Reboot

Chapter 8

"Emmet!" she gasped and ran toward him. He grinned and caught her easily.

"You're okay!" he cheered, hugging her close. She returned the embrace, hugging him back just as tightly for a second before pulling away to meet his gaze.

"How did you get here? And who's this guy?" She gestured toward the stranger.

"That's Rex, my brother."

"You never mentioned having a brother..."

"That's 'cause we had a falling out a long time ago."

"You had a 'falling out' with someone," Lucy murmured in disbelief. Emmet shrugged.

"It does happen. Anyway, he helped us get here to rescue you!"

"How kind of him."

"Oh. Lucy... Your ring..."

"I know," she huffed. "I'm so sorry, Emmet, they took it and I couldn't get it back-!"

He gave her a reassuring smile. "It's okay, I believe you. And now I'll get to make you a better one!"

She took his hands, tugging gently until he leaned down to touch foreheads with her. "I liked that one." She frowned as a thought occurred to her. "You haven't said anything about my hair."

He blinked at her, and almost winced at his realization. He'd forgotten to act surprised. "Should I? I mean I think it looks nice." Lucy stared at him.

"In fact you don't even seem surprised at all," Bad Cop rumbled at him in suspicion. "Almost like you were expecting it."

"I didn't see much point in raising a fuss over it," Emmet floundered.

"And we've got more important things to worry about anyway," Rex finally spoke up. "We've got Lucy, but we still have to get the others, somehow. And interrupt that wedding."

"The wedding?" Rex explained it to her the same way he had to Bad Cop just a couple hours earlier. "So they really are up to something with that."

"Do you think you could help us in like an undercover sort of way?" Emmet asked.

"After my behavior in there?" Lucy shook her head. "It would be really suspicious if I started cooperating out of the blue. I'm afraid I blew any chances of that."

"You can't come with us though, we really don't have room for a fourth person in the cruiser," Rex said.

Lucy smirked at him. "There's three Master Builders here. I'm sure we can manage."

Rex opened his mouth, ready to argue, and then closed it again. "...Alright, you've got a point." He rapped his knuckles against the cruiser, and it fell into a pile of parts. Together the four of them gathered more parts to rebuild a bigger ship. Rex attempted to help with it, but after a minute, had to take a step back. He couldn't...

He couldn't.

He hadn't had cause to use his Master Building skills after Building the Rexcelsior and his various other equipment, but he hadn't thought that was something that could ever be lost. And yet he found himself unable to contribute.

Emmet paused, turning to give him a concerned look. "Rex? You alright?"

"I can't Build," he answered, tone bordering on horrified.

That got Lucy's and Bad Cop's attention. "You used to?" the cop asked.

"Yeah, I Built the Rexcelsior, after all. But that was... years ago. It's not an ability I've really needed to use since."

"It's not something that just goes away if you don't use it, though," Lucy said, narrowing her eyes. "Like riding a bike- you never really forget how."

"I didn't forget," Rex snapped. "It's just not coming to me! I can't- I can't See how the pieces fit together anymore..."

"...A result of being here for too long?" Emmet hazarded a guess.

"I- yeah, maybe," Rex accepted, starting to calm back down. "Been hanging around here too much, place is getting to me..."

"You're sure that's the case?" Bad Cop pressed.

"Not really, but since I've never seen anyone from Systar Master Build anything, or even anyone from back home, after being assimilated, I can only assume it's not a thing here."

"Alright," Lucy sighed. "So we'll need to be more careful if we want to get out of here still ourselves. Rex, you just- chill for a bit, we'll finish this." The rogue nodded stiffly before finding a rock to sit on as he watched them, mind racing.

He was starting to suspect that wasn't the only thing about him that had changed.