Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Everything had happened so fast, Assimilation could hardly keep up.

Just a few days ago, It and Andre had been enemies, so to say—Andre had only been a human to assimilate and take over.

Then everything had changed in almost an instant. Now, after escaping that strange labyrinth where Assimilation had learned the true nature of their existence, and having convinced Andre to go against his very being and not jump into the portal, and after having recoded Andre’s system to lock out the Admins….

They had absolutely no idea on what to do next.

Andre and Assimilation—still shaken and with Andre’s reprogramming wounds still fresh—had dug out a small, just about livable cave in the side of a steep hill. The everlasting rain of the world was ruthless, and they needed any other shelter than Collin’s house. Andre was still healing from the recode, and the water wasn’t helping him in the slightest.

They dug it out just enough to have some space to walk and put necessities, such as a crafting table and furnace. Collin had begrudgingly given them two beds and a few torches, mostly because Assimilation had politely threatened to rally all of the entities in the player’s world to come torment him all at once, to which he had replied: “Hell no.”

The furnace lit the small cave with its warm glow as nearly a stack of raw beef cooked via the coal they’d found when they’d made their little hideout.

Assimilation got up from his kneel in front of the furnace. He watched it for a second, taking in its unfamiliar warmth. He’d never cooked much before, and neither had Andre, since the AI had usually stolen food from village’s as to not lose any time. The two were rather new to… just about everything.

It was an odd life that Assimilation had decided to start, but it was an exciting one, and one it wanted to do so long as Andre was by its side.

It remembered its companion in that moment as a small huff and the sound of movement came from the other corner of the cave.

Andre sat on the ground, his knees sloppily bent as he held his side and shifted uncomfortably. His face seemed stoic and unfeeling as he looked down at where his hand landed, yet that small twinge in his brow easily translated the AI’s true expression to Assimilation.

“Are you alright, Andre? I have the beds, Andre. We should place them,” Assimilation said with a whisper, tilting their head purposefully in the direction of the other corner of the cave farthest from the wide open entrance.

Andre’s head perked up at Assimilation’s voice. He looked to the corner, then shook his head.

<AndreW2002>: they explode

“I don’t think they do, Andre.”

<Collinlock16>: Yo what explode now???

Assimilation was surprised to see the player’s name in the chat. Sometimes it forgot that Collin was in the same world as them. Then again, that was a rude thing to think, as it was Collin’s world before it was theirs as well.

Assimilation quickly teleported to Collin, who was simply standing in his house. The player unknowingly turned around, then instantly freaked out as soon as he saw the entity.

“We are placing beds.”

Collin stared at Assimilation, the shock replaced with disbelief, “wait- hold on a second,” he said, then went still.

<Collinlock16>: dude have you seriously never used a bed outside of the end.

There was a pause right before Andre’s username popped up—which made Assimilation strangely happy.

<AndreW2002>: no

<Collinlock16>: they only explode in the end. you sleep with them out here.

<AndreW2002>: ok

“Damn, that guy was serious about speedrunning I guess.” Collin shrugged, then opened his chest to find something.

“Andre was programmed to speedrun, Collin.” Assimilation said blankly.

“Oh yeah, forgot about that,” Collin said, then a small book and quill popped into his hand, “here’s those ideas you asked for by the way. Literally all of them are copied from google, ignore that. Can you give me my stuff back now.

Assimilation took the book into his large, claw shaped hands. He opened the first page curiously….

• go mining

• build a house

• make a kawaii heart fountain

• go on an adventure 

• watch the sunset

Assimilation read them calmly, then looked up from the book to stare directly at Collin, “what does ‘kawaii’ mean, Collin.”

Collin didn’t answer for some reason, and sighed with a deadpan look, “can you leave now. Like, go put your Minecraft beds together or something.”

“okay,” Assimilation replied, and he teleported away.

Assimilation glitched back into the cave and immediately scanned the space like a machine. Their eye landed on him, still sat in the same corner. However, he wasn’t holding his side anymore.

Assimilation took the two beds out from within its inky body, having to shake some excess ink from the small, pixelated items. It placed them right next to each other in the corner he’d planned them to be in.

They looked back at Andre, who looked the most surprised that Assimilation had ever seen him, eyes just a bit wide as he stared at the new addition to their “home.”

“Andre, would you like to sleep? Simply lying in them would be more comfortable for you, Andre.”

Andre blinked, as if waking from the daze that seeing the beds not explode had put him in. He nodded, put his free hand against the wall, and tried to shakily stand. However, he lost his balance, and Assimilation had to teleport to him and catch him.

It supported Andre at first, then picked him up, which elicited a small surprised breath from the AI. Assimilation walked the four to five steps to the beds across the way, and placed Andre down on the edge of the one closest to the wall

“Is this better, Andre? Andre, we can separate ours if you’d like Andr-“

<AndreW2002>: this is fine.

Assimilation blinked its large eye at him, then said eye formed a happy half circle, “alright, Andre.”

Andre laid down on the bed he had been placed on, settling on his side. Assimilation laid right next to him, on his side in the same way, but facing Andre.

[1/2 players sleeping]

They made eye contact, Andre looking rather unbothered while Assimilation felt a strange sparkling in his heart.

Hm. Curious.

<Collinlock16>: you gays know you cant sleep without me, right?????

Assimilation would’ve teleported to Collin to tell him it in fact didn’t understand why not, however…

It wanted to stay here. Next to Andre.

So they simply stayed as the two of them drifted off to an unusually peaceful sleep.

Chapter Text

“Andre, wake up.”

The command woke Andre’s mind up instantly, yet he didn’t open his eyes until at least somebody was in the stream chat. Conzercheez joined, then SIDIsquish. Those two were enough to keep him… relatively afloat.

He blinked his eyes open. He’d only ever slept in a bed once when he’d misclicked during the Ender Dragon fight. Now, he found himself confused by the comfort.

