Warning folks, Chapter Five is very angsty. I'll put a trigger warning beforehand lol. I wasn't expecting it to get as dark as it has. I have cut out most of the really dark stuff because I don't want to give too much away and ruin the chapter for you all lol.
“Our conversation…I was…” The bot trails off, voice box shutting off with a bout of static. You turn your head to look at him. Grumbling, he reaches for the latch under his faceplate and flicks it and your eyes widen as his jaw clamps back together with a clang. His faceplate twitches, grin faltering and trying to perform an expression you know for a fact he was not programmed with the ability to make. His hands close and open, leather squeaking as he does. His gaze does not meet yours, staring up at the dome. “There is much I struggle with. I have memories I cannot escape from, experiences I cannot forget…sometimes I do not word things correctly. I did not mean to take the light from your eyes.”
He looks at you, eyes downturned and grin faltering still. “They are so dark now your eyes. I should have waited for a more appropriate time to speak my mind in a much more constructive manner…I did not mean to bring up awful memories. The humans I have encountered have not been as bright as you have been.”
“I am surrounded by reckless idiots. Venus is reckless in the way he expresses his frustration, doing so over the network which is monitored by Sullivan. Solace longs for freedom, to experience the things that you consider to be daily chores. Neptune wishes to be part of a world where he and Venus can exist without hate, a world where Arkas can be educated and act his age.”
“And what do you wish for?”
He stares at you, and his grin melts into a sad one. “I do not get to wish, to long, to hope. I do not get to do these things because I protect the ones I care about. My methods are considered unorthodox by others, even cruel. I was built to be a weapon, friend, the monster under a child’s bed, even. I am the villain in a children’s story.”
“But you can change.” You say, shifting a little closer to him, his eyes following your every move. “You may have been built for one purpose but are you seriously going to tell me there is not something you long for?”
“I have seen things that have sapped every bit of light from me.” He repeats with a dry chuckle. “An Eclipse’s job is to protect. I would not forgive myself if I failed to do my job a second time.”
