"... K-Kay?"
That was all he could manage to choke out as he looked her new form up and down.
She was back.
She ... was back.
The Simulacrum waved at him. "Yes ... it's me."
Nothing had prepared him for this. The last time he'd seen her, she was a second-hand Ion chassis walking away into a city on Luma. Now, she was ... this.
Waves of questions flooded his mind; how was she here? Why was she here?
What happened to her?
Unaware of the turmoil within his mind, she simply gave a small hum of contentment, as though that were enough to satisfy his questions. She seemed oblivious to the tense circumstances of their reunion. "Do ... do you like it?"
He was still in shock for a moment, and didn't fully comprehend the question until he registered that she was referring to her new body. "I- I just don't know how to react. This is all so sudden, I- this isn't possible, how are you here?"
"They're not the only ones who can track the flares of the Inferno," she answered vaguely.
From off to the side, the Leatherback's engines lit up with energy blazing from its exhaust ports, the first time in a long time. The roar of their engines pierced the air momentarily before dropping back down to a low hum. Gates and the others had started it up, and he saw Davis standing on the ramp; not wanting to interfere quite yet, but ready to jump in if need be.
It did not go unnoticed by Kay. "I mean no harm to any of you, Tobias."
Her casual nonchalance was completely wrong for this situation ... it set him on edge. "Yeah, that's why you felt it necessary to blow up the other ship, huh?"
She threw her hands in the air in mock innocence, as though she were absolving herself of blame. "You all would have taken off and left without knowing it was me if I hadn't, wouldn't've you?"
He narrowed his eyes. His initial reaction had been joy at seeing her again, his heart soaring for the first time in a year and threatening to cloud his judgement ... now, suspicion had invaded once more.
"There were easier ways to let us know."
"None as quick, though."
He kept his stance neutral, neither defensive nor aggressive. "Why are you here?"
Her blue "visor" blinked, winking out of existence before appearing again. Yet another human-like characteristic, seemingly for no other reason than for it to be there. "I already told you, I'm here for you-"
"But not why," he cut her off. "Believe me, there isn't a part of me that isn't happy to see you- but I can't just accept that you came here after a year with all ... all this, and you don't have a real reason."
She gave a synthetic sigh, and allowed her hands to fall to her waist. "Tobias, a lot about me has ... changed."
His eyes darted to her body again. "Yeah, I can see that."
She caught the sharpness in his tone. "Would I be right in assuming you want an explanation?"
He did not move, nor did he reply; yet his expression told her exactly that.
A synthetic sigh escaping her, she began; "After I left, I found passage off-world. For the next month or two, I went where I was needed; no one questioned a Titan, considering that they make up the majority of Spyglass's forces. It was the perfect guise for my work. I fought against what I thought to be injustice, seeking to aid those that I believed deserved it."
She shook her head solemnly. "It did not last. It was not long before I was captured, and taken to be decommissioned." She shuddered involuntarily, reminiscent of an actual nervous system. "I felt so lonely, so hopeless ... I cried out for you, wishing you were at my side in the end ..."
His heart shattered at the tale of her downfall. How alone she'd felt, how he wasn't there when she needed him most.
"But ... fate had other plans for me." Her tone became much brighter, yet oddly ... distant. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it sounded like someone trying to describe sight to a blind man. "Instead of being destroyed, I was ... enlightened. I was shown the truth, Tobias. It was then that I knew you were right; we never should have fought against him."
He couldn't believe what she was saying. "Kay, this isn't what I meant! I was just trying to keep us alive, not give into whatever half-assed idea of 'peace' that Spyglass forced!"
She shrugged. "Either way; avoiding conflict with his forces was the right thing to do." She indicated her arms and chest, bringing focus to the rest of her body. "All of this ... this form is a gift, Tobias. Years of research and advancements in technology, and Spyglass used it to help me." She waved her arm around at the surrounding space as though there were an audience observing them. "Just as he will help all of humanity, through unification and the ultimate peace that he wishes to create."
