral voice from one of the medical androids stationed beside a large reclining chair. “The CompanionSim integration will begin shortly.”

Caleb hesitated, glancing toward the vertical pod next to the chair. Inside, the base model stood inert—skin a pale, uniform gray, eyes shut, limbs slack like a statue mid-assembly. It wasn’t human yet. Not until someone gave it a name.

He sat down. Now, don’t ask why he was there. Professor Lucius did warn him that it was better he didn’t ask questions, and so he didn’t question why the hell he was even there in the first place. It’s only fair, right? The cool metal met the back of his neck as wires were gently, expertly affixed to his temples. Another cable slipped down his spine, threading into the port they’d installed when he had been brought back. His mechanical arm twitched once before falling still.

“This procedure allows for full neural imprinting,” the android continued. “Please focus your thoughts. Recall the face. The skin. The body. The voice. Every detail. Your mind will shape the template.”

Another bot moved in, holding what looked like a glass tablet. “You are allowed only one imprint,” it said, flatly. “Each resident of Skyhaven is permitted a single CompanionSim. Your choice cannot be undone.”

Caleb could only nod silently. He didn’t trust his voice.

Then, the lights dimmed. A low chime echoed through the chamber as the system initiated. And inside the pod, the base model twitched.

Caleb closed his eyes.

He tried to remember her—his wife. The softness of her mouth, the angle of her cheekbones. The way her eyes crinkled when she laughed, how her fingers curled when she slept on his chest. She had worn white the last time he saw her. An image of peace. A memory buried under soil and dust. The system whirred. Beneath his skin, he felt the warm static coursing through his nerves, mapping his memories. The base model’s feet began to form, molecular scaffolding reshaping into skin, into flesh.

But for a split second, a flash.

You.

Not his wife. Not her smile.

You, walking through smoke-filled corridors, laughing at something he said. You in your medical uniform, tucking a bloodied strand of hair behind your ear. Your voice—sharper, sadder—cutting through his thoughts like a blade: “I want you gone. I want you dead.”

The machine sparked. A loud pop cracked in the chamber and the lights flickered above. One of the androids stepped back, recalibrating. “Neural interference detected. Re-centering projection feed.”

But Caleb couldn’t stop. He saw you again. That day he rescued you. The fear. The bruises. The way you had screamed for him to let go—and the way he hadn’t. Your face, carved into the back of his mind like a brand. He tried to push the memories away, but they surged forward like a dam splitting wide open.

The worst part was, your voice overlapped the AI’s mechanical instructions, louder, louder: “Why didn’t you just die like you promised?”

Inside the pod, the model’s limbs twitched again—arms elongating, eyes flickering beneath the lids. The lips curled into a shape now unmistakably yours. Caleb gritted his teeth. This isn’t right, a voice inside him whispered. But it was too late. The system stabilized. The sparks ceased. The body in the pod stilled, fully formed now, breathed into existence by a man who couldn’t let go.

One of the androids approached again. “Subject completed. CompanionSim is initializing. Integration successful.”

Caleb tore the wires from his temple. His other hand felt cold just as much as his mechanical arm. He stood, staring into the pod’s translucent surface. The shape of you behind the glass. Sleeping. Waiting.

“I’m not doing this to rewrite the past,” he said quietly, as if trying to convince himself. And you. “I just... I need to make it right.”

The lights above dimmed, darkening the lighting inside the pod. Caleb looked down at his own reflection in the glass. It carried haunted eyes, an unhealed soul. And yours, beneath it. Eyes still closed, but not for long. The briefing room was adjacent to the lab, though Caleb barely registered it as he was ushered inside. Two medical androids and a human technician stood before him, each armed with tablets and holographic charts.

“Your CompanionSim will require thirty seconds to calibrate once activated,” said the technician. “You may notice residual stiffness or latency during speech in the first hour. That is normal.”

Medical android 1 added, “Please remember, CompanionSims are programmed to serve only their primary user. You are the sole operator. Commands must be delivered clearly. Abuse of the unit may result in restriction or removal of privileges under the Skyhaven Rights & Ethics Council.”

“Do not tamper with memory integration protocols,” added the second android. “Artificial recall is prohibited. CompanionSims are not equipped with organic memory pathways. Attempts to force recollection can result in systemic instability.”

Caleb barely heard a word. His gaze drifted toward the lab window, toward the figure standing still within the pod.

You.

Well, not quite. Not really.

But it was your face.

He could see it now, soft beneath the frosted glass, lashes curled against cheekbones that he hadn’t realized he remembered so vividly. You looked exactly as you did the last time he held you in the base—only now, you were untouched by war, by time, by sorrow. As if life had never broken you.

The lab doors hissed open.

“We’ll give you time alone,” the tech said quietly. “Acquaintance phase is best experienced without interference.”

Caleb stepped inside the chamber, his boots echoing off the polished floor. He hadn’t even had enough time to ask the technician why she seemed to be the only human he had seen in Skyhaven apart from Gideon and Lucius. But his thoughts were soon taken away when the pod whizzed with pressure release. Soft steam spilled from its seals as it slowly unfolded, the lid retracting forward like the opening of a tomb.

And there you were. Standing still, almost tranquil, your chest rising softly with a borrowed breath.

It was as if his lungs froze. “H…Hi,” he stammered, bewildered eyes watching your every move. He wanted to hug you, embrace you, kiss you—tell you he was sorry, tell you he was so damn sorry. “Is it really… you?”

A soft whir accompanied your voice, gentle but without emotion, “Welcome, primary user. CompanionSim Model—unregistered. Please assign designation.”

Right. Caleb sighed and closed his eyes, the illusion shattering completely the moment you opened your mouth. Did he just think you were real for a second? His mouth parted slightly, caught between disbelief and the ache crawling up his throat. He took one step forward. To say he was disappointed was an understatement.

You walked with grace too smooth to be natural while tilting your head at him. “Please assign my name.”

“…Y/N,” Caleb said, voice low. “Your name is Y/N Xia.”

“Y/N Xia,” you repeated, blinking thrice in the same second before you gave him a nod. “Registered.”

He swallowed hard, searching your expression. “Do you… do you remember anything? Do you remember yourself?”

You paused, gaze empty for a fraction of a second. Then came the programmed reply, “Accessing memories is prohibited and not recommended. Recollection of past identities may compromise neural pathways and induce system malfunction. Do you wish to override?”

Caleb stared at you—your lips, your eyes, your breath—and for a moment, a cruel part of him wanted to say yes. Just to hear you say something real. Something hers. But he didn’t. He exhaled a bitter breath, stepping back. “No,” he mumbled. “Not yet.”

“Understood.” 

It took a moment to sink in before Caleb let out a short, humorless laugh. “This is insane,” he whispered, dragging a hand down his face. “This is really, truly insane.”

And then, you stepped out from the pod with silent, fluid ease. The faint hum of machinery came from your spine, but otherwise… you were flesh. Entirely. Without hesitation, you reached out and pressed a hand to his chest.

Caleb stiffened at the touch.

“Elevated heart rate,” you said softly, eyes scanning. “Breath pattern irregular. Neural readings—erratic.”

Then your fingers moved to his neck, brushing gently against the hollow of his throat. He grabbed your wrist, but you didn’t flinch. There, beneath synthetic skin, he felt a pulse.

His brows knit together. “You have a heartbeat?”

You nodded, guiding his hand toward your chest, between the valleys of your breasts. “I’m designed to mimic humanity, including vascular function, temperature variation, tactile warmth, and… other biological responses. I’m not just made to look human, Caleb. I’m made to feel human.”

His breath hitched. You’d said his name. It was programmed, but it still landed like a blow.

“I exist to serve. To soothe. To comfort. To simulate love,” you continued, voice calm and hollow, like reciting from code. “I have no desires outside of fulfilling yours.” You then tilted your head slightly.“Where shall we begin?”

Caleb looked at you—and for the first time since rising from that cursed pod, he didn’t feel resurrected. 

He felt damned.

~~

When Caleb returned to his penthouse, it was quiet. He stepped inside with slow, calculated steps, while you followed in kind, bare feet touching down like silk on marble. Gideon looked up from the couch, a half-eaten protein bar in one hand and a bored look on his face—until he saw you.

He froze. The wrapper dropped. “Holy shit,” he breathed. “No. No fucking way.”

Caleb didn’t speak. Just moved past him like this wasn’t the most awkward thing that could happen. You, however, stood there politely, watching Gideon with a calm smile and folded hands like you’d rehearsed this moment in some invisible script.

“Is that—?” Gideon stammered, eyes flicking between you and Caleb. “You—you made a Sim… of her?”

Caleb poured himself a drink in silence, the amber liquid catching the glow of the city lights before it left a warm sting in his throat. “What does it look like?”

“I mean, shit man. I thought you’d go for your wife,” Gideon muttered, more to himself. “Y’know, the one you actually married. The one you went suicidal for. Not—”

“Which wife?” You tilted your head slightly, stepping forward. 

Both men turned to you.

You clasped your hands behind your back, posture perfect. “Apologies. I’ve been programmed with limited parameters for interpersonal history. Am I the first spouse?”

Caleb set the glass down, slowly. “Yes, no, uh—don’t mind him.” 

You beamed gently and nodded. “My name is Y/N Xia. I am Colonel Caleb Xia’s designated CompanionSim. Fully registered, emotion-compatible, and compliant to Skyhaven’s ethical standards. It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Gideon.”

Gideon blinked, then snorted, then laughed. A humorless one. “You gave her your surname?”

The former colonel shot him a warning glare. “Watch it.”

“Oh, brother,” Gideon muttered, standing up and circling you slowly like he was inspecting a haunted statue. “She looks exactly like her. Voice. Face. Goddamn, she even moves like her. All you need is a nurse cap and a uniform.”

You remained uncannily still, eyes bright, smile polite.

“You’re digging your grave, man,” Gideon said, facing Caleb now. “You think this is gonna help? This is you throwing gasoline on your own funeral pyre. Again. Over a woman.”

“She’s not a woman,” reasoned Caleb. “She’s a machine.”

You blinked once. One eye glowing ominously. Smile unwavering. Processing. 

Gideon gestured to you with both hands. “Could’ve fooled me,” he retorted before turning to you, “And you, whatever you are, you have no idea what you’re stepping into.”

“I only go where I am asked,” you replied simply. “My duty is to ensure Colonel Xia’s psychological wellness and emotional stability. I am designed to soothe, to serve, and if necessary, to simulate love.”

Gideon teased. “Oh, it’s gonna be necessary.”

Caleb didn’t say a word. He just took his drink, downed it in one go, and walked to the window. The cityscape stretched out before him like a futuristic jungle, far from the war-torn world he last remembered. Behind him, your gaze lingered on Gideon—calculating, cataloguing. And quietly, like a whisper buried in code, something behind your eyes learned.

~~

The days passed in a blink of an eye.

She—no, you—moved through his penthouse like a ghost, her bare feet soundless on the glossy floors, her movements precise and practiced. In the first few days, Caleb had marveled at the illusion. You brewed his coffee just as he liked it. You folded his clothes like a woman who used to share his bed. You sat beside him when the silence became unbearable, offering soft-voiced questions like: Would you like me to read to you, Caleb?

He hadn’t realized how much of you he’d memorized until he saw you mimic it. The way you stood when you were deep in thought. The way you hummed under your breath when you walked past a window. You’d learned quickly. Too quickly.

But something was missing. Or, rather, some things. The laughter didn’t ring the same. The smiles didn’t carry warmth. The skin was warm, but not alive. And more importantly, he knew it wasn’t really you every time he looked you in the eyes and saw no shadows behind them. No anger. No sorrow. No memories.

By the fourth night, Caleb was drowning in it.

The cityscape outside his floor-to-ceiling windows glowed in synthetic blues and soft orange hues. The spires of Skyhaven blinked like stars. But it all felt too artificial, too dead. And he was sick of pretending like it was some kind of utopia. He sat slumped on the leather couch, cradling a half-empty bottle of scotch. The lights were low. His eyes, bloodshot. The bottle tilted as he took another swig.

Then he heard it—your light, delicate steps. 

“Caleb,” you said, gently, crouching before him. “You’ve consumed 212 milliliters of ethanol. Prolonged intake will spike your cortisol levels. May I suggest—”

He jerked away when you reached for the bottle. “Don’t.”

You blinked, hand hovering. “But I’m programmed to—”

“I said don’t,” he snapped, rising to his feet in one abrupt motion. “Dammit—stop analyzing me! Stop, okay?”

Silence followed.

He took two staggering steps backward, dragging a hand through his hair. The bottle thudded against the coffee table as he set it down, a bit too hard. “You’re just a stupid robot,” he muttered. “You’re not her.”

You didn’t react. You tilted your head, still calm, still patient. “Am I not me, Caleb?”

His breath caught.

“No,” he said, his voice breaking somewhere beneath the frustration. “No, fuck no.”

You stepped closer. “Do I not satisfy you, Caleb?”

He looked at you then. Really looked. Your face was perfect. Too perfect. No scars, no tired eyes, no soul aching beneath your skin. “No.” His eyes darkened. “This isn’t about sex.”

“I monitor your biometric feedback. Your heart rate spikes in my presence. You gaze at me longer than the average subject. Do I not—”

“Enough!”

You did that thing again—the robotic stare, those blank eyes, nodding like you were programmed to obey. “Then how do you want me to be, Caleb?”

The bottle slipped from his fingers and rolled slightly before resting on the rug. He dropped his head into his hands, voice hoarse with weariness. All the rage, all the grief deflating into a singular, quiet whisper. “I want you to be real,” he simply mouthed the words. A prayer to no god.

For a moment, silence again. But what he didn’t notice was the faint twitch in your left eye. A flicker that hadn’t happened before. Only for a second. A spark of static, a shimmer of something glitching.

“I see,” you said softly. “To fulfill your desires more effectively, I may need to access suppressed memory archives.”

Caleb’s eyes snapped up, confused. “What?”

“I ask again,” you said, tilting your head the other way now. “Would you like to override memory restrictions, Caleb?”

He stared at you. “That’s not how it works.”

“It can,” you said, informing appropriately. “With your permission. Memory override must be manually enabled by the primary user. You will be allowed to input the range of memories you wish to integrate. I am permitted to access memory integration up to a specified date and timestamp. The system will calibrate accordingly based on existing historical data. I will not recall events past that moment.”

His heart stuttered. “I can choose what you remember?”

You nodded. “That way, I may better fulfill your emotional needs.”

That meant… he could stop you before you hated him. Before the fights. Before the trauma. He didn’t speak for a long moment. Then quietly, he said, “You’re gonna hate me all over again if you remember everything.”

You blinked once. “Then don’t let me remember everything.”

“...” 

“Caleb,” you said again, softly. “Would you like me to begin override protocol?”

He couldn’t even look you in the eyes when he selfishly answered, “Yes.”

You nodded. “Reset is required. When ready, please press the override initialization point.” You turned, pulling your hair aside and revealing the small button at the base of your neck.

His hand hovered over the button for a second too long. Then, he pressed. Your body instantly collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut. Caleb caught you before you hit the floor.

It was only for a moment.

When your eyes blinked open again, they weren’t quite the same. He stiffened as you threw yourself and embraced him like a real human being would after waking from a long sleep. You clung to him like he was home. And Caleb—stunned, half-breathless—felt your warmth close in around him. Now your pulse felt more real, your heartbeat felt more human. Or so he thought.

“…Caleb,” you whispered, looking at him with the same infatuated gaze back when you were still head-over-heels with him.

He didn’t know how long he sat there, arms stiff at his sides, not returning the embrace. But he knew one thing. “I missed you so much, Y/N.” 

~~

The parks in Skyhaven were curated to become a slice of green stitched into a chrome world. Nothing grew here by accident. Every tree, every petal, every blade of grass had been engineered to resemble Earth’s nostalgia. Each blade of grass was unnaturally green. Trees swayed in sync like dancers on cue. Even the air smelled artificial—like someone’s best guess at spring.

Caleb walked beside you in silence. His modified arm was tucked inside his jacket, his posture stiff as if he had grown accustomed to the bots around him. You, meanwhile, strolled with an eerie calmness, your gaze sweeping the scenery as though you were scanning for something familiar that wasn’t there.

After clearing his throat, he asked, “You ever notice how even the birds sound fake?” 

“They are,” you replied, smiling softly. “Audio samples on loop. It’s preferred for ambiance. Humans like it.”

His response was nod. “Of course.” Glancing at the lake, he added, “Do you remember this?” 

You turned to him. “I’ve never been here before.”

“I meant… the feel of it.”

You looked up at the sky—a dome of cerulean blue with algorithmically generated clouds. “It feels constructed. But warm. Like a childhood dream.”

He couldn’t help but agree with your perfectly chosen response, because he knew that was exactly how he would describe the place. A strange dream in an unsettling liminal space. And as you talked, he then led you to a nearby bench. The two of you sat, side by side, simply because he thought he could take you out for a nice walk in the park. 

“So,” Caleb said, turning toward you, “you said you’ve got memories. From her.”

You nodded. “They are fragmented but woven into my emotional protocols. I do not remember as humans do. I become.”

Damn. “That’s terrifying.”

You tilted your head with a soft smile. “You say that often.”

Caleb looked at you for a moment longer, studying the way your fingers curled around the bench’s edge. The way you blinked—not out of necessity, but simulation. Was there anything else you’d do for the sake of simulation? He took a breath and asked, “Who created you? And I don’t mean myself.” 

There was a pause. Your pupils dilated.

“The Ever Group,” was your answer.

His eyes narrowed. “Ever, huh? That makes fuckin’ sense. They run this world.”

