Annihilation

Fear

They sat side by side, machine and human, their fingers merely inches from each other as they took in the view of the sky above them.

A had brought Genesis to an abandoned old building that was on the outskirts of the city. How he had done so without grabbing the attention of security who patrolled the perimeter was beyond her. He had her blindfolded for the most part.

"It's beautiful, A. I never thought I'd see anything but bright lights for the rest of my life."

They both sat on top of the withered roof, digesting the darkness around them that was only illuminated by the full moon. It was peaceful, quiet and all too foreign to the woman. But it wasn't bad.

She loved being somewhere where there was no digital disturbance. It felt like she had gone back in time, and if it was up to her, she would have stayed there forever.

Unbeknownst to Genesis, A was silently examining her. He could tell she was happy by the way her eyes glistened underneath the millions of stars. The robot thought it was like a work of art and was about to mention it until she turned her head and caught him staring directly at her.

She seemed flustered for a moment but was then gazing upon him in awe.

"Wow. Your face is so shiny it's reflecting the stars. You look really pretty!"

"Oh?" He didn't seem accustomed to her compliments and looked away, crossing his arms over his chest as he examined the area around them.

"Do you know this used to be a hospital?"

Genesis rose her eyebrows, seemingly surprised by the sudden change of conversation. Pretending she didn't notice, she merely giggled and patted the rotting floor with excitement.

"Seems like a nice place to escape to. Don't you think?"

A gave a quick nod, "We can come here whenever the burden of the world is too much for us to handle. It will be our paradise."

Genesis's smile faded and was replaced with worry. She wondered what was burdening A, who didn't seem to have to worry about anything.

"A?"

"Yes."

"You know I'll always be here for you, right?"

At this moment, Genesis gently grabbed the machine's large hand and squeezed it. A let her do so, despite his sensors forbidding him from touching her. He fought every warning in his body to just savor the moment of one meaningful, heartfelt interaction.

She had shown him such kindness, taught him the meaning of compassion- A knew what exactly he had to do.

He focused on Genesis, grabbing her face with his hands as he concentrated on her wide eyes.

She had to know. He would tell her everything, or what little knew of himself at least. He would even mention Circe, all of it. How he felt the strip club somehow wiped his memory on who he really was, the experiments he was conducting along with others to achieve perfection and peace...

"Would you ever forgive me if I wrong you, Genesis?"

The woman's gaze seemed to falter for a little, but still she held strong as she grasped his hands.

"How could you have wronged me? You've done nothing but help! You rescued Cerci-."

A cut her off, his hands twitching as awful thoughts started to plague his inner circuits.

She wouldn't forgive him. Once she knew what happened to Cerci, what he was doing to people, what he done to his old boss...she would hate him. He would never see her again. Would she consider him as repulsive as her past lover?

"Genesis. I-."

He couldn't finish. 

A bright light shined directly on them, causing the two to separate rather quickly.  Genesis shielded her face, her heart picking up speed as she feared whoever had caught them. Could it be security? Would they get in trouble for trespassing?

A didn't seem as worried as she did and focused on the light, waiting for it to dim down so he could confront the unwanted guest. Once it did die, he focused on the one who had uncovered them with a slight hint of concern in his voice.

"Peanut. What are you doing here?"

Genesis didn't even recognize the old robot she once saw on the table and blinked a few times in surprise. Had A and him been friends since he got fixed? He seemed much more well cared for, perhaps Vail had decided to give him an overall upgrade.

"I thought you were someone else. You scared me!" She finally let out a small chuckle, causing the two robots to turn to her. Peanut didn't respond as he approached her, examining the human from head to toe with lifeless white eyes. A immediately stood in front of her before she could notice anything was wrong and repeated himself a little more sternly. 

"What is the matter."

It seemed to bring Peanut out of his trance, and he focused back on his companion.

"It's Vail."

Upon hearing this, Genesis's noticed A become silent and she knew something bad must have happened. He finally turned to the woman, trying to settle her down as he realized she was starting to grow nervous. 

"I will escort you back home. I greatly enjoyed this night." He gave a side glance to Peanut, who studied them quietly.

"You cannot come, Genesis. It is private business that I am involved in. Rest assured all is well."

The woman nodded, her brows furrowing together as she gave a slight nod to Peanut. 

"It was nice meeting you. I hope everything is okay."

The white robot merely stared back at her, until he cocked his head and nodded very slowly, "I hope we meet again."

There was a hint of something concerning in Peanut's tone of voice that A didn't like. He chose to ignore it and get the woman out of there as quickly as possible. There were more pressing matters to focus on, such as Vail. He couldn't imagine what was going on.