B-4 did not let go of Walter once as they traversed the uneven earth of the graveyard and trekked up the hill to the ominous-looking mansion. Some part of him knew that holodeck programs had limitations that prevented true harm from befalling anyone who used the deck, but it was impossible not to be frightened by sudden shocks and ambling human corpses. Being tucked against Walter’s side made him feel safe. He relaxed even further when he noticed how eagerly Data was eying the eerie scenery; if Data enjoyed being scared, there must not have been any true cause for alarm. Data was reasonable enough to know whether anything here was a malfunction capable of actually hurting any of them.
They all stopped to observe the changing paintings. Lore responded without looking at Walter– his attention was captured by his own portrait.
“What are you looking at me for? You don’t think I programmed this, did you?” It was impossible to tell whether Lore was teasing or not from his tone alone, but he did mirror his portrait’s cruel smile and casual pose as he spoke. In the painting, the bioplast of his fingers had been stripped away to reveal the sharp metal skeleton below. The real Lore curled his fingers in a similar fashion, but instead of grabbing onto an Ancient West revolver as his painted self did, he wrapped his fingers around his brothers’ arms.
B-4 peeked out from behind Walter, somewhat disturbed to see that the version of himself hanging from the wall had been decapitated, its head teetering on the edge of a sparking, ragged neck. B-4′s head had been separated from his body before. It hadn’t been a big deal, but his body had not been cut up like it was in this picture. He shifted, uncomfortable, then looked at the other portraits hanging before them.
“Walter, is that what you look like inside?” Despite feeling rather anxious, he couldn’t help but be curious about the other android’s inner workings. They looked so interestingly different from what he knew of Soong technology.
“Why is the program showing us such terrible images? …is it a warning–?”
Abruptly, all lights in the mansion blinked off and the group was plunged into an unnatural darkness. When the candles flickered back to life, they illuminated a few obvious changes; the door at the top of the staircase was open wide to beckon them further, the furniture had been rearranged to encircle the staircase like theater seating, and the door they had originally entered had been replaced with smooth wall and tattered wallpaper as if it had never existed at all.
Walter gave Lore a sharp look. The thought that it all might be Lore’s doing had not occurred to him until the other mentioned it but now it seemed to him that Lore would be the likely culprit, much more likely than any of the harmless humans onboard.
“Is that so?” Walter leaned in to murmur quietly when Data seemed preoccupied with his painting. “Just how far would you go for a good scare?”
He turned his attention back to B-4 when the other inquired about Walter’s painting, and its accuracy. Walter gave it a critical look, then nodded.
“It is largely correct”, he admitted. “The use of metal, even wires are not as extensive as it is for you.” He smiled at B-4, hand coming up to cradle his face in a brief caress. “I find our differences quite fascinating.” But he absolutely despised the painting of B-4. It was the only one insinuating that the subject be harmless, which would be a correct depiction but an outrageous insult nonetheless. He didn’t think Lore would have shown his older brother in that humiliating position.
“A warning?” he said thoughtfully, repeating B-4 words. “I would perhaps use another word for it.” Threat. And threats should be disposed of. Noticing that their exit had been cut off, he loosened his grip on B-4, stepping ahead of him to advance further. Whatever was waiting for them a the top of the stairs, he would face it first. Lore was the only one of the other three he wanted with him at the front line now, knowing that the other would not hesitate to end a serious threat if it came in the guise of a joke.
It was impossible to determine the size of the room. Ahead of them was some kind of mirror hallway branching off - a maze? - with high, vertical mirror panes disappearing into a dark ceiling. The floor was still, dark water with a narrow stone path winding away in different directions, fitting at most two people next to each other, if they stood as close as family.
It was quite beautiful, deceptively calm. His face a grim, stone mask, Walter walked inside and once they were all there the door slammed shut behind them and an old fashioned, scratchy carnival music started to play was the walls began to move, rippling around them like a restlessly moving snake and sending myriads upon myriads of reflections around them until even their fine-tuned senses began to make mistakes.
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