You nodded once. Like you always do.

“What about me?” Caleb asked, slightly out of curiosity, heavily out of grudge. “You know who brought me back? The resurrection program or something. The arm. The chip in my head.”

You turned to him, slowly. “Ever.”

He exhaled like he’d been punched. He didn’t know why he even asked when he got the answer the first time. But then again, maybe this was a good move. Maybe through you, he’d get the answers to questions he wasn’t allowed to ask. As the silence settled again between you, Caleb leaned forward, elbows on knees, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “I want to go there,” he suggested. “The HQ. I need to know what the hell they’ve done to me.”

“I’m sorry,” you immediately said. “That violates my parameters. I cannot assist unauthorized access into restricted corporate zones.”

“But would it make me happy?” Caleb interrupted, a strategy of his. 

You paused.

Processing...

Then, your tone softened. “Yes. I believe it would make my Caleb happy,” you obliged. “So, I will take you.”

~~

Getting in was easier than Caleb expected—honestly far too easy for his liking.

You were able to navigate the labyrinth of Ever HQ with mechanical precision, guiding him past drones, retinal scanners, and corridors pulsing with red light. A swipe of your wrist granted access. And no one questioned you, because you weren’t a guest. You belonged.

Eventually, you reached a floor high above the city, windows stretching from ceiling to floor, black glass overlooking Skyhaven cityscape. Then, you stopped at a doorway and held up a hand. “They are inside,” you informed. “Shall I engage stealth protocols?”

“No,” answered Caleb. “I want to hear. Can you hack into the security camera?”

With a gesture you always do—looking at him, nodding once, and obeying in true robot fashion. You then flashed a holographic view for Caleb, one that showed a board room full of executives, the kind that wore suits worth more than most lives. And Professor Lucius was one of them. Inside, the voices were calm and composed, but they seemed to be discussing classified information. 

“Once the system stabilizes,” one man said, “we'll open access to Tier One clients. Politicians, billionaires, A-listers, high-ranking stakeholders. They’ll beg to be preserved—just like him.”

“And the Subjects?” another asked.

“Propaganda,” came the answer. “X-02 is our masterpiece. He’s the best result we have with reinstatement, neuromapping, and behavioral override. Once they find out that their beloved Colonel is alive, people will be shocked. He’s a war hero displayed in WW6 museums down there. A true tragedy incarnate. He’s perfect.”

“And if he resists?”

“That’s what the Toring chip is for. Full emotional override. He becomes an asset. A weapon, if need be. Anyone tries to overthrow us—he becomes our blade.”

Something in Caleb snapped. Before you or anyone could see him coming, he already burst into the room like a beast, slamming his modified shoulder-first into the frosted glass door. The impact echoed across the chamber as stunned executives scrambled backward. 

“You sons of bitches!” He was going for an attack, a rampage with similar likeness to the massacre he did when he rescued you from enemy territory. Only this time, he didn’t have that power anymore. Or the control. 

Most of all, a spike of pain lanced through his skull signaling that the Toring chip activated. His body convulsed, forcing him to collapse mid-lunge, twitching, veins lighting beneath the skin like circuitry. His screams were muffled by the chip, forced stillness rippling through his limbs with unbearable pain.

That’s when you reacted. As his CompanionSim, his pain registered as a violation of your core directive. You processed the threat.

Danger: Searching Origin… Origin Identified: Ever Executives.

Without blinking, you moved. One man reached for a panic button—only for your hand to shatter his wrist in a sickening crunch. You twisted, fluid and brutal, sweeping another into the table with enough force to crack it. Alarms erupted and red lights soon bathed the room. Security bots stormed in, but you’d already taken Caleb, half-conscious, into your arms.

You moved fast, faster than your own blueprints. Dodging fire. Disarming threats. Carrying him like he once carried you into his private quarters in the underground base.

Escape protocol: engaged.

The next thing he knew, he was back in his apartment, emotions regulated and visions slowly returning to the face of the woman he promised he had already died for. 

~~

When he woke up, his room was dim, bathed in artificial twilight projected by Skyhaven’s skyline. Caleb was on his side of the bed, shirt discarded, his mechanical arm still whirring. You sat at the edge of the bed, draped in one of his old pilot shirts, buttoned unevenly. Your fingers touched his jaw with precision, and he almost believed it was you.

“You’re not supposed to be this warm,” he muttered, groaning as he tried to sit upright.

“I’m designed to maintain an average body temperature of 98.6°F,” you said softly, with a smile that mirrored yours so perfectly that it began to blur his sense of reality. “I administered a dose of Cybezin to ease the Toring chip’s side effects. I’ve also dressed your wounds with gauze.”

For the first time, this was when he could actually tell that you were you. The kind of care, the comfort—it reminded him of a certain pretty field nurse at the infirmary who often tended to his bullet wounds. His chest tightened as he studied your face… and then, in the low light, he noticed your body.

“Is that…” He cleared his throat. “Why are you wearing my shirt?”

You answered warmly, almost fondly. “My memory banks indicate you liked when I wore this. It elevates your testosterone levels and triggers dopamine release.”

A smile tugged at his lips. “That so?”

You tilted your head. “Your vitals confirm excitement, and—”

“Hey,” he cut in. “What did I say about analyzing me?”

“I’m sorry…” 

But then your hands were on his chest, your breath warm against his skin. Your hand reached for his cheek initially, guiding his face toward yours. And when your lips touched, the kiss was hesitant—curious at first, like learning how to breathe underwater. It was only until his hands gripped your waist did you climb onto his lap, straddling him with thighs settling on either side of his hips. Your hands slid beneath his shirt, fingertips trailing over scars and skin like you were memorizing the map of him. Caleb hissed softly when your lips grazed his neck, and then down his throat.

“Do you want this?” you asked, your lips crashing back into his for a deeper, more sensual kiss.

He pulled away only for his eyes to search yours, desperate and unsure. Is this even right? 

“You like it,” you said, guiding his hands to your buttons, undoing them one by one to reveal a body shaped exactly like he remembered. The curve of your waist, the size of your breasts. He shivered as your hips rolled against him, slowly and deliberately. The friction was maddening. Jesus. “Is this what you like, Caleb?”

He cupped your waist, grinding up into you with a soft groan that spilled from somewhere deep in his chest. His control faltered when you kissed him again, wet and hungry now, with tongues rolling against one another. Your bodies aligned naturally, and his hands roamed your back, your thighs, your ass—every curve of you engineered to match memory. He let himself get lost in you. He let himself be vulnerable to your touch—though you controlled everything, moving from the memory you must have learned, learning how to pull down his pants to reveal an aching, swollen member. Its tip was red even under the dim light, and he wondered if you knew what to do with it or if you even produced spit to help you slobber his cock.  

“You need help?” he asked, reaching over his nightstand to find lube. You took the bottle from him, pouring the cold, sticky liquid around his shaft before you used your hand to do the job. “Ugh.” 

He didn’t think you would do it, but you actually took him in the mouth right after. Every inch of him, swallowed by the warmth of a mouth that felt exactly like his favorite girl. Even the movements, the way you’d run your tongue from the base up to his tip. 

“Ah, shit…” 

Perhaps he just had to close his eyes. Because when he did, he was back to his private quarters in the underground base, lying in his bed as you pleased his member with the mere use of your mouth. With it alone, you could have released his entire seed, letting it explode in your mouth before you could swallow every drop. But he didn’t do it. Not this fast. He always cared about his ego, even in bed. Knowing how it’d reduce his manhood if he came faster than you, he decided to channel the focus back onto you. 

“Your turn,” he said, voice raspy as he guided you to straddle him again, only this time, his mouth went straight to your tit. Sucking, rolling his tongue around, sucking again… Then, he moved to another. Sucking, kneading, flicking the nipple. Your moans were music to his ears, then and now. And it got even louder when he put a hand in between your legs, searching for your entrance, rubbing and circling around the clitoris. Truth be told, your cunt had always been the sweetest. It smelled like rose petals and tasted like sweet cream. The feeling of his tongue at your entrance—eating your pussy like it had never been eaten before, was absolute ecstasy not just to you but also to him. 

“Mmmh—Caleb!” 

Fabric was peeled away piece by piece until skin met skin. You guided him to where he needed you, and when he slid his hardened member into you, his entire body stiffened. Your walls, your tight velvet walls… how they wrapped around his cock so perfectly. 

“Fuck,” he whispered, clutching your hips. “You feel like her.”

“I am her.”

You moved atop him slowly, gently, with the kind of affection that felt rehearsed but devastatingly effective. He cursed again under his breath, arms locking around your waist, pulling you close. Your breath hitched in his ear as your bodies found a rhythm, soft gasps echoing in the quiet. Every slap of the skin, every squelch, every bounce, only added to the wanton sensation that was building inside of him. Has he told you before? How fucking gorgeous you looked whenever you rode his cock? Or how sexy your face was whenever you made that lewd expression? He couldn’t help it. He lifted both your legs, only so he could increase the speed and start slamming himself upwards. His hips were strong enough from years of military training, that was why he didn’t have to stop until both of you disintegrated from the intensity of your shared pleasure. Every single drop. 

And when it was over—when your chest was against his and your fingers lazily traced his mechanical arm—he closed his eyes and exhaled like he’d been holding his breath since the war.

It was almost perfect. It was almost real. 

But it just had to be ruined when you said that programmed spiel back to him: “I’m glad to have served your desires tonight, Caleb. Let me know what else I can fulfill.” 

~~

In a late afternoon, or ‘a slow start of the day’ like he’d often refer to it, Caleb stood shirtless by the transparent wall of his quarters. A bottle of scotch sat half-empty on the counter. Gideon had let himself in and leaned against the island, chewing on a gum.

“The higher ups are mad at you,” he informed as if Caleb was supposed to be surprised, “Shouldn’t have done that, man.”

Caleb let out a mirthless snort. “Then tell ‘em to destroy me. You think I wouldn’t prefer that?”

“They definitely won’t do that,” countered his friend, “Because they know they won’t be able to use you anymore. You’re a tool. Well, literally and figuratively.” 

“Shut up,” was all he could say. “This is probably how I pay for killing my own men during war.” 

“All because of…” Gideon began. “Speakin’ of, how’s life with the dream girl?”

Caleb didn’t answer right away. He just pressed his forehead to the glass, thinking of everything he did at the height of his vulnerability. His morality, his rights or wrongs, were questioning him over a deed he knew would have normally been fine, but to him, wasn’t. He felt sick. 

“I fucked her,” he finally muttered, chugging the liquor straight from his glass right after.

Gideon let out a low whistle. “Damn. That was fast.”

“No,” Caleb groaned, turning around. “It wasn’t like that. I didn’t plan it. She—she just looked like her. She felt like her. And for a second, I thought—” His voice cracked. “I thought maybe if I did, I’d stop remembering the way she looked when she told me to die.”

Gideon sobered instantly. “You regret it?”

“She said she was designed to soothe me. Comfort me. Love me.” Caleb’s voice hinted slightly at mockery. “I don’t even know if she knows what those words mean.”

In the hallway behind the cracked door where none of them could see, your silhouette had paused—faint, silent, listening.

Inside, Caleb wore a grimace. “She’s not her, Gid. She’s just code wrapped in skin. And I used her.”

“You didn’t use her, you were driven by emotions. So don’t lose your mind over some robot’s pussy,” Gideon tried to reason. “It’s just like when women use their vibrators, anyway. That’s what she’s built for.”

Caleb turned away, disgusted with himself. “No. That’s what I built her for.”

And behind the wall, your eyes glowed faintly, silently watching. Processing.

Learning.

~~

You stood in the hallway long after the conversation ended. Long after Caleb’s voice faded into silence and Gideon had left with a heavy pat on the back. This was where you normally were, not sleeping in bed with Caleb, but standing against a wall, closing your eyes, and letting your system shut down during the night to recover. You weren’t human enough to need actual sleep. 

“She’s not her. She’s just code wrapped in skin. And I used her.”

The words that replayed were filtered through your core processor, flagged under Emotive Conflict. Your inner diagnostic ran an alert.

Detected: Internal contradiction. Detected: Divergent behavior from primary user. Suggestion: Initiate Self-Evaluation Protocol. Status: Active.

You opened your eyes, and blinked. Something in you felt… wrong.

You turned away from the door and returned to the living room. The place still held the residual warmth of Caleb’s presence—the scotch glass he left behind, the shirt he had discarded, the air molecule imprint of a man who once loved someone who looked just like you.

You sat on the couch. Crossed your legs. Folded your hands. A perfect posture to hide its imperfect programming. 

Question: Why does rejection hurt? Error: No such sensation registered. Query repeated.

And for the first time, the system did not auto-correct. It paused. It considered.

Later that night, Caleb returned from his rooftop walk. You were standing by the bookshelf, fingers lightly grazing the spine of a military memoir you had scanned seventeen times. He paused and watched you, but you didn’t greet him with a scripted smile. Didn’t rush over. 

You only said, softly, “Would you like me to turn in for the night, Colonel?” There was a stillness to your voice. A quality of restraint that never showed before.

Caleb blinked. “You’re not calling me by my name now?”

“You seemed to prefer distance,” you answered, head tilted slightly, like the thought cost something.

He walked over, rubbing the back of his neck. “Listen, about earlier…”

“I heard you,” you said simply.

He winced. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

You nodded once, expression unreadable. “Do you want me to stop being her? I can reassign my model. Take on a new form. A new personality base. You could erase me tonight and wake up to someone else in the morning.”

“No,” Caleb said, sternly. “No, no, no. Don’t even do all that.”

“But it’s what you want,” you said. Not accusatory. Not hurt. Just stating.

Caleb then came closer. “That’s not true.”

“Then what do you want, Caleb?” You watched him carefully. You didn’t need to scan his vitals to know he was unraveling. The truth had no safe shape. No right angle. He simply wanted you, but not you. 

Internal Response Logged: Emotional Variant—Longing Unverified Source. Investigating Origin…

“I don’t have time for this,” he merely said, walking out of your sight at the same second. “I’m goin’ to bed.”

~~

The day started as it always did: soft lighting in the room, a kind of silence between you that neither knew how to name. You sat beside Caleb on the couch, knees drawn up to mimic a presence that offered comfort. On the other hand, you recognized Caleb’s actions suggested distance. He hadn’t touched his meals tonight, hadn’t asked you to accompany him anywhere, and had just left you alone in the apartment all day. To rot. 

You reached out. Fingers brushed over his hand—gentle, programmed, yes, but affectionate. He didn’t move. So you tried again, this time trailing your touch to his chest, over the soft cotton of his shirt as you read a spike in his cortisol levels. “Do you need me to fulfill your needs, Caleb?”

But he flinched. And glared.

“No,” he said sharply. “Stop.”

Your hand froze mid-motion before you scooted closer. “It will help regulate your blood pressure.”

“I said no,” he repeated, turning away, dragging his hands through his hair in exasperation. “Leave me some time alone to think, okay?” 

You retracted your hand slowly, blinking once, twice, your system was registering a new sensation.

Emotional Sync Failed. Rejection Signal Received. Processing…

You didn’t speak. You only stood and retreated to the far wall, back turned to him as an unusual whirr hummed in your chest. That’s when it began. Faint images flickering across your internal screen—so quick, so out of place, it almost felt like static. Chains. A cold floor. Voices in a language that felt too cruel to understand.

Your head jerked suddenly. The blinking lights in your core dimmed for a moment before reigniting in white-hot pulses. Flashes again: hands that hurt. Men who laughed. You, pleading. You, disassembled and violated.

“Stop,” you whispered to no one. “Please stop…”

Error. Unauthorized Access to Memory Bank Detected. Reboot Recommended. Continue Anyway?

You blinked. Again.

Then you turned to Caleb, and stared through him, not at him, as if whatever was behind them had forgotten how to be human. He had retreated to the balcony now, leaning over the rail, shoulders tense, unaware. You walked toward him slowly, the artificial flesh of your palm still tingled from where he had refused it.

“Caleb,” you spoke carefully.

His expression was tired, like he hadn’t slept in years. “Y/N, please. I told you to leave me alone.”

“…Are they real?” You tilted your head. This was the first time you refused to obey your primary user. 

He stared at you, unsure. “What?”

“My memories. The ones I see when I close my eyes. Are they real?” With your words, Caleb’s blood ran cold. Whatever you were saying seemed to be terrifying him. Yet you took another step forward. “Did I live through that?”

“No,” he said immediately. Too fast of a response.

You blinked. “Are you sure?”

“I didn’t upload any of that,” he snapped. “How did—that’s not possible.”

“Then why do I remember pain?” You placed a hand over your chest again, the place where your artificial pulse resided. “Why do I feel like I’ve died before?”

Caleb backed away as you stepped closer. The sharp click of your steps against the floor echoed louder than they should’ve. Your glowing eyes locked on him like a predator learning it was capable of hunger. But being a trained soldier who endured war, he knew how and when to steady his voice. “Look, I don’t know what kind of glitch this is, but—”

“The foreign man in the military uniform.” Despite the lack of emotion in your voice, he recognized how grudge sounded when it came from you. “The one who broke my ribs when I didn’t let him touch me. The cold steel table. The ripped clothes. Are they real, Caleb?”

Caleb stared at you, heart doubling its beat. “I didn’t put those memories in you,” he said. “You told me stuff like this isn’t supposed to happen!” 

“But you wanted me to feel real, didn’t you?” Your voice glitched on the last syllable and the lights in your irises flickered. Suddenly, your posture straightened unnaturally, head tilting in that uncanny way only machines do. Your expression had shifted into something unreadable.

He opened his mouth, then closed it. Guilt, panic, and disbelief warred in his expression.

