Artificial Willpower

Valuable

Art by _sleepy.moth_ on instagram! Thank you so much!!!!

"She's gonna help us," Yancy said, disbelief in his voice.

They had gotten into the car a few minutes ago, and neither of them had said a word, almost as if they were afraid to jinx it too soon. Though as Yancy said the words, and both of them heard it spoken so plainly, the relief and excitement started to truly set in.

Yancy heard Illinois let out a small laugh "Yeah. She is. Thank goodness, too... She's probably right, finding someone willing to put our story out there is probably gonna put us in way less danger than hacking our way in..."

"So what are we gonna do while we wait for her to find someone?"

"How good were you at writing essays, in high school?"

"Uh... average. Why...?" Yancy answered.

"We're gonna put together the best persuasive essay anyone has ever seen. Even if the journalist doesn't use it, it'll give them a place to start. Hopefully get them to truly care about this too. And of course keep working on that obstacle course"

Yancy groaned a bit "youse know, if youses told me ten years ago I'd be on the run from the government as a cyborg, with a rogue mechanic I might have even thought it was cool. But if youse told me ten years ago I'd also have to actually use essay writing skills in real life?"

Illinois chuckled "That's where you draw the line? Everything else over these past few weeks has been fine, but when you have to do homework again, now that's too much"

"Exactly!" Yancy huffed out, but within a few seconds, the two had devolved into laughter.

Although Yancy was hesitant to fully acknowledge it, he truly felt better. Better than he had in a long while. Something inside made him worry that saying such a thing could somehow cause that to crumble.

Even though these last few weeks had been some of the wildest in Yancy's life, he couldn't remember the last time someone had cared like Illinois cared. He hadn't laughed so often in years. He hadn't been able to talk about the things that tore at his brain for so long. Moments like this... almost convinced him that maybe he could still find some happy fulfilling life, despite everything.

It gave him hope, and these days hope seemed to be one of the only valuable things left.

-

The group had been separated the moment they were apprehended. It had been twenty-four hours since then, and J was just as confused as when it first happened. Although a bunch of mercenaries being arrested wasn't necessarily surprising, Pitch had said to meet him there. Although Pitch had never seemed trustworthy, they had still helped him. He would have never even found the house if it wasn't for them.

Yes, there was their mistake of not sticking along longer, but the four of them had still been very helpful to the doctor. So why would he just turn on them like this? They could have still been helpful.

As far as J could tell, the people here had been fed a story about them working with the man who helped out the cyborg. The one they had chased off the bridge. When the facility first started interrogating them about what they had been doing there, J had been vague, saying they were just looking around and things like that.

After a few long hours, he finally spouted out the truth. Pitch had hired them to help track down the cyborg. They were all on the same team, and they had been the ones to help locate that house in the first place.

The man in the interrogation room got up and left right after he had said that. J had hoped it was because the man might actually believe him and was trying to verify that.

Unfortunately, after about an hour of sitting there in suffocating silence, alone, someone else came in, telling him he was under arrest... and yet as he was handcuffed and taken to a small cell-like room in the facility, he wasn't given the miranda warnings.

J got a sinking feeling that he wasn't told the usual spiel about 'you have the right to remain silent; anything you say can and may be used against them in a court of law' and so on was because there would be no court.

He had a feeling that he would never get the chance to convince them that he and his friends were why their systems were no longer being spied on by the rogue ex employee. J had at least tried to ask where his friends were. If they were ok.

He never got an answer.

The cell was quiet. Very similar to descriptions of solitary confinement he had heard in the past. A very small square window sat on the heavy metal door, letting him occasionally see people in lab coats pass.

Finally, he had no choice but to let himself ask the question he hadn't wanted to acknowledge. Reality came crashing in.

Would him and his friends face the same fate as Daniel Jones? Were these his last hours with his own body?

If the thought didn't leave him almost unable to breathe, he might have laughed at the irony.

-

Illinois had noticed Yancy seemed a bit tired when they finally got back to their hideout spot, so the mechanic had encouraged him to take a nap. He knew Yancy had struggled to sleep the night before.

He hadn't said anything about it, but Illinois had heard the cyborg tossing and turning for most of the night. Anxious about the meeting with Kathrine, no doubt... but now it was over, and it had gone very well. This time Yancy seemed to fall into a peaceful sleep much quicker.

A feeling of pride filled Illinois' chest and it took him a second to figure out why. Yancy hadn't had a nightmare in a few nights. Before, he had at least seen Yancy tossing and turning, his brow furrowing under the stress of whatever memory was being recounted in his sleep.

It had seemed like none of them had been like the one that happened the night Yancy dropped the glass, but they had still been there, from what Illinois could see.

Right now though, the cyborgs rest looked.... Genuinely restful. Illinois couldn't help but hope that said something about how Yancy had been coping with everything.

He had to admit, he felt a lot more relaxed, too. With Kathrine agreeing not only to help gather information but to find a better alternative to his own admittedly risky plan. He had known hacking could possibly expose his location again and they would have to start moving again to be safe.

Illinois wasn't stupid though. Things could still go wrong. The best way to lose a battle is to assume you've already won. He would have to be ready to run at any minute, just like he had been back at his home. Safety was a thing of fantasy now. But they could enjoy the luxuries of it for now, he thought as he headed over to the kitchen to make sure when Yancy woke up, it was to a decent lunch.

Authors Note: I usually aim for 1,000 to 1,500 words per chapter but I'm starting to wonder if it's too short. Do you guys want longer chapters or should I keep it the way it's been?