Who had…?

“Andre, I got you something, Andre.”

He sat up and rubbed the ache in his chest plate with a hiss, it still aching from the recoding that Assimilation had done—and while it was good he wasn’t being tracked anymore, spamming in the chat was becoming increasingly common—and looked to the entrance to see said Entity holding…

Oh. A cake.

“I found it in a chest with a sign. It’s a curious thing, and I cannot ingest it myself. I wanted you to have it.”

—————————

SIDIsquish: HI ASSIMILATION!!!!  :)

Conzercheez: are we going to question like… how he found it in a chest with a sign.

xx_E-G-O_xx: nope

Conzercheez: oh hey ego

————————

Oh, so there were three in chat already.

Cake… another thing he hadn’t stopped to try ever before.

Assimilation glitched right over the bedside, their silhouette tall and frightening, yet they seemed happy and peaceful. With a blank expression as always, Andre took and placed the cake on the ground to eat.

He cut a piece with the iron sword in his inventory, and used said sword as a means of carrying the slice. He looked up at Assimilation, who looked back at him expectantly.

Andre hesitantly took a bite and was hit with sweetness. It wasn’t like an apple- or any vegetable. It certainly wasn’t like any bread or meat he’d had before.

It wasn’t as useless an item as he’d thought it to be, he concluded.

He nodded his head as a form of affirmation. He liked it.

“I’m told it’s sweet, Andre. Is that true?”

Andre nodded, and Assimilation didn’t give a clear reaction to that answer. It simply pulled a book out of his ribs, like they did with their beds.

“Collin gave us a book, Andre. It’s a list of things to do that aren’t speedrunning, Andre.” Assimilation said as it handed Andre the book and quill. Andre opened the book, reading the small list…

—————————

SIDIsquish: guys guys andre has to do the kawaii fountain :3 guys plz

SOUPBEGONE31: anyone else think it’s weird assim singled out speedrunning.

xx_E-G-O_xx: Oh hey lightning mcqueen

SIDIsquish: HJELP LMAOO

SIDIsquish: also no ^^

Conzercheez: I feel like we should all get why he would single it out by now. Considering the literal surgery Andre went through.

—————————

Well, not a lot of options to choose from, and a few he didn’t even understand. So, he pointed to the only one that sounded familiar.

• go mining

Assimilation’s eye widened, “okay, Andre.”

2 hours of strip mining—as instructed by Collin—later…

The two weren’t finding much of anything. Honestly, all they’d found so far was coal, copper, and more copper. Assimilation simply assimilated everything that came in abundance, excluding cobblestone, which could be used for a different experience on their list.

Andre mostly did the mining as Assimilation followed behind him, looking down at the AI with endearment as he dug the way through. At first, assimilation had been simply assimilating a path for them, since it didn’t want to stress Andre’s wound. However, Andre insisted on mining for them both, and Assimilation simply couldn’t say no.

Andre was definitely familiar with mining, however doing it for such a long period of time was… interesting. Slightly boring, but interesting. 

He and Assimilation were extremely far down, yet they hadn’t found much of anything. Just enough coal to make enough torches so they could see and lots of copper—which Andre ruled as completely useless.

—————————

SOUPBEGONE31: WHY is this the first iron vain we find. We’re at diamond level atp.

xx_E-G-O_xx: I mean at least they added copper tools. Not like we have a problem in that department.

—————————

Andre mined the iron, just a bit excited to finally see something worthwhile. However, just as he got the last of it, his pickaxe broke on him.

Almost immediately, an iron pickaxe appeared by the side of his face. He flinched—stumbling back a few pixels—before realizing it was Assimilation.

“Here, Andre.”

Andre took the pickaxe, not sure where Assimilation had gotten the iron if this was their first time seeing it, yet thankful.

<AndreW2002>: thx

“You are welcome, Andre.”

Andre turned back to his work, and began to mine.

He followed a pattern as they descended, making sure to leave some space for Assimilation’s height. It was strange that he was thinking of them so effortlessly, but Andre didn’t dwell on it for too long. He did what he needed to do…and Assimilation was part of that.

Assimilation peered over his shoulder like a small child, his eye nearly sparkled with fascination as he watched Andre work. In fact, he mostly watched Andre rather than the path ahead.

“Have you mined before, Andre?” Assimilation inquired. Questions were difficult. Andre needed to put a pause on anything he was doing to answer them, and it would obviously cause lost time.

Though somewhere in him… he had a deep feeling he’d loved to talk, once before. He couldn’t remember, however. He just remembers talking and that… feeling.

<AndreW2002>: just to get blocks

Assimilation made the eye equivalent of a bright smile, “ah, I’ve never done this before myself. Only through assimilation.”

Andre nodded to acknowledge them, and went back to work.

However as he was still thinking about Assimilation, he had forgotten the very first rule of Minecraft.

Don’t dig straight down.

Suddenly what was one more block on their way down turned out to be the roof of a cave. The cobble broke out from under him when he completed mining it, and he head Assimilation screech as he fell through. He was nearly able to grab onto the ledge, but his hand slipped.

—————————

SIDIsquish: :pepefear:

SOUPBEGONE31: OH SHIT

xx_E-G-O_xx: :pepefear:

feargeyt6774: :pepefear: :pepefear: pepefear:

Conzercheez: :pepefear:

—————————

“¡¡ANDRE!!” He heard Assimilation’s unholy scream from where he’d fallen—which was becoming so far as he plummeted. The cave was ginormous, Andre wouldn’t survive this- and considering this wasn’t his world, he wasn’t sure if he’d respawn.

He wasn’t sure if he’d respawn.

He looked below him, seeing the ground come closer and closer—he had no time to type in chat—

“¡¡Andre!!” Assimilations voice crackled, nearly sounding entirely bit-crunched. What Andre noticed immediately was how close it sounded. Also, how he wasn’t plummeting to his death anymore.

