"Tell me, Ami - What are you fighting for?"
The man was standing there in the corner of her room, with eyes brooding into her. The sliver of dim light from the open window hit the side of his face with harsh lines, and danced in his bright emerald stare. This brazen confidence - breaking into where she slept, with no explanation, and demanding answers? No, she was no longer afraid, but as soon as she stood up from the back wall of her bed and to the floor in front of him, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of intimidation.
He was much taller than her - and could easily grab her if she tried to make a break for it to either the door behind him, or the bathroom with her gun lying in wait on the bathroom tile. But something else also caused her to pause. The way he stood, and the familiar black clothes.
"So it's you?" she finally spoke, looking up to meet his face.
Ami watched his head tilt slightly and brow furrow, but there was just a hint of a smile on his lips as she stepped closer.
"You're one of the leaders - of the rat masks. The 'Vermin,'" she started, slowly walking around him with careful steps, inspecting. The memories of the sea of rat masks backing away once she raised her gun flashed through her mind, "Or maybe, the only leader?"
He only responded by crossing his arms, smiling, then looking at the floor.
"N was it? You sure have a flair for the dramatic," Ami continued, now almost at his back, "I had the pleasure of seeing one of your videos. So is that why you're here? To capture me again? I already told all your rat friends that I'm not some spy. I'm not some secret agent. I work for. No. One-"
With a quick side step, Ami lunged for the bathroom door - but just as her hand touched the handle, his hand was on top of hers, with his wide arm blocking the door and her head knocking against his chest.
"Now, now, Ami. Let's not do anything stupid," he teased in almost a whisper.
Ami tried to pull her hand away from the handle with a sharp tug, but his hand held firm over it.
"I'm not here to fight you. I'm not here to take you away again. I know that's not going to work," he continued, then loosened his grip, letting her go but still blocking the door, "I just want to talk."
Ami backed up, but he seemed to see her looking out of the corner of her eye to the open window and blocked her path, yet again.
"Ami - we have the same enemy," he continued, walking towards her, "And I'm sorry I did not see that before. I just need to know - where did you come from?" He brushed a dark curly strand of hair from his eye with a wide palm, "Where did any of you come from? These trained killers taking out our agents, one. By. One," his eyes widened, and jaw clenched with each word as he stepped towards her, "Each with the same, white. Hair."
His hand was on the side of her face now, with his tight jaw close to her face as her back hit the wall of her bedroom. But she did not pull away, and her eyes met his with matching intensity.
"So you see my dilemma, Ami?" he continued, voice softening into almost a whisper, "If you're not the enemy - then who are you? What are you?"
"I could tell you. I could tell you everything. But why would you believe me?" said Ami.
He paused, taking back his hand, and stepping back away from her into the light.
"Because, like you, I seem to have nothing left to lose."
And so, for the second time in only a few short days, Ami recounted her entire life story - only this time fresh with the new details given by the Sleepwalker. And to her surprise - he listened, with no interruptions, no eye-rolls, not even a shake of his head in disbelief. It was only when she stopped that he crossed his arms again, looking down in consideration.
"So you were alive... before the Fall?" he finally spoke.
Ami didn't know how to respond, but she didn't need to, as he then began to laugh. Quietly at first, then in a full-chested holler that shook the tiny dark room. She had heard this laugh before, but she couldn't place it.
"It's just... It's just so... absurd?" he choked through the laughter, "I'm sorry - I'm not laughing at you. Really... It's just - of course The Faceless - Optica found the perfect weapons, right under their feet. Just waiting to be used. Just naïve little tools. A perfect killer - a perfect enemy to do their dirty work all the while they keep their hands clean."
He stopped his manic pacing around the small room and turned to Ami, grasping her shoulders tight in both hands.
"Don't you see? You're the scapegoat! The fall guy! The perfect distraction," he exclaimed, shaking his head, "Families of my brothers and sisters get taken out but who gets the blame on the news? Us! Another innocent, white-haired boy or girl dead on the street - who gets blamed? Us again! I know you saw those Hologuards blaming us for that attack."
Ami's memories flashed with the white-haired woman and the Hologuard parading her detached head above the stunned onlookers, and she couldn't help but shudder.
"We didn't do that. They did," he was pacing again, "Maybe one of their little pets got out of line," his eyes shot back at Ami, catching his own words, "Sorry. But. You do understand my frustration, right?"
Ami shook her head, "I still don't understand. What's the point of all this? What do they get out of all this?"
Ami watched the man stop in his tracks, turning slowly to her, "Ami... Have you ever been outside Downtown?"
"Well, I've been North, by the factories... I can't really go too far since-"
"...Since you had to be here, locked up to sleep," he finished. "Genius, really."
The man was staring out the window, into the dusty fog and hazy fluorescent neon of below, hands in his jacket pockets. Ami stood beside him, watching the tiny drones zip between the tall buildings, weaving in and out, as the first light of morning started to peak over the muted horizon.
"Do you know where you are, Ami?" he asked.
Ami started to answer - then stopped herself. This city was unlike any she had ever known. The high skyscrapers reminded her of the New York City she had seen in movies growing up, but there were no streets for cars - only the narrow alleyways filled with the people of Downtown. Plus, the island was completely water-locked from what she could tell - and much too small.
No, it didn't make sense.
"Where do I even begin..." he was rubbing his face now, before he let out a sigh and latched his fingers behind his neck, "After... After they put you in the bubble, maybe not long after - there were wars. Worldwide conflicts - I'm not sure of the specifics, but a lot of bombs went off. Nasty ones, destroying everything. Then there was a long, long period of flooding, then cold. Or maybe it was cold first? I don't remember. There's not many videos or files from back then - most of everything was wiped away when the power grids failed.
"Either way, something was wrong with the land, so we had to find new resources - and the leftovers started to make the islands - perfect little utopias for those who could afford the resources. And everything was great for a while - or at least from what we were told. But the thing is, someone still had to do the dirty work," he turned, smiling at Ami.
"It's predictable, really - humanity falling into the haves and the have nots. And when the privileged decided they had enough of us, the same old habits started to form, and they decided they wanted more. And more. The clothes are Optica, the ads are Optica, the Hologuards are Optica, the drugs are Optica."
The man was pacing again, jaw muscle flexing with every step.
"Every single screen. Everything. And we slave away in their factories - for what. Yet they sit there - far away from the sludge and slime of the city - sitting in their glowing splendor, giving us false promises of what 'could be', while they track our every move with those damned chips."
He turned to her again, eyes once again wild.
"But things could be different now. Now that we have you."
His warm hands framed both sides of her face, palms on her cheeks, and she put her arms on his wrists.
"Ami," his expression softened as he stepped closer, "I will never, never, tell you what to do. I will never put you in the dark again. I promise you, I will always tell you everything. I can only imagine what you've been through since you've woken up," he shook his head, "I'm just letting you know, you're not alone in this. Our enemy is the same."
He then gently placed her hands on his chest, holding them.
"You can do so many things that I can't. And with your talent, we can finally change things for the good. I know, I know, that this is probably a lot for you... And I'm not expecting an answer now. But together, together we can do great things, Ami. We can be unstoppable."
Ami pulled her hands away from his, shaking her head.
Visions of the exploding factory flooded her mind - the screams, the chaos. Red's hand and her ringing ears.
"I think you should leave," she finally spoke, trying her best to steady her voice.
"Ok... Ok," he nodded, backing away towards the open window. He paused there, hands on the frame, still looking down.
"I'm Nero, by the way," he said, looking up to her, "And I'll always be here if you change your mind. Just say the word - I'll find you."
And with that, Nero was gone.