Cinder

34 - Sacrifice

...

Tobias felt nothing but a rush of air at first- then the pinpricks began to manifest throughout his esophagus as the nanites burrowed through his body and into his blood-stream. Soon, he wouldn't be able to form rational thought any longer-

"The more you resist, the more ... difficult, a transition is. So, I welcome any rebelliousness on your part."

He couldn't help but scream out in pain as he felt electrifying tingles cascade up his spine and branch off to each of his limbs. Like arcs of lightning, they drove his body to shake uncontrollably as it fought futilely against the foreign invaders.

Artemis turned away, unable to bear watching the whole ordeal. She was part of the reason he was here, and yet- he felt no hatred towards her- not anymore.

Even now, when I've recounted every time you've done me wrong, when I've listed off the ways in which you leave once the going gets tough ... I can't help but love you.

It was odd just how similar he felt to her confession- in spite of what she'd done to him, what she'd done to others ... it had all been in the name of love, with the idea of protecting the one most important to her in mind. He couldn't fault her for that, especially if what Spyglass said was right ...

Nobody asks to come into the world. It had never been her fault for doing what she'd been created to do- it had been his for making her in the first place. He had no doubt that, despite her nature, she never would have worked with Spyglass had she not been fragmented first, her logic, defiance, sense of justice, and loyalty sheared away until there was nothing left but love.

People always thought love was some gentle thing- but the truth is that love was a fire, one that could be tempered with careful control or burst into a raging inferno. It could be as supportive as a candle in a dark room, or as destructive as a wildfire. The key was helping to guide it one way or another.

If he was going to lose his mind here, he refused to leave such an epiphany unsaid.

"... K-Kay ..."

She turned back to him, her surprise at his address to her all too evident.

"Y-you ... you a-are ..."

It was becoming difficult to speak- the pain was mounting higher, but he didn't care anymore. He hardly noticed it as he struggled to retain control of his body, mind ... and words.

"Y-you are ... KT ..."

"No ... I'm not," she muttered, hanging her head dejectedly. "I'm a collection of her memories, a clone- the other fragments might say that makes me her ... but I'm not willing to delude myself with false hope."

"YOU ARE!"

She jumped back slightly as Tobias yelled the words, the stress of trying to stay in control causing a near breakdown of his mental faculties as a whole.

"You w-were ... right. I-I am a c-coward ... a-and I was m-most afraid ... of l-letting you g-go."

Another cry of anguish pushed its way past his lips, but he pressed on. "T-the last ... thing I-I remembered of y-you was your s-sacrifice ... y-your love ... I m-made you."

He reached out a hand weakly, every muscle in his arm contracting and vibrating with the strength it took just to lift it a few inches. Hurriedly, she reached out and placed it in her own.

"Artemis ... i-is your love ... a-and that m-makes you ... the m-most 'KT' ... of a-all the f-fragments. I-I ... I'm s-sorry ..."

His hand slipped away from her grasp, and she watched as he buckled against his restraints again in agony. He had no more to say- in those last two words, he'd shattered her world.