Artificial Willpower

Proof

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It took about a minute and a half before their heads were below water. Illinois had told Yancy to sit completely still. Any movement could give away that they were able to get out of the car and could expose them.

It was hard to force himself to not move, flinch or try to get out of the car. His breathing sped up as the murky water came closer to him. Panic filled his stomach, and it took every ounce of his willpower to not move.

The water making its way in sounded more like a trickle than the gushing he would have expected. He could see murky green water, and the shadows of fishes in front of them. Something about it made him feel more panicked

Soon it was making its way up his chest, and he couldn't help but feel how slow it was only magnified the sense of dread.

He hooked his mechanical leg under the seat, to stop the makeshift lifevest from pulling him against the ceiling of the car.

Yancy took a big breath of air at the last possible second, once it was just above his chin. And then closed his eyes, once again only when he had to. Then he just sat there, waiting for Illinois to pull him out, like he said he would.

Out of curiosity, he opened his mechanical eye. He was surprised to see how clear everything was, from that eye. It didn't feel uncomfortable to have it open under the water, which made sense since it seemed he couldn't feel any of the mechanics.

It also seemed that his eye adjusted its settings to make it easier to see in all environments, not just in the dark. There was only so much it could do, but in the dark murkiness of the car, he could see the inside, and he could see the outline of the curious fishes around them.

After a few moments, his lungs started to burn. He glanced at Illinois, worried that maybe he had passed out or something already. He tried to force himself to not panic, knowing it wouldn't help. He felt like his chest was being squeezed from the inside.

Finally, he saw Illinois shift, and then he saw him bash the buckle into the window, breaking it. Yancy understood and didn't want to waste a second getting out of the car. He reeled his fist back, and punched the window with the metal, shattering it.

Illinois reached in and dragged him out quickly. Yancy felt a sharp pain in his side, but he didn't take a moment to think about it. Once he was out, Illinois began to swim up towards the surface.

The bag of water bottles helped a bit, but he still had to kick his legs in a half swim to get up with Illinois. He felt like passing out, and the surface of the water felt like it was miles away.

Every second seemed to draw out for hours but finally, they broke through the surface. He gasped for air the second he made it, almost hyperventilating.

"Yancy... you...okay?" He heard Illinois ask in between gasps of air.

He glanced over at Illinois, who was treading water and trying to catch his breath. Illinois had a worried look on his face. Like he had seen something?

"Y-yeah, whats... Up?" Yancy asked, trying to get as much air as possible, in between his words.

"Let's... get to... land. I'm sure they're not gonna be gone... for long" Illinois said, glancing at the bridge.

"Y-yeah" Yancy said, his side starting to sting a little. He dismissed it, and followed Illinois to the other side of the bridge, near another forested area.

By the time they had made it to land, his human leg felt like it could give out at any second, but Illinois hardly gave him a second to recover. He pulled Yancy's arm around his shoulders, and helped him into the forested area "You can rest when we're out of sight, okay? Just hang in there"

Yancy nodded and walked along, still feeling light-headed, and the stinging in his side was only getting worse. He glanced at where the stinging pain was and saw a slice in his shirt and underneath, there was a long cut, staining the shirt around it with red.

"It's okay Yancy, I got you, I promise" Illinois mumbled as he helped him into the forest. It sounded like Illinois was mostly talking to himself though. A mantra, of sorts.

Yancy leaned on him "h-how bad is it..?"

"I don't know yet. Just hang in there, I'll take a good look at it. When we sit down, okay?"

"Okay..."

-

Soon it was determined that Daniel Jones and Illinois Arch were nowhere on the property of the cabin, but once were.

Pitch made his way there, needing to see it all himself. Where the traitor had been lurking right under his nose. It wasn't a long drive at all. Maybe fifteen minutes from his own house.

It was secluded enough to avoid attention but close enough to town to not seem like a red flag. There were plenty of homes like that, near here. A long driveway into a peaceful, secluded haven of a home.

But this one was a haven for scum, Pitch thought as he got out of his car, and pulled on some latex gloves. He didn't want to ruin anything that could be used against the two.

He shoved his way past the squad and any other officials that had made it there first. "What have you all found so far?" He asked the head of the squad.

"Nothing pointing to where they are. Just... signs that Illinois Arch has been here for a little. Not much proof that the subject was here though. Are you sure Daniel Jones was actually here?"

"I am. There's no way he got out alone" Pitch grumbled, as he made his way into the cabin-like home.

The front door led straight into the living room. There was a half-finished puzzle, and a pile of paper, all with parts of the blueprints on the table.

Specifically Daniels blueprints. The limbs were often reused, but they also often had to add modifications for each new subject, to ensure that it would fit their specific structure.

He recalled getting Daniel's medical files a few weeks before they brought him in, having to adjust the size. Weight balance was important, and Daniel's files showed he was more fit than a lot of their other subjects. More of a build that one would expect for a soldier. He looked at the notes, remembering his excitement that they could experiment with some heavier, more sturdy limbs.

Doctor Pitch clenched his jaw. Daniel Jones could have been a huge leap for them. He was the most successful. The limbs were perfect. He had been healing remarkably fast. If everything had worked, it might have been only a few more months before they had perfected it enough to actually start with the soldiers.

Instead, the whole entire project was put on pause. Instead, his ability to conduct this whole program was under question. Instead, his past coworker who he had so graciously not mentioned his suspicions against, had taken the most successful subject from him.

He left the living room, rage slowly filling his veins.

Soon, he found Illinois' room, and a room behind it. One with large monitors, all reading 'lost connection with server'.

Pitch had to assume this was where Illinois had been watching them, plotting how he'd steal what Pitch had been working so hard to accomplish.

All of this, only fifteen minutes from where Pitch slept every night.The rest of the house was bland. Nothing but a generic house. No real personalization, but that made sense. It was just a glorified stakeout spot.

He headed out and into the shed beside the house, and that's when he saw it. All the proof he could need. The tracking chip that was once embedded in the mechanics was now crushed, and on the ground next to the workbench.

Daniel Jones had truly been here.

Authors Note: I've started an instagram account for all my AW content outside of this fic! Memes, doodles, references, and full drawings. If you're interested in some primarily goofy content based off of this fic, feel free to follow new account, juicebox_n_oreos on Instagram!