Another Castle

This is pathetic. I guess they put all the real fighters upstairs, the ones left down here barely know how to hold a gun. I figure they wouldn't have put her in any old holding cell. From what little Lux could get from their communications, it seems like they're keeping Azure in the deepest section, Maximum Security.

I rush through the labyrinthine halls of cells, most empty, a few containing confused-looking prisoners. I almost feel like I've gotten lost a couple of times, but eventually I find it. MaxSec. I hit the button to allow me inside and hurry in, the large metal doors closing behind me. This place is way different from the grey stones of the main detention block. The floor and walls are solid metal, reflecting the fluorescent white lights running along the corners. It's horrible. I won't allow them to keep Azure here a moment longer.

After putting down the guards nearby, I notice Shock and Awe are out of power. Still, after a hundred or so shots, they're definitely better than a Snapper. I holster them for safekeeping as I continue on. It's then that I spot it. "Project Azure." The words on a plate on a wall tell me that's the right way to go. I open the door and rush inside to find... Nothing. An empty metal room with a glass wall. Suddenly I'm all too aware of my naivete. The door locks behind me, and the room on the other side of the window lights up.

I see her. Azure. Her hair unkempt, her clothes replaced with a beige jumpsuit, her eyes the same onyx black. My heart breaks from seeing her like this, but she's there. "You're like a bull, Baker. Put a target in front of you, and you just rush in." A voice mocks me. Another familiar voice. Mendez reveals himself in the room with Azure. "Me? I prefer to wait for my prey to come to me." Don't I know it? He never did give me the capture bonus for Monkey Bollocks.

"Mendez, I just tore through this entire building to get here. You really think it's a good idea to antagonise me?" I growl, slightly bluffing. We both know I don't have a way out of this room right now, but I'm not giving him the satisfaction. I think maybe he's going to try using Azure as a hostage... But then I realise that he's not carrying a weapon. I look around the room I'm in and see the metal grating and piping. Oh. She's not a hostage. She's bait.

Mendez laughs as I realise my situation. "I'd love to stay and watch you burn, Tera, but the Grand Purifier's sending me to secure backup from Londinium. All of your efforts, all your bravado. It all means nothing. So long, you waste of oxygen." He adds as he leaves the room with Azure in. I feel the heat in the room start to rise. They're going to roast me like a fucking chicken... But that's not what I'm worried about right now.

"Azure..." I murmur. I take off my coat as the heat begins to increase. The blank expression on her face makes her look like a ghost or a statue. It's wrong. "I know it's too late to say how sorry I am. I failed you... More than that, I betrayed you. I have no right to be your master... I should have trusted you. I knew the whole thing stunk, and I did nothing. I couldn't let my feelings in." I tell her.

Azure's face doesn't react, but I know she's in there. "I was a coward. You're so perfect, so kind and sweet and honest. I refused to believe people like you could exist... So I made excuses. I said it was because you were an AI. Then I decided it was because you were lying. The truth is I was only lying to myself to keep you at arm's length." I continue, sweat dripping off me. I strip off my jumpsuit, leaving only my tank top and knickers. Who cares about embarrassment? If it gives me a few more seconds with her, I'll take it.

"I lied to you, I lied to Lux, and I lied to myself. My life was just an illusion until you came along. You see, I even lied about what I said. 'You make the world brighter by being in it.' It's not true because there's no world without you. You are my whole world, and I wouldn't trade you for anything. I don't know if I'm gonna make it out of this, but I need to tell you... I need you to know..." I splutter, the heat causing my head to spin.

"I love you, Azure. I love you more than life itself."

I fall to the ground, staring at her expressionless face and those pitch-black eyes. Slowly feeling myself fall into those voids. My soul being burnt as black as those irises. Until they turn white. Then everything turns white. When my focus returns, the window between us is nothing but shards. Azure rushes through and grabs me.

"Come on, Master, if you die before I hear you say that again, I'll go nuclear next time." She demands, pulling me up and into the room she was kept in, then over to the door Mendez left through. With a wave of her hand, it lets us through. We arrive in one of the hallways, and I collapse on the floor, the cool metal a balm to my charred skin. I take huge breaths, drinking the air in, when Azure straddles me. "Say it again." She orders me.

I smile at her urgency. "I love you." I repeat, causing her to peck my lips.

"Again." She demands.

"I love you." I tell her as she rests her head on my chest.

"Once more." She coos.

I smirk at her. I'll say it a billion times, and it'll still be true.

"I love you, Azure. I love you so much."