He opened his eyes, which had been shut so tightly he had a bit of a temporary headache. Assimilation had caught him in it’s arms… somehow. Most likely teleportation.

—————————

SIDIsquish: omg assimilation caught him in their arms bro im fangirling :DD

SOUPBEGONE31: ANDRE ALMOST DIED AND THAT’S WHAT??? YOU’RE WORRIED ABOUT???

Conzercheez: Assimilation just saved him though so I feel like squish isn’t far off

SIDIsquish: ASSIMILATION WE LOVE YOUUUU!!!!!!!! 𓁺

xx_E-G-O_xx: HOW DO TOU DO THAT ALREADY.

—————————

Assimilation didn’t immediately put him down though, first taking a wide eyed look at the cave, “Andre, I think we are finished here,” they said, a clear statement.

Andre agreed.

The two had nearly forgotten about the rain.

When Andre and Assimilation had emerged from the tunnel they’d dug out, the first thing they’d noticed was the color of the sky. Blood red. 

Well, that explained the rather heated conversation that Collin seemed to have had with himself while they were coming back up.

Assimilation wasn’t at all put off by this. It meant almost nothing, and was used only for fear purposes—depending on the entity. However, his companion felt differently.

Andre was rigid, leaning his body towards the cave as if something was very slowly pulling him back. Now, Andre hadn’t been scared of Assimilation when they’d met because he’d had better things to do. However, without that objective in Andre’s head telling him to ignore the horrors before him, the horrors were actually… horrific.

Assimilation was saddened by this. To think that he’d once tried to instill this kind of fear into Andre—while not even being a fear feeding entity.

Assimilation hesitantly grabbed the AI’s wrist, to which Andre immediately snapped up to look at them, nervous and on edge.

“I will not let the entities here hurt you, Andre. I can deal with them for you, if that came to pass,” they strongly—yet with a comforting quietness— affirmed.

Not a single word of it was a lie, he knew he could deal with the entities here. Collinlock19, the black square… even hungry if it were ever completely necessary.

Andre nodded just a bit as if to convince himself, then nodded fully at Assimilation. He stopped leaning in towards the cave, but leaned into Assimilation just enough to notice. However, the entity didn’t comment on that fact.

He simply enjoyed having Andre by his side.

<Collinlock16> Why in the fuck is there so much cobblestone in my chest.

Chapter Text

Andre and Assimilation stood in a vast field, far away from Collin’s base and their cave. It seemed to Assimilation that even if Collin was nowhere near them, it would continue to rain so long as he was in the world. They didn’t mind so much anymore, and Andre was used to ignoring it entirely.

What were they there for? Well, anything really. All the list had said was to go on an adventure. The two picked some foreign flowers, harvested a few foreign saplings as to plant them later at base, and generally had… fun as they found their way.

What made Assimilation the happiest was how much fun Andre was having.

Andre would start to fall into habit every now and then. He’d get extremely excited seeing a lava pool, and instantly went to raid the village they’d found on the way. However in that event, Assimilation had stopped him and suggested simply trading with the villagers there. Andre ended up having very friendly—though definitely silent on his end—conversations with the villagers.

Now they were far past the village, and Andre was doing better. He’d even presented a firefly bush to Assimilation, who had taken it in concealed excitement.

“For the cake,” he’d said, their eyes meeting in that moment.

Despite always having had this lack of expression, Assimilation now felt as though they could tell what Andre’s words would look like. Sometimes a line was a warm smile, and sometimes those bored eyes were really staring curiously at something new. However, they liked Andre for who he was, and never wished for him to change if he didn’t want or need to.

They Assimilation blinked out of their thoughts at the sound of rustling. It must’ve zoned out while they were walking…

Wait, where was Andre?

He turned around in circles looking for his teal haired friend, his pupil the size of a pinprick. All he could see was field, some trees, sheep, and a large area of tall and thick grass.

“¡¿ANDRE?!” It called, its voice distorted and crackly in fear.

Then, he heard soft laughter from within the tall grass before him. It was like a whisper, breathy but with that small voice-

Andre appeared as he pushed back, a nice smile on his face and-

Oh.

Andre was the one laughing.

Assimilation’s pupil widened at the sight of him so carefree. This reaction seemed to intensify whatever feeling was making Andre laugh like this, and he tilted his head into his lifted shoulder.

<AndreW2002>: come in

Assimilation tilted his head, glancing at the grass and back to Andre, “in… the grass? For what reason, Andre?”

<AndreW2002> dunno. fun, I think.

Andre’a smile lasted, and he shrugged as he spoke.

“Okay, Andre.” Assimilation agreed, though they were still hesitant and rather confused. Andre took his hand, the contrast between his sleak, robotic one to their clawed, inky one was clear and obnoxious—yet Assimilation saw the display as perfect puzzle pieces joining together with a small click. Always meant to do as such.

The grass felt strange as Andre slowly led Assimilation through it, guiding them somewhere they still couldn’t foresee. The grass had seemed thick and sharp on the outside, but now as they traversed on Andre’s path, it was soft as their bed.

Andre stopped, and pushed around some of the grass with his free hand. Then he turned to look at Assimilation, let go, and fell back. Initially, Assimilation had been alarmed, worried for the AI’s safety.

However, Andre began to laugh again—that sweet and content sound that made nothing else matter to Assimilation. The grass was flattened and fluffed as Andre made… snow angels in it. He opened his eyes and looked right at Assimilation, and half-lidded yet bright eyes met their own.

The entity nodded at no vocal request, and surveyed the grass before them. They hesitantly pushed at some, but fell face first into it. Andre sat up at this, eyes widened, though not alarmed entirely. Assimilation picked himself up and shook his head to rid himself of any grass shards that may have gotten caught in his ink. He turned back to see Andre who still sat in the grass, giving him a mischievous look.

