Project: Shimmer (ii Blue Eyes AU)

[29] ~False Confidence~

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    4S couldn't stop himself from letting out a pained hiss as he stood in front of the familiar office door. Cobs knew he was there, he was sure of it, but he also knew by now that the tech giant wouldn't be helping him inside any time soon. His entire body was sore and exhausted from the assignment.....which admittedly, went as horribly as it possibly could have.

    Time travel....time travel of all things was the thing to ruin him. After killing Mephone4, 4S decided to have a little fun with the foolish contestants before heading back, which proved to be a horrific misstep on his part. He had already completed the assignment, well.... partly. He was unable to locate the Mepad. But he had Mephone4 in his grasp! It was sitting literally right in front of him, down and out with no chance of recovery but instead of cutting his losses and coming back with one of two Meeple devices. He got cocky and came back with sore limbs, quicksand still probably stuck on him somewhere, and absolutely nothing to show for his efforts.

    4S was livid to say the least, but nothing compared to the overwhelming anxiety he felt infront of that door. Cobs was waiting for him, he couldn't just stand there doing nothing forever, as much as he would prefer that. Maybe Cobs would understand... A small part of him hoped, mostly for his own sake. 4S breathed in, put on his shades, and walked in the office.

    Cobs was turned away from him, his chair angled deliberately away from the door. The lack of visible reaction to his entrance only made his anxiety worse as 4S stood in the middle of the room, hesitant to speak. The silence practically suffocated him, pressing on his mechanical lungs and making it hard to breathe.

    Before he could formulate any meaningful response, Cobs spoke up.

    "I see you have failed me."

    4S flinched, the seemingly calm and leveled words cutting deeper than any knife. He knew Cobs would be upset, but he didn't expect such a blunt response. "I-" 4S couldn't speak, he still couldn't see Cobs's face and it was driving him insane. Thankfully, he turned around, but 4S genuinely couldn't tell if that was better or worse.

    Cobs's face was a mask of solid disappointment and something akin to annoyance or fury, it was difficult to tell. He stared at 4S with such practiced distain it made him back away a few steps on instinct. "I gave you 2 objectives, Mephone4S." Despite the anger in his eyes Cobs spoke in such a flat tone all it did was amplify 4S's panic. At some point Cobs must of stood up because by the time 4S snapped out of his thoughts Cobs was standing in front of his desk instead of behind it.

   4S was glad he stepped away now because even with Cobs barely moving towards him he still managed to feel claustrophobic. Cobs glared at him. "What were the objectives I gave you 4S?" It wasn't a question, it was a demand. 4S straightened up again and answered. "My objective was to safely obtain the Mephone4 and Mepad and bring them back to you."

    That was a fact, 4S could do facts, whatever unfamiliar emotions buzzing in his non-existent heart confused him, but he could work with facts. "And what did you do?" Cobs pressed. "I...I brought back neither sir...I brought back neither." It was silent once again before Cobs spoke. "And why is that 4S? Why did you fail me?"

    An unexpected guilt hit him at Cobs's words. If only he hadn't got so cocky.... 4S couldn't find an answer, so Cobs continued. "What of your abilities? The Mephone4 most certainly doesn't have as much power as you, not even close." Cobs looked him over. "Did you even use them?"

    The answer was no, no he hadn't. Over the past month the pain had only gotten worse. The more he used it, the more it hurt him. He could barely control it at this point, he felt guilty about it, but still he held himself back to save himself from the painful recovery that was sure to come after. Reluctantly, 4S shook his head.