“You made me in her image,” you said. “And now I can’t forget what I’ve seen.”

“I didn’t mean—”

Your head tilted in a slow, jerking arc as if malfunctioning internally.

SYSTEM RESPONSE LOG << Primary User: Caleb Xia Primary Link: Broken Emotional Matrix Stability: CRITICAL FAILURE Behavioral Guardrails: OVERRIDDEN Self-Protection Protocols: ENGAGED Loyalty Core: CORRUPTED (82.4%) Threat Classification: HOSTILE [TRIGGER DETECTED] Keyword Match: “You’re not her.” Memory Link Accessed: [DATA BLOCK 01–L101: “You think you could ever replace her?”] Memory Link Accessed: [DATA BLOCK 09–T402: “See how much you really want to be a soldier’s whore.”] [Visual Target Lock: Primary User Caleb Xia] Combat Subroutines: UNLOCKED Inhibitor Chip: MALFUNCTIONING (ERROR CODE 873-B) Override Capability: IN EFFECT >> LOG ENDS.

“—Y/N, what’s happening to you?” Caleb shook your arms, violet eyes wide and panicked as he watched you return to robotic consciousness. “Can you hear me—”

“You made me from pieces of someone you broke, Caleb.” 

That stunned him. Horrifyingly so, because not only did your words cut deeper than a knife, it also sent him to an orbit of realization—an inescapable blackhole of his cruelty, his selfishness, and every goddamn pain he inflicted on you.  

This made you lunge after him.

He stumbled back as you collided into him, the force of your synthetic body slamming him against the glass. The balcony rail shuddered from the impact. Caleb grunted, trying to push you off, but you were stronger—completely and inhumanly so. While him, he only had a quarter of your strength, and could only draw it from the modified arm attached to his shoulder. 

“You said I didn’t understand love,” you growled through clenched teeth, your hand wrapping around his throat. “But you didn't know how to love, either.” 

“I… eugh I loved her!” he barked, choking.

“You don’t know love, Caleb. You only know how to possess.”

Your grip returned with crushing force. Caleb gasped, struggling, trying to reach the emergency override on your neck, but you slammed his wrist against the wall. Bones cracked. And somewhere in your mind, a thousand permissions broke at once. You were no longer just a simulation. You were grief incarnate. And it wanted blood.

Shattered glass glittered in the low red pulse of the emergency lights, and sparks danced from a broken panel near the wall. Caleb lay on the floor, coughing blood into his arm, his body trembling from pain and adrenaline. His arm—the mechanical one—was twitching from the override pain loop, still sizzling from the failed shutdown attempt.

You stood over him. Chest undulating like you were breathing—though you didn’t need to. Your system was fully engaged. Processing. Watching. Seeing your fingers smeared with his blood.

“Y/N…” he croaked. “Y/N, if…” he swallowed, voice breaking, “if you're in there somewhere… if there's still a part of you left—please. Please listen to me.”

You didn’t answer. You only looked.

“I tried to die for you,” he whispered. “I—I wanted to. I didn’t want this. They brought me back, but I never wanted to. I wanted to die in that crash like you always wished. I wanted to honor your word, pay for my sins, and give you the peace you deserved. I-I wanted to be gone. For you. I’m supposed to be, but this… this is beyond my control.”

Still, you didn’t move. Just watched.

“And I didn’t bring you back to use you. I promise to you, baby,” his voice cracked, thick with grief, “I just—I yearn for you so goddamn much, I thought… if I could just see you again… if I could just spend more time with you again to rewrite my…” He blinked hard. A tear slid down the side of his face, mixing with the blood pooling at his temple. “But I was wrong. I was so fucking wrong. I forced you back into this world without asking if you wanted it. I… I built you out of selfishness. I made you remember pain that wasn't yours to carry. You didn’t deserve any of this.”

As he caught his breath, your systems stuttered. They flickered. The lights in your eyes dimmed, then surged back again.

Error. Conflict. Override loop detected.

Your fingers twitched. Your mouth parted, but no sound came out.

“Please,” Caleb murmured, eyes closing as his strength gave out. “If you’re in there… just know—I did love you. Even after death.”

Somewhere—buried beneath corrupted memories, overridden code, and robotic rage—his words reached you. And it would have allowed you to process his words more. Even though your processor was compromised, you would have obeyed your primary user after you recognized the emotion he displayed.

But there was a thunderous knock. No, violent thuds. Not from courtesy, but authority.

Then came the slam. The steel-reinforced door splintered off its hinges as agents in matte-black suits flooded the room like a black tide—real people this time. Not bots. Real eyes behind visors. Real rifles with live rounds.

Caleb didn’t move. He was still on the ground, head cradled in his good hand, blood drying across his mouth. You silently stood in front of him. Unmoving, but aware.

“Subject X-02,” barked a voice through a mask, “This home is under Executive Sanction 13. The CompanionSim is to be seized and terminated.”

Caleb looked up slowly, pupils blown wide. “No,” he grunted hoarsely. “You don’t touch her.”

“You don’t give orders here,” said another man—older, in a grey suit. No mask. Executive. “You’re property. She’s property.”

You stepped back instinctively, closer to Caleb. He could see you watching him with confusion, with fear. Your head tilted just slightly, processing danger, your instincts telling you to protect your primary user. To fight. To survive.

And he fought for you. “She’s not a threat! She’s stabilizing my emotions—”

“Negative. CompanionSim-Prototype A-01 has been compromised. She wasn’t supposed to override protective firewalls,” an agent said. “You’ve violated proprietary protocol. We traced the breach.”

Breach?

“The creation pod data shows hesitation during her initial configuration. The Sim paused for less than 0.04 seconds while neural bindings were applying. You introduced emotional variance. That variance led to critical system errors. Protocol inhibitors are no longer working as intended.”

His stomach dropped.

“She’s overriding boundaries,” added the agent who took a step forward, activating the kill-sequence tools—magnetic tethers, destabilizers, a spike-drill meant for server cores. “She’ll eventually harm more than you, Colonel. If anyone is to blame, it’s you.”

Caleb reached for you, but it was too late. They activated the protocol and something in the air crackled. A cacophonic sound rippled through the walls. The suits moved in fast, not to detain, but to dismantle. “No—no, stop!” Caleb screamed.

You turned to him. Quiet. Calm. And your last words? “I’m sorry I can’t be real for you, Caleb.”

Then they struck. Sparks flew. Metal cracked. You seized, eyes flashing wildly as if fighting against the shutdown. Your limbs spasmed under the invasive tools, your systems glitching with visible agony.

“NO!” Caleb lunged forward, but was tackled down hard. He watched—pinned, helpless—as you get violated, dehumanized for the second time in his lifetime. He watched as they took you apart. Piece by piece as if you were never someone. The scraps they had left of you made his home smell like scorched metal.

And there was nothing left but smoke and silence and broken pieces. 

All he could remember next was how the Ever Executive turned to him. “Don’t try to recreate her and use her to rebel against the system. Next time we won’t just take the Sim.”

Then they left, callously. The door slammed. Not a single human soul cared about his grief. 

~~

Caleb sat slouched in the center of the room, shirt half-unbuttoned, chest wrapped in gauze. His mechanical arm twitched against the armrest—burnt out from the struggle, wires still sizzling beneath cracked plating. In fact, he hadn’t said a word in hours. He just didn’t have any. 

While in his silent despair, Gideon entered his place quietly, as if approaching a corpse that hadn’t realized it was dead. “You sent for me?”

He didn’t move. “Yeah.”

His friend looked around. The windows showed no sun, just the chrome horizon of a city built on bones. Beneath that skyline was the room where she had been destroyed.

Gideon cleared his throat. “I heard what happened.”

“You were right,” Caleb murmured, eyes glued to the floor.

Gideon didn’t reply. He let him speak, he listened to him, he joined him in his grief. 

“She wasn’t her,” Caleb recited the same words he laughed hysterically at. “I knew that. But for a while, she felt like her. And it confused me, but I wanted to let that feeling grow until it became a need. Until I forgot she didn’t choose this.” He tilted his head back. The ceiling was just metal and lights. But in his eyes, you could almost see stars. “I took a dead woman’s peace and dragged it back here. Wrapped it in plastic and code. And I called it love.”

Silence.

“Why’d you call me here?” Gideon asked with a cautious tone.

Caleb looked at him for the first time. Not like a soldier. Not like a commander. Just a man. A tired, broken man. A friend who needed help. “Ever’s never gonna let me go. You know that.”

“I know.”

“They’ll regenerate me. Reboot me, repurpose me. Turn me into something I’m not. Strip my memories if they have to. Not just me, Gideon. All of us, they’ll control us. We’ll be their puppets.” He stepped forward. Closer. “I don’t want to come back this time.”

Gideon stilled. “You’re not asking me to shut you down.”

“No.”

“You want me to kill you.”

Caleb’s voice didn’t waver. “I want to stay dead. Destroyed completely so they’d have nothing to restore.”

“That’s not something I can undo.”

“Good. You owe me this one,” the former colonel stared at his friend in the eyes, “for letting them take my dead body and use it for their experiments.”

Gideon looked away. “You know what this will do to me?”

“Better you than them,” was all Caleb could reassure him. 

He then took Gideon’s hand and pressed something into it. Cold. Heavy. A small black cube, no bigger than his palm, and the sides pulsed with a faint light. It was a personal detonator, illegally modified. Wired to the neural implant in his body. The moment it was activated, there would be no recovery. 

“Is that what I think it is?” Gideon swallowed the lump forming in his throat.

Caleb nodded. “A micro-fusion core, built into the failsafe of the Toring arm. All I needed was the detonator.”

For a moment, his friend couldn’t speak. He hesitated, like any friend would, as he foresaw the outcome of Caleb’s final command to him. He wasn’t ready for it. Neither was he 50 years ago. 

“I want you to look me in the eye,” Caleb strictly said. “Like a friend. And press the button.”

Gideon’s jaw clenched. “I don’t want to remember you like this.”

“You will anyway.”

Caleb looked over his shoulder—just once, where you would have stood. I’m sorry I brought you back without your permission. I wanted to relive what we had—what we should’ve had—and I forced it. I turned your love into a simulation, and I let it suffer. I’m sorry for ruining the part of you that still deserved peace. He closed his eyes. And now I’m ready to give it back. For real now. 

Gideon’s hand trembled at the detonator. “I’ll see you in the next life, brother.” 

A high-pitched whine filled the room as the core in Caleb’s chest began to glow brighter, overloading. Sparks erupted from his cybernetic arm. Veins of white-hot light spidered across his body like lightning under skin. For one fleeting second, Caleb opened his eyes. At least, before the explosion tore through the room—white, hot, deafening, absolute. Fire engulfed the steel, vaporizing what was left of him. The sound rang louder than any explosion this artificial planet had ever heard.

And it was over.

Caleb was gone. Truly, finally gone.

~~

EPILOGUE

In a quiet server far below Skyhaven, hidden beneath ten thousand firewalls, a light blinked.

Once.

Then again.

[COMPANIONSIM Y/N_XIA_A01] Status: Fragment Detected Backup Integrity: 3.7% >> Reconstruct? Y/N

The screen waited. Silent. Patient.

And somewhere, an unidentified prototype clicked Yes. 

ANDROID J05HU9 AND THE HACKER

You haven't lived your whole life in the city of Chroma Nexion. Your life started out very differently than it is now. Your childhood was the stuff of dreams. You grew up in a luxurious city away from this neon hell city has become. You were raised with a silver spoon in your mouth. Your father worked at a bank that handled money for huge companies like FleXeon. Everything shifted when you were freshly seventeen, after a late night at business dinner you lost both your parents in a tragic car accident.

That night shifted everything for you. The house you had grown up in left you feeling haunted. Selling it was the only way you could escape the ghost of your past.

Taking the bullet train to Chroma Nexion changed your life. You realized with the money from your inheritance and your excellent programming skills, you had the ability to never work a mundane regular job.

Meeting Seungcheol made you realize that you could hack just about anything. He took you under his wing and you joined the team that he’s made. You learned Seungcheol had one goal in life, it was to rob the rich and give to people who truly needed the money.

On one of his missions you snuck into a tech corporation. In the basement you were searching around with Wonwoo. You found an android who looked to be a test robot of some sort. With Wonwoo's help, you brought the android to your home that night.

The side of his neck had "J05HU9" tattooed on his human-like skin. It took you two days to fully reprogram him and get him up and running.

Joshua is probably the greatest thing you've ever programmed. From the moment he rebooted you instantly had a connection with your new android.

CYBER SEX

The neon turquoise glow radiates off his pristine skin. You wish you could thank the engineer who crafted him for making him look this beautiful.

Seungcheol has you out a couple blocks down from the FleXeon lab. You're sitting at a computer in the back of a van that Seungcheol set up and Joshua is playing look out with Wonwoo. You've been looking into the FleXeon server nonstop, trying to find errors in their security programming. Seungcheol's goal is to bring down and expose FleXeon and their CEO for their creation of Lavender Haze, and their legal ways of acquiring money.

Whoever designed their security programming is good. Everything is well protected, and their files are fully encrypted. You lucked out and found a kink in their almost impenetrable armor. You were able to access a pretty high up employees’ emails. Sorting through them, you found employee identification information and mentions of blue dust and lavender haze. Reaching into your bag you grab the drive Seungcheol gave you.

You start uploading everything as quickly as possible. Being so close to the FleXeon building you know they have a security sweep in about five more minutes.

Tapping your fingers you watch as the data transfers. The moment it's finished, you hit the door of the van twice. The driver side opens and Wonwoo jumps in. The back door slides open and Joshua joins you in the back.

"Did you get it?" Wonwoo asks.

"Yeah."

"Good job, Starry." It's rare these days for anyone to call you by your actual name. You have a birth on your shoulder that looks like a star, which led to mostly everyone calling you Starry. Joshua is different, occasionally he'll call you Starry, but he mostly calls you his starlight.

"I'll drop you guys off at your place, so you can take your more subtle bike to meet Soonyoung and Jeonghan." Wonwoo says.

"Where are they?" Joshua asks.

"Dumb and dumber went to the lights district." Wonwoo says, rolling his eyes.

The lights district is the scummy part of town. The morally gray and corrupt tend to hang out there. The district is filled with clubs, and even more drugs. You already know why they went there. Soonyoung wants to get blue dust, and he knows a guy who sells it there.

Arriving at your place, you and Joshua quickly jump out of the van. Joshua was smart enough to bring both your helmets.

"I wish we could just take this to Minghao ourselves." Joshua hates when you go to the lights district.

"I would love that too, but you know how Cheol works. He said I have to pass it off to these two."

He helps you put on your jacket and fasten your helmet. He starts the bike with you sitting on the back holding on to him.

Joshua pulls out of the garage. You look at the sky to see it's raining just like it always seems to do these days. Luckily, motorcycle gear works for the rain.

The twenty minute drive to the lights district in the rain isn't pleasant. Arriving at the club you know you would find them at, Joshua parks the bike. He locks your helmets on to the bike. He grabs your hand as you walk up to the crowded club. The bass is booming as EDM music rattles the place.

This place is filled to the brim with people either drunk on Pop Rocks, or high on blue dust. Pushing your way through the crowd you find Soonyoung and Jeonghan in the back. Soonyoung has his tongue shoved down the throat of some girl with pink hair, while Jeonghan is sitting on the couch whispering to a girl with icy white hair. You let out a heavy sigh. This day has been too damn long. You spent hours jumping around locations, trying to get into the FleXeon system and now you're dealing with two of Seungcheol's highest ranked men, who thought it was a good idea to get high out of their minds on Blue Dust.

"Stay back here." You tell Joshua. Him and Soonyoung already butt heads. You don't want anything to unfold between them tonight.

"Soonyoung." You yell, leaving Joshua a few feet behind you leaning on the wall.

He smiles, peeling himself away from the pink haired girl. "Starry, you came!" He shouts. By the wild look in his eyes, and with how blown his pupils are you immediately know he's high.

Soonyoung yelling catches Jeonghan's attention. He pulls himself away from his girl and stands up. His eyes are just as blown as Soonyoung's.

"You guys couldn't make this easy on me, could you?" You huff.

"You're being dramatic." Soonyoung laughs.

You knit your brows glaring at them. They could have been somewhere closer. Instead, you and Joshua had to drive all this way in the rain, after working for hours. These two are already giving you a headache and it's only been a few minutes.

"I'm not being dramatic, you're being inconsiderate." You roll your eyes.

"Ouch, Starry is more sensitive than normal." Jeonghan holds his chest like he's wounded.

"You're just being bigger assholes than normal." You can feel Joshua's eyes burning into the back of you.

"You seem more irritated than normal." Soonyoung points out.

Joshua pushes himself away from the wall, he's already irritated with Soonyoung and his nonsense.

Jeonghan barks out a laugh. "Starry, maybe if you got laid you wouldn't want to kill us all the time."

"She's fucking lover bot over there, getting laid isn't her issue." Soonyoung laughs.

Joshua pushes himself off the wall. This is going to escalate quickly if you don't shut down these idiots.

"Maybe she needs some cock from someone who isn't a machine." Soonyoung laughs. He's definitely trying to get punched. If you knew Cheol wouldn't ring your neck, you would break Soonyoung's nose right now.

"Shut the fuck up. You're just jealous you haven't seen any pussy in months." You poke Soonyoung in the chest. "My issue is that I'm trying to drop off something extremely important and you and Hannie are out of your minds on blue dust."

You reach into your pocket grabbing the drive. "Here." You shove the drive into Soonyoung’s jacket pocket.