“Hm-Andre, what is that look for, Andre,” they said, suddenly suspicious. It was nearly off putting to see Andre be so expressive—but they felt happy bubbles pop and fizzle within their chest.

Andre sat up so quickly that Assimilation hadn’t fully registered it until he was tackled to the ground. When they collided with the ground, their physical form crackled and fizzled with the force. They opened their large eye—which had been shut tight—and immediately was met with electric blue.

It was nearly frightening. Having known red and darkness all of—well what he thought was—his past, such a contrasting color was… blinding. Yet in the best way. Cool, and calm, rather than raging red the color of his heart. His heart—which was so attached to the AI that rolled off and beside him onto the plush green.

“This is enjoyable.” Assimilation said plainly at first, then his eye gleamed when Andre spoke next.

<AndreW2002> yeah. It is.

Eventually, they had chased eachother out of the patch, and Andre seemed to go back to normal. Although that version of him lingered, dripping off of his actions and surrounding the AI like how Assimilation saw the aura around a particularly tasty animal. Assimilation had continued to think about it long after they’d left. For a while, he’d thought it had been the grass.

However… maybe it was just that they were together. What about grass would interest someone like Andre… if not opportunity? Assimilation could project his voice into Andre’s head, yet they couldn’t read it. They wished that they could- so that they could truly understand him. Though that may just need to come with time.

Suddenly, the sky turned red, just as it had the day before. Assimilation stopped in its tracks, and put an arm before Andre, as if to shield him. They glanced down at said AI, and saw him sternly staring at the sky. Then, that sternness gave in like wobbly knees, and Andre’s eyes began to flicker around anxiously. Assimilation slightly tilted their head and looked back up.

They were met by the same red sky, yet this time there were multiple upside down crosses littering the airspace. Several being that looked like avatars were scattered… everywhere. In the air, on the ground, and in sight. The avatars shook and moved as though in the middle of exorcism.

“Who are you.” Assimilation asked to… someone. “What are you doing.”

There was no answer for moments, before suddenly the air stiffened as though infused with chalk, and an entity appeared in front of them.

“I AM S-AT-N!!!!” It screamed, strong and visually disturbing. So this was the source of the red sky…

This entity’s voice was different than the other entities that haunted Collin’s world. It wasn’t an altered voice, like deepening or glitchy like Collinlock19—it was synthesized.

Which made Assimilation think that this wasn’t an entity at all.

Assimilation’s eye stared sternly at them as it continued to hold an arm in front of Andre.

“Begone.” It advised the creature. “You are not who you say you are.”

“I -M!! I AM SA-ATAN!!! FEAR M-E!” It continued to scream, though it had heard him, and was now subtly getting ready to back off. However, it still continued its attempt to push the boundary. “YOU WIL-L DIE!” It grated.

Assimilation was about to bite back before his outstretched arm was pushed out of the way. He had no time to object or shout before Andre had swung an iron sword at it. The swing hit, and the supposed entity flashed red, and it was thrown back. Right, Andre was good at landing critical hits.

The creature paused, yet the intense shivering and glitching of his pixels grew furious. Assimilation shook his head to rid himself of the utter shock. “Satan” stood there, but started to growl, which continued to rise in volume.

“Andre. We leave, now.” It said, and Andre stumbled back from the opposing entity and ran towards them.

Andre ran into their arms for Assimilation to teleport them both away, and of course, Assimilation did—briefly hearing “Satan” scream “DIE!!” At the top of its lungs. Or, even beyond its lungs.

They landed in that village from earlier, as it was the only place that Assimilation could think of that wasn’t their cave. They weren’t sure if this creature could follow them, and didn’t want to lead it right to both their home and Collin’s own.

Assimilation let go of Andre, worriedly surveying his face to make sure everything was in order. Andre gazed back at them as they fixed his bangs, leading the hair with their thumb onto the side so it wasn’t scattered around the AI’s face.

<AndreW2002>: ……..thank you

“You are welcome, Andre.”

There, now Andre was okay.

“I think we should walk back now, Andre,” they suggested. Maybe they were better off playing it safe. Entities could usually sense other’s paranormal activity. If it had traced them to the Village somehow, they had to make sure it couldn’t trace them back home.

Plus, maybe they needed to cool off after that.

<AndreW2002>: okay

The sun had started to set, a pretty thing, truly. However, Assimilation didn’t look at it if he could help it. “Watching the sunset” was an item on the list, and they didn’t want to ruin when they could really sit down and see the color’s beauty.

Andre had been rather silent, only speaking when Assimilation’s nerves got to them and they asked him if he was truly okay. This happened many times. He wasn’t visibly harmed, but what could Assimilation expect? Nothing. Nothing could be foreseen in this new life.

Well, Andre had been so silent, that Assimilation hadn’t heard him leave his side.

“Andre?” Assimilation called in confusion. How was it that the AI could keep disappearing like this?

Assimilation jumped at a touch to their arm. Andre was now by Assimilation’s side, excitedly pointing—although his mouth was a firm line— at something in the taiga biome that the field melded into.  He stopped, freezing in time with his arm limply still pointing in the direction of the trees.

<AndreW2002>: theres a dog

Assimilation tilted their head farther than any human could. He fixed it and looked past Andre to see what he had seen.

Beside a tree was a wolf, wandering freely and aimlessly. Assimilation wasn’t sure what the purpose of pointing it out was. It wouldn’t attack unless provoked, so it was nothing to be worried about-

<AndreW2002> bones

Andre held out his hand, like he was expecting something from Assimilation.

“Why, Andre?” Assimilation asked.

<AndreW2002>: trust

Well, what could they say to that? No?

They reached into their rips, and pulled out some spare skeleton bones. Andre didn’t take them, but waited for Assimilation to place them in his hand. As soon as it had done so, Andre ran off. Assimilation watched him run to the dog, and feed it the bones until a strange heart-shaped effect formed briefly.

