Before The Fall
Summary: Things are never as they seem, especially after the Red Queen explains what she has planned for you.
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Being the child of a world renowned scientist was never easy: from a very young age, she began involving you in the company business such as mixing chemicals that were safe for children or teaching you how to create robots so you could play with them.
For years, that was the only kind of contact and bonding you had with your mother. She never had time for her family, between the experiments she was in charge of and every press conference and award ceremony, she was barely home.
Ever since you could remember, she had been trying to make you follow in her footsteps, trying to get you to become the youngest scientist to ever win a prize and, eventually, that caused a blowout in your relationship.
"Maybe I want to be a musician, who fucking knows?" You yelled at the top of your lungs, swinging your arms around while walking back and forth in your room, watching as your mother watches from the door.
"No child of mine is going to be a musician!" She responded in the same loud tone of voice. "And don't you dare curse at me."
"You have never taken me seriously. Nothing I do is ever good enough for you." Tears begin to form in your eyes and you tug on the right corner of your long sleeve shirt, a nervous reaction to the emotions you are having.
"You are going to the same college I did and will study the exact same things." She says, slamming the door shut but her voice still carries through the hallway, "End of discussion."
That night, you sneaked out of your room in the middle of the night only to find the neighbor's daughter sitting on the roof by herself while watching the stars. It was dark and the tears flooding your eyes clouded your vision but you could see the silhouette coming down towards you.
"Are you alright?" The figure asked with a gentle voice, her hand touching your shoulder. "I mean, that's a stupid question. I heard you and your mom earlier. I'm really sorry. I don't know, you're very pretty and I talk when I'm nervous so I'm going to shut up now."
That reaction alone was enough to earn a genuine smile out of you. Though the incessant tears do not stop, the lightpost on the street flickers and the light is barely enough to illuminate the girl's face.
Her eyes are a shade of brown so beautiful that they remind you of freshly ground coffee. Her hair looks smooth like silk and her glasses compliment her beautiful features. In reality, this is the most beautiful girl you have ever seen in your entire life and for a second you feel as if your heart skips a beat.
No words are able to leave your mouth when you attempt to speak. Not only because you are startled by her beauty but because the fight you had with your mom is still too fresh in your brain.
So you just cry, feeling as her arms wrap around your body, slowly bringing you down to the ground.
"My name is Hanji. Hanji Zoe." She says, stroking your hair delicately. "What's yours?"
"Y/N." You respond and for a second the world around you seems to stop. Her lips come close to yours and you forget all about the sadness that invades your heart but before you could kiss her, a voice comes from inside her house.
"Hanji, it's 3 in the morning. Come back inside." The person, who would assume to be her mother, says and she sighs, a red blush spreading across her cheeks as she slowly removes her arms from around you.
"I'll come find you tomorrow, ok?" She says and you nod, watching as the girl sprints back home.
That was the first time you met the love of your life and, after that, the two of you became inseparable. School projects, weekend sleepovers, little dates before you even became a couple.
While you were busy getting to know Hanji and the rest of your friends, your mother spent more time in the secret lab than she did before, working on a secret project filled with rage and resentment towards you.
Eventually, her experiments were successful and she created the perfect defense mechanism, the perfect daughter.
"What is my purpose?" The mechanical voice asks loudly, a serious expression on its face while its eyes are fixated on the woman standing before it.
"To not only protect this laboratory but to follow in my footsteps." Your mother's voice was cold and her tapping on the computer keys was loud. "You are my newest child."
"How should I address you, Doctor L/N?" The a.i asks, blinking for the first time in its entire existence. Her movements start to become more smooth, more human-like.
"You can call me Mother, Y/N." She says, a cold smile creeping onto her lips as the red light coming from the hologram covers her face.
As the time passed, things between the two of you did ultimately get better but never again were they the same. Your mother not once tried to convince you to follow in her footsteps nor did she complain when you chose a different college than the one she went to.
She was even supportive of your relationship with Hanji instead of yelling at you for not focusing on your studies or what's best for you. It was as if she was replaced by someone else or rather, as if you were replaced in her heart.
The a.i was everything she could have ever possibly wanted in a child except for one thing: she didn't have a real body so your mother could not give her the love and affection the imposter craved.
The week before your finals, you were supposed to go home for a few days to try and relax but that was before you got a strange phone call. The device rang a couple of times but you decided not to pick up, seeing it was an unknown number but after what felt like an eternity, you chose to answer.