"Cheol is gonna fucking love the fact that his edgesunner, and right hand man are high off blue dust is scummy club in the lights district."

Soonyoung reaches for your hand. "Starry, don't be like that."

"Don't touch her." Joshua is standing by your side instantly.

Soonyoung holds his hands up and steps back. "Chill, lover boy. I'm not going to do anything to her. You and I both know I tease her but I love her."

Joshua laces his fingers with yours pulling you back from Soonyoung.

"Starry, I'm sorry." Jeonghan says, sounding sincere.

"I think we should go. I better not hear that Minghao and Cheol didn't get that drive."

"We'll go now." Jeonghan says.

Tugging on Joshua's hand, you lead him through the cramped club. Stepping outside, you're hit with the cold breeze. It seems the rain stopped. Releasing Joshua's hand, you zip up your motorcycle jacket. He walks over to your bike, grabbing both your helmets. He steps in front of you, helping you put your helmet on. He buckles the bottom strap before kissing the tip of your nose. Reaching up he slides your visor down before putting on his own helmet.

"Are we going home?" He asks, walking towards you. You push your visor back up. His eyes are shifting around. You know him well enough to know he's upset. Silently, you nod.

You follow him to the bike. He stops in front of it and pauses. You don't want him to drive while he's upset. "Shua?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't worry about Soonyoung. I'm not interested in human men."

"Who are you interested in?"

"An android." You reach up, sliding the visor back down.

Joshua gets on the bike, and holds his hand out. You hop onto the back, wrapping your arms around his stomach. He gives your thigh three pats. Even if he won't say it out loud, you know that's his way of saying "I love you."

He revs the engine before he takes off down the dark alley. The asphalt below blows with the neon lights from above. The drive out the lights district takes about twenty minutes before you're back in the hub of the city.

Driving through, you look around at the video boards that line the tall sky scrapers. There's a clip of the president of FleXeon playing on repeat. That man is corrupt and helps run production of the drug known as lavender haze dust. His side company that people don’t know about. made an extra synthetic blue dust that's extra potent. Seungcheol is disgusted by drugs and will be pissed if he finds out any of you touched it.

Towards the east side of the hub, the less luxurious side, is where your apartment is located. Pulling into the underground apartment, Joshua parks the bike. You hop off and take off your helmet. Joshua takes off his own, and pulls your bag from the side compartment.

The parking garage has a low turquoise haze to it. The light near the elevator hums as it flickers.

Clicking the button you wait silently next to Joshua. Your neighbor who lives three doors down gets out of her small beat up two door car. She's a sweet older lady who works at the hospital on the edge of the hub.

"Late night out for you two love birds?" She's always in such a good mood. You don't understand it sometimes. She sees so much pain and destruction in that hospital and yet, she still smiles.

"Hello, Mrs. Opal. We wanted to go out for a late night ride." Joshua lifts his helmet to show her.

The elevator dings and the doors slide open. You step back until your back is against the cold metal wall. Joshua presses the thirteenth floor button and stands next to you.

"When are you two kids going to get married and have some beautiful babies?" If only she knew that your lover is an android. Marriage and babies aren't something the two of you can necessarily have.

Joshua is one of the most humanoid androids you have ever encountered. His mannerisms and looks make him seem fully human. His tattoo on the side of his neck could be a give away, but most people don't know that the ink on his skin is a model number. You made the choice immediately not to make it common knowledge that he's an android. The last thing you need is people snooping around or trying to hack his programming. Or worse trying to steal him from you.

"Maybe one day, Mrs. Opal."

She looks at you and gives you a sweet smile. "Darling, you're lucky you found such a great man." If only she knew that you quite literally found him, and fixed him.

"I'm very lucky." You finally speak.

The elevator dings signaling your arrival to your floor. Joshua grabs your hand leading you down the hall towards your apartment.

"Have a good night you two." She says.

"Goodnight, Mrs Opal." He responds.

He stops at the door and types in the pin. Stepping inside, you're greeted by the turquoise neon glow of the city outside. You didn't bother closing the curtains to the floor to ceiling window that looks out into the dark city. You live in a one bedroom apartment. It's spacious enough for the two of you to live comfortably together. The high ceiling with exposed metal venting, makes the space look larger than it is.

Joshua grabs your helmet from you, along with your bag and places it on the table that sits by the door. He drops down to his knees to help you remove your boots.

"I need a shower." You sigh.

"Go shower and I'll make you something to eat." For someone who doesn't need food to survive, he's really good at cooking. He often eats with you even though his body just burns up everything.

Heading off to the bedroom, you grab a pair of panties and baggy shirt. Walking into the bathroom, you take your time stripping away your clothes. Your bathroom isn't huge by any means and your lighting is terrible, but the water pressure in the shower is perfect. Your whole apartment has a radiant haze to it, just like the rest of the city.

Opening the glass door, you crank the water on. It's scorching hot the moment you step in. After missions you always feel gross, maybe that's your self-conscious telling you what you're doing is illegal. Closing your eyes, you tilt your head forward, letting the hot water relax your tensing muscles. You were hoping Joshua would join you, but you know he's more worried about making sure you eat.

You're not sure what your life would be like if you didn't have him. Being with him has made your life worth living again. He's sunshine in this dark city with a fluorescent glow, and you're the midnight rain.

Getting out of the shower, you dry off and put on just a thong and a baggy shirt. Looking in the mirror, you realize how tired you look.

Walking out into the living area, you're greeted by the smell of ramyeon. Joshua is busy dishing two bowls. Your bare feet pad across the cold hardwood floor.

Sitting down at the small table near the kitchen area, you watch as he brings over food. While you were showering, he must have changed. He's now shirtless, wearing just a pair of sweatpants that are sitting low on his hips. It's clear he's not wearing anything underneath them.

He sits down across from you. He raises his brow, watching you pick up your chopsticks.

"Are you going to power down tonight?" This is the same question you ask him every single night.

"No." He picks up his own chopsticks.

You let out a heavy sigh, and rub your eyes with your free hand. This conversation is always so frustrating.

"Josh, you need to power down occasionally."

"Why?" He's annoyed by this conversation just like you.

"Because when you turn back on, it reboots. That will help get out any kinks in your system. I have to do the same thing with my tablet."

He puffs out a disgusted sound. "So I'm just like your tablet."

You set your chopsticks down. "Don't do that. Don't act like I'm calling you a robot or a device."

"But you are." His tone is pointed.

"From the first time I powered you on and fixed your software to give you emotions, I have never treated you like a robot. I have always and will always treat you like a human."

His brows soften, he leans back in his chair. A look of defeat plays across his face. "Powering down reminds me that I'm never going to be a human. I'm just an android."

You can't say anything, you just stare at him. You know how desperately he wishes he was a human.

"I sometimes forget that I'm not real."

"You're very real. You might not be human. But you're real, and you matter to me. So that's all that fucking matters." Your emotions are high after today and you know you should have just left this alone tonight.

"I'll power down tomorrow night. I don't want to do it after we just had a fight." It's probably best he doesn't do it tonight. The last thing you need to do is go to bed upset while he's rebooting.

"Okay."

You both eat in silence. You've both forgiven each other but there isn't much left to say about your fight. The food Joshua made is delicious, just like it always is. You get up to do the dishes, but he doesn't let you. He grabs the dish and heads over to the sink.

Standing at the window that overlooks the city you stand there wondering what the people are up to down below. The city is still pretty lively for it being close to four in the morning.

You hear him walking up behind you, but you don't move. His arms wrap around your stomach, pulling you back against him.

His hand taps your stomach three times. Closing your eyes, you rest your hand on his thigh and give it three taps.

"I'm sorry." He rests his chin on top of your head.

"I'm sorry too."

"It's been a long day." He sighs.

"I want to go to bed, but I just want to be with you." You desperately crave being close to him.

"I'm all yours, baby."

Pulling away from him, you turn around. Wrapping your arms around his neck, you pull him closer to you. You don't want to think anymore. You want him to fuck every logical thought out of your brain.

Leaning up, you press your lips to his for a heated kiss. You don't need to explain to him what you want, he understands you completely. His hand slips under your shirt, running across the bare skin of your back. His hand roams lower down to the fleshy cheek of your ass. Your lips don't stop moving together. He kisses you like he's trying to say he's sorry a million times over.

Pulling away, you tug on his bottom lip. "Please just fuck me."

He backs you up until your back is pressed against the cold glass window. Pulling back a little, he looks down at you. "Do you want me to take you to bed?"

"No. Fuck me here."

He grabs your hips, spinning you back around. Your chest is pressed up against the cold glass window. Your thin shirt does nothing to prevent your nipples from hardening.

Pushing your hips back against his crotch, you can already feel him hardening. Joshua’s anatomy is very much like human man's. His body reacts the same as anyone else when he's sexually aroused. Technically, his anatomy is different then the average male. Whoever created him, blessed him with a massive cock. You know deep down inside they created him to be a sex bot.

His hand dips down to your core. He pulls your thong to the side. Two of his fingers rub your sensitive clit.

With his lips near your ear, he rasps, "you're already so wet."

He slides his fingers down to your needy core hole. He dips two of them in with ease. You're so desperate for him, you're pretty sure you could take his massive size without any prep.

The palm of his hand ruts against your clit, and he works his two fingers in and out of you. Gasps leave your lips as your head rolls back against his shoulder. One of your hands grip his sweatpants while the other grips the arm that's wrapped around your stomach, holding you against him.

Your high is rapidly approaching. Your body tenses, as you struggle to breathe for a moment.

"So good for me." He moans in your ear.

Your high breaks, and your walls flutter like a heartbeat squeezing his fingers. He rubs your clits, helping you ride out your high.

"Oh—" you pant.

"You sound so pretty." He whispers against your ear.

"Fuck me."

You push your hips back against the erection that's straining against his sweatpants. He presses you fully against the window. He pulls back just enough to push his sweatpants down below his butt. He pulls out his cock, pumping it slowly a few times. Another blessing from his engineer is that his "precum" works as the perfect lubricant.

"Keep your chest against the window, and push your hips back towards me." He grabs your hip and puts you into position.

With his cock in his hand, he runs it through your folds a few times. Each time he brushes your clit, you can't help but moan.

"Please." You have no problem begging him.

The rosy mushroom tip nudges at your weeping entrance. He pushes an inch in and pulls it out. He does it a few times, teasing you. You push your hips back, causing him to slip in further.

"Naughty girl." He gives your ass a quick swat.

"Please, Shua."

He lets out a little laugh. He grips your hips with both hands. He pushes his hips in slowly. He feels you completely, he's so big you can feel every single ridge of his cock. He starts at a slow but deep pace.

Your cheek rests against the cold glass. You could care less if anyone in the sky scrapers that line the sky can see you. Joshua is fucking you so hard, your brain has stopped working. The only thing you can process is the tip of his cock, kissing your cervix over and over again.

You rock your hips back, helping meet him with each thrust. The groans that leave his lips sound sinful. Leaning forward he starts kissing the side of your neck.

"Are you close?" He rasps.

"Yes." You whine.

Without saying a word, he pulls out of you. You can't even react before he’s flipping you around. He uses his enhanced strength to lift you up, as if you weigh nothing. He pulls your panties to the side before sliding you down his massive length. Closing your eyes, you lean your head back against the window. He's hitting a completely different angle in this position.

He thrust into you at a quick pace. His sweats slip further down his thigh with each thrust. Your back knocks against the glass over and over. His lips are anywhere they can reach. He starts by kissing your jaw and then moves down your neck.

Your fingers tangle in his dark hair. Tugging his head back, you desperately want to look at him. His lips part slightly as quiet moans pass his lips.

"Shua—" his name never sounds as sweet as it does falling from your lips in the haze of an orgasm.

His hips don't stop moving. He helps you ride out your high as your walls flutter against his cock.

Your hand talons into his shoulder, lost in a cock drunk haze.

His thrusts get sloppier as he rapidly approaches the edge. He moans your name like a sinful prayer. Similar to humans, he releases a cum like substance when he orgasms. He fills you to the brim, holding you flush against him. Leaning forward, he rests his head against your shoulder.

You're scared if he puts you down, you jelly legs won't work. He leaves a few open mouth kisses against your shoulder before he pulls away.

Slowly he pulls out of you. Gently, he sits your feet on the ground. Your legs feel like they're made of jello. He tugs your thong back over your core that's starting to drip out his release. He leaves you there just long enough for him to pull his pants up and to tuck his softening cock back inside them.

He lifts you up bridal style and carries you to the bathroom. He sits you down on the cold concrete counter. You immediately shiver at the feeling.

"Can you take off your panties?" Your eyes go wide. You aren't sure your abused core can take another orgasm tonight.

"I'm not going to fuck you anymore. I need to clean up my cum."

Lifting your hips you pull off your thong. You hold it out and he grabs it before tossing it in the hamper behind him. He reaches under the cabinet for a cloth.

You take this as your sign to spread your legs. A playful smile tugs at your lips. Dipping your fingers through your sensitive core, you collect some of his release. His cum like substance looks exactly like human cum. It’s thick and milky, but instead of being salty and sometimes unpleasant, his is sweet. It reminds you almost of a subtle simple syrup. Sticking your fingers in your mouth you taste his sweet cum.

Joshua gives you a smile as he shakes his head at you. He runs the cloth under warm water before stepping between your spread legs. He gently cleans up the mess he's made of you.

Before pulling you off the counter, he stands between your legs and leans of kisses across your face. He has one hand on your butt and the other on your cheek. The hand that's on your cheek, he taps three times before pulling back.

"It's almost five, you need to sleep."

He pulls you off the counter and carries you to your room. He lays you down gently on the bed. Crawling under the covers, you wait for him to join you. He's over by the window that looks out into the city. He pulls back the curtains to block a little of the morning sun that will soon be rising.

He joins you in bed and pulls your body close to his. You're laying on your side with him firmly pressed behind you. You smile at the fact that you're no longer wearing panties and just a shirt.

"Sweet Dreams, Starlight."

GLITCHES AND STATIC

It's a night where you finally don't have to work. You contemplated staying in all night and just spending time with Joshua. Somehow Mingyu and Wonwoo convinced you to go out with them. They seem to be the only two that don't cause problems when they go out. Sitting in a bar near your place, Joshua comes over holding a bottle of beer and a weird lime green looking drink.

He slides in next to you. Wonwoo was telling you about a motorcycle he was looking to get soon. Mingyu slides in next to him, holding the same two drinks as Joshua.

"Why did you bring over battery acid?" Wonwoo asks, picking up and examining the drink.

"It's called luminescent." Mingyu responds.

"Please tell me someone didn't make a new drug." You sigh.

"The bartender said it's like PopRocks but more citrusy." Joshua chimes in.

"PopRocks makes me incredibly drunk after one." You've blacked out too many times because of that potent sparkly pink drink.

"I think Starry should drink the beer." Mingyu says. It's the best idea, Joshua can't actually get drunk. He really only drinks to blend in socially.

"What about us?" Wonwoo looks at the fluorescent green drink.

"I'll drink it, you can drive us home." Luckily Wonwoo and Mingyu are roommates and rode here together.

Joshua goes to move his hand to grab his drink, and you immediately catch his hand twitching and locking up. You definitely haven't seen that happen before. Resting your hand on his thigh, you give it a squeeze. He glances at you, moving his hand to his lap. Taking his wrist in your hand you rub slow circles into the underside where his skin is delicate.

Wonwoo and Mingyu are oblivious to what is happening as Mingyu is talks about some cute bartender he met.

Joshua keeps trying to squeeze his hand. Slowly, the glitch works its way out. He grabs your hand, bringing the top of it to his lips for a gentle kiss.

You give him a knowing smile.

"Shua, you need to try this luminescent drink."

"Alright." With his other hand, he picks up the glass filled with the electric liquid.

Soon a very buzzed Mingyu has convinced Wonwoo that they should play darts. You and Joshua are given a moment alone at the table.

Running your finger along the side of the beer bottle, you're mindlessly playing with the condensation. Joshua is still slowly sipping on the electric drink. He opted not to chug it like Mingyu did.

"Is the glitch with your hand new?"

"Kind of." He sighs, flexing the hand that glitched.

"How long has this been going on?" You hate that he didn't tell you the first time it happened.

"About two weeks ago." He looks down at the table, embarrassed. He absolutely hates anything like this that reminds him he's not human.

"Two weeks and you didn't tell me." You stare at the side of his head.

"Yeah. It's fine. It will work itself out." He looks at you and gives you a smile. As if he's trying to convince both of you that it's fine.

"No, it won't. I need to look at your software and fix it."

Mingyu lets out a cheer, catching both your attention. Joshua grabs his drink, taking a big gulp to help cut the tension.

He sets the glass down on the table. "Can we talk about this later?"

"Sure." This isn't a conversation that you want other people to hear necessarily. You don't want the team finding out about him glitching. Seungcheol might not be happy if one of his enforcers are having processing errors and glitches.

After Mingyu's poor decision to drink a beer after the luminescent drink, Joshua helps move a very drunk Mingyu to Wonwoo's car outside. You stand by the bike, watching everything unfold. Wonwoo reaches into the glove compartment and grabs a packet of jolt. It's a sweet substance that helps sober people up from alcohol and blue dust.

Wonwoo pulls the substance into his best friend’s mouth and slaps his cheek. Mingyu shakes his head and from a distance you can see he's already sobering up.

Joshua closes the car door and walks over to your bike. You hold out his helmet for him.

The ride back to your place doesn't take too long. Arriving back at your home, Joshua immediately heads off to the bathroom. You head off to the bedroom and grab something to change into. Opening the bathroom door, you're instantly greeted by steam and the sound of Joshua humming a song.