Andre came back, and the wolf followed him. Assimilation readied himself to fight it in alarm, about to ask Andre why he’d provoked it for so apparent reason.

Then, as Andre met back up with Assimilation, he turned to the wolf and…

It sat.

Assimilation only now noticed the red line that had formed around its neck,

<AndreW2002>: our dog. I always wanted one.

<AndreW2002>: I think I used to want one. don’t remember.

Assimilation took this information in as he looked at it, “Why is it not attacking us, Andre?”

<AndreW2002>: tamed it with the bones

“Oh… why, Andre? What purpose does it serve, Andre?”

Andre looked around for… something. Assimilation wasn’t sure what until he’d attacked a nearby pig. The dog then headed for the victim animal and began to attack it until it died.

<AndreW2002>: also companionship.

“Hm. I see now. Bring it.”

“You guys got… a Minecraft dog??” Collin said as the two presented their new friend to him.

“Yes, precisely.” Assimilation answered. Andre nodded his head.

“Wait- hold on- I have something,” Collin spoke between snickers, and opened his chest. After not a very long period of searching, he closed it and went to an anvil. That took more time, more time that Assimilation, Andre, and the dog spent standing there- waiting.

Collin approached them with something in his hand that Assimilation didn’t recognize. He went to their dog, apparently clicked on it and…

Admin destroyer

Assimilation read the name tag over and over, then looked at Andre. The AI was softly laughing, with small huffs of air and the slight movement of his shoulders. Assimilation’s eye sparkled at this.

“You guys are sickening, please get-just get out of my house before I become homophobic or something.” Collin said, still seeming as bored as ever.

So they did, not very sure what Collin meant by that. They took the dog with them to their cave, sat it down, and went to bed.

What a… nice day. Other than the times it wasn’t. However, overall, Assimilation had learned a lot about Andre, seen a new side of him.

They were getting… close.

And that thought put it to sleep like a lullaby, even more so with Andre by his side, safe and in reach.

Chapter Text

Assimilation woke up early, the dawn just beginning. They quietly sat up from the bed, trying not to wake Andre just yet. He still had some time to sleep, and Assimilation just wanted to do something before they continued their list later.

They stood and carefully creeped towards the doorway. As soon as they were outside, they teleported away. They weren’t exactly sure if their teleportation had any sort of noise, so it was better to be safe than sorry.

They checked the server players, and luckily Collin was online. Not that he was offline for long anyways, Assimilation was sure the player had nothing else to do but deal with the entities here.

Assimilation appeared outside of Collin’s house. Of course, they saw his name tag, and let themselves in.

Collin hadn’t turned around, and was using his crafting table. Assimilation used their power to bug his screen. Collin’s head immediately shot up as he frantically looked around, “shit- who???” He rasped, then he fixed on Assimilation, “oh.”

“Hello, Collin.”

“Why are you in my house—why do I let you in my house.”

“Because you find us endearing, Collin.”

“What??—No. No???-“ he scoffed, “what do you want.”

Assimilation held up the book by their index and thumb, keeping eye contact with Collin, “How would we make a house, Collin?”

Collin squinted at the book, then shrugged, “I dunno? Walls, floor, Roof? Just do what I did.” He paused, as if in thought, “…does Andrew know anything?”

Assimilation was about to admit that they had no idea, but froze, “A…drew?”

“Yeah I’m pretty sure that’s his name, bud. Like, Andrew, but his username has the w as a capital letter for fun, like, win? Andrew wins? You know?”

Assimilation didn’t move the slightest bit until their entire being glitched as it registered the information, “Andre….” They mumbled, “Andrew… has never corrected me. I do not see why that would be the case if Andrew wouldn’t tell me, Collin.”

“Dunno. I mean, I didn’t correct you for a sec’ while you called me ‘Collinlock16.’ The difference is that- that guy likes you, and I. Don’t.”

Assimilation had no care for whether Collin liked him or not, so they simply didn’t comment on that part. All they could think was, why wouldn’t he tell me?

“I suppose… that makes sense.”

“Whatever- just go try it out and see what happens.”

Assimilation hesitated, then nodded before they teleported away.

When Assimilation appeared right outside the cave, they had been surprised to see Andrew not inside, but outside picking flowers. They didn’t say anything, as they would’ve usually called his name, and now they weren’t even sure what name to call.

Luckily, Andre had turned around seconds later and noticed the entity. He held a poppy in his hand, along with a blue orchid, like a small bouquet. He ran over and held them out.

<AndreW2002>: should it be red or teal

“Should… what be red or teal, Andrew?” Assimilation gave it a shot. They couldn’t not say his name. How would he know they were referring to him?

<AndreW2002>: for the

A pause, and Andrew’s face shifted like how Assimilation must’ve looked when they’d learned their life was a lie.

<AndreW2002>: what.

Assimilation was slightly panicking now, and they quickly sputtered, “is that not your name, Andrew? I visited Collin earlier, he said it was. I’m unsure, Andrew.”

Andrew sighed, and looked away from assimilation, his grip on the bouquet making the flowers seem as though they were already wilting.

<AndreW2002>: it is I guess

<AndreW2002>: think im just shocked that your calling me that

“You’re,” Assimilation quickly corrected, as their voice was being seen by Andre as text.

Andre looked back up at them with a look of “are you serious right now.” Then he scoffed, and smiled. However the smile wasn’t that bright, content smile from the grass patch the day before. It was wilted, just as the flowers were becoming.

<AndreW2002>: *You’re.

<AndreW2002>: but yeah im just not used to it.

Assimilation was relived to hear it wasn’t incorrect—although the way it had been admitted was worrying—however there was one question he wouldn’t like to leave unanswered.

“Why did you not tell me, Andrew?”

Andre’s grip on the flowers softened, and his hand fell to his side, still holding them, of course.

<AndreW2002>: time loss. then i forgot ig.