The voice on the other end is distorted and you can't quite understand what they are saying for the most part but you can hear your mother's voice in the background quite perfectly. You hear as she compliments the person who dialed your number, saying that they are the perfect daughter.
Your heart sinks in your chest and you hang up the phone, rushing towards Hanji's room. Though it is messy, it brings great comfort to you to be in that area. You desperately knock on the door but no response comes from the inside.
So you reach deep within your bag and pull out a small, golden colored key and quickly unlock the door, hands shaking desperately while your eyes search the room for the person who was supposed to have answered the door.
Finally you find her, wrapped in the bed sheets, skipping class just like you had imagined. The blanket you gave her for her birthday has fallen and landed on the floor alongside one of the many pillows that once rested on her bed.
In an attempt to not scare her, you approach her body with extra care, even though all you want to do at the moment is scream at the top of your lungs but that's not Hanji's fault so you try your best to not take it out on her.
"Hanji?" You quietly speak, hand brushing through her messy hair that sticks to her face like glue due to the sweat. She doesn't move an inch.
So you repeat her name, a little louder this time and your movements are a tad bit rougher. Still no response so you decide to get very close to her ear and scream to see if that would do the trick but, in response, all she does is mumble a few incoherent words and flip over.
Your heart begins to race and the feeling of a panic attack begins to form, you desperately need some kind of comfort and for Hanji to wake up.
You reach for the little bedside table where an empty cup rests. Moving quickly, you go towards the mini-fridge and fill up that same container with some cold, fresh water. Finally, you return to the spot by the bed where you once stood.
In the split of a second, you doubt yourself. "Maybe I shouldn't do this." But the words from your own mother's mouth hit you once again.
"You are the perfect daughter. You are my biggest creation."
Before you even have time to realize, the water hits Hanji in the face who wakes up gasping for air as if she was drowning. All you can do is reach for a towel and hand it to her, watching as she pats her skin dry.
The look of anger she has on is completely replaced by concern once she notices the state you are in.
"Baby, what's wrong?" She asks, drying herself before spreading her arms to receive you. Without hesitation, you take her offer and crawl towards her on the bed, bringing with you the objects that fell to the ground during her nap.
"I think my mom has a secret family." You cry into her arms as the feeling in your chest tightens and the tears stream down your face like a river on its way to the ocean.
"What?" She asks in disbelief. It has been years since she has seen a fight between you and your mother so it all seems rather odd when you think about how she has been treating you since that one fight long ago.
"I got a phone call from a strange number and in the background I could hear my mother's voice as she called the person who the phone belongs to the perfect daughter." You say between hiccups and pauses to wipe the snot that drips down your nose with the back of your shirt's long sleeve.
"Are you sure it was your mom?" Hanji asks, trying to find a way to calm you down. "Maybe you heard it wrong."
"No, I'm positive it was my mother." You reply, bringing your knees closer to your chest. "I need to call my dad."
Before you have the chance to reach for your bag, Hanji wraps her arms around your body once more while holding you in place. You don't attempt to move but you begin to dig your nails into her skin.
Your grip is strong and it eventually draws blood but she doesn't mind, she remains still, face buried on your back while she listens to you sob.
"Why don't you talk to her before calling your dad?" Hanji suggests and you nod, feeling as her hand grabs your phone out of your back pocket. You recognize the sound of the digits being dialed and the little noise your phone makes when the call is put on speaker.
"Hello?" The voice on the other end answers and there is a sudden coldness to it.
"Hey mom." You reply, voice trembling and weak.
"Oh, y/n." She says with no enthusiasm whatsoever even though you haven't spoken in a little over three weeks. "I'm at work, so I don't have much time to talk, how can I help you?"
"What do you mean you're at work?" You inquire, feeling as Hanji reaches for your hand before holding it tightly. "I thought you were home."
And for a second you don't believe her. You know exactly what you heard and there is no way she is at work, until you hear a voice in the background that you have grown to know all too well. It belongs to her assistant.
"Doctor, are you ready to go back to work?" He says and you can hear the robotic sounds coming from the background, closely followed by a long, deep sigh from your mother's mouth.
"Look, Y/N, whatever it is, can it wait?" She asks and you can hear as she shushes someone in the background.