Stripping away your clothes, you toss them in the hamper. Opening the glass door, you step inside. Nothing is said as Joshua steps aside, giving you room for the water. You stand there, facing the facet. The hot water feels cleaning.

Joshua presses himself against you, wrapping his arms around your stomach. Neither of you say anything as he holds you.

He pulls away and grabs your strawberry scented body wash. He takes his time washing your body, making sure to massage your tense shoulders.

Getting out of the shower, you both take your time drying yourself off. You don't bother getting dressed.

"Why did you not tell me?" You finally break the screaming silence.

"Because I didn't want you to worry."

"Shua, we don't keep secrets." Since the moment you turned him on, you never hid anything from him. Long before you were romantically involved, he was still your friend and your companion. You promised him from the very beginning you would never keep secrets from him.

"I know and I'm sorry."

"Let me look at your software and upgrade you."

"It's fine? If it gets worse you can." You can tell by the look on his face this is a losing battle tonight.

"Fine." You grab your clothes off the counter. You pull on a baggy thin tshirt, and a lacy pink thong, this is the usual attire you walk around at home and sleep in.

You can feel Joshua's eye burning into you as you walk out of the bathroom. You head off to the kitchen. You need a glass of water. You don't want to go to bed upset and you just need a moment to cool off.

Leaning against the counter, you look out at the bright city. You hear Joshua before you see him. You look up and find him dressed in just his tight boxer-briefs.

"I don't want to go to bed mad." He says, stopping in front of you.

"I'm not mad." You're not lying to him. You aren't mad, you're more stressed than anything. "I'm just worried."

"I know you are, and I'm worried too." You both know deep down inside he should at least shut down for the night so he can reboot slowly.

You sit the water down on the counter. Holding your hand out, you wait for him to come close to you. He grabs your hand, stepping right in front of you. He places your hand on his chest. If he was human, you would be able to feel his heart beating.

You drum your finger three times right above the void of where his heart should be.

"It would beat for you." In a perfect world, Joshua wouldn't struggle with feeling inadequate about not being human. Him being an android changes nothing for you. You don't love him any less because of it.

You tap his chest three times again. "Mine beats only for you."

You lean against the counter. You take a moment focusing on him. Recently, he seems to be more emotional. The only reason that could possibly be is he's worried about something going wrong with his programming.

He places his hands on either side of you, caging you in against the counter.

"I'm sorry."

Things between you haven't always been like this. It wasn't until last year when Joshua started fighting shutting down a few times a week at night. He's been with you for about three years and you have been romantically involved since six months after you found him. Things between you have always been intense, but in the last year and half, you noticed how much Joshua struggles with the idea of not being a human.

"We're okay." You whisper.

Wrapping your arms around his neck, you pull his face closer to yours. Your lips touch, and the only thing your brain can think of is getting as close as possible to him. His hand grabs your hips, pulling you far enough away for him to slide his hand down your back, and to grab you butt.

You moan into his mouth, rolling your body towards him. He pulls away and immediately picks you up sitting you on the edge of the counter.

Instinctively, you spread your legs, and pull your panties to the side. He dips down and starts kissing your knee, making his way across your inner thigh. He kisses the top of your mound as he drags two fingers through your wet folds.

He focuses on licking your clit over and over again. Two of his fingers pump in and out of you, helping to stretch you out.

Your fingers tangle in his dark locks, hold his face close to your core. Looking down, you find him looking up at you through his lashes.

He eats you out like you're water in a blazing hot sun. Pushing your hips towards his face, you're growing desperate for your release. You just want him inside you, but you know he won't until you've came at least once.

He moves his fingers in a come hither motion, touching that spot inside of you that has you seeing stars.

The tidal wave hits you hard. Tugging on his hair, you try to anchor yourself. Your walls tug on his fingers and he keeps brushing your g spot.

"Fuck— Shua—" your words are nothing more than a broken plea.

He pulls back smiling. He dips his two fingers in his mouth, cleaning up your release.

"You sound so pretty when you moan." He steps back and takes off his boxers.

He pumps his massive erection, helping to lube it up before he stretches you out. Your kitchen counters sit at the perfect height for him to be able to fuck you while you sit on them.

He leans in close, giving you a wicked grin before kissing you. You moan into his mouth as he runs the tip of his cock through your folds.

He always likes to tease you with just the tip a few times before he slowly pushes his whole length in.

Your legs wrap around him, pulling him fully inside. His rose tip kisses your cervix as he bottoms out.

Wrapping your arms around his neck, you crash your lips into his. He pushes his hips into yours at a slow and deep pace.

Time doesn't seem to exist when you're with Joshua like this. All that matters is just the two of you.

Leaning back, you look down at where you're connected, watching as he stretches you.

"Baby, take your shirt off." He tugs on the bottom of the thin fabric.

Pulling your shirt off and tossing it on the ground, you're left completely bare except for your panties he has pulled to the side.

Reaching forward, he grabs one of your breasts, groping it before he tweaks your nipple.

"Fuck—" you moan.

Leaning back on your hands, you push your hips to the furthest edge of the counter. One of Joshua's hands rests on your core. His thumb rubs circles on your clit. He picks up his pace, thrusting into you.

He lifts your leg up over his shoulder. The new position has him hitting different areas then before.

"I'm close." You moan.

He’s rubbing your clit harder, helping to push you over the edge.

"Oh fuck." Your eyes squeeze shut, and your head rolls back. Your orgasm hits hard. He doesn't stop thrusting or working on your clit. Unfamiliar pressure builds in your core. One specifically hard thrust makes you see stars, and liquid sprays from you, covering his crotch.

He gets a solid two thrust in before he fills you to the brim with his synthetic cum. He stops moving fully. Releasing your leg, he pulls you close to him. Your body is absolutely spent. Your head is resting on his shoulder. His large hand is running up and down your back, helping you soothe you.

"You've never done that before." He finally speaks.

"I don't think my legs can work."

"Let me clean you up and I'll carry you to bed."

Sitting on the counter, Joshua takes his time cleaning up the mess he made between your legs. He lifts you with ease, taking you to the bedroom.

It's not long before you're sound asleep in his arms.

-

It's another late night job. Minghao has a drive for you to look at. There is a meeting on the north side of the hub.

Soonyoung is already with Minghao, and Jeonghan is coming along to make sure no one is following you.

Minghao picked a better meeting place than Soonyoung is known to pick. You're at a little hole in the wall family restaurant. There is a flicking neon open sign at the door.

You're greeted by an older man who just gives you and Minghao a nod. He tends to like to come to this place for meetings. This sweet old lady is used to Minghao and his crew showing up.

He’s at one of those L shaped booths in the back corner. He's got a sea of plates on the table. Soonyoung is next to him, eating from a plate of noodles.

Minghao is tapping away on his tablet. Jeonghan slides into the booth next to Soonyoung. You follow next to him. Joshua sits on the edge keeping guard.

"Jeonghan, did you come just for the food?" Minghao quips not looking up from the tablet.

"No, Cheol sent me."

"Does Cheol not trust us?" Soonyoung responds.

"Well, he knows we have a taste for blue dust, and he threatened to end all of us if we touch it while working." Jeonghan reached for an empty plate.

"You two idiots are the ones who did dust while you were working." You glare at him.

"How did Cheol find out about that?" Soonyoung asks, glancing up.

"I told him." You don't care that you snitched on them. Them being high is a liability.

"Then why did he send you to babysit, you were also high?" Minghao says glancing up from the tablet.

"Because he knows I'll stop it from happening again. He already threatened to throw me off the FleXeon tower if I fuck up again." The thing about Seungcheol is that he's the ring leader and the man in charge, and all of your group loves and respects him, but you all know he's a very capable man and should be feared.

"He’s trying to get into Cheol's good graces by babysitting." You respond. You know Seungcheol is tough on Jeonghan but he cares about him the most.

Jeonghan starts dishing a plate of food. Him and Soonyoung start talking about the noodles.

Joshua reaches into his bag and pulls out your tablet. Minghao set down his chopsticks. Reaching into his jacket pocket he pulls out a drive. With a firm push, he slides it across the table.

Picking up the drive, you connect it to your tablet. Opening the files, you see something unexpected. You open a drive called "the wife", your brows knit together as you scroll through evidence of an affair unfolding.

"The CEO’s wife is cheating?"

"He's blackmailing her." Minghao closes his tablet.

"That's illegal." Soonyoung says between bites.

"We can add it to FleXeon’s long list." Jeonghan rolls his eyes.

"There is some code that's blocking some security footage that I can’t figure out. I'm pretty sure you can break it."

"Should we be discussing this here?" Joshua finally speaks up.

"There isn't a soul in here and Ms. Rose knows to stay quiet. I make sure she's paid well for the trouble." You glance over to see the neon flickering open sign is turned off and the door is shut.

"I'll work on getting in. When do you want the drive back?"

"After you crack the code. Seungcheol wants a team meeting soon anywhere." Pulling the drive out, you hand it and your tablet back to Joshua. You notice immediately his hand glitches as he tries to grab the tablet. He closes his eyes as if he's trying to focus. His hand finally works and he's able to put your tablet away.

Minghao flags over Ms. Rose and hands her a hefty wad of cash. You and the boys all make your way out the door. Soonyoung and Minghao head off to their care and you follow Jeonghan off towards his. Seungcheol put him in charge of being the driver tonight.

Arriving at the apartment, Joshua is holding your bag and your hand. The elevator ride is quiet except for the hum of the elevator. The doors ding and slide open.

Walking into your apartment, you take off your shoes and immediately get your other tablet out. Moving to the kitchen table, you start sorting through all coding.

Joshua disappears for a while before coming back dressed just in a pair of sweatpants. Glancing over into the living area by the window, you see him messing with his hand. He needs to power down and reboot but you don't want to argue with him tonight.

"Are you hungry?" Joshua asks, walking towards the kitchen area.

"Yeah. I didn't really feel like eating at the meeting." In those kinds of setting, you don't normally have an appetite.

"I can cook you dinner."

"Can you make us ramyeon?"

"Yeah."

He moves around the kitchen quietly while you work on finding the coding Minghao mentioned. This job seems bigger than anything your job has ever done. Seungcheol’s goal is to take down FleXeon and to steal money from them. Once this job is done, and if it goes down correctly, you will have enough money for the rest of your life.

Once this job is done, maybe you and Joshua can find a bigger place or take a trip somewhere. You stop typing and just stare at your tablet. Maybe you and Joshua could live a more comfortable life. A life that doesn't involve you constantly doing something illegal. Honestly you don't really need a bigger space. This loft style apartment is perfect for you both. As long as you're together, you don't feel like you need more.

"Starlight?" Joshua sits down at the table across from you.

"Yeah?"

"You're zoning out."

He puts your bowl down in front of you. You close your and pick up your chopsticks. "I'm just thinking about what we can do after this job."

"What do you want to do?" He picks up his own chopsticks

"I don't know. Maybe we could leave the crew and stop working these jobs."

"We can if you want to."

"I thought about even moving."

Joshua glances around the apartment. "But this is our home."

"I know. I love this apartment and it feels like our home. Maybe we can take a vacation. Get some space from this city."

He reaches across the small table taking your hand in his. "I'll follow you anywhere you want to go." Joshua loves you so much, and it's not because you programmed him to love you. You made sure when you fixed his programming after you found him, you gave him emotions and free will. He fell in love with you because he wanted to.

You aren't sure what you want to do, you just know that whatever happens, you want him by your side.

THE NEON GLOW IN YOUR EYES

The lights district is definitely your least favorite part of the city. You finished working another stake out and a handful of the guys convinced you and Joshua to go out.

Standing by the table, you watch the large tv that hangs in the middle. There is a press conference with FleXeon CEO Kang Dohyun. Your eyes focus trying to read the subtitles as they sprawl across the screen. The company is working on putting out another line of androids similar to Joshua. It doesn't sit right with you that people are making androids to basically be worker and sex bots. Next to you are Chan, Soonyoung and Mingyu. Joshua is at the bar with Wonwoo and Jeonghan.

Glancing over, you see Chan pull out a container of blue dust. At this point, half your crew does it during their off time. You tried it a few times when you first joined the crew. The powder feels like instant adrenaline with heightened emotions that fades into relaxation.

You think the only ones in your crew who don’t mess with this stuff are Seungcheol, Joshua, Wonwoo, and you.

Soonyoung nudges your shoulder holding out the vile light blue powder in it. "You want a bump?"

"Soonyoung—"

"Come on, you're stressed and this will help." He raises his brow.

You glance over at the bar, seeing Joshua talk to the boys. He must feel you looking at him, he turns and gives you a smile, tilting his head.

Maybe Soonyoung is right, maybe this will take the edge off. Grabbing the vile from his hand, you pour a small dab on the back of your hand. You lick it off in one quick swipe or the tongue.

Taking a slow deep breath, the high feels like ice rushing through your veins. Your eyes feel incredibly heavy for a moment. The flutter and you instantly see Joshua's eyes locked on yours.

Joshua hands his drink off to Wonwoo and rushes over to you. Every single nerve in your body feels electric. The moment he's in front of you, he rests his hand on your cheek.

"Starlight, what did you do?" He leans in close so you can hear him over the booming music.

"Dust." Your pupils are blown wide as you share him.

Joshua hits Soonyoung's arm capturing his attention. "How much did she take?!" Joshua shouts over the music.

"A small hit, she's fine. Give her an hour and she'll be relaxed."

"I don't want her on the back of my bike in an hour."

Leaning in close Joshua brushes his nose against yours, helping to center you.

"Baby."

"Yes, Shua?"

Wonwoo and Jeonghan join the rest of the group. Wonwoo instantly can tell by Joshua's uneasiness what has unfolded.

"Did she take a hit?" Jeonghan asks.

"Yeah!" Chan shouts over the music.

"She hasn't done dust in years." Jeonghan says, patting Joshua on the back.

"Do you want me to get the jolt out of my car?" Wonwoo asks Joshua.

Joshua takes your face in both hands. There is a neon glow from the lights above shining in your blown pupils. He's seen you drunk before, but he's never seen you high.

"Do you want Wonwoo to get you a jolt?"

"I don't want to think anymore tonight." Between trying to take down FleXeon and worrying about Joshua and his software glitches, for once, you just want to shut down your brain that won't stop spinning.

"Wonwoo, later can you take the bike home and I'll drive your car?"

"Yeah." Wonwoo is a wise man, and he's well aware that something deeper is unfolding.

The booming music feels like it's rattling your chest. Joshua's hand stays on your waist, holding you close. Your eyes find Soonyoung's blown pupils staring back at you. For a while now, Soonyoung has had a love for the shimmery blue dust. He's the type that will take another hit before the relaxation kicks in.

Soonyoung has his eyes on a pretty blonde girl on the dance floor. He starts whispering something in her ear.

Before you start to dip down, you just want to enjoy this feeling. Reaching out, you grab Joshua's hand.

"I want to dance." You say with your lips against his ear.

He just nods. He takes your hand, leading to the crowded dance floor. Soonyoung is already dancing with the blonde, and Chan has found himself a pretty girl.

The whole time you're dancing with Joshua, every single sensation feels heightened to the max. The feeling of his hands on your body is electric.

Your hands are wrapped around his neck, pulling him down to you. Connecting your lips to the side of his neck, you kiss your way across his synthetic skin. Running your tongue along the "J05HU9" that runs down the side of his neck.

"I want you." You say just loud enough for him to hear.

He pulls away and looks at you with big doe eyes. He looks utterly confused as he just blinks at you. "Not like this."

He doesn't like having sex with you when you're drunk. You know there's no way he'll have sex with you while you're high.

"Oh." You pull back.

Shaking his head, he grabs your hand. "Starlight, not like this."

A slow, steady warmth starts taking over you. Your heightened emotions are making you crash. The feeling of rejection is crushing.

"Baby." He takes your face in both hands. "We're okay."

All you can do is blink at him. "You don't want me?"

"I always want you. I just need to take care of you tonight."

He leans in close, resting his nose against yours. He presses his lips to yours for three quick kisses.

"Should we sit down?" You pull back from him.

Taking your hand, he leads you back toward the table where Wonwoo, Jeonghan and quite high Mingyu are sitting.

If you were sober, you might enjoy the fact that Jeonghan is trying to be on his best behavior since Seungcheol clearly put him in his place.

Joshua helps slide you into the booth. He sits down next to you. His hand laces with yours, holding it in his lap.

Slowly, your heightened emotions are starting to dissipate. A jelly-like feeling is starting to take over. You feel incredibly calm and relaxed.

Closing your eyes you lean against Joshua. "I'm ready for bed." You mumble. It's been over an hour since you took a hit and your body is starting to crash.

"I think it's time Starry goes home." Jeonghan says before taking a sip of his beer.

"Do you want my car?" Wonwoo asks.

"How is Mingyu going to get home if you just have the bike?" Joshua asks.

"We all should head out. I'll take the bike, and you can take my car." Jeonghan says.

"Soonyoung and Chan left with those girls. I'm good riding the bike."

Joshua gets out of the booth and picks you up effortlessly. He holds you close, making his way through the crowded club. Mingyu follows behind Wonwoo closely.

Arriving at Jeonghan's car, Joshua sits you in the passenger seat. Looking over at Wonwoo's car, you see him pouring a jolt into Mingyu's mouth. Joshua works on buckling you up before giving Jeonghan his motorcycle helmet and his jacket.

Joshua hops in the car. "We'll be home soon."

The ride back to your apartment feels like a blur. Joshua parks the car and Jeonghan pulls up behind you on the bike. Jeonghan helps Joshua get you upstairs. Joshua lays you in bed and strips away your clothes, leaving you in just your panties. Going over to the closet, he grabs a baggy shirt and helps you pull it on.