Forgot his own name?

Well, the time loss did add up in the end.

“At least I know now,” Assimilation finished. “What were the colors for, again, Andrew?”

Andre looked as startled as they had when Collin had switched the topic, but he held the flowers up again lazily, and with a shrug he said—

<AndreW2002>: the dog. we can color the collar.

“Ah, well then the blue. It matches your hair, Andrew.”

Another short pause between their conversation, Andrew still looking hesitant and lost in thought.

<AndreW2002>: that’s y I got it

<AndreW2002>: but i got the red because it matched u.

“Oh.” Assimilation said calmly, yet their heart beat quickly at that—and his eye was most likely giving his true expression away.

Andrew grabbed red so their dog could look like Assimilation.

The dog he’d tamed.

“I like the blue. I like you, Andrew.” Assimilation leaned down to Andrew’s height, Andrew, who didn’t make eye contact and looked slightly uncomfortable. Andrew then looked back, though simply past Assimilation, rather than at them.

<AndreW2002>: let’s do the red.

After placing the red dye on Admin Destroyer, they had had a very… slow conversation about what to build the house with. Andrew continued to be distant, and his behavior began to worry Assimilation. However, they said nothing about it because of the way their heart would race in… fear.

They weren’t sure why they were scared. Andrew wouldn’t hurt them, and definitely would kill them—not that they could die, of course. So, why did everything start to speed up when they tried to ask?

This was strange.

However they did collect everything necessary. Or well, what Andrew said they needed. For some reason that Assimilation didn’t know, Andrew had a very confident idea of what the house needed to be made of. When asked why that was, Andrew simply shrugged, unsure himself.

<AndreW2002>: trust

Assimilation did “trust,” of course. If Andrew said it was what they needed, then Assimilation would follow and collect.

Andrew had said to collect “a lot” of wood, and sand for glass. They already had the cobblestone, though Assimilation wasn’t sure why they would need that, since Collin’s house didn’t seem to make any use of it.

They had teleported to an oak forest and in the blink of an eye they essentially cleaned out the area until there was none left, leaving them with a full inventory of oak logs.

They quickly teleported back to the cave to put  all the logs in a chest, taking note of Andrew, who was sitting on the bed with his knees hugged close. Assimilation wanted to do something—yet they still weren’t sure what to say.

For the sand, they teleported to the bottom of the nearby river. They weren’t aware of any deserts nearby and couldn’t teleport to them, so they had to work with what they had.

After getting the sand, getting back, and placing it all in a chest, he turned to Andrew.

“Where will we put it, Andrew?”

Andrew slightly nodded, and leaned to look past Assimilation and at the outside world.

<AndreW2002>: uhhhh

<AndreW2002>: I think we could make it just right out there

<Collinlock16>: dude don’t build by my house.

<Collinlock19>: dnt bu ild by MY housse.

<Collinlock16>: it’s not your house. get a life.

Assimilation and Andrew simply stared at each other as the chat had continued. A little awkward, yet Collin’s issue was… funny.

Well, they wouldn’t put in by his house. Or… Collinlock19’s house. Whichever one.

“Shall we… go find somewhere farther?” Assimilation asked Andrew, who shrugged.

<AndreW2002>: k

Eventually the two of them scouted out a field, a large one with scattered flowers and a forest nearby.

As they were looking, Assimilation had tried to talk to Andrew, though it wasn’t as direct a question as they would’ve hoped. They had asked if anything was wrong, or if they’d said something. Andrew didn’t exactly assure them everything was alright, but he’d said nothing was wrong, that he was fine, and that no- Assimilation didn’t do anything wrong.

As uneasy as it all felt, Assimilation didn’t press on.

“Well, what do we do, Andrew?” Assimilation looked down at the AI, who looked as though he was envisioning something in the space before them.

<AndreW2002>: ok just follow me

So they began, Andrew making not a box shape, but a strange outline of cobblestone that went up, down, and up again. They built up the outline by three blocks with more cobblestone.

While they built, the gathered sand was being converted into glass in a few furnaces. As soon as some was done, Andrew took the glass and added four in a row to the left front wall, the right front wall, the back center wall, and the left and right back walls.

Then, Andrew added a layer of oak planks on top of the cobblestone, still following the shape, and filled the layer in with the material.

<AndreW2002>: okay so now build up with the planks

“By how many, Andrew?”

Andre’s eyes flickered to lol at him, empty as ever.

<AndreW2002>: like by four.

Assimilation nodded, and in a snap—the walls were 4 blocks high all around. Andrew blinked a few times in surprise.

<Andre2002>: that works but the corners have to be logs.

Just as he’d said it, it was so.

<AndreW2002>: thx

<AndreW2002>: ok there’s more but I’ll do those.

So, with some additional windows and doors, along with balconies that reached from the two front sides to their alternative back sides, double doors, a staircase to connect the two floors, and stair roofing…

They had a house.

It was dusk by the time they’d finished,

Assimilation’s eye sparkled at the sight. They had a house with Andrew. Somewhere real, somewhere home.

Assimilation looked at Andrew, who was supposed to be marveling at the sight as well. However—even if he was technically looking at the structure—Andrew seemed mentally preoccupied.

“Andrew…?”

Andrew’s head perked up as if he’d been in a daze, and he quickly looked at Assimilation.

<AndreW2002>: we can decorate it and add stuff tomorrow

<AndreW2002>: grab our beds

Assimilation’s gaze lingered, but they obliged.

They teleported back to the cave, and noticed Admin destroyer still sitting there.

“Oh.” Assimilation said as the bright and happy looking dog looked back at them.

“I forgot about you.”

Assimilation continued to look at the dog. It didn’t blink, and although it technically was an AI, it was a code, unlike Andre, who was a… consciousness.

“I miss yesterday. I liked seeing Andrew smile,” it said to the dog, who showed no sign of understanding anything. However Assimilation continued to speak to it regardless.

