In Memoriam - An Unus Annus Fanfiction

18.02. - 02/18 - 3 big boys attempt the kings royal fitness test

»Do you know what that means?« Annus still felt dizzy from their encounter with the celestial chickens. I wasn't quite sure how to stomach an experience like this, so he decided to put it to the pile of things he'd come back to once he had the time for it. (Not to mention that the pile was ever growing, but he'd deal with that once he had the time for it). He knew that this wasn't a healthy way to deal with his problems, but he decided to stop here before the whole thing became a self sustaining perpetual motion of things he'd deal with later.

Unus was running up and down the rooms like a headless (he thought it might be better not to finish that comparison). He was grabbing everything he deemed important enough to take with him.
    »Of course I do. Marvin is alive, and we'll get out of here.« His voice was as energetic as his stride.
He nearly bumped into Dark on his way upstairs. In any other occasion, this would have sparked conflict, but now Unus barely even acknowledged him.
  »What's wrong with him?« The white eyed man asked, looking after Unus pacing through the rooms of the second floor. »I thought you were the one that went feral a few days ago.«
   »Yeah, about that. What the hell happened there?«
Dark shrugged. »Oh, you know. Standard stuff. You almost died, I saved your asses, Unus gave you my blood...«
   »Come again?«
»I worked wonders on your,« Dark pulled a finger across his throat. »And you didn't become a crazy maniac hellbent on killing me, so that's a plus.«

His words left Annus with more questions than before, but before he could push for more answers, Unnus came back downstairs. He had a sheet of paper in his hands, which he slammed down on the table in the living room.
   »We have a little over a month left to reach the place where the way out will open. Thirty six day's to be precise. The shortest route will take us twenty five days, but it's also the most dangerous. The safest will take us thirty five, but if we run into a problem, we're screwed.«

Dark peeked over his shoulder. »The risk of taking the safest route is too high. Your friend is still out there, and so is Blank. We can't expect everything to go smoothly.«
Annus hated to agree with him, but he was right. The short route was packed with yaegers, and there were few safe rooms in between, but they couldn't risk having only one day as buffer.

He noticed Unus's shoulders sink. »This is going so fast. We still need to find a cure for Marvin. We have no idea where Blank is. We're relatively safe here. Maybe there's another way. I mean, we can't even take the dogs with us.«
Dark shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. »You dense fool. Anti can't just be cured like that. You shouldn't worry about leaving him behind, worry about how to get rid of him if he follows us. Because trust me, he will. Blank will be a pain in the ass, but would you rather sit here and wait for your time to run out?«

Unus spun around with cat-like agility. »Don't preach about wasted time,« he hissed. »Who's fault is it that were fighting against a countdown?«
Dark smacked Unus's finger away with the back of his hand. »I'm not responsible for every struggle you face. Maybe it was Blanks fault, but certainly not mine.«
   »Wait, so you it wasn't you who started the countdown?« Annus chimed in.
   Dark shook his head. »I'm not even sure if Blank could have done such a thing. Don't worry, I'll ask him about it before I break his neck.«

Unus and Annus exchanged glances. If it hadn't been them, who else could have started it? Did they accidentally set off something inside the machine? Or perhaps, there were forces outside of the machine manipulating it? Once again, the pile of 'I'll-deal-with-it-later' grew.
»I think we should risk it. I don't wanna sit here and wait for something to happen.« Annus thought out loud. He looked over to Chica and Spencer, who were peacefully sleeping next to the couch. They're simulations of Marvin's watch, aren't they?« He asked no one specifically. Still, he felt a lump in his throat. »Maybe there's a way to take them with us?«

Unus looked at the watch he had put on his wrist. He rotated the scarab shaped face, and the wings popped open with a click. »If I'm doing this right, we should be able to de- and rematerialize them at will.« He kneeled down to Spencer. »You be a good boy,« he said, ruffling through his fur.
Annus kneeled down and patted Chicas belly as a golden light surrounded both dogs. With a flicker, they were gone.

»Well that was sappy,« Dark broke the mood. »They're not dead, y'know. That's how virtual data works. Keep the watch safe, and they'll be fine.«

They simultaneously took a deep breath. »We'll head out in the early morning tomorrow. The yeagers are less active then.«

Annus slept surprisingly well in that night. Of course, he was excited, but he also felt very well prepared for what was coming.
Still, it was strange sitting in the kitchen for the last time. It was early enough to watch the sun rise. The house felt strangely detached already, like one big hotel room. They didn't talk much during breakfast. Last preparations were done, things packed together. They didn't take much with them. The first station was a safe room not to far from the center.

They knew that they'd need to be quick. Annus opened the front door. Endless rows of suburban styled houses stretched out left and right. There were no yeagers to be seen, but Unus could feel them crawl all around the area. He looked back over his shoulder one last time. The house was not the right place anymore. The door closed behind them

It didn't take long for the metallic clacking to be heard. They knew what it meant, and like on a silent commando, the three men began running.