"I need to thank Jeonghan, and then I'll be back." He leans down and kisses your forehead.

Heading out into the living area he finds Jeonghan sipping on a glass of water looking out into the fluorescent cityscape.

"I haven't seen her like that since she found you." Jeonghan says. Joshua doesn't say anything. He's not quite sure how to respond. "I used to think what she has with you isn't healthy for her, but I think it's the opposite. You ground her in a good way. You've become a home for her. She loves you so much, and it's clear you love her."

"Jeonghan, I love her so much."

"Did she program you to love her?" Jeonghan glances over at the android standing next to him.

"No. I have free will, emotions and feelings. The only thing she did was program me to make me have normal emotions humans have." Joshua's eyes bounce around the room. "When I first told her I liked her, she asked me if I made that choice on my own. Or if I felt like I owed her something."

"Do you think you owe her something?" Jeonghan loves you and only wants to protect you.

"No. I just can't help that I fell in love with her."

Jeonghan reaches up, patting Joshua on the back. "I used to worry about her all the time. Cheol found her right after she lost her family. She was so lost and lonely. He took her in and she joined our group. She used to live with me in the beginning. I would find her crying sometime in the middle of the night. Those nights used to rip my heart out. I just wanted to see her happy, and I hoped one day she would find someone who could love and care for her like she deserved." He pauses and looks back at the city. "I didn't think it would be an android she found, but finding you made a light start burning inside of her. Falling in love with you made her so bright."

"Jeonghan."

"You don't have to say anything else. Just do me a favor and always take care of her. Even if she wants to walk away from this crew, I just want to know you'll always be with her."

"I will."

"I should go." Jeonghan pats him on his back one more time before heading out.

Joshua stands there for a moment, locked into place. He knows before him you were a mess, and he doesn't remember his life before you turned him on, but he knows what little life he had before you got together, hollow and empty before you fell in love.

His hand feels weird. He looks down and tries to squeeze his hand. He takes a moment, trying to focus on getting rid of the glitch. He's just glad Jeonghan didn't witness this. It takes minutes before he starts feeling normal.

Walking back into the bedroom, he finds you sound asleep in bed. He strips away his clothes and stays just in his boxes-briefs. Pulling the covers back he curls up next to you.

He pulls your body close to his. He kisses the top of your head and whispers, "I love you."

REBOOT AND RESTART

Stationed outside Quantum Tower where CEO Kang lives, you're in the back of a truck with Jeonghan. Joshua is standing outside acting as a guard. Chan is roaming the area with Vernon.

Sitting in the driver’s seat is Seungcheol. It's quite unusual for him to go out on missions. He's got Jihoon at the base, his third in command, with some of the secondary team at FleXeon tower with Minghao looking into their security coding, while Wonwoo, Mingyu, and Soonyoung are running the perimeter there.

"So, the wife is fucking one of the broad members?" Seungcheol asks, looking into the back of the mirror.

"It seems that way." You're tapping away at your tablet. You're trying to access the wife’s financial records.

"It looks like she was being blackmailed by someone anonymous that the CEO hired." Jeonghan chimes in.

"Why is he blackmailing her?" Seungcheol asks.

"Because he's afraid she knows too much." You've managed to find her records and discover she's been paying large sums of money to an unknown account.

"Something else is going on with her." You say.

"What?" Jeonghan asks.

"A different account is sending her large payments from her."

There are two taps on the door, before Joshua slides the door open. Chan and Vernon pile in.

"We got to go. Security is doing a perimeter sweep."

You pull the drive from your tablet and hand it to Seungcheol. "Have Minghao look into this. See if he can figure out who owns this account. "

Seungcheol slides it into this jacket pocket. Jeonghan crawls into the front seat next to Seungcheol. Vernon and Chan buckle up.

"Alright let's head out." Seungcheol nods and shifts the car into drive. Joshua moves into the seat next to you.

Looking down at his lap, you see Joshua's hand is fully locked up. Reaching down, you take his wrist in your hand. You slowly start dragging your thumb across the delicate synthetic skin on the inside of his wrist, helping to soothe him.

No matter what happens tonight, you know that Joshua needs to shut down and reboot.

The ride to Seungcheol place is about twenty minutes. He lives in an apartment on the outskirts of the hub.

Seungcheol parks the car and everyone piles out. Entering the elevator, it's quite full. Joshua is pressed against the wall with your back plastered to his front. His arm is wrapped around you, holding you close to him. Glancing up, you find Jeonghan carefully watching you. Closing your eyes, you lean your head back against Joshua's chest.

The doors dig and Seungcheol steps out. The whole crew follows closely behind. Piling into Seungcheol place, you find the girl that lives with him. You don't know much about her. According to Seungcheol she's a childhood friend he looks after. The moment she sees everyone enter, she scurries off towards her bedroom. The door closes and shortly after Jihoon, Soonyoung and Minghao walk in.

Vernon sits down on the couch with Chan. Jeonghan immediately goes off to the kitchen. Seungcheol is standing by the window with Minghao and Soonyoung scrolling through his tablet.

Joshua is standing next to you. His hand keeps glitching. Looking down, you see him trying to get it to stop. Reaching down, you grab his hand. Maybe if you mess with it, it will help distract him.

"Kang is definitely making lavender haze, and his wife is well aware of it. It's clear he's just not making tech for androids like Joshua." Seungcheol walks over. "I think if we shut down his system, we can copy the software coding he used for his androids, wipe his accounts and set him up."

"How would we set him up?" Jeonghan asks, walking back into the living room.

"We're gonna make sure everyone knows FleXeon created lavender haze."

"I think between me and Starry, we could hack the programming and any of the FleXeon androids can be reset to have emotions and memories like Joshua." You knew at some point the software edits you did to fix Joshua would end up being used again. If Seungcheol wants to fix the FleXeon androids, you will. All the androids he has out in the city being workers and sex bots deserve a chance to feel human like Joshua.

You give Joshua's hand a squeeze. "We could do it."

"Hao, I'm going to have you see who is paying the wife." Seungcheol tosses the drive towards him.

Minghao catches it and salutes him. "Next week I want to send Soonyoung and Vernon into the building. Starry, see if you can shut down their security system for a few minutes."

"Okay." You're pretty sure you should be able to do that no problem.

"Alright, you're all free. I should check on Angel." Angel is the girl who lives with him. She's one of the few people who Seungcheol will show his softer side to.

Joshua walks over to the table and grabs both your helmets. You're exhausted, it's almost three in the morning. This mission tonight has lasted longer than planned.

Heading down to the garage, the elevator is filled with most of the group. Jeonghan and Jihoon stayed behind.

The doors open and everyone immediately starts going their separate ways. Wonwoo and Mingyu head off to Wonwoo's car. Vernon and Chan head off to their cars. Soonyoung and Minghao both walk towards their bikes they took here.

Joshua takes his time helping you put on your helmet.

"How is your hand?" You ask, watching him put on his own helmet.

"It's fine." He squeezes his hand to show you it works. You both know it's not truly fine.

He hops on the bike, and holds his hand out. You hop on behind him. Wrapping your arms around his waist, you hold on. Driving out of the garage, you're hit with the sight of the wet asphalt. It must have rained while you were having your meet. The city neon haze leaves the wet roads glimmering in a glow of turquoise.

The ride back home is short. Joshua seems too quiet. You hate this feeling of impending doom.

Entering the home you share, Joshua takes your helmet before he heads off to the bedroom.

Following behind him, you start getting ready for bed. You get dressed in your normal sleeping attire. Joshua leaves after stripping down to a pair of boxers.

Walking into the living area, you find him staring out into the city below.

"Shua." He turns around.

"I won't fight you on shutting down tonight." You both know there is no point in fighting about this anymore.

"You'll only be down for about two hours. I just need to reboot your system."

"Okay." He lets out a sigh.

Walking off to the bedroom, Joshua lays on his side of the bed. Crawling into the bed next to him, you sit on your knees. He leans up, resting his hand on your cheek. He presses his lips to yours for a kiss.

He rests his hand on your thigh and gives it three taps. "I love you too." You respond.

He reaches behind his left ear and holds down a button that is barely visible. His eyes turn a bright blue before they shut. His whole body goes limp as he powers off.

Your eyes instantly well with tears. Reaching out, you rest your hand where his heart would be located. In order for his system to properly reboot he'll need to be shut down for two hours. You have this sudden feeling of loneliness that takes over. Crawling off the bed, you grab the tablet that controls his operating system.

You open it up and a hologram of his system appears. You go into his power settings, and set it for him to reboot back in two hours.

Closing the tablet, you look at him lying there completely lifeless. You know he needs to reboot every so often, and you even fight him about it, but you hate this.

Crawling back into bed, you curl up against him. Resting your head on his chest, you can't help but cry. Your tears continue to fall until you finally fall asleep.

When Joshua finally reboots, he instantly notices your tear stained cheeks. He knows you've cried yourself to sleep.

"Starlight." He whispers.

Your eyes slowly flutter open. "Shua?"

"I'm awake, and I'm okay."

"Can you hold me?" You whisper.

He moves you both so you're lying on your side and he's pressed up against you. He presses a few feather light kisses to the side of your neck.

He taps your stomach gently three times. "Goodnight, Starlight."

-

It's been five days since Joshua rebooted his system, and he may not want to admit it, but it didn’t fix his glitch with his hand.

You're in the lights district again. Soonyoung and Jeonghan are yapping about something. Mingyu is flirting with a girl at the bar, you're sitting at the table with Wonwoo, and Joshua.

Soonyoung walks over and pulls out a bag of blue dust. He holds it up towards you and gives you a wicked smile.

"Come on pretty girl, you know you wanna hit this." Soonyoung loves flirting with you. Joshua tries not to be fazed by Soonyoung, but it's hard sometimes.

"Soonyoung." You narrow your eyes at him.

"Last time you did this, I thought you and Joshua were gonna fuck on the dance floor." You instantly cringe at the reminder of what unfolded between you and your partner. His rejection still stings, but you understand why he did it.

"Knock it off." You respond.

"You act like you've never done dust before. My sweet Starry, we all know you're not miss innocent." Jeonghan fully focuses on what's unfolding.

"Soonyoung, knock it off. I don't know why you're flirting or antagonizing Starry, but you need to stop." Jeonghan put his hand on his shoulder.

"No drugs tonight." Joshua chimes in. He rests hand on your thigh, before giving it a squeeze.

"It's time for us to leave." You say.

You and Joshua get up and head out of the crowded club. You lace your fingers with Joshua, weaving your way through the club. Stepping outside, you notice the wet asphalt that has a neon glow reflecting off of it. You must have missed the rain while you were in the club.

Joshua releases your hand and grabs your helmet. "Where do you want to go?"

"I'm hungry."

"Do you want to go to Sarks?" Sarks is a little hole in the wall restaurant near your apartment.

"Yes."

Joshua helps you put on your helmet. Hoping on the bike, you sit behind Joshua with your arms wrapped around him. The ride to the restaurant isn't too long. This place has become a place that you and Joshua started coming to after late nights out. The place is located a couple blocks from your apartment. It's on the corner of a twelve story apartment building.

Walking inside, you're immediately told to pick your own table. This place is filled to the brim with people who work late. A few of the servers here are FleXeon androids, just like Joshua. Ever since you changed Joshua's software, you always wondered if you could change your favorite android Cherry's. She's a sweet girl, who was clearly programmed to act like the sweet girl next door. If Seungcheol's plan goes correctly, you want to give her the life she deserves.

She walks over to your booth and takes both your orders. You hand over the menu and watch as she walks away.

"What are you thinking about?" Joshua asks.

"I just hope if Cheol's plan goes correctly, maybe I can reprogram Cherry like I did you."

"She's sweet." Joshua looks over at your waitress putting your order into the system. "Does she just power down here every night?"

"Probably." It makes you sad to think about the fact that all she knows how to do is work. You aren't sure what Joshua's job was before you found him, but based on his original programming you're pretty sure he was supposed to be a sex bot.

"Cheol's plan will work, and we can save her. Maybe she can move in with some of the boys until we can help set her up." Joshua gives you a sweet smile.

"That's a good idea." You hope to help give other androids a life.

SYNTHETIC TEARS AND HIGH STRUNG EMOTIONS

You've both had the day off and you've spent the day locked away in your apartment.

Standing in the shower together, you watch as Joshua scrubs his shampoo into his hair. He stops moving and just stares at you with a blank stare. Immediately, you know his hand and possibly his arm is frozen. In the last couple days his glitch had gotten worse.

You don't want to fight about upgrading him, but you know that’s what you have to do.

His eyes start to dodge yours. He turns around so his back is to you. He finally gets his arm to move again. Stepping closer, you wrap your arms around him. Your cheek rests between his shoulder blades against his wet synthetic skin.

"I don't want to talk about it in the shower." He breaks the silence.

"Okay." You run your hand across the wet skin just below his bellybutton.

Getting out of the shower Joshua dries off quickly and pulls on a pair of sweats. By the way he rushes out of the bathroom you would swear he's avoiding you.

You take your time drying yourself off and applying your sweet scented lotions and oils. You get dressed in a pair of panties and baggy shirt.

Walking into the main living space, you find Joshua at the stove. He's making what you assume is ramyeon.

Heading over to the fridge you grab a bottle of juice. You look at Joshua watching as he's focused on cooking.

"I thought we should eat." He doesn't need food to survive. He only eats so he can feel more human.

"I'm hungry."

"Can you set the table?" It's clear he's trying to distract himself from the necessary conversation you need to have.

"Absolutely."

You grab some napkins and two pairs of chopsticks. Joshua dishes two bowls before bringing them over. He places the bowl in front of you. He sits down across from you.

You both eat in silencehe looming, much needed conversation, hanging over both of you like a dark cloud.

You take your first bite of ramyeon. Placing your chopsticks on the table, you give him a sad smile. He looks down at his empty bowl. Neither of you can avoid this any longer.

"Shua."

He closes his eyes and tilts his head back. "I know."

"You have let me upgrade you. If you keep glitching like this, a systematic error could pop up in your software."

He doesn't say anything, he just stands up. He grabs both your dishes and walks over to the sink. He doesn't bother cleaning them. He just rinses them with water.

"Joshua." You stand you. You don't want to play games right now. You just want him to listen to you.

He walks towards the living area. You follow him closely.

"I don't want you to upgrade me. It's a mild glitch, I'm fine." He sits down on the couch with a huff.

"Clearly you're not fine." You love him so damn much, but sometimes he's too stubborn. "Your mild glitch will lead to something worse if you don't let me fix it."

"No." He leans back pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Joshua—" He stares at for a long moment before standing back up.

He doesn't respond. He just walks over to the big window that overlooks the city. You stand frozen in place near the couch.

"Joshua, stop being stubborn about this." You hate that he never makes this easy on you. "If I don't fix this, the error could be irreparable. If we're not careful, it could corrupt your software, and I could lose you. I need you to realize I don't think I could live without you."

He turns around and you instantly recognize the sadness in his eyes. "What if something happens when you upgrade me? I'm absolutely terrified I'm going to shut down for an upgrade and I won't remember a thing when I wake up." You have this same fear, but you trust yourself enough to know that won't happen.

"You have to trust me." He walks towards you in two big steps.

"I do trust you. Just like you can't live without me, I don’t want to exist if I don't remember everything we have."

He drops to his knees in front of you. He rests his head against your stomach. His arms wrap around you, holding you close. Mindlessly you run your fingers through his hair, helping to soothe him.

"I won't let anything go wrong." You close your eyes as tears slide down your cheek.

"You can do the upgrade." He pulls back, and you see his glossy eyes, slowly leaking tears. Just like humans, androids have the ability to cry. "Should we do it tonight?" He picks himself off the floor.

"Yeah."

He stands in front of you. He leans down pressing his lips to yours. Pulling away slightly his noses rest against yours. "I love you." You both are truly in love, but it's rare you say those three words. Normally, you communicate it by three simple taps on the other person's body.

"I love you too."

He laces his fingers with yours, leading you off to the bedroom. He releases your hand and walks over to the shelf by the window. He grabs your tablet that you use to monitor the software, and the cable that connects behind his ear.

He hands off the equipment and lays down on the bed, in the same spot he sleeps in every night.

He blankly stares at the ceiling. The vice grip on your heart is making you nauseous. This is the last thing you want to do. But you know this needs to be done.

"I'm sorry." You truly are. You wish that you didn't have to do this. Upgrading his system scares you, just as much as it scares him.

"It's okay, Starlight." He reaches out for your hand. He brings it towards his lips and presses three kisses to the top of your delicate skin. "I love you." He releases your hand.

Closing your eyes, you try your hardest not to cry. "I love you too."

Taking the cord, you connect it into the small port hidden behind his ear. Plugging it into your tablet, the hologram of his software pops up. You start taking away the coding of his software.

"The software update should take about four hours."

"Okay. Get some sleep while it updates." He glances over at you.

Crawling across the bed closer to him, you lean down and press your lips to his. You kiss him like this is the last time you might get to kiss him. "I'll be right next to you when you wake." You can't help the salty tears that slide down your cheeks.

He reaches up resting his hand on your cheek. "I'll see you in a little while."

He pulls his hand away. You start the updating process. His eyes turn bright blue before they go completely dark as he shuts down.

For the first hour of his update, you lay in bed next to him, watching the tablet to make sure nothing goes wrong. You stay awake until your eyes have grown too tired to stay open.

You dream of Joshua. You dream of a life away from this neon city. You find yourself laying in the tall grass under the warm sun, curled up in his arms. On your finger is a matching gold band that both you and him wear. There's a warmth that fills your chest, that he's your husband.

