Writing Championships #4

Sapphire Simps

Prompt: They knew they were in the wrong

"So...how does it feel to be the one locked up, huh?"

NPG peered through the iron bars, putting a hand on the reinforced metal as he smiled at the person trapped inside. "Doesn't feel so great, does it?"

The person trapped inside lifted their head to look at him, a look of hate painted on their face. They didn't say anything, but their expression spoke louder than words.

NPG sighed irritatedly, tapping the iron bar idly, listening to the metal ring. "C'mon, Gri. Say something. Anything. I wanna hear your thoughts. Just like the old days, huh?"

"The old days couldn't be farther than where we are right now," Grian muttered, breaking his gaze at his alter, instead looking towards the ground.

"Ahh, you're right." NPG pretended to think. "I remember now. In the old days, I was the one who was trapped. Not you. But now...it's reversed."

"Do you have a motive behind this? Or are you just here to mock me?"

"I just wanted you to feel what I myself felt when I was stuck in that closet." NPG could tell his nonchalance was aggravating Grian. "I was stuck in there for months, Grian, before I finally escaped. And then it was another few months fixing my circuitry. Why was I broken and abandoned in the first place?"

He leaned in closer to the bars, staring Grian in the eyes. Brown to violet. "You. You abandoned me and left me to shut down. That's not right at all, is it? I'm just returning the favor."

"I left you in there because I was looking for a way to fix you when you broke!" Grian protested, his tone a mix of anger and panic. "Can't you understand that?"

NPG didn't know why it would need him to be locked into a closet. But if Grian was just trying to fix him...why hadn't he said anything?

NPG didn't know if this was a lie or the truth. He wanted it to be true, for a part of him wanted to give Grian a chance.

But the other was bitter and wanted nothing but revenge.

Emotions were a mess, and NPG was conflicted between the part of him who thought that Grian was heartless...and the part who wanted to believe his reason.

This was all too much for a robot like him. Robots aren't supposed to feel emotions.

Surely, he thought, he was just trying to twist the narrative. Right? Fit his own description of what he wanted to happen so that he could cover up his tracks in the long run.

Then again, there was also the idea running through his head that Grian was telling...the truth. And after realizing he was unfixable, made robot Grian. The one who had taken over NPG's life...and his friendship with Grian. 

...Why was he the one who had to make the decision?

NPG's eyes flicked over to Grian again before a nasty grin smuggled onto his face. Even if he hadn't intended for this, it still happened.

He still needed to pay for what he did to him.

His brown eyes met with Grian's violet ones, the broken down parts of Robot Grian cluttered up into a pile in the background, wires flowing out of every tiny hole they could find.

"Payment is due, whether you expect it or not. You still need to owe up for how you made me feel. No matter how hard you tried to 'help' in the long run."

Grian met his eyes with shock, tears pricking away at the corners of his sclera, but refusing to release themselves. His face slowly morphed into an expression of sadness and resignation. Even he knew he deserved this.

Would the others find him like this? Would NPG keep him here for so long? Just as long as he'd kept NPG all those months ago? Or was it a lost cause to even hope for an escape...?

He turned his back on Grian before he had to look at his counterpart's expression any longer. He knew he was in the wrong, but...Grian deserved it. He did. NPG was just giving him the treatment he experienced first hand.

Still...he knew. If robots could cry, he would be shedding tears right now. Just like Grian was behind his turned back. He couldn't look at Grian anymore.

He slipped out of the rustic house and shut the door, his last glimpse of Grian being one that was hunched down, tears falling freely as he avoided his alter's gaze. It must have been too much for him, too.

Even if robots aren't meant to feel anything, he was broken. In more ways than one.

Score: 8.5