The Man In The Machine

by Silas Vale

  Terry glanced to him for a moment, and then slowly nodded. "Alright. You might want to let Willow know you're leaving, but you're probably pretty busy." He shrugged, guiding everyone over to the living room that was right beside the entryway.

  "Yay! Sleepover!" Aisling laughed, lifting her hands into the air in celebration.

  It was hard to imagine that this joyful little girl would turn into the strong young woman Erile would meet. A woman who had endured all the horrors of the world, and lived to tell them in the future.

  But that is a story for another day.

  Terry sat down and ran his fingers through his hair. "So. What have you been doing all these years?" He looked towards Blake, raising an eyebrow.

  Blake chuckled, looking toward Aisling and Dean and shaking her head slightly. The things she'd been up to… Well, they weren't the best for children to hear about. Much of what she did was illegal.

  She'd fallen in with the wrong crowd, and she knew that. Perhaps one day she'd make her way out of it.

  "Don't mind me. What about you, Terry? How'd you end up tying the knot, anyway? You never seemed like the marrying type to me, but I guess I had you pegged for the wrong kind of guy."

  She winked. There was the old Blake he knew and loved.

  Terry snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, of course you did." He ran his fingers through his hair again to pull it away from his face. "Me and Julie got married a couple months before she had him." He jabbed a thumb towards Dean, and smiled somewhat at the memory. "Just a small wedding. We put it all into the honeymoon and went and traveled around Europe for about a month. I really recommend going to Germany if you have the chance."

  It sounded like they had settled into a suburban life quite nicely for the most part.

  "Mom and dad have been doing pretty well too." He leaned back in his chair. "Dad's been watching what he eats, though. Our family's got a bit of a history with heart problems. You can imagine she's been working day in and day out to try and find a solution." He nodded towards the basement door.

  Blake nodded, sighing. Willow put way too much work into way too many things, it was no wonder she was pulled thin all the time. The woman needed to let loose and have a bit of fun for a while.

  "I'll never be one for the married life, I suppose." Blake said, a tinge of sadness in her voice as she looked to Aisling and Dean. Eventually, she turned back to Terry, a bit of a smile on her face. It was only there to hide the pain.

  "Emma broke it off right before I left to come here. For good this time. I guess I'm back to drifting."

  Blake hadn't been alone in a long while. At least, not truly alone. Now Emma had finally left.

  But she didn't regret coming to save Willow. She never would.

  "Shit. I'm sorry." Terry's eyes widened slightly, and then his brows furrowed in concern. "That's awful, Blake. I'm really sorry to hear that."

  He hadn't seen her in years, but he always expected her and Emma to stay together for a hell of a long time.

  "If you need anything, you know you can go to any of the family." He gestured around the house. "On the plus side, I guess you can do what you always liked doing. Getting drunk and picking up cute people." He shrugged, and smiled ever so slightly. "Go have some fun, Blake."

  Blake nodded her head sadly, but on the inside… She didn't know what to think.

  She really didn't want to go back to that lifestyle, the partying and drinking and picking up random people she thought she had half a chance of getting into her bed. She wanted stability, and she never would have admitted that until Emma left.

  No. She didn't want stability.

  She wanted Emma.

  "Maybe I can talk to her. Get her to understand." Blake said quietly, looking up to Terry with vulnerable eyes.

  Blake was never vulnerable. This was new for her.

  "Go talk to her. You can use my phone if you want to." He nodded at her, and tilted his head to the side. "If things don't work out, you know that we're all here for you. You were more than welcome at any of our houses to begin with, but after what you did here today… We really owe you one." He looked to her in earnest, and after a second gave her a kind smile. "I'll distract these two if you want to go somewhere private." He gestured to Aisling and Dean, who had dragged Aisling's Lego out into the living room to play with.

  Aisling was really quite the sweet child. It was good that she was away from Marcus.