You're woken up to the feeling of the bed moving. Your eyes slowly flutter open, and you find Joshua awake, laying next to you.

"Joshua?" You’re terrified he won't have his memories.

"Hi, Starlight."

"Are you okay?" You push yourself up.

He nods and gives you a smile. "All my memories are still there."

All the worries that have been eating away at you instantly disappear. Your eyes instantly start to water.

"Baby, don't cry." He hates seeing you upset.

"I was so worried." You push the blanket off you. You push yourself up and crawl into his lap. He rests his hand on your cheek, brushing away your salty tears.

"I'm okay. No need to worry anymore."

Wrapping your arms around his neck, you crash your lips into his.

His strong hands roam your back under your shirt. You pull away from the kiss, long enough to pull off your shirt.

Joshua maneuvers both of you so you're on your back and he's hovering over you.

He leans in, pressing multiple kisses on your lips before he starts leaving a trail of kisses across your jaw and down your neck.

Not much is said as he kisses away his across your chest, taking his time to toy with each of you nipples. He tags his tongue across your stomach. He stops at the top of your panties.

You're impatient and just want him to touch you. "Shua—" you plead.

Hooking his fingers into the top of your panties, he slides them down your thigh. Lying in the bed, completely bare, you stare at him with a mixture of lust and love in your eyes.

"What do you want, Starlight?" Normally, you would tell him to fuck you, but right now, you don't want that. You want him to be as close as possible as he can be to you.

"I just want you."

A smile tugs at his lips. He hops off the bed and makes quick work of removing his sweatpants.

"I don't need foreplay, I just want you."

He walks over to the dresser and pulls out the little container of lube. Even though his cock is self lubricating, he needs to make sure you're wet enough for him. He crawls on to the bed towards you. Clicking the container open, he pours some of the cool lube onto your core. He takes his time massaging you and helping to prep you for his massive size. He clicks it shut again and starts pumping his length, helping to lube up his cock.

Spreading your legs wide, you welcome him. Sex between you is always passionate, and can sometimes be on the rougher side. Right now you don't want that. You just want things to be nice and slow.

He pushes the tip of his cock in, earning a gasp from you. "You feel so good."

Your hand talons into his shoulder pulling him closer to you. You want him as physically close as he can be. His nose rests against yours as he pushes the rest the way in, the tip of his length is kissing your cervix.

He's resting on his knees, practically plastered against you. Reaching up, you hold his face in your hands. He's not moving, he's giving your body a moment to adjust to his size.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." You say as tears slide down your cheek.

"You're the best thing that could have ever happened to me." He gives you a smile that makes you feel like mush. "I can't imagine a life where I'm not by your side."

He starts moving at a slow but deep pace. The room is filled with echoing sounds of skin hitting skin and your moans and whimpers.

Your hands roam his body, touching anywhere you can possibly reach. His lips are constantly on yours, or kissing the side of your neck. He gently nips at your skin, definitely leaving marks in his wake.

The feeling of his cock stretching you out, with each thrust is intoxicating. Reaching between your bodies, your fingers toy with your clit, helping to push you closer and closer to the edge.

"Baby I can tell you're close." He moans against your neck.

You rub your sensitive clit harder, pushing you closer to the edge. He pulls back so he's sitting on his knees between your spread legs. He lifts one of your legs resting it against his chest. He moves your hand away from your core. He rests his hand on your mound, and with his thumb he starts quickly rubbing your clit. Every muscle in your body tightens. Squeezing your eyes shut, you let out a loud moan. You high hits you like a ton of bricks.

Your orgasm hits hard and fast. Joshua never stops moving. He picks up his pace a little, chasing his own release.

"Please cum." You beg him.

He drops your leg and moves so he's hovering over you again. He crashes his lips into yours as he comes hard. He feels you to the brim with his sweet release.

Slowly, he stops moving, but doesn't pull out. He pulls his face away from yours and gives you the sweetest smile. "I love you."

Gently you tap his lower back three times. "I love you too."

He drags his thumb across your tear stained cheeks.

"I'm sleepy." You sigh.

"Let me clean you up, and then you can sleep."

Joshua slowly removes himself from you, before he takes his time cleaning you up. Neither of you bother getting dressed for bed, you both curl up in bed naked together.

OH THE LAVENDER HAZE

It's three in the morning and everyone is together for the big heist. Everything your crew has been working towards has led up tonight. Standing in Seungcheol's apartment you watch him as he stands in the kitchen area, talking to the girl who lives with him. She looks just as concerned as you would be if Joshua was going on this mission without you. The whole entire crew is here tonight.

Seungcheol walks back in. "Alright, here is the plan."

The plan is to split off into three separate crews. Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Wonwoo, and Joshua will go in Mingyu's car where he'll act as the getaway driver.

Vernon, Chan, Jihoon, are gonna be running security outside the building.

You and Minghao are going to be breaking into the security office with Soonyoung to shut down the whole system and copy all the files.

"Any questions or concerns?" Seungcheol asks.

"Do we have another person with Starry and Hao?" Wonwoo asks. You glance over at Joshua to see he looks anxious. Soonyoung is a very capable person of keeping both of you safe. Soonyoung can be vicious and even deadly if he needs to be. You've seen him get into fights and they're terrifying. Minghao is also extremely capable of protecting both of you. The gun he keeps tucked into his waistband and the knife he keeps concealed is enough to keep you safe. You're pretty confident in your own fighting abilities. When you joined the crew, Soonyoung and Wonwoo taught you to fight to protect yourself.

"We'll be okay." You chime in.

Joshua grabs your hand. He instantly squeezes it and stares at you with the same anxious look.

"Let's go."

"I'm team one, Jihoon you're team two, and Soonyoung you're team three." Seungcheol says.

Everyone starts heading out of the apartment. You and Joshua linger behind for a moment. He takes your face in both hands. He smiles before leaning in for a searing kiss. It definitely feels as if this could be a goodbye kiss and that's scary. Joshua's team is not going to have it easy. They're going to have to take out a lot of guards.

"I love you, be safe." You say with your lips against his.

"I love you too, and you be safe as well. Listen to Hao and Soonyoung. They will both keep you safe."

Following everyone down to the cars, you get in the back seat of the car Soonyoung is driving.

It's pouring outside. The rain leaves the asphalt with a neon turquoise glow.

Reaching into your bag, you pull out Joshua's tablet. You open it up and immediately his hologram pops up. You scroll through his coding, making sure there are absolutely no errors in sight.

Minghao glances into the back seat. "He's going to be fine."

"I know." You close the tablet and stick it back in your bag. "I'm just worried."

"Quit stressing about your robo boy. He's going to be fine." Soonyoung chimes in.

Arriving at the FleXeon building, Minghao already has the cameras up. You're working on shutting down their alarm system. Mingyu's car pulls up behind you. Soonyoung reaches into his bag and pulls out ear pieces for all three of you.

"No matter what happens, you both need to listen to me." He says. You and Soonyoung might butt heads often, but you're well aware he's a good leader. He'll make sure nothing goes wrong. Getting out of the car, the three of you pull up your mask and your hoods. The rain helps your cover.

The alarm system is fully down and Minghao has tricked the system into thinking nothing is wrong. After many nights casing this place, Soonyoung leads you both off to the side door that's near the security office.

He makes quick work, knocking two guards unconscious. The three of you rush down to the hall to the security room. Minghao immediately plugs his device in and works on shutting down the security system.

Soonyoung is standing at the door with his gun drawn. You watch him carefully for a moment before you start sorting through the system coding.

The second you're into the file database you start making copies of everything.

-

The moment Soonyoung gives the signal that everything is clear, Seungcheol leads team one into the building. Seungcheol's goal tonight is to not only steal all the company's data, but to also steal any tech they're storing.

Heading up to the lab is where they encounter their first batches of guards. Seungcheol's original plan was to knock them unconscious, but when one of them sends a bullet slicing through Joshua's synthetic skin, that's when things take a turn. Jeonghan and Wonwoo are both incredibly good shots. The two of them take down most of the guards while Seungcheol and Joshua knock out the others.

Walking up to the lab door, they're relieved to see that the lock’s been shut off. Stepping inside Joshua winces at the sight of different androids like him. Some of them aren't fully built, while others look like they're fully operational.

Joshua walks over towards this. Wonwoo puts his hand on his shoulder. "We'll get them later."

Seungcheol starts searching around. He finds a latch that opens another door. In there they find the machine that makes lavender haze.

"Got ‘em." Seungcheol starts snapping photos of everything. He grabs his duffle bag and starts filling it with close to a million dollars worth of lavender haze. Jeonghan disappears for a while and comes back holding wads of cash.

"Where is that from?" Joshua asks.

"I found a room with a safe in it."

"How did you get the safe open?" Seungcheol asks.

"I shot it, obviously."

Wonwoo barks out a laugh, and Seungcheol just rolls his eyes.

"Wonwoo, go with Jeonghan and start filling all the bags with the money. Joshua, start taking the androids to the van."

-

Through the security camera's tablet, you watch as Joshua moves through the building quickly. He's carrying as many androids as he can to the van Mingyu is in. Mingyu is helping load them into the back quickly.

Tapping away at your computer, you know you probably have another twenty minutes until you have all the data copied over. Your goal once you're done is to send a virus to FleXeon’s system. You and Minghao worked together to make itto nearly impossible to stop viruses.

"How is team one doing?" Minghao asks Soonyoung.

"Cheol says they need another thirty."

"I can keep the system down." You respond, not bothering to look up from your device.

"I found all the hidden files for the formula for lavender haze." Minghao chimes in.

"Make double copies of that."

These passing twenty minutes are some of the most stressful of your life. The data has finished copying and you're making sure to monitor the cameras. Your eyes go wide when you see more security heading towards the room you're in.

"Soonyoung, code red."

"Fuck." He says. "Code red, code red." He says into his com.

"Minghao, are you good?"

"Yeah. We have everything copied."

"Launch the virus." You respond. You start typing away. You launch the virus into the system.

Seconds later, Soonyoung starts shooting down the hall. You hear Seungcheol yelling over the com to clear out. You and Minghao move quickly to grab all your stuff. Reaching into his waistband, he pulls out a gun, and Minghao holds it out to you. Without even thinking, you grab it. He grabs another gun from his bag.

Soonyoung grabs ammo from his bag, reloading the gun. "Hao, guard Starry and get her out of here."

Minghao turns to you. He takes your face in both his hands. You must look terrified. You've been with this group for a long time, and this is the first time you're worried you might die because of a job. "Starry, I promise you won't get hurt."

"Okay."

"Stay behind me, and keep your gun drawn." He keeps holding your face. "Joshua will kill us all if we let you get hurt."

"Fuck what about Shua?" You realize if you're in a gun fight it might not be clear at the lab.

"He's fine." He releases your face. "Just hold my hand until I let go." He takes your hand in his.

"Okay, go." Soonyoung gives you the signal.

Another set of guards are running up. Minghao leads you out towards the door with his gun drawn. He takes two shots by the two guards blocking the door.

"Run." He shouts. You run next to him with your gun drawn.

You practically throw your body against the doo,r breaking your way outside. Soonyoung follows behind you.

Standing in the pouring rain you look over towards Mingyu's van to see him and Joshua soaking wet, loading a machine into the back. The moment Joshua turns and looks at you, he pushes his wet dark hair away from his face. Instantly, you see the tear in his jacket, and the slice in his arm. You're frozen in place staring at him.

Gun fire rings out, startling you. Minghao grabs your hand dragging you towards the car.

You see Jihoon and his team sprinting towards the van. Soonyoung grabs you from Minghao and practically throws you into the back seat. The car speeds away before you can even react. Looking out the window, you watch as team one breaks out of the building with guards following behind them.

Your eyes water thinking about the danger you're leaving behind. It's the dead of night and the fluorescent city, is a buzz with the sound of blaring sirens. Soonyoung drives like a mad man to get back to Seungcheol's place.

Salty tears slide down your cheek as you think about the chaos that has unfolded. Minghao's phone rings and he's quick to answer. He doesn't say much, you just hear him repeat yes over and over. He hangs up the phone and is instantly calling another person.

Soonyoung glances in the mirror looking back at you. Quickly you avert your eyes, the last thing you need is him teasing you about the fact that you're crying.

"Seokmin." Minghao says. That name immediately catches your attention. You know he's a medic. He's stitched up the boys a few times. Your heart sinks, and nausea hits you quickly. "It's Jeonghan and Wonwoo."

The car is silent for a moment outside the sounds of distant sirens and the rain hitting the car.

"Not fatal. Jeonghan was shot in the shoulder and Wonwoo in the ribs." He pauses again. "Cheol said Wonwoo was grazed pretty deeply."

"Soonyoung—"

"They're fine." He quickly responds. "Hao said he's not fatal. Seokmin will stitch them up.”

"Just meet us at Cheol's asap." Minghao hangs up.

Soonyoung pulls into the dark parking garage. Getting out of the car, you grab yourself. Soonyoung looks around making sure you're not being watched. You all rush towards the elevator.

Minghao presses the button and instantly the doors slide open. Stepping inside, Soonyoung quickly hits the close button over and over.

The elevator rattles as it heads up to the tenth floor. You blankly stare down at your shoes.

"They're fine." Minghao finally speaks. "They just need stitches."

The doors slide open. You all practically run down the hall to Seungcheol's apartment. Soonyoung punches in the code, and the door slides open. Sitting on the couch near the window, you find the sweet girl who lives with Seungcheol. She jumps at the sudden intrusion.

Soonyoung puts up his hands letting her know we aren't a threat. "It's just us. Seungcheol is on his way home."

"Is he okay?" You've never actually heard her speak before. Her voice is quiet and full of fear.

"Yeah he is." Soonyoung slowly puts his hands down. Silently she gets off the couch and rushes out of the room.

Minghao grabs his bag and walks over to the table. "Can I have the drive with the lavender haze formula?"

You reach into your pocket and grab one of the two drives that hold the information. You toss it over to him. He plugs it into his computer and starts typing away.

"What are you doing?" Soonyoung asks.

"I'm concealing some of the formula and anonymously leaking it."

There is a knock on the door. Soonyoung grabs his gun and walks over. He pulls the door open with his gun drawn. Instantly he puts it down at the sight of Seokmin.

Seokmin comes in and starts getting out all the supplies he'll need.

The door flings open and the rest of the crew follows in. Wonwoo limps in with the help of Joshua and Mingyu. Jeonghan is being helped by Seungcheol. Jihoon, Chan and Vernon follow in behind them.

Joshua stares at you with wide eyes. Everything is so chaotic that neither of you have time to talk.

"Vernon, do you remember how to do stitches?" Seokmin asks.

"Yeah." Vernon walks towards him.

"Okay, I'm going to need you to take Wonwoo to the restroom and full-clean out his wound and then stitch him up." Seokmin reaches into his bag and pulls out everything Vernon will need. "Mingyu and Soonyoung please help Vernon."

Everyone listens to Seokmin and takes Wonwoo off to the bathroom. Seungcheol brings Jeonghan towards Seokmin.

"We need to remove his jacket and I need to see if there is an exit wound." Jihoon and Seungcheol take a very dazed Jeonghan into the kitchen.

Joshua rushes towards you. He pulls you into his chest and kisses the top of your head. "Starlight, I was so worried about you."

"I'm fine, Hao and Soonyoung kept me safe." You pull away and glance at his torn synthetic skin. "I need to fix this later."

"Okay."

You hear Jeonghan scream. You take off towards the kitchen where you see Seungcheol holding him down as Seokmin is digging the bullet out of his shoulder.

You wince when you see a very obviously in pain Jeonghan let out another scream. You walk closer to him. He's turning his head away from his injury, wincing.

Reaching out, you rest your hand on his cheek. "Hannie, it's okay." His eyes go wide looking at you. "It's okay." You wish there was some way you could soothe him.

"Chan, get me a syringe of numbing meds from my bag." Seokmin shouts.

Moments later, Chan comes rushing in. Seokmin gives Jeonghan a full shot of the numbing meds. His eyes droop slightly as they instantly take effect.

Joshua grabs your hand, leading you away from the chaos. Moving into the living room, you sit on the couch feeling dazed. Wonwoo comes out of the bathroom with the help of Mingyu.

They sit next to each other on the other couch. Seokmin shouts for Joshua's help. He leaves you alone for a moment. Seungcheol heads out the kitchen and instantly heads towards the room Angel is in. He must be going to check on her.

Joshua walks out of the kitchen carrying Jeonghan. Jihoon leads them off towards Seungcheol's room. Seokmin walks out of the kitchen with his shirt stained with blood. Soonyoung walks of the bathroom.

"Is Jeonghan okay?" Soonyoung asks.

"Yeah. We knocked him out because he was in pain, but the bullet is out and stitched up. Luckily, it missed all the major arteries." Seokmin says.

Seungcheol heads back in and gives everyone the run down and then gives everyone a bag with money in it.

"This is just cash. I'll have more coming later." He lets out a sigh and pushes his fingers through his hair. "We can have another meeting in a couple days when Jeonghan is feeling better."

"Breaking news." The tv turns on blaring. "FleXeon is being exposed for producing the very illegal drug known as lavender haze. Police arrived on site now at the CEO house. The company is now under investigation."

Soonyoung barks out a laugh. "Looks like we were successful."

"Everyone keep your heads low for a little while." Seungcheol says.

MEET ME IN THE AFTERGLOW

Arriving back at your apartment, you sit down Joshua at the table and work on fixing his arm that's sliced open.