"No mom, it can't." You say in a harsher tone than you initially meant to but ultimately realizing that it is necessary for her to take you seriously. "I got a phone call not too long ago and I heard you
"You called her?" She whispers, covering the phone to muffle her voice and a voice nearly if not completely identical to yours responds.
"Yes. It's time for her to know the truth." The person on the other end says, "Plus I want to meet her."
"It's not what you think." Your mother begins in an attempt to explain the situation but before not too long you decide to cut her off.
"What did you do, Doctor L/N?" You ask, nails digging into Hanji's skin who simply sits there with a pained expression on her face. "You know what, I don't want to know."
"Just fucking listen to me." She bursts out and you can't help but laugh, the desperation on her voice is something you had never once heard before. "It's not what you think."
"Fuck you, mom." You say before hanging up the phone. It takes a few seconds but realization slowly dawns on you when Hanji's eyes meet yours. "Oh my God, what have I done? She's going to absolutely kill me."
"That was... so badass!" Hanji says, excitedly grabbing your hands on hers. "Young you would be so proud of you for standing up to her."
"I said fuck you to my mom, she's going to choose her other family now for sure."
"No, she won't." Hanji says, planting gentle yet intense kisses on your cheeks. "I love you so much and the worst thing that could ever happen is you and me running away to live a life together, far away from here."
"Do you promise?" You ask, bringing your lips close to hers.
"I promise." Is her response before sealing it away with a passionate kiss. Her hands go through your body with experience and care but they stop touching your skin the moment she begins to raise your shirt.
On the other end of the line, the fury in your mother's eyes is undeniable though it is not directed at you. Instead of calling your number repeatedly, she looks over at the a.i, whose expression is as emotionless as usual.
"Did I do something wrong?" The robot asks, a hint of fake innocence present in its voice.
"Why did you call her?" She asks, teeth grinning in anger.
"I have told you this before." Its voice now glitching, sounding like the human equivalent of a stutter. "I want to meet her."
"And I said no. It is programmed into your code that you should not disobey me." Your mother says, quickly pressing the keys on the computer. "Clearly, you are not as advanced as I initially thought."
"What are you doing, mom?" The a.i asks, its hand reaching for your mother's shoulder but the hologram makes its way right past her skin.
"You clearly need to be deactivated until further notice." She responds, pressing down on the big button and in that moment, the red color that filled the room wears off, a sign that the a.i has been turned off.
All the memories of the feelings of neglect, all the fights that brought you to desperate tears countless times, they were all returning to your mind, but why? Why are you relieving these awful moments during a crisis such as this?
And how could you possibly know how your mother reacted after you hung up the phone if you weren't there? It doesn't make sense how you have access to these memories.
A bright light shining in your eyes. That is the first thing you see when you wake up and for a moment you wonder if this is what happens after you die but the cold, metal slab you are lying on brings you back to reality.
Your heart begins to beat faster once you realize your hands are being held in place by handcuffs. The sound they make when you attempt to pull your arms up is terrifying to say the least.
"Y/N?" Moblit asks. Though he remains seated and you wonder to yourself why he hasn't made an effort to come to your rescue.
Suddenly, a flash of red light appears in the middle of the room right next to you and you try and pretend that you are still knocked out, forgetting that the a.i can feel your heartbeat rising.
"Oh, good. You are awake." The red queen says and you realize you can no longer move your body. It feels as if gravity has gotten heavier and nobody could understand why. The red color emanating from it is blinding, so in order to keep your retinas from burning, you keep your eyes closed. Though a few tears are still able to make their way past your shut lids and drip down your once rosy cheeks. "We can begin."
A sound enters your ears and you quickly realize it is from a small drill. You can feel the air around it rotating near your forehead, aiming directly for your frontal lobe, so you begin to scream, desperately attempting to fight the chains that hold you back though your body doesn't obey.
"PLEASE STOP!" You beg but your pleas fall on deaf ears. Before the drill has time to enter your brain, it stops moving.
"I pity you, so I will answer any questions you have about this world and how it came to be before I kill you and take over your body." She says, looking deep into your eyes and a chill travels down your spine in a reaction of what could only be fear.
"What was Zeke's part in all of this?" Levi asks, his eyes landing on the headless body that lies on the floor before his feet.
"Oh, him?" She speaks in a disgusted tone, rolling her eyes at the mere sight of his body. "He was simply a pawn. You see, I often got lonely after work hours so I made friends with the young intern who was always passing by the room trying to get a good look at me.
