Your Mind // 001 // ST4 SPOILERS

009 - Promise

A/N:

I'd like to apologize in advance for the heartbreak you are all about to go through.
enjoy ;)

(also i changed the timeline a bit so Josephine is now 18 not 21)

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Three Years Ago, Hawkins Lab

Doctor Martin Brenner stood pondering by the window of his office, pursing his lips as he always does.

"Martin, she's almost grown by now. You can't expect her to be like your little experiments, to comply with everything you say without hesitation," a voice warned.

In front of him stood a short, stocky man whose suit was worn and hair was greying. He had a look of both knowledge and innocence. His eyebrows were creased with concern as he folded his arms.

"She deserves to have a normal childhood," the man continues.

"You don't know my daughter, Sam," Brenner snapped, turning away from the window. "Four years ago she tried to escape after only one year of staying. And who was responsible for that? Henry. He corrupted her, fed her mind with little lies-"

"And now he's contained. That Soteria you put in him took all his powers. You altered your own daughter's memory for goodness sake," the man now known as Dr. Owens interrupted. "She's fifteen, and has been here for five years. You aren't planning on keeping her here forever, do you?"

Brenner remained silent for a moment. His jaw tensed and his eyes remained locked on Owens'.

"Sooner or later her memories will resurface, and her powers will come back. The only reason she isn't breaking down walls right now is because that incident drained her-"

"Which is why I can't let her out," Brenner snarled. "People know that she is my daughter, and if she goes out into the world, there will be people hunting her down. To blackmail me, use her for the Soviets. There are chances that I just can't take."

Sam shook his head dismissively, letting out a sigh as he held his forehead in his palm. He knew the potential consequences. But he also knew that Brenner's daughter wouldn't last in this facility. They could not keep Henry and her apart for much longer, and they both knew it. Sooner or later Brenner will have to allow them to see each other again, whether Josephine recognizes him or not.

"This is your daughter, Martin. Unlike the little children you've 'tamed', she knows of the outside world. She knows its dangers, and she knows its freedoms. Unless you want her to edge slowly into insanity you need to grant her these, even if it's not all the way. Let her be a normal child for once. You've already gotten her a proper education here, so she might as well go to college. Get a job. Live like a human."

An eerie silence suffocated the room.

"Just promise her freedom. It's the least you could do for your daughter, after you've locked her in this hospital for years. Let her know that this shouldn't be a prison for her, and that when she is of age, she will let out. Of course, she can always come back to continue the project, just as you wish," Owens finished.

Brenner let out a small sigh and re-pursed his lips. He supposed it couldn't hurt. He would move her to work as an Orderly before she turns eighteen, and reward her with outside privilege.

"We'll see that her powers are contained," Brenner warned.

The compromise was set. Owens couldn't argue any further, unless he wanted to risk the doctor changing his mind.

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Another dream had commenced before I awoke. It was more of a memory than a dream. Unlike the memories of One, this one was quite vivid. I could remember faces, and it wasn't all a blur. It was like a real memory, one that had been left untouched by scientists. It was, what, three, four years ago? It had been before my relocation to the Rainbow Room, when I had no specific job; my main duty was to focus on my studies, which occurred privately in my own room with various teachers. Of course, most of it was about science, so that I could "follow my father's footsteps".