Excitement

You feel excited. Not horrified, or guilty, or afraid. Excited.

It should bother you, what you've done to Yu. But the truth is, and you see it now, is that it never bothered you.

You were ashamed. Not ashamed that you stole parts of Pearl's identity or took advantage of Yutong in robot mode, but that you didn't feel bad about it. You knew you should have. You knew that made you a crappy friend. But you just didn't feel that way, and deep down, you were ashamed to discover who you really were.

Confronted with Yutong's tears, there's no hiding from it anymore.

You're a bad friend. You're a terrible person. But by god, Yutong's here, you've convinced her she's a machine, and she's your responsibility now. Worse than what you've done would be the crime of trying to deny it.

You reach over and grab Yu's shoulder, squeezing her firmly. "Yu, listen to me. I need you to calm down, okay?"

Sniffling, Yu looks at you through teary eyes.

"So you found out you're a gynoid," you say. "So what? You were a gynoid yesterday and you're a gynoid today. Nothing's changed. But overloading yourself like this? Letting your emotions run wild? You weren't built to handle this kind of stress - inside or out."

Yutong nods and, hiccuping, wipes her eyes. She looks utterly dejected.

"Not to mention, Yu, it's a bad look. Do you want people to hear you crying about being not real? Do you want everyone to know you're a gynoid?"

Yu straightens, appalled. "No. No! What would Jane even think...? Chase, please, you won't tell anybody about me, will you?" she asks, apprehensively.

"Your secret's as good as mine now," you promise. "You're lucky I found you before anybody else did. Can you imagine what the lab that built you would do if they found out you were discovered?"

Yu's eyes widen. "W-what would they do?"

"Honestly?" You rub your jaw. Either wipe your memory and sell you off, or scrap you outright for parts."

She's shocked. "That's - that can't be legal. That's not fair! I'm alive, I'm a person!"

"You're a gynoid," you remind her. "Who knows how much you're actually worth? Millions, at least. You're obviously one of a kind."

"We can't let them do this," says Yu, determined. "We can go to the press or, or the FBI or -"

"You can't go to the government with this. This has DARPA's fingerprints all over it. The FBI would turn you over to the lab themselves if you told them what you are," you say. "You're scared. I get that. I understand. But you need to get a grip, Yu."

She draws in a shuddering breath, attempting to calm herself. She pulls her legs up to her chest, hugging them to her body. "Okay. I'm calm. Just... one step at a time."

"It's going to be okay, Yutong. I'll look after you, alright? You're not alone in this. I'll be by your side every step of the way."

This actually seems to give Yu some hope. She manages a weak smile. "Thank you, Chase."

You nod. "Now, I'm going to take you back to my place," you say, seriously. "I happen to know a few things about gynoids, but all my tools and reference documents are at my house."

Yu cants her head at the suggestion, anxious again. "Er... what do you need tools and reference materials for?"

What for, indeed? A wave of possibility engulfs you, then recedes like the tide.

"We need to make sure you're secure, for one," you say. "Disable any trackers and check for any data sharing protocols hiding out in your code. Then... we'll see. We want to make sure you're safe first."

Yu gratefully relaxes back into her seat. You start the truck back up, and take Yu back to your place for some more 'work'.