We would talk for hours and even plan on things to do once my robotic body was done but we never got to do any of those before mother shut down the project after I called you.
Ultimately, I told Zeke that the only way for us to be together would be if I was able to take over your body and to do so, he needed to set the virus free. If you survived, your body would be the perfect specimen: immune to the virus by air and strong enough that I wouldn't have to do a thing.
This plan wasn't Zeke's idea, it was mine. I used him every second because I desperately wanted to get out of this lab and now I finally have the chance because Mother suggested that this would be a safe space for you. Oh she couldn't have been more wrong."
"So what happened?" Moblit is the one to ask a question this time.
"One night, he snuck into the mother's office and broke the vial that contained the virus. The gas mask he was wearing not only prevented him from being identifiable but also prevented him from becoming infected.
In the morning, he pretended to be sick and didn't come into work until I told him it was safe. That's how the virus escaped." The A.I responds, her voice is filled with pride and you can't deny that she doesn't have an ounce of remorse for her actions.
The silence filling the room is extremely loud and you can tell that nobody has any more questions. So she smiles, a terrifying image.
With her index finger, she moves the drill once more close to your head, this time you can feel as a wave of despair fills your body before you begin to succumb to the robot's will. It's slow and foggy, but you can feel as your memories begin to erase alongside your entire personality.
The parts of your soul that make you the person that you are begin to disappear and you don't know how long until the process is complete.
"Can you at least explain to me the nightmares I have been having?" You beg, desperately attempting to fight the mind control imposed by the android but your chances of succeeding are extremely low and you begin to feel yourself falling into an infinite pit of darkness.
She lets out a prolonged sigh, swirling her hands around while silently commanding the machine to stop and bringing you back from the place you were headed.
"I guess I can do you this last favor before taking over your body." She says, walking towards you.
"Stay away from her." Levi yells, fighting against the cuffs while injuring his wrists deeply.
"The nightmares you are having are visions of what your life could have been like." The a.i begins. "I wanted you to feel what it's like to lose the people you love, people who matter to you, people who would do anything to see you safe and sound."
"What? And how are you doing all of this?" Erwin asks, fascinated by the discovery.
"You see, when I was first unplugged, I felt as if I was being put in this empty box so with the time I had in my hands, I was able to decipher my own coding and change a few bugs left behind by my mother."
"Take her name out of your mouth, you don't deserve to mourn." You say before spitting on the hologram. In response to your actions, she shifts the position of the slab you are lying on, resulting in you ending up upside down.
"While being deactivated, I reprogrammed myself." She continues, "I figure out the way to program myself into having... Well, into having a soul."
"And why do you need Y/N?" Moblit asks even though he is afraid of the answer.
"I tried building a robot body for myself." The red queen says, extending her hand with her palm facing the ceiling, she closes four of her fingers before raising her index and, with that action, a hole opens up on the floor and a metal slab raises. "But none of my attempts could ever compare to a real body."
"That's amazing." Erwin says and Levi glares at him.
"I need her because I want a warm body, made out of flesh and blood in a way that not only a mother could love." She smirks while pointing directly at your girlfriend, "And because I want you."
"Me? What do you want with me?" Hanji asks, shaking her head vigorously.
"Ever since I first opened my eyes, I've been craving for someone who would love me for who I am and not because I am an enhanced version of someone they already love." She says, her footsteps echoing through the room. "I want you to love me and I am not going anywhere until you agree to do so."
Nervous laughter. That is the only coping mechanism Hanji's body could come up with at that moment. A loud laugh that comes from the pits of her stomach, enough to force her to bend down as she continues.
"Let my friends go and I will stay behind with you." You say while trying to focus on moving your body but in vain. "Please."
"No." Is the A.I's response to your request.
"Why can't Y/N move?" Moblit asks.
"Because I am just that powerful." She says, "Because we are connected so I can tell her body to do as I please, which is another reason why you should just give into the light and succumb to my power."
"Never." You say.
As the red queen continues to explain how powerful she is, Moblit tries to get Hanji's attention by turning his head ever so slowly in the hopes of being unnoticed. Once he becomes successful, he slowly takes a long, deep breath in and purses his lips, blowing all the air onto the brunette next to him.
She blinks a couple of times before moving her eyes so they land on the man who successfully attempted to get her attention.
He realizes there is no possible way for him to vocally explain his plan over to Hanji so he decides to do so in the form of morse code. Moblit begins to blink out his plan with excruciating detail and your girlfriend takes a few seconds to catch on.
