Artificial Willpower

Why

Thank you to _sleepy.moth_ on Instagram for the art!!

Tomorrow. If the group was right about it being an MIC, connected straight to the hacker's device, there was a chance they could catch the fugitive.

Tomorrow.

Doctor Pitch was eager to get all this behind him. Bring Daniel Jones in, do a few brief tests, and then he can be executed. Usually the executions were just procedure. Pitch felt nothing about them.

However, this had grown personal. This criminals escape had caused many to doubt the program and even Pitch himself.

This execution would feel different from the others. It was more than the experiments. It was more than the war. It was more than the facility.

Daniel Jones was tearing apart the Doctor's reputation with every passing hour, and Pitch wanted him dead for it.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow he could start mending his pride, and if all went well, in a few short days Daniel Jones would be dead.

-

Yancy slept better than he had in a while. After their walk in the woods, they had worked on the puzzle some more, had dinner, then went to bed.

It was such a perfectly normal day, and that night when he lay down in the perfectly normal bed, in a perfectly normal bedroom, he didn't feel an overwhelming sense of not belonging. Sleep came easily that night.

The next morning, he woke up to the same smells of breakfast he had woken up to for the past week or so. Yancy had plans to clean while Illinois was at work, as a thank you. The house wasn't messy, but there were a few things he could do here and there, like sweeping, moping, wiping down slightly dusty surfaces.

It wasn't much, but it was something.

He changed and headed out into the kitchen, where Illinois was making breakfast burritos.

The mechanic looked over and smiled, "Good mornin' Yance. I got work again today, but I was thinking afterwards you could show me a few musicals? I got some streaming services, but I've never actually sat down and watched a musical before. I think it could be fun."

Yancy took a plate and nodded, a little surprised that Illinois was interested, but also pretty happy and excited, "Yeah, that sounds fun. Keep in mind, it's been a bit, but I'd love to show youse my old favorites"

"Great" Illinois said, putting his own breakfast burrito on a paper plate so he could take it on the go. "I can't wait to see what's so great about musicals" his tone was friendly and teasing, as if they had known each other for years.

Yancy was starting to think they might as well have. Illinois was risking his life for Yancy. They've hidden from a fully armed squad together. Yancy let Illinois into his mechanics, and Illinois let Yancy into his home. Wouldn't that friendship be just as valid as any years old friendship?

"See you later, Yance" Illinois said with a wave, before heading out the door.

The cabin was quiet, with only the sounds of the AC, some of the chirps from outside leaking in, and the soft gliding of his mechanical joints as he went to the table and sat down.

Not everything was completely calm, of course. Taking down the facility was constantly on his mind. Was he capable? Would they just catch him again? Would they catch him even before then?

However, these anxieties were slowly becoming manageable. Less overwhelming, and more of a simple thing in the back of his mind. He wasn't alone in all this. He didn't have to figure it all out right now and on his own.