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【25 - A】

Ell sighed and tapped her foot repeatedly. She hummed as she thought about what they were going to do with Tamara. Clearly, she was brainwashed. Stripped of her memories and everything that made her Tamara. Taking that into mind, Ell tried to think of a way she could change Tamara back. Or at least have it so that she wasn't too hellbent on that “Red Leader” crap. She could tell that softly talking to her was most likely the way because of how she got through to her before. She could tell Tamara was staring to believe her. Speaking of which, she was being awfully quiet. Ell walked back over to what she called the living room to see that Tamara was gone. She blinked. "Maddie!" she exclaimed, "Tam's gone!" "I'm right here." Ell jumped and turned around to see Tamara standing right behind her. "Sorry." Tamara apologized. Ell paused. Where did this attitude come from? She was much softer and kinder than before. "It's okay..?" Ell replied, though it came out more like a question. "I was hungry and Matilda let me out. Is it okay if I get something?" Tamara asked. Ell nodded slowly. Tamara turned and walked to the small kitchen. Ell placed a hand on her heart. Something seemed off. After two small talks and some memories, how was Tamara already different? How was she already convinced? That's what scared Ell the most. Luckily for her, she hid Tamara's gun and tried to destroy her walkie-talkie.

"Call off the search. She is not coming back." Tori ordered. Patricia nodded and pressed a button on his walkie-talkie. "Rød Leder beordrer at søket skal stoppe. Gå tilbake til basen umiddelbart." she spoke. Tori sighed as she looked through some files. "Patricia." she called. "Yes ma'am Red Leader ma'am." Patricia answered.
"Head down to the medbay and get some more pills for me."
"Yes ma'am Red Leader ma'am."
Tori held up her pill bottle. "Take this with you." she added. Patricia walked over and took the pill bottle from her. She saluted and left the room. Tori sighed in dissapointment. She could tell Patricia was nervous. She didn't like that. She missed Tamara. Just like the day she left. Just like the day she was kicked out. The day she lied. Tori held her head. "Dammit Tori.." she muttered, "Kjærlighet gjør deg svak.." she couldn't stop thinking about what Paula had told her the day before. Did Tamara really mean that? If so, it made Tori regret her decision even more. She didn't even understand why Tamara loved her. Tori took her for granted. She sighed again. She didn't know what she was going to do. Especially after she had just demoted Paula. Paula was supposed to be her right hand woman. Even if she was left-handed. Maybe this whole thing was pointless. Maybe she did this for no reason. He never hated Ell. He never hated Matilda. It all changed on that day. Back in 2016. When Tamara shot her. Tori paused. She understood it now. She changed as soon as that harpoon landed in her robot. Her robot. Tori sat up in her office chair. She was on to something. But did she really have to give up everything she worked on? Everything she's achieved? Tori knew she was better than that. They were getting to her head. Just like the last five or ten weeks. Tori exhaled deeply. She shrugged off her overcoat and stared at her apparel. Nothing special, just a red hoodie and black pants. She remembered those colour coded hoodies Ell got them for Christmas. Told them it was something to remember them by. Tori opened her desk drawer and pulled out another old photo. It was of her and Ell. She blinked back tears. Ell was always the happiest one. She always told people to smile. Tori let out a small breath. Remembering what she did to Ell in the cell made her feel..bad. She didn't care about anyone else. She didn't even know them. But Ell, she knew Ell. She should've felt bad. Why didn't she feel bad? Tori shook the thought out of her head and stuffed the picture back in her drawer. She wiped her eyes on her hoodie sleeve and thought to herself some more. Maybe Ell was right. She did need friends. What about her army? What about her base? Tori groaned and rubbed her temple. She had them, but then she lost them. So what was she to do now?

Ell hummed as she studied all of Tamara's actions carefully. She analyzed the way that she walked, the way that she talked, the looks she gave people and things, and her overall mood. Tamara was, surprisingly normal. Ell guessed she was a pretty good talker. Speaking of, she started to wonder where Matilda was. Ell left Tamara in the living room and walked into Matilda's little room. She was in there, but she wasn't her usual self. She sat on his bed. In the corner closest to the wall. She sat balled up with her knees to her chest. She turned to Ell as soon as she walked in. She stayed silent and didn't say anything. Everyone was just off. Ell sighed quietly and walked over to Matilda. She placed her hand on her shoulder and Matilda jumped. She quickly turned to Ell. "Maddie?" Ell called. Matilda nodded. "Yeah?" she answered.
"You okay? You seem..troubled."
"..Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."
"That was a lie."
Matilda huffed. She balled up even closer. "They're talking." she said, pointing to her head, "I'm listening to what they're saying." Ell blinked. "What did they do to you in there?" she asked. "Huh?" Matilda replied.
"What did they do to you? Back in the lab."
"O-Oh.. Some things I don't remember. But things...things like that, you can't just forget. Believe me, I've tried."
Ell let out a small breath. Matilda chuckled. "They called me insane. They said I was...unstable." she mumbled, sniffling. Ell felt her heart break as a tear rolled down Matilda's cheek. She sighed. She cupped Matilda's face and turned her head so that they faced each other. "Maddie.." she started, trailing off. Matilda shook her head. "I don't think I'm insane.." she cried, "I mean, I have voices in my head. They get louder. And louder, and louder." Ell sighed. "I don't think you're insane either." she replied. Matilda grabbed Ell's wrists and put them back down at her sides. "You should go." she said, "I..I wanna be alone now. Please." Ell nodded and stood up. She walked to the door and glanced at Matilda one more time before leaving and closing the door behind her.
Tamara looked around the old garage in awe. Did she really used to live like that? She was impressed with the structure. Tamara snapped out of her thoughts when Ell walked in with a heavy sigh. She looked dissapointed. Tamara hesitated, wondering whether she should interfere or not. "What happened?" she asked, giving in to her curiosity. Ell sighed sadly. "It's Maddie." she answered, "I'm worried about her." Tamara studied Ell's facial expression and structure. She hummed. "Can I tell you something?" she asked. Ell nodded. "I know that look." Tamara spoke, "I..I remember it." Ell blinked. What look? What was she talking about? "You're conflicted..yet, you're in love." Tamara finished. Ell blushed and looked away. "I'm not." she denied. Tamara nodded. She walked over to Ell and looked straight at her.
"The other day, when you kissed me, I saw that look on your face."
"Sorry about that by the way."
"No, it's okay."
Ell huffed. She really was worried about Matilda. Was it even necessary to be giving out love advice? Tamara smiled softly. "You care about Matilda. Deeply." she said, "Listen, I don't know what we had in the past, but from what I've learned, you should tell her..before it's too late." Ell let out a small breath. She then let out a long sigh and her voice wavered. She could feel that lump in her throat as she sniffled. She turned and looked away from Tamara. "I shouldn't have said anything.." she mumbled under her breath, "Ojalá supiera qué decir.." "Take some time to think about it." Tamara said quietly. Ell nodded. She looked back at Tamara before heading back to her room.