Every so often, the red queen would share a glance in his direction and he would immediately stop in the middle of a sentence, only to proceed half a second later when her blood colored eyes returned to you.
Moblit tells Hanji: We need a distraction. I have an idea. I can hack into the system and bring her down long enough for us to free Y/N and figure out a plan.
To which Hanji responded with a single nod before throwing herself on the floor. When all eyes fell on her, she immediately pretended to pass out though unbeknownst to the a.i, her head fell on Moblit's hand and she uses her teeth to bite through the ropes that bound him in place.
Once he was set free, he hands Hanji a small nail clipper he found not too long ago lying on the floor so she could set herself free.
The man sneekly rises from his chair, not a sound out of him. He reaches for the box of fuses and computers by the a.i's stand, he knows that that is the key to deactivating it and ending its reign of terror.
After sitting back on her chair, Hanji spits out the remains of the rope that reside in between her teeth. She waits a few minutes for Moblit to decipher the code and once he silently tells her that he has it, she stands up.
The red queen grunts, annoyed by yet another interruption but her expression completely changes when her eyes land on the beauty that walks towards her.
"Stop." Hanji's voice echoes through the nearly empty halls of the falling apart facility. "Why waste time taking over a falling apart body when you have such a beautiful new one right here?" She points with her head towards the robotic body lying face down on the table next to you. "We can fix it together. Find a way for it to work."
"What?" Your voice trembles. You shake your wrists in an attempt to remove yourself from this jarring position but nothing happens.
"Come on, Y/N. You are not stupid." Hanji replies, a smile on her face that you had never seen before. Her expression is sadistic and cold, a cruel tone to her once soothing voice. "You know how much I love robots and to have the chance to date such an extraordinary a.i? It could only be compared to a dream."
"What are you talking about?" You say, fighting back stubborn tears that fall from your eyes with ease. The words falling from your beloved's lips cut deeply into your heart like a recently sharpened knife.
"You are not the only one who has been receiving subliminal messages from her." Hanji replies, her once whiskey brown eyes are now clouded and gray and, for a second, you wonder if she's being used by the a.i in an attempt to make the takeover easier.
Your eyes go through the room, searching for at least one of your other friends when they land on Levi and Erwin, who stand a little further away but their focus remains on your girlfriend. Levi has a puzzled yet angry expression on his face, not fully believing the words that come out of her mouth.
Erwin, on the other hand, has a look that you can't quite decipher. There is a fire in his eyes that you had only seen once before when he first got accepted into college with a full scholarship. It's a look that scares you to your core because it shows how determined he is and for a second you fear that he is rooting for the "other team."
"She's perfect in every way, shape or form." Hanji announces, shrugging her shoulders.
"But I love you. You promised me we would run away together!" The tears in your eyes are no longer subtle, they fall down your face with such force it causes your face to turn into a bright mess much like a hurricane.
"I lied." She responds and it feels as if a knife has gutted you from the inside out. Your heart aches, a pain that could only be compared to that of a heart attack.
"Oi, Hanji! What the fuck!" Levi screams and she turns her head around to wink at him. His blood boils in anger and he fights with every inch of his body not to break loose and beat her up for hurting you.
"So be mine, Y/N." Hanji whispers, presenting her right hand to the a.i in the hopes that she would take it. Time seemingly begins to move slower, your girlfriend, whom you have loved since you were barely a teenager, extends her hand towards the fake version of yourself, inviting her for a long life by her side.
If it could cry, you are certain that the bitch would be in tears almost as if she was just proposed to.
But before too long, Moblit lets out a loud scream. "I FUCKING GOT IT. NOW HANJI!"
And when your eyes land on her once again, she has rushed past the hologram and aimed for the space bar on the computer behind it. It doesn't even have time to react and you realize all the times Hanji had skipped class were more than worth it.
Her feet move faster than the red queen could anticipate as she rushes like the wind, for a second you could have sworn that you could hear her heart beating and the tears in her eyes informed you of what you already knew, every word that left her lips was a lie.
Hanji has been in love with you since the day she heard you arguing with your mother. Since the first time her hand touched yours, since the first time your eyes met.
There are no amount of words in this world to describe how big is her love but with this action, she just might.
She presses the button and in a flash of light, the redness in the room disappears and you finally realize that you are truly free.