  Hopefully that alcoholic bastard would never come back.

  Blake nodded at him gratefully, taking his cell and walking over to another room.

  She stared at the digital keypad in front of her with fear in her eyes, and she was glad that she had left the room. She didn't want anyone to know that she was this scared of calling someone.

  That she had truly fallen in love.

  Blake Medea had always been one to avoid long-term relationships.

  But she threw that out the window when she dialed the number she knew by heart, and held the phone to her ear.

  Learning To Walk

  Hours passed. Very soon, it was two in the morning.

  Everyone was asleep. Terry had ordered pizza, and put the kids to bed before retiring on the couch himself. There was a guest room he could've slept in, but he left that open to Blake if she wanted it. He also wanted to be near the front door in case Marcus came back. If that bastard showed his face around that house again, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Terry would kill him.

  Yet Willow stayed awake.

  She was sitting on a stool, carefully maneuvering Nych's brain into his metal skull. She reached into the cranium to properly attach everything, and after finishing and going over her work at least seven times, she finally came to a startling realization.

  It was done.

  Her hands shook with nervousness as she carefully fitted on the top of his skull, locking everything into place and disconnecting the wires around his body. She opened up the panel she had fitted onto his chest, and stared at the green button inside of it that would turn him on. She hesitated, millions of thoughts racing through her head at once. What would she even say to him if it worked? Would he be upset at her? She had a daughter now, but…

  She pushed the thoughts aside, pressed the button, closed the panel, and stood back.

  Would it work?

  Cold…

  God, so cold…

  My eyes… Will they work?

  Glowing orange eyes staggered open, as if drunk with a sleep that had lasted near fifteen years. Those eyes swept the room lazily, almost as if they weren't actually taking in any of the details. That was, of course, until the eyes paused on Willow.

  And then they widened, as the metal man tried to back away frantically.

  "W-Where am I?"

  Willow lifted her hands to her face, and tears filled her eyes.

  It worked. It actually fucking worked.

  She let out a choked sob, and then laughed as she reached out toward him to steady him. "H- Hey- easy-" Warm hands clasped onto arms, and what was even more remarkable was the fact that he was able to feel. Everything was almost exactly the same as it has been. "Shh- look at me." She sniffled, reaching up to wipe the tears away from her eyes. "We- we're in the laboratory in my basement. Before we continue with anything though- I- I need you to tell me what you remember."

  She wanted to make sure everything was working properly. "And I want you to try moving each part of your body. It'll be a little weird at first, but… Just make sure everything functions as it should."

  It was in that moment that Nych did remember.

  It was all he could do to stifle the scream that came unbidden to his throat.

  He remembered all of it; everything that had happened up until the point he… Well, he died. The night before, where he and Willow had made love. The ambulance ride after he collapsed. The hospital. The doctor telling him he was hopeless.

  Willow. There until the end.

  And as he looked to the woman in front of him
, he saw the woman he had left behind.

  She was older. At least ten years older. Yet when he looked down to his own body, he saw that he was as well. He looked back up to those eyes, and knew that it was definitely his girl. Those eyes hadn't changed.

  "Willow…?"

  Her eyes teared up again, and in the faint light he could see the bruises that marred her skin. It certainly seemed to be late at night, and though the area around them was lit up, much of the rest of the laboratory was dim. He could see the other projects laying around, as well as pizza lying on a nearby table that seemed to be half eaten. "… Hi, Nych." She could've broken down right there, and clung to him as if for dear life.

  But she didn't, because she wanted to fill him in on everything first.

  "I- here." She sniffled, rubbing her eyes and turning away. She grabbed a t-shirt from a nearby table and held it out for him to put on. "Your body will heat up to the temperature of a regular human body in minutes. It's cold right now, but… It won't be for long." She rubbed her eyes, and sat on the edge of a nearby table. "It's been thirteen years since you… Well, died. And- ugh. As much as I would like to have a very happy reunion right now, I want to make sure you're filled in on everything that has happened. A lot has changed."

