South flinches away from him. It feels like the ground's going to fall out from under her and it'd probably be better for everyone if it did.
"Everyone else who was attacked by the Meta for an AI was alone. We weren't. I thought— I thought I could let it take Theta then jump in before it killed him, get us out of there, get my brother back."
He wouldn't give Theta up, so they couldn't leave. They could only keep running. Always looking over their shoulders. Even working as Recovery Two she couldn't rule out that they'd send someone to try and collect them both, eventually, and then the Meta...
"I'm not fucking proud of this, York. Not any of it. I wouldn't... I wouldn't make this choice again, but back then—"
The next sound to pierce the air is is a scream, and something in past South finally snaps, a second before Theta's terrified, childish voice screams out too, "SOUTH! It's gonna—"
He's cut off mid-word and suddenly, finally, South is moving, all of that pent-up momentum released, a burst of speed that takes her around that corner out onto the walkway—
She doesn't want to watch this again, but maybe it's what she deserves; her eyes glued to the sight of North, held in place by the Meta as it finishes inserting Theta's chip, not yet dead, but only seconds away from being killed. Seconds she didn't use to try and stop it, because to stop the Meta then she'd have to have died for it, and she was too fucking selfish to do it.
She waited too fucking long and by the time she got there, she just couldn't do it.
It happens quickly, after that. It's not a drawn-out death. The Meta impales North with the blade of the Brute Shot and it's all over, the thing and the floor both covered in blood.
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South flinches away from him. It feels like the ground's going to fall out from under her and it'd probably be better for everyone if it did.
"Everyone else who was attacked by the Meta for an AI was alone. We weren't. I thought— I thought I could let it take Theta then jump in before it killed him, get us out of there, get my brother back."
He wouldn't give Theta up, so they couldn't leave. They could only keep running. Always looking over their shoulders. Even working as Recovery Two she couldn't rule out that they'd send someone to try and collect them both, eventually, and then the Meta...
"I'm not fucking proud of this, York. Not any of it. I wouldn't... I wouldn't make this choice again, but back then—"
The next sound to pierce the air is is a scream, and something in past South finally snaps, a second before Theta's terrified, childish voice screams out too, "SOUTH! It's gonna—"
He's cut off mid-word and suddenly, finally, South is moving, all of that pent-up momentum released, a burst of speed that takes her around that corner out onto the walkway—
She doesn't want to watch this again, but maybe it's what she deserves; her eyes glued to the sight of North, held in place by the Meta as it finishes inserting Theta's chip, not yet dead, but only seconds away from being killed. Seconds she didn't use to try and stop it, because to stop the Meta then she'd have to have died for it, and she was too fucking selfish to do it.
She waited too fucking long and by the time she got there, she just couldn't do it.
It happens quickly, after that. It's not a drawn-out death. The Meta impales North with the blade of the Brute Shot and it's all over, the thing and the floor both covered in blood.
South looks like she's going to be sick.