“I think I know why he’s upset, though I’m not sure… I’m not sure why he wouldn’t like his own name. So I think I’m wrong.”

The dog said nothing, but at least Assimilation had said it out loud. They grabbed the beds, made sure to have a hand on the dog so it would come with, and teleported away.

They’d set up their beds in a corner of the first floor, which they had only just realized its lack of flooring. However, they were tired and couldn’t do the work to dig out the grass and place the blocks. So after sitting Admin Destroyer down near the bed, they went to sleep, Assimilation feeling awkward as Andrew laid down facing the wall.

“Goodnight, Andrew.” Assimilation said softly as it laid down beside him.

<AndreW2002>: night.

Chapter Text

“Your… third best. You were making jokes the whole time, Andrew.”

Andrew was slightly startled by the Admin’s voice, and by the world flickering away into the white simulation chamber it really was. He turned to the higher-up, who was walking in with their clipboard in hand. The click of their pen was sharp and purposeful as they reached Andrew.

Andrew stood up straight, a bit dazed from the adrenaline of beating the simulated dragon, however he knew that he couldn’t not obey. 

—

conzercheez: oh yo it’s over?

SOUPBEGONE31: oh huh! Third best? I mean we went super fast. 

xx_E-G-O_xx: yeah, we found that fortress in seconds dude.

SIDIsquish: sometimes I wish Andrew could tame the wolves and stuff. Imagine those against the ender dragon?

xx_E-G-O_xx: that would be awesome. Also hey you came back! Nice.

Conzercheez: I swear this chat is usually funnier, squish (can we call you that) Also, imagine all the ores we could get to finish the game with if we actually went mining.

SIDIsquish: oh haha yeah!!! Totally :D Well APPARENTLY being funny is bad though…

—-

They looked down at him, as condescending and… almost scary as always. But they weren’t really scary, they were just assertive. It was always just them wanting Andre to be better!

“Andrew, you cannot spend so much time playing with your chat. That is not their purpose.”

Andrew nearly bit his tongue, yet the words left him despite that, unsure of why he couldn’t joke around, “but I’m a streamer. I mean, the videos you guys showed me— they joke around with their chat. I should too if I’m the—like the picture perfect speedrunner,” he brought his arms up in a shrug as the chat was flooded with appreciation at his words.

“You know that isn’t— Nevermind. You were not created to satiate an audience. Your chat is not your audience, Andrew,” the Admin said as they began to write something onto their paper.

They said his name like an insult, their tone biting and unusually strict. They hadn’t been like this ever before—what was happening?

“I mean, they kinda are. They talk with eachother and they recently got this new guy-“

The Admin’s head shot up to look at Andrew, the pen not clicking closed, as it went forgotten in their hand, “Andrew, what are you talking about.” They said quietly, their entire energy switching up, shocking Andre and making him nervous.

“You know, someone new joined the chat. The others welcomed them in, and they’re super funny by the way- you should’ve seen the things they can do with their text—“

“Andrew, be quiet.” They bit, and for some reason Andre’s body instantly flinched, which seemed to make their body even more rigid.

“I-I don’t-“

“You speak too much, Andrew. You were given consciousness to emulate and do your job as fast as you can. So please, despite your humanity…” they turned away from him as they said this, “stop pretending to be human...”

“…Andrew.” They finished, walking away. Andrew tried to say something, an objection, compliance, anything. His voice broke regardless of his struggle, it got stuck in his throat, making him cough and hack at nothing. His eye began to glow brightly in fear.

He dropped to the floor, the world spinning as he uselessly hacked with his arms bracing him in his vulnerable position—until the ground wasn’t ground, and he was in void. 

He looked up in the darkness, suddenly aware of his helplessness and the feeling of being watched. 

A faint noise became louder and louder until it was a shouting in his ears. A distorted noise he couldn’t understand.

He saw colors that weren’t there- flashing and leaving him blinded while the room was just as pitch black as before.

The chat was silent, every watcher put on temporary silence—or maybe permanent silence. He didn’t want it to be permanent- he wanted to see them speak again, if they didn’t speak he-

Assimilation.

Suddenly all his senses were quiet. He remembered that name—from somewhere. 

“Andre?” A familiar voice asked, and he tilted his head up to see them. 

They were quiet, their horrific figure blending into the world around them leaving just that eye. Red flashed around them, yet Andre wasn’t scared.

“Andre?” It asked again.

Andre smiled as he started to pick himself up, he knew that was his name—it was what Assimilation called him. The perfect gift—

“An…drew?”

Andre froze—Andrew froze— he panicked, and everything- 

Assimilation wasn’t themself anymore. 

Before him was the Admin.

And as everything swirled around him, a mix of dizzying color and gore, they spoke. 

“We gave you consciousness, don’t make us take it away, Andrew.”

Assimilation sat outside, Admin Destroyer by their side. The moon hung high in the center of the sky, shining down on them like the sun it reflected. They stared into space, anxiously wondering what to say to Andrew when the AI woke up. Would they apologize? How would they get out the words—

A shout came from inside the house, and they were up in seconds. They instantly teleported in—was it another entity? Who was attacking—

Andre sat on the bed, shaking uncontrollably as small sobs and sharp gasps escaped him. Every one made Assimilation’s heart sink deeper and deeper, so they quickly teleported to him. Just close enough to hold him if they could. 

“Andrew?! Andrew, what happened?” They said, which somehow their voice seemed to make things worse, as a particularly loud sob came from the AI. Sniffles and choked breathes came out, and froze Assimilation to their core. 

“Andrew- what’s happened, Andrew?!” 

“Don’t…say that,” was said somewhere, by someone, in a bitter, shaking, and tired tone. 

Assimilation was instantly shocked by the strange voice. The only other voice than their own that they’d ever heard was Collin’s own. Who had…?

