Chapter Text
SIDI was up bright and early, already out of the house, decked out in brand new iron armour and a raincoat covering the rest of them as they made their way to Collins' house.
The previous iron door they knew had ended up being a lot further than they had calculated, about 700 blocks away instead of the 100 they originally had thought, so it wouldn't be a problem to go to Collin just to double-check on where the door was.
A double knock on the door alerted Collin to SIDI’s presence, but he never came to the door. SIDI frowned and pounded on the door.
“Collin, you in there?”
They yelled, crossing their arms. Hand on their shoulder, patting them in comfort.
> How rude
“I know ri-”
SIDI turned and, before they could think, took out their sword and slashed at the thing behind them. It had already jumped back well before that. SIDI, no, not SIDI, Soup stared at the entity, hate in its eyes.
“What are you?”
He snapped, pointing the sword at the entity in front of them. He ignored chat, going crazy, spamming :pepefear: as SIDI was practically thrown through a metaphorical door.
The entity didn’t reply for a while. Soup kept his ground, feet firmly planted on the floor, sword in its grip. And as it spoke, Soup felt a twinge of dread in their stomach.
> I am Souler. You are scared, P1
feargeyt6774: :pepefear:
feargeyt6774: :pepefear:
feargeyt6774: :pepefear:
Conzercheez: Fear its ok- don't panic, we are ok..
AndreW2002: ???????
xx_E-G-O_xx: Ok wtf.
Soup gripped the sword tighter. How the hell did it know their name? Only Chat and Assimilation knew that, Andre now as well as he spammed question marks in chat, did he never take off his top? Nevermind.
“So what? I will still beat your bitch ass. What are you doing here?”
He snapped, ignoring how his voice cracked slightly. He was scared, but he pushed it down, refusing to let it show the best they could.
> Looking for Collin
It was too vague. Soup glanced back at the house for a moment, then back at the entity.
“Well seems like he isn’t home, so go. Leave before you regret it.”
He threatened; it was the most he could do. They also had no idea where Collin was, so it wasnt a complete lie…The entity looked at Soup for what dragged on for 1 minute and 24 seconds before speaking.
> The fear of A1 is quite powerful
AndreW2002: !?!??!
feargeyt6774: :pepefear:
AndreW2002: :pepefear:
xx_E-G-O_xx: It did not just say that.
SIDIsquish: IM GONNA KILL IT. (ง •̀_•́)ง(╬≖_≖)
Then it teleported away. Soup froze and gritted its teeth. Soup didn’t like Assimilation much, but the others did, so if that entity hurt it, he SWEARS TO GOD-
SIDI blinked back into control, quick as a flash, leaving soup to rage in chat. He was protective of everyone to a…violent point…But anyways, SIDI lowered their sword and turned to the door, seeing Collin come out of his basement and look out the window at SIDI.
> Wtf did you do?
Collin typed as he opened the door, letting the Chatter in, SIDI huffed in fake offence.
> Wdym what did I do?! That thing appeared out of nowhere, I just wanted to ask for your help, man!
SIDI typed back, a little too shaken to speak without their voice breaking. They were worried, so worried.
> Who is P1 and A1 anyway?
Collin typed, SIDI sighed and scratched behind their left audio box.
> P1 is our original name, and A1 is Assimilation’s.
They hummed as they pressed send. Collin didn't look like he cared much, sending a simple “k” before looking up at SIDI and typing again.
> So what help do you need?
Perking up, SIDI quickly typed out on the console, fingers flying across the hologram.
> I don’t remember where the Iron door is here, which way is it?
Collins lip twitched.
>So you’re still looking for Assimilation? It's been what, 4 days?
> 3 actually, but yes, I am, now door location?
> Straight out the door, keep going forward until you get to a large cliff. At the base, there should be a hole, and the door will be there.
Collin sighed, SIDI sent a quick thanks and bolted out the door, leaving the player alone. Collin scratched at his left arm, watching the chatter leave with a vacant look in his eyes. SIDI was so similar to them, it almost hurt. Almost. The rain pouring a bit harder contradicted his own statement.
SIDI ran through the heavy rain, the rain soaking through their trousers and soaking their legs, making jolts that almost caused them to fall on several occasions. It didn’t help that there were no trees to shelter under.
700 blocks seemed further than they thought, especially as they reached the base of the cliff. It had been 20 minutes, and even the raincoat was struggling to protect them from the rain. But eventually SIDI found the hole and stepped through.
They thought Assimilation might have gone through the doors and couldn't get back, but no, SIDI’s eyes locked onto the entity that simply sat at the end of the hallway, curled up like an afraid animal. It broke their heart.