  In that moment, he knew what she'd done.

  She'd succeeded. She'd brought him back from the dead.

  He took a few hesitant steps, testing out the robotic body she had crafted for him. He hardly needed to practice, however, considering nothing felt different. His body felt exactly the same as it had when he was still living, except for the fact that he was freezing.

  "N-No." He stuttered, moving towards her. His orange eyes glowed brightly in the dark room as he put two shaking hands on her shoulders.

  "I want this reunion now. You can fill me in later. Hell… You fucking did it."

  And that's when her engineering was put to the test, because as he began to cry, tears truly did fall down his face.

  She stared at him for a couple seconds, before she teared up again. He was standing right there in front of her, and she gripped the bottom of her shirt tightly. "… I guess I did." She sniffled, and shook her head. "I… I had completely given up." She admitted, looking away as tears started to stream down her face once again. "I- I was only given a tool today that let me finish. For- for years, I thought it was impossible and I- I-"

  She went quiet. He deserved to know.

  "… I was… With someone." She said, voice soft and somewhat afraid. "It's a long story, but… I don't want anything to do with him ever again. He's gone for good, and I will not let him near me or Aisling ever again." Her eyes darted to him for a second or two, and then drifted to the floor. "… I have children. Well, I-" Her face fell. "Bain is… Gone. But I have a daughter. She… She's five." She fidgeted with her hands, not daring to meet his gaze.

  Nych's face fell with every passing word, his mouth slowly twisting into a frown. His dark black hair, normally slicked back, was free to move, and therefore covered his beautiful orange eyes as he looked towards the floor.

  Once she finished, he didn't speak. He didn't speak for a very, very long time.

  Then, he spoke four words, and four words only.

  "You broke your promise."

  He understood. Hell, he knew why she'd done it; and he’d told her to be with someone that would make her happy if she couldn’t bring him back… But now… She'd brought him back anyway, even after having children.

  He saw the staircase, and he went for it.

  He was out of the house without anyone else seeing him, to his knowledge. They were all asleep.

  Willow stared at the staircase for a moment or two silently, and then fell to the floor as she covered her mouth. She knew this would happen. She wasn't good enough for anyone, and now Nych hated her. The one person that she had dreamed would be beside her had left, and now she had no one. Guilt tugged at her heart for so many different reasons, but they were soon lost to her as she sobbed out all the hurt and pain she was feeling.

  No Child Of Mine

  Purple eyes watched the figure dart through the house from the kitchen, and after a second moved to follow after this mystery person.

  A tiny hand opened the door (the other was holding a glass of milk) and quietly shut it as Aisling turned out towards the dark street. She frowned as she looked towards this mystery person, trying to make out who he was by his shadowy form. "… Who are you?" She asked after a moment.

  She sounded like her mother.

  And looked like her too.

  "… Do you know my mama?" She asked inquisitively after a second. "It's very late. She says that bedtime is eight thirty, and you shouldn't be up right now or she'll get mad at you." She raised her chin as she spoke very matter-of-factly, and then took a sip of her milk from her dinosaur cup.

  Nych turned around sharply when he heard the voice, and sighed when he realized he'd been followed. He didn't intend on leaving the yard; he'd just needed some fresh air. He wouldn't leave Willow; he just had to come to terms with the fact that she had birthed children without him.

  "Hey, little one." He said, sitting down in the grass against the fence.

  He looked up to her, a weary look in his eyes.

  "I'm Nych. Yeah, I know your mom."

  Aisling gasped, her eyes widening. "You're Nych?" She walked over to him, and then sat down in front of him with her cup of milk. "Mama told me lots of cool things about you!" She grinned, and then paused to take another sip of her milk.

  Priorities.