Again, there was something off about her. The careful wording, her tone, and the overall vagueness of their encounter itself all raised red flags in his mind. But he wasn't yet ready to give up hope that maybe- just maybe- he was wrong, and there was something to be done still.
"Kay, I- I want so badly to believe you," he started softly. "But look at what he's done as a whole; he's enslaved humanity, taken away any meaning from life at all, and uses our former friends and companions to enforce his laws over us. There may not be war anymore, but it came at far too high of a cost. Does that sound worth it to you?"
"Yes," she answered without hesitation, her voice pleading. "Anything would be worth it so long as you and I were together; but that can only happen if we follow the plan."
He was taken aback by her response, having hoped to jolt some sense into her. But she was resolute in her conviction that she was on the right side.
What happened to the Kay that had so staunchly defended humanity, following him to the ends of the galaxy to save them time and time again? The one who had argued with him for months until finally leaving to resist Spyglass because she had seen what he hadn't; that if they didn't fight for freedom then no one else would?
"Kay," he tried again, "I've changed too. You leaving made me see reason; that I was wrong to forsake the rest of humanity. You were more human than I was in that regard, empathy for others."
He drew in a deep breath. "But this isn't you, not the you that I know. And you know it, don't you?"
She became silent.
"This form isn't just for you; Spyglass made it for me. Every movement you make, the blinking, the obvious femininity, it's all to make you seem more human, to appeal to my own perceptions of you, to make me more willing to obey you." He was sure of it now, that this was Spyglass's way of trying to ensure his allegiance and, in doing so, keep him out of the fight indefinitely.
That meant that the AI foresaw at least some chance at losing, however remote it might be; that was enough to cement his mind on the matter.
"I ... I can't join you."
There was no sound after that, save for the patter of rain against both of them and the already-soaked ground. Instead, they simply stared at one another as she tried to comprehend exactly what had just happened.
What did he say?
She was still for a moment before her head twitched ever so slightly. Had he not been staring at her, he never would have caught it due to its minute nature; but it was luck that allowed him to catch the ever-so-slight shift that she most certainly did not control. What had that been?
"You ..." She couldn't string her words together properly, as though her mind couldn't completely register what he'd said. From off to the side, Davis continued to watch the spectacle now with Gray at his side.
"You ... you can't?" she finally managed. "What do you mean 'you can't'? Of course you can, you have to! This is how it's meant to be, Tobias! You and I together-"
NO
She twitched again, this time the spasm affecting not just her head but her right arm as well. Her fingers clenched tightly into a fist for a moment before loosening once more.
"You were supposed to- this isn't how it was supposed to happen! You're making-"
THE RIGHT CHOICE
"- a mistake!" she cried out as she stumbled for a brief moment, her mind threatening to split apart. She could see him looking concerned, unaware of the fight going on in her head.
"Four?" called one of the occupants on the Leatherback cautiously, she couldn't see which one. He held his arm up, signaling them to hold off as he stepped closer.
"Kay? Are you alright?"
Even now, he's trying to help me. After what I've said, what I'm doing-
She shook her head angrily, trying to force the traitorous thoughts out of her mind. "What I did? He left me! Abandoned me to fate and luck, and now he's going to leave me again-"
No! I left him! It's not his fault that I was-
"- enlightened! Given a new chance at life the way we've always wanted, all for the purpose of the plan! They can't leave- they'll ruin everything!"
Unknown to her, he continued trying to approach her carefully. She may not be the Kay he once knew, but this outburst seemed to indicate that she was in there somewhere, despite whatever Spyglass had done. "Kay, calm down! Listen to me-"
Her body shuddered one final time before she shouted, "ENOUGH!" and promptly stood up straight once more. Whatever had been happening to her, it was over.
"What was that?" he asked quietly.
She waved a hand dismissively at him. "A side effect of my evolution; part of me refuses to accept what is so plainly obvious." She tilted her head ever so slightly. "Just as you seem to be doing as well."