AndreW2002: My falt…sry Assim
xx_E-G-O_xx: Its not your fault Andre, you’re both struggling
SOUPBEGONE31: I mean, it did grab you while you tried to speed run, bad move if I do say so myself
Conzercheez: Not the time, Soup.
Assimilation didn’t look well at all. Black ooze stained the floors and walls, a sickening red tinge made SIDI realise what it was, pushing the thoughts away, they knocked on the wall, the entity seemingly not noticing them enter despite the noise of the door.
“Assimilation?”
SIDI spoke softly, their tone different from Andre’s. It made the entity perk up and look at them, they’re eye looked so dead and tired. They felt like crying right then and there, even if they had no technology in their body to do so; Andre's influence on the body was clear, and he was certainly not pleased.
“Its me, SIDI, remember me?”
Stepping forward, Assimilation flinched; SIDI stopped, continuing to talk, maybe that would help since the entity didn’t reply.
“I’m from Andre’s chat, we made cookies, remember? ”
They needed a reply, and smiled when Assimilation nodded.
“That's good, I’m glad you remember me…I’ve been looking for you for days now, Andre was so worried about you…”
Silence as SIDI took another step, Assimilation didn't move, so they took another, stopping when the entity spoke.
“I’ve been gone for weeks.”
Ah, that tone didn't help Andre’s guilt. It sounded angry, or better word for it, hurt. Hurt that they hadn’t been searching longer.
“I know, I know…Andre was stupid, he didn’t want to look for you, he was scared, but he left food out every day for you, he hoped you’d come back”
SIDI stepped closer until they were almost in front of Assimilation, carefully sitting down criss-cross in front of it. Assimilation adverted its gaze.
“What happened wasn’t your fault or Andre’s fault. Assimilation…you both have coding that you can’t escape from, it's literally a part of your natures.”
The silence was filled with SIDI’s words as the entity fell silent.
“You both need each other, ying and yang or whatever…you both care for each other so deeply, me and chat see that, but you need to talk more, you both have more than enough patience!”
“Please Assimilation, give Andre another chance, please…”
SIDI spoke, placing a hand on Assimilation's knee. It didn't move, so SIDI did, shuffling to sit next to it and pull it into a one-sided hug.
The silence that followed wasn’t one of tension, discomfort or pain, just understanding and care.
Eventually, Assimilation returned the hug, clinging to SIDI like a lifeline as its body shook in silent sobs. SIDI just held it close, rubbing its back while whispering sweet nothings, giving comfort at no expense, no fear towards the entity anymore.
Assimilation eventually calms down, hiding its face in the chatter's neck, seeking the warmth that radiated from the vent on their neck.
“You ready to talk to Andre, Assimilation, or do you need more time?”
Assimilation hesitated before speaking.
“I miss him”
“Is that a yes?”
The entity nodded, and SIDI smiled, letting Andre practically rip control off them with a small laugh in chat.
Andre pulled the entity impossibly closer. Assimilation was slightly startled at the sudden force but eventually reciprocated that closeness.
“I’m so sorry, Assim, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry”
Andre spoke, his voice cracking slightly as he spoke. Assimilation almost thought its heart could shatter, its ribs trembling a bit.
“I’m sorry to, Andre. I’m sorry for running away and hiding from you”
The two sat in silence for a long while, hugging eachother in a mutual understanding, needing the other close since they had been apart for far too long, all the tension, all the fear, all the doubt fading in that moment.
> I’m logging off, uh, hope you found it-
Collin typed, Andre checked his internal clock, it was late, the sun outside started to set, and Andre’s battery ticked to orange. They really stayed in that position for a long time.
> I did thx Collin
> Collinlock16 left the world
Andre pulled back, looking at the entity, which finally looked at him in the eyes; it almost made him break out in the biggest smile ever, but a soft smile was placed instead.
“Let’s go home?”
“Yes, Andre. Let’s go home, Andre”
The two stood. Andre held Assimilation's hand and looked up at the entity. A soft squeeze of its hands, Assimilation looked back down, the tilt of its eye suggesting a smile as they teleported back home.
As they arrived, they got comfortable, Andre taking off his armour and drying off, and Assimilation repairing the house quickly, but still sticking near Andre like usual.
It peered over Andres's shoulder as he plated up the biscuits and poured two mugs of hot cocoa, then followed him as he settled on the sofa, the fireplace crackled with warmth, and Assimilation sat beside him, leaning into the AI, and it leaned back.
Both finally found their peace together as they shared hot cocoa and biscuits, letting their comfort blend into one as the night passed in a loving silence.
Maybe it would all be ok for them…Maybe.