  "She talked about you and Blake a lot when we were looking at photo albums and the stuff from when she was um- in college!" She beamed at him, and after a moment frowned. "… She said you died though. Aren't you supposed to be dead? And you have weird eyes like me. That's cool!" Her eyes were a dazzling shade of lavender, and were the only thing that fully set her apart from how similar she looked to her mother.

  Nych stared to the little girl who asked too many questions, and let a small smile slip through his melancholy. "Yeah, I was dead. Your mom…"

  He didn't want to talk about the fact that she'd brought him back, but he also needed to let the little girl know. Her mother was a genius, even if she had broken the promise she made him on his deathbed.

  "She brought me back to life. She's really smart, but I bet you knew that."

  He mussed up her hair before laying down and looking up to the stars.

  Everything was so new. So strange.

  "Wow, that's so cool!" She grinned, and after a second looked up at the stars and smiled. "Are you gonna stay for the sleepover, too?" She asked after a moment. "Blake, Uncle Terry, and Dean are all staying over. We had pizza for dinner." She looked down at Nych and smiled warmly. "Uncle Terry said he's gonna stay for a couple days because Blake made my dad leave since he was really mean to me and mama."

  She looked down at her cup of milk, took a sip, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

  "But now mama says he's gone forever and so everyone's having a sleepover!" She perked right up again. "It's fun. We were playing with my Lego."

  Nych's breath caught in his throat as he laid there, listening to what the girl said.

  Willow… She'd been hurt. By whoever she'd chosen to be with. He couldn't stand the thought of anyone laying even a finger on the girl he called his own, and it was in that moment he decided what he'd do.

  "Sure, sweetheart. I think I'll be staying for a lot longer than that, too."

  He supposed, even if she wasn't his by blood… He had a daughter now.

  "What's your name?"

  "My name is Aisling." She looked over at him, her eyes sparkling. "A lot of people say ays-ling, because it's spelled A-i-s-l-i-n-g, but it's actually pronounced ash-ling, and my mama says that's because people are dumb and don't understand how to say Scottish names properly." She shrugged her shoulders, sitting with him in the cool grass as she looked up at the sky once again to examine the stars above.

>   "… You know, mom's gonna yell at you for being up this late. It's past bedtime."

  Nych chuckled, standing up and offering the girl his hand.

  "Well, we'd better get back then, shouldn't we? Your mom will be angry if she catches you out of bed. So hurry and finish your milk." He said, opening the door to the house and letting Aisling in.

  He'd go to Willow and make everything okay.

  Just like she'd done for him.

  Aisling looked up at him, then wrapped her small hand around his as she stood. "Okay. I'm almost done." She chugged the rest of milk, then looked up at Nych and pressed her finger to her lips. "Be quiet." She whispered, not so quietly. "Uncle Terry is sleeping." She pointed to the man sleeping on the couch, and then tugged his hand to lead him to the kitchen so she could put her cup in the sink.

  Once done, she led him down another hallway, and up to a door that had her name painted onto it in fancy letters. "Be quiet here too. Dean's having a sleepover with me so he's sleeping right now."

  She was very inconspicuous, of course. She opened the door to her room and peered inside to make sure the blond boy sleeping on an air mattress was, in fact, asleep. Satisfied that he was, she opened it all the way and stepped inside.

  Nych waited until Aisling laid down in her bed before he left, closing the door silently behind him. He then began walking back down the stairs, toward the basement where he had left the woman of his dreams.

  And there she was, curled up on the floor.

  He hated that he'd done this, in such a happy moment for the both of them.

  "You… You have a beautiful daughter."

  Willow let out a stuttered gasp, her body tensing up instinctively. She clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle her crying, and pushed herself so she was sitting upright, albeit still facing away from him. His words confused her, and she could hardly believe she was hearing them. She didn't think that he would so quickly come back to her, if at all. She didn't deserve to have him come back. She had broken their promise.

  So she curled in on herself, pressing her eyes closed and hugging her knees to her chest.