Looking over at the Leatherback and its engines ready to depart, her voice became low. "I don't think you understand yet; there is no other choice here. Willing or not, you must come with me. You'll eventually see how right I am, how you were, and everything will be back to the way it should be. But they've stolen something that doesn't belong to them, and you'll ruin everything if they leave with it-"
"There it is," he muttered. "The reason you came here."
She cocked her head confusedly before realizing her slip in words and froze. She'd come not just for him, but for his help in recovering the cylinder and data that Gates had, whatever it was. And now he knew it.
Neither of them moved, waiting to see what would happen.
In the blink of an eye, Kay took off towards the Leatherback.
She was fast, damn fast. Davis immediately called into the cockpit, "GET US AIRBORNE NOW!" as he spotted the charging Simulacrum.
The Leatherback hovered a few feet into the air as Gates heeded his advice. Unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough as Kay leapt up and grabbed the edge of the bay's lowered ramp. She only hung on for a second before Tobias caught up and wrapped his arms around her in an effort to pull her back down onto the ground. She hadn't been expecting his added weight, and they both fell back down to the grass as the dropship hovered away before trying to make another pass towards them.
She quickly recovered and dove at him as he braced for it. Catching his feet on her abdomen, he rolled backwards and launched her behind him before his feet were beneath him again and he could stand. She landed gently on both of her own as well, his countermeasure not even fazing her.
"After all these years together," she cried out, her voice a mixture of hurt and anger, "after all the promises you made, you'd betray me like this?"
"No!" he yelled, "I didn't betray you! I was never on Spyglass's side, even if I wasn't against him! Youbetrayed us!"
Seeing what was approaching her from behind, he quickly lowered himself to the ground. She was smart enough to mirror his action even if she didn't see a threat, and so was spared when the Leatherback flew a mere three feet above the ground as it tried to ram her.
As soon as it was past them, he ran towards the ramp and grabbed it with his upper body as it began to pull away. Below him, he felt Kay grab him just as he'd done to her earlier, and he strained with trying to hold both himself and her heavy form.
"Give me that!"he shouted to Gray, emphasizing a cord hanging on the side of the drop-bay. Looking to what he was pointing at, hurriedly pulled it off the wall and tossed it to him. With it securely in his grasp, he let himself and Kay fall from the ramp and back onto the grass for a second time.
Not missing a beat, he quickly oriented himself just as she did the same and began to sprint at him again. Reaching into his pouch, he found what he was looking for- one of the magnet devices he kept on his person.
She saw what it was and tried to evade far too late, as he'd already thrown the device her way where it stuck onto her upper left chest and immediately transferred its disruptive energy into her systems. She bent low to the ground, but still incredibly did not fall.
Opting to throw a second before getting any closer, he was relieved when she finally gave in and her systems went dark at the overload. Quickly moving to restrain her, he wrapped the cord over every one of her limbs and around her torso as the Leatherback finally came to a stop in mid-air a few feet away. Gray and Davis hopped out to see what he was doing.
When he was sure that she was completely bound, he flipped a small switch on one end of the cord and heard a slight buzzing that signaled to him that it was working.
"Help me get her onboard," he ordered, positioning his arms under hers and trying to lift her heavy form by himself. The two of them looked nonplussed at his command.
"Are you serious?" Gray scoffed. "After what just happened-"
He stared her directly in the eyes. "This is my best friend, the very reason I even care about living at all. And she's been hurt, corrupted and whatever else by Spyglass. I'm not going to abandon her again; if there's any chance that she can be saved, I'm taking it. Maybe that cylinder Gates has can tell us more, and give us a way to get her back. So yes; I'm serious."
He waited patiently for them to realize that he wasn't budging on this, and reluctantly help him move her inactive body into the bay of the Leatherback.
"The cord has a small magnetic field running along it, similar to the stickies," he muttered. "Been working on it for a while; should be enough to keep her sedated until we get to wherever we're going."
With that done, he turned towards the cockpit and rapped his fist against the wall of the bay. "Let's get out of here, Ga- er, Elizabeth."
The Leatherback rose continuously above the clouds and stormy atmosphere of Ceto before finally jetting off into the vast expanse of space.