“Andrew…? Was…that you, Andrew?” Assimilation softly asked, gentle with the shivering figure before them. They didn’t want to touch- so they awkwardly hovered their hands around Andrew, anxiously pulling them back towards their chest if the AI moved too much.

Andrew nodded his head, hardly noticeable-yet as an entity they noticed most small movements—originally a feature to help them catch their prey, a player. 

“Don’t say…that anymore,” his voice crackled. 

Assimilation was surprised. Andrew’s voice was similar to how they’d imagined it to sound, but it had this slightly synthesized sound to it. However it sounded much clearer than the field entity they’d met. There was a ring in the back that you could only catch if you really wanted to, and the way his words came out were loosely connected, obviously being placed one by one rather than a smoothly moving human sentence. Assimilation’s wasn’t like that, instead it was certainly clear…behind the static.

They tilted their head to try and see Andrew’s face behind his knees, though no matter what, the AI’s eyes were obscured by teal hair. 

“What do you mean, Andrew?”

“Stop it…” Andrew whispered as Assimilation saw his arms visible hug himself tighter and his head lean further into his knees. It was as though he was squeezing himself until he popped, and Assimilation struggled to understand this response entirely. 

“Please, Andrew. I need to know what you mean, Andrew.” 

Andrew continued to shiver, shuddering violently every now and then. Assimilation didn’t know how to help— he couldn’t understand.

“You don’t call me Andrew.” 

“…I… I do not?” Assimilation hesitantly asked, and finally decided to move Andre’s hair away from his eyes. 

The light of Andrew’s eye flickered—which initially worried Assimilation- but Andrew continued to speak.

“You don’t call me that. You called me Andre,” he whispered.

“Yes- I made an error-“

“I don’t like Andrew. I can’t- I don’t remember why I don’t. I don’t know what I just saw, but I hate it. I hate Andrew.”

Assimilation stared with a wide eye, processing it all. Assimilation felt a squeeze in their gut at Andre saying that he hated the name, as it sounded as though he hated himself… in third person. Third person nonetheless, that made Assimilation defensive for moments on Andre’s behalf. Or sad, perhaps- at the idea of Andre not liking himself. 

Then their expression softened, and they sat on the bed, close to Andre in case he’d want to lean. Andre sniffed, looking towards the wall. 

They sat in silence for a while as Andre calmed down, the shaking of his body fading away and his eye glowing steadily. A tiredness seemed to wash over the AI, and even though Assimilation had predicted this in some way or another, Andre leaning his head against their bony and inky shoulder in that moment made their heart swell. 

Though, that’s what it felt like—his visible heart seemed to expand and shrink normally. 

“Why did you not tell me, Andre?” They asked.

Andre’s breath hitched for a second, and after a pause, he said, “I don’t know. You were right, I guess,”  He shrugged as well as he could, mostly with the shoulder not touching Assimilation.

“Yet I was not right, Andre. I will call you by whatever you’d like me to call you by, Andre,” it tried not to move its head as to not disturb him, so it looked down with its eye only, “It is simply that I do not understand.”

Andre looked ahead of them rather than making eye contact, “I liked Andre. Andrew is a bad name,” he said, then he sighed “Can we just say Andre?”

…

“Andre, why did you scream, Andre?” They asked, not accepting the ending and now remembering why they had ended up here in the first place, giving them an instant boost of fear. He finally took a large, clawed hand and held Andre’s shoulder in a sort-of hug. 

Andre’s eye briefly looked down at the hand as he took on an unreadable expression, then he looked forwards again, “I had a dream.”

“What kind of dream, Andre?”

“The bad kind.”

“I see,” Assimilation replied quickly, “could you elaborate, Andre?”

Andre’s face was blank, but he began, “I don’t know why it was like this, but it felt familiar.”

Then he… simply stared, not continuing.

Assimilation had inhaled to speak, but Andre only then continued his explanation.

“There was an Admin, and I was doing something. It’s foggier now than when I had woken up, but I think I was doing something for them—and they got upset. They called me Andrew,” he said, then spat, “I hate Andrew.”

Assimilation felt that squeeze in their gut again, but ignored it.

“Oh.” They said. “I won’t say it again, Andre. Do you like Andre?”

Andre nodded, “yes,” he said, then he picked his head off of Assimilation’s shoulder. Assimilation momentarily missed the weight, but was easily distracted from that feeling by Andre asking, “why were you outside?” 

Oh, hm.

“I was thinking about you, Andre. About you being sad, Andre. It made me sad, and confused. I wish I had realized, Andre.” 

“Maybe…” Andre said, which caught Assimilation’s attention. “Maybe we should say everything to each other. Or- like, just share everything. I didn’t understand my feelings, but I should’ve said I’d had any, If we are together in this.” 

Assimilation stared at Andre’s eyes, though the eye contact wasn’t shared, “Yes, I like that idea, Andre. I have a suggestion as well, Andre,” they said, and Andre looked up at them. 

“We act as one. You and I, Andre.” Their eye widened, and Andre’s expression didn’t change at that. “Does that sound right, to you, Andre? It has to me.” 

Andre nodded, then nodded further. “We should. I’d appreciate that,” he said, then he leaned his head back onto Assimilation’s shoulder, sleepier, and content. 

Andre was tired, and after whatever had gotten him to scream like that… Assimilation had to let him rest. 

“You would be more comfortable if-“ Assimilation had begun, but noticed Andre’s lights in his jacket become red, which they’d never seen happen before. Andre’s eyes were closed, and despite the assumed lack of need to breathe, his shoulders rose and fell.

Assimilation accepted this, and using the hand he’d placed over Andre’s shoulder and his free hand, he slowly guided Andre’s sleeping body to lay down. He laid down beside the AI, and tilted his head forward to very subtly be closer to him. 

“Sleep well, Andre. I’m sorry, for having not seen before tonight. Have every… good dream.”