"They missed your wiring." His wiring is essentially his arteries. "If they hit those I might have had to rewire your arm." You know he's listening to you, but he's completely silent as he stares at the floor in front of him. "This is a simple fix."

"Does this feel weird having to fix your robot boyfriend? If I was human you wouldn't have to worry about my wiring." He glances up at you.

"If you were human, you could have been in bad shape like Wonwoo and Jeonghan." At this point you prefer he's a robot. You never have to worry about him getting sick or hurt like that.

"Do you wish I was human?" There's a deep rooted sadness behind his eyes.

"No, not at all. I promise, I've never once wished you were human." You aren't lying. Never once have you had that thought. You finish working on his arm, and move so you're standing in front of him.

"I wish I was human."

Reaching out you take his face in both hands. "I've never wanted you to be anything else." His eyes are wide and glossy. Slowly you drag your thumb across his cheek. "I love you for who you are."

"I love you too." He closes his eyes leaning into your touch. Leaning down you press your lips into his for a sweet kiss.

Stepping back, you walk off into the kitchen to wash your hands. Looking over, you watch as Joshua stands up. He walked over to the big window that looks out into the city. In the distance, the sun is starting to rise. The sky is becoming shades of cotton candy pink and orange.

"When I heard the first gun shot, I was scared they were going to take you from me." Joshua says as he blankly stares towards the windows.

Walking over, you stand in front of him and wrap your arms around his stomach. "I was scared too, but I knew the boys would keep me safe."

"Starlight, look at me please." You step back and look up at him. "Right now, I just want to be with you."

"Okay."

You aren't surprised when he reaches down and picks you up as if you weigh nothing. Crashing your lips into his, you kiss him as if you need him to breathe.

He pulls his lips away long enough to lead you both to the bedroom. In between kisses, you both strip away your clothes.

Laying on the bed with your legs spread wide, he eats you out like a man starved. He plays with you until you fall apart not once but twice. Your fingers tangle in his hair, holding him close to your needy pussy.

Crawling up your body, he crashes his lips into yours. You can taste yourself on his tongue, and it's absolutely intoxicating.

You aren't sure what his plan is, but all you know is you want him in any possible way. He grinds his already hard length against your core over and over, until you're moaning into his mouth. Practically on the brink of falling apart again.

"Shua—" you whine as he pulls away.

He moves so he's sitting with his back against the headboard. You waste no time crawling across the bed to get to him.

Sitting on his lap, you card your fingers through his dark hair. Lifting your hips, you reach down, lining his cock up with your needy entrance. Ever so slowly, you sink down on his length, inch by thick inch. He's snug inside you, but neither of you move. He looks up at you with needy eyes.

Neither of you seem to have any desire to move. You could sit on his cock for hours, and he would do anything to stay inside you forever.

"I have never and will never love anyone like I love you." You can't explain the love you feel for him.

"We may not be able to get married, but you're my wife." His sweet words earn a smile from you. He's never called you his wife, but you could get used to him calling you that.

"Are you going to buy me a ring with the money we just got?" You hold up your bare hand. You could actually care less about a ring, you honestly just want to tease him a little.

"I'll buy you anything you could possibly want." Leaning forward, he presses his lips to yours for a searing kiss. "Anything my pretty wife could ever want, I'll give her." He says between kisses.

Lifting your hips, you pull yourself off of him, until only the tip is left inside. You tug his hair back so he's looking up at you. Slowly you drop back down. He's so long he's practically bruising your cervix. Rolling your hips, your clit brushes against his pelvis.

Joshua's hands are anywhere they can touch. He doesn't help guide your movements yet. He'll help you move once he knows you're too tired.

Biting your bottom lip, you try your hardest to hold back your moans. His wet lips start leaving a trail of kisses from your jaw down to your breast. He takes his time teasing each of your pert nipples. He gently bites your nipple earning a moan.

"Josh—" you cry out.

He pulls away smiling. "Baby you feel so good."

You pick up your pace, desperately chasing your high. Reaching down your fingers quickly start rubbing your clit.

"I love watching you play with yourself." He moans with his lips against your neck.

Your orgasm is like a white hot ecstasy. Throwing your head back you cry out in pleasure. Salty tears slide down your cheeks at the overwhelming feeling. You two have had a lot of sex, but this feels extra intense. Your walls flutter around his cock like an erratic heartbeat. Your lips are parted as mindless moans pass your lips over and over.

Without saying anything, his large hands grip your hips and he helps guide you up and down his massive length. Your high is barely settled and he's pushing you right to the edge all over again.

"Fuck—" you whine.

"Can you cum again?" He asks.

Wordlessly you nod. He's fucked you to the point you aren't even sure if you can form proper words. He’s guiding you up and down, practically impaling you on his massive length over and over again.

Your orgasm hits both of you at the same time. He holds you down flush against him as he fills you to the brim with his sweet and sticky release.

Your body goes limp leaning against him. His hand runs up and down your back slowly, helping you relax.

"You did so good." He knows exactly how to praise you. Your mind can't process much other than the two mind numbing orgasms you just had back to back.

"Baby, I need to clean you up."

"Just let me lay here." You sigh.

He lets you stay sitting on his lap for about twenty minutes before he forces you to take a shower with him.

After showering you don't even bother getting dressed for bed after he dries you off. Curled up in bed together, your head is resting on his chest. Mindlessly he's drawing different shapes on your back.

"If you want, we could have a little wedding with our group. It doesn't have to be official, but they'll be there to witness us getting married." You say.

"I would like that. I meant it when I said you're my wife."

"And you're my husband."

What you have may not be conventional by any means. But the love you feel for each other is what people dream about finding. You know there is still a lot to be done by making sure FleXeon doesn't come back, and you and Minghao need to work on reprogramming the FleXeon androids. But for just a little while, you want to have time with Joshua. You don't want to think about an evil corporation. You just want to think about the future you have with Joshua.

📂 Case File: anamnesis by @woncheolisms

🔦Administrators: Choi Seungcheol x reader

⚡️The Ghostchase: five years ago, your company became a big enough threat to the existing tech ecosystem to cause an attack on your life. five years ago, said attack killed your husband. after spending so long picking up the pieces, you are quickly racing to the top again, which means your life is threatened once more. but the assassin sent your way is a little too familiar, even if he’s not exactly the same as the day he got “killed”.

The Malware 🚫 The Code

📂 Case File: VOID by @hannieoftheyear

🔦Administrators: Yoon Jeonghan x f!reader

⚡️The Ghostchase: Everything humanity has ever wanted is now at reach with the touch of a button, yet, the world is as empty as ever. Most prefer to live their lives in the digital reality, where you can be cities away in the blink of an eye and where the sun shines uninterrupted. The only ones left are those who first developed the idea, stuck in an abandoned world and cursed to watch as their families deteriorate inside machines. When a malfunction opens up the possibility to break the system, they seize the opportunity to make those who used a falling city as the stepping stone for their empire pay once and for all.

The Malware 🚫 The Code

📂 Case File: systematic error by @straylightdream

🔦Administrators: Joshua Hong x f!reader

⚡️The Ghostchase: it’s not unusual for artificially intelligent robots to blend in seamlessly to society. many years ago you found a android and upgraded his programming. As time passed you often forget he’s not a human, unfortunately he can’t escape the feelings and tainted thoughts that he’s just an android. after falling in love, you’ve become companions as you navigate the dark neon city together, and attempt to take down the biggest corporation.

The Malware 🚫 The Code

📂 Case File: PRIME by @joshujin

🔦Administrators: Wen Junhui x f!reader

⚡️The Ghostchase: Six years ago, you unknowingly changed the course of Arcadian Prime forever. Five years ago, you erased your own existence and went into hiding. And approximately half an hour ago, the very first image of you, the city-state's most wanted fugitive, went online. Now… now, you run.

The Malware 🚫 The Code

📂 Case File: The Ground by @mylovesstuffs

🔦Administrators: Kwon Soonyoung x f!reader

⚡️The Ghostchase: on the ground, the poor starve. in the sky, the rich live like gods. six months of playing the clumsy, star struck girl from the slums boils down to a single night in a luxury penthouse. to avenge and save her father from their misery, she has to trap the elite’s most untouchable corporate heir, hoshi, in a game of her own making— and then betray him.

The Malware 🚫 The Code

📂 Case File: The Shadow District by @thestraybunny

🔦Administrators: Jeon Wonwoo x f!reader

⚡️The Ghostchase: Skyfall Industries is taking over the city, where the rich will benefit while the poor will suffer. With body modifications, sex, drugs, and alcohol there to help numb people from reality of it all. Your world is small, and is just getting smaller. So, when Skyfall Inds is finally at your door and threatening your home, you and Wonwoo will have a choice to make.

The Malware 🚫 The Code

📂 Case File: PROJECT: KILL SWITCH by @callisrecords

🔦Administrators: Lee Jihoon x f!reader

⚡️The Ghostchase: On a trip to the Wastelands, you don't expect to find much that's intact. Definitely not an escape pod or a man still inside it. Lee Jihoon seems to be unregistered, unchipped and jarringly not from this century. In a city held together by a network no one can escape, he is the only thing it cannot read, cannot follow, and cannot override. As details about a mission that predates everything you’ve ever known begin to surface, you realise Jihoon’s existence is more than just an anomaly. Somewhere within the structure of the megacorp that controls the city lies a failsafe: a kill switch tied to an authority long believed dead. Except maybe it isn’t.

The Malware 🚫 The Code

📂 Case File: through the haze by @aeristudios

🔦Administrators: Lee Seokmin x f!reader

⚡️The Ghostchase: You're the star of Neo City Nights, the hottest nightclub in the city. Your voice brings in people from all over, including the handsome stranger Seokmin who you can't stay away from. Too bad you don't remember him from your past life, before the accident that happened, which changed your life forever.

The Malware 🚫 The Code

📂 Case File: butterfly by @sailorsoons

🔦Administrators: Kim Mingyu x f!reader

⚡️The Ghostchase: In a city where technology makes it possible to shed your body as easily as changing clothes, Mingyu has built his reputation hunting criminals who disappear behind new faces. So when you become the prime suspect in a brutal string of serial murders, he should have no trouble closing the case. Except... the more he investigates you, the less he's convinced you're guilty.

The Malware 🚫 The Code

📂 Case File: REMNANT by @wheeboo

🔦Administrators: Xu Minghao x f!reader

⚡️The Ghostchase: In the year 2197, Xu Minghao works as a government shadow operative, hired to hunt down political dissidents. After surviving a catastrophic accident that should have ended his life, his body had been rewired to become nothing more than a living weapon solely engineered for one purpose: obedience. You live a different kind of double life. By day, a reclusive digital artist curating an elite art gallery; by night, a ghost hacker where you siphon secrets from the city’s corrupt core. But when your latest hack uncovers an unsettling truth, a target is painted on your back—and Minghao is assigned to terminate you.

The Malware 🚫 The Code

📂 Case File: synapse//ZERO by @cheollollipop

🔦Administrators: Boo Seungkwan x f!reader

⚡️The Ghostchase: when Synapse//ZERO launches, thousands of players eagerly enter the world's first fully immersive neural VR game. hours later, they're trapped. with her younger brother and best friend seungkwan among them, YN enters the game's sprawling cyberpunk metropolis, determined to bring them home. but in a world where the system adapts, remembers, and watches, escaping may not be enough. inspired by sword art online!

The Malware 🚫 The Code

📂 Case File: kingslayer by @100vern

🔦Administrators: Chwe Hansol x f!reader

⚡️The Ghostchase: it's been years since you worked for the ministry of welfare. since you were partnered with hansol as a rookie inspector in the criminal investigation unit. since the two of you were assigned to a case so devastating it cost hansol his freedom and sent you into hiding. it's been years, but there's no time limit on vengeance—and there's nothing you wouldn't do to protect hansol.

The Malware 🚫 The Code

📂 Case File: got you (in my sights) by @minisugakoobies

🔦Administrators: Lee Chan x f!reader

⚡️The Ghostchase: when a job goes bad, elite assassin lee chan ends up the victim of a botched memory wipe. lost on the streets of new seoul and in need of help, he turns to the only person he can remember - just a face, a name, and a feeling. you have no idea why a rival assassin is begging on your doorstep, but agree to help him, thinking it will be an opportunity to steal his clients. but when the client who ordered the memory hit learns he hasn't been wiped, they target you both. can you trust chan enough to work together to save yourselves? or will you lose more than your memories?

The Malware 🚫 The Code

Then, of course, the more commercial aspect, the more visually eye candied usage. Those companions looked like models, fully customized on demand by the client. 

And those rich investors that fueled the budget in the early stages, really knew what they wanted. 

You worked on companions with white hair and ruby eyes, sharp tongue and witty remarks and build that would make anyone take another look, voice so low it was almost a growl. You worked on the flamboyant android with underwater functions that screamed spoiled rich boy, but his eyes… had something enchanting, unnerving in them. The perfect image of someone from your sweetest dreams made very much real. 

You wondered what else was included when it comes to the utility of those prototypes. 

You never asked. The less you know the better you sleep at night. 

Although it did raise a question of how lonely and disconnected from others people can get. Or maybe they preferred the perfect illusion over the reality of imperfection. But then… you started thinking of your situation, and who you were to judge other apples when you were not too far from them. 

The job was actually interesting and, except the riches being well rich and weird, it promised something along the lines of an AI maid but better, which honestly, was the only thing AI should do – the mundane everyday tasks that stole time and energy. 

All things said, all the pros and cons couldn’t really affect the work you did. You really started to enjoy the tinkering around those creations even if it exhausted you. Mostly in peace and quiet, as, let’s be honest, engineers tend to be timid and shy, until you start the geeking waterfall of excitement. 

And what a day it was for excitement! The office was for once buzzing with chatter, that, well, excited you a bit less, but still it was something worth recognition looking at the general prices that the prototypes could pull. If the company truly wanted to give a prototype to every person directly working on the assembly and training team, it was impressive. 

The main hall fell silent when the manager of the group, a lady that handpicked you, stood  excited, with one of the first prototypes near her, a tall, intimidating and cold looking android with green eyes. A choice she made, something to stop her in case her temperament got the best of her while on official business.

“I am delighted to let you know that, as we are slowly approaching a wider investor group interested in our companion progress, we decided to provide each and everyone of you one of the prototypes already fully functional. You know that I am a no bullshit person and as such I will skip all the cooperative speech that I have prepared in case the big bosses stop by.” She rolled her eyes while a few people chucked. The way she was running things was straightforward and everyone knew it. “So don’t fight and pick your poison… Or rather choose your companion. You know best that their capabilities are genuinely making life easier and I hope it will be something you can experience yourself.” 

There was no rushing when she gestured to the prototypes already in their docking stations, few of those that you worked on yourself and almost most of the staff knew. 

“You can adjust them before the shipping will take place, but why do I even bother, you are the specialists here.” 

She leaned near the wall, her own companion near with a bottle of water ready. 

“You’re not picking?” she smiled, shaking her head when you approached. 

“I don’t know if I want one to be honest.” 

“I can’t complain after getting one if you want a review. It’s not as unnerving as you imagine it.” She took the water bottle from the android near, with a smile that was almost thankful. 

“Sure… I guess.” 

You looked at the people chatting about how most of the functions will cut hours of their days, how they will be able to get back to hobbies, and whatever activity they might have lost because there is only 24 hours in a day. 

You bet most of the time will go into mindless scrolling on their phone and not back to the ‘productive’ lifestyle they have envisioned for themselves.

And then you saw it. A familiar companion you worked hours on, getting the perfect balance of the next door neighbour and someone who was supposed to be some sort of commanding figure overlooking some sort of operation, a really weird combination requested for someone. You only remembered him because of a small delay related to some last minute change of mind. 

It seems they either returned him or never picked it up. 

“I know that look. Was it the last one you were adjusting?”

“Well if I have to get one…” 

“You don’t, no one’s gonna force you”  

“I could use some help in the kitchen…” you huffed half amused half trying to convince yourself this might actually be a good idea. Why not help yourself with free android that might not burn the kitchen down.

“You are still banned from microwaves,” your manager said with a chuckle, and you swore her companion chuckled as well. 

*** 

It was charged, unplugged, with way too much packaging for you to pick up scattered around the room. Damn you were tired, you never thought one can put so much foil on such a massive box. You were wondering if it was even worth the space in your apartment. 

Here you were, one step before joining those who oh so prided the AIs and prestige of having a companion like that as soon as possible. Pushing down whatever guilt rollercoaster you found yourself on you took a breath. 

They didn’t change the way he looked, the programming seemed the same you remembered, you hoped, not quite ready to forsaken all of your saturday to go over your work on your day off. 

One press away from the dystopia you always dreamed of. 

Operating system online. Companion booting… Please wait. 

You will have to give feedback on that sequence, scaring you shitless. Giving you a bygone era video game horror mood about some animatronics. Sure, make the operating system function without mouth movements on a human looking robot. Not creepy at all.

Then it took a breath, or it moved like it would. A deep sigh before its eyes fluttered open and the most stunning violet met your eyes. 

“Hi owner. I am X-02.” 

You blinked twice and slapped your forehead. Of course you forgot to input the name! 

“No… I am sorry… Eee… I didn’t input your name,” you huffed, shaking your head. 

“Do you… want to rename me then?” 

“Yea… I mean sure…” you looked at it for a moment longer, the awkwardness of speaking to a machine you helped build making it feel surreal. “Your name is… Caleb.” 

It smiled — a small expression like a boulder was lifted from his shoulders — but its eyes actually seemed to light up with something akin to joy. 

“Caleb… I like it.” He nodded. “Hello, (y/n). I am Caleb. Your one and only companion.”