Keeping Him Loved

Chapter 9

        Add had expected them to be nasods, and they were. Every single one of them had been nasods that all wanted nothing more than for him and the laboratory that he had protected to perish. They had nearly been successful with the sheer amount of numbers and power that they had. Had he not gotten upset about being interrupted and gone all out to begin with, Add might have actually died.

        Elder's dictator of a ruler, Wally, had sent nasods after him once before, but Add knew that Wally was not capable of building machines of this quality. The only thing differentiating them from humans were the blue cores sticking out of their chests and the metallic coloring of their skin. He could tell that they were carefully crafted. Possibly even  from ancient origins. Whoever had sent them lured him into the area to get rid of him for good, but who and why? Even as Add leaned against the wall for support, he couldn't think of anyone who'd go so far as to hunt him down.

        "It's too far away. I won't make it back to her," Add realized. He had managed to drag himself back to the end of the waterway, but there was no way he'd get back to his home. Not right then. He was already exhausted, and he felt his strength fading. The nasods had primarily performed lethal assaults that were meant to be fatal when successfully executed. Add's calculations were the only thing that saved him. The nasods relied too much on perfection allowing him to predict their moves enough to avoid any truly fatal encounters. He managed to get out of the fight without sustaining any cuts or stab wounds, but he was certain that his back was bruised from the way a pair of nasods had teamed up to slam him against a wall. Not to mention the burned edges of his shorts from a particularly unpleasant encounter with a laser.

        "If I just rest...for just a moment." He felt himself losing his balance and tried to keep himself upright only to fall backwards just short of reaching the exit. His dynamos caught him and gently lowered him downwards. A notification within his mind signified that the download of the laboratory's information had been completed. Keeping that download going while he had been fighting was part of the reason behind his irregular fatigue. He began to laugh but winced at the way it made his chest hurt. Although he himself hadn't gotten away completely unscathed, Add managed to take down all seven of the highly advanced nasods. Seven against one, and he alone triumphed. "Take that you coward," he thought in regard to whoever had tried to secretly assassinate him.

        Add's dynamos began to power off in pairs as his conciousness began to go dormant against his will. It was the cost for instantly gaining so much information. The chip implanted within him needed time to process the new information and formulate new codes.

        By the time he awoke, there was no light peeking in from the exit. Add sat up and looked out into the night ahead of him. "Just great. My entire day, wasted." The information that had been gathered began to process in his head. "Or perhaps not entirely wasted."

        Add got up and brushed off his already tattered clothes. He grimaced in disgust at his surroundings one last time before leaving the waterway to go home. Most of the pain from his injuries had faded which allowed him to travel without paying them any mind. As Add neared the path that led to the old house, he searched his mind for any leads that could give him information about his attacker's identity. He had never gone anywhere outside of Elder. The world was vast, but he was not the type to go exploring instead of taking the time to gain more knowledge from the things already around him. No one outside of Elder should want him gone, right? At the very least, Wally would have captured Add for his information rather than trying to kill him if it really had been that old man who sent the nasods after him.

        The smell of burned metals carried itself to Add on the wind. It instantly had the boy stepping onto his dynamos to quickly make his way to the source hoping that the house had nothing to do with it. The melted remains of a nasod was the first thing he saw in the small yard of his home. Not far from it, another nasod was trapped in a tangled mess of branches. It's core was shattered to pieces with leaves growing out of it. Behind the destroyed nasods was (y/n) who sat with her back against the outside of the house. Her eyes snapped open as soon as Add stepped onto the grass again. Her gaze shifted to him, and Add could see the grief in her eyes morphing into relief.

        "(Y/n)..." he took a few shaky steps forward. He suddenly felt sick knowing that these nasods could have killed her. Before he could say another word, he was wrapped in her arms. (Y/n) didn't give him time to explain anything. She simply hugged him and began to cry. "It's alright, I'm fine." He didn't have to think much to figure out why she was so distraught. "Don't cry, it doesn't suit you." He reached up and pet her head as he returned her hug with one arm. Anger started to creep into his swirl of emotions. There was no way to tell if the nasods had been there for him or for her. Add suspected both, but he couldn't be certain without knowing why someone wanted him dead so badly.

        "You're alive," (y/n) finally spoke. She was much calmer but still clunged to him as if he would evaporate the second she backed away from him.

        "Of course I am." All his previous concerns seemingly faded away when he looked at her. "I'm more than strong enough to fight a coward. You aren't hurt, are you? How long have you been outside?" He searched for any signs of harm, stopping his gaze at the charred part of her cloak. She saw him stare, so there was no chance that she could lie about it.

        "I don't know how long it's been. I didn't see your note until after I dealt with those nasods, so I waited. You had been gone so long that I started to think that you..." she trailed off and leaned against him. "It's just good to see that you're alright."

        Add stood there for a moment and let himself indulge in the attention. Hugs between the two of them were rare, yesterday having been the first in a while. He was painfully aware of how touch starved he was which was why it sparked desire in him whenever (y/n) held on for too long. He had to avoid that feeling or it would overtake him. "Let's get inside. It's getting darker. I'm not letting you go back to Elder in this condition either."

        (Y/n) looked at him in surprise. "Who said I was going back?"

        "It isn't safe for you here, not with me." He tried to back away from her but (y/n) wouldn't allow him to. "Let go. I'm going to take care of that and then take you back home," he spoke as he pointed down to her ankle. "These nasods were probably just here for me. It wouldn't be logical for me to let you stay here knowing that."

        "I can't go home. Not now, not today or even tomorrow."

        "You don't have a choice. I'm taking you back." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her off of him.

        "A group of people that were probably working with that merchant who stalked me showed up to look for me last night. My door was unlocked when I went home today." (Y/n) pulled her wrist out of his grasp. "I'm not scared of them, but it doesn't make me feel any better about it. I don't feel safe staying there by myself. Not in that city. It's harder to react with so many sounds everywhere, and it's harder to escape than when I'm in the woods." She paused and briefly looked at him before avoiding his stare. "I came back and found those nasods destroying everything, so now I don't want to leave you by yourself either."

        "Destroying everything? What are you talking about?" Although Add had heard everything she said, those words particular stood out to him. "What did they destroy?"

        (Y/n) bit her lip and glanced behind her. "I...was too late to stop them."
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Until next time you epic readers!