Internecion Cube, Rewritten

Episode 3: Reassurance

Max walked down the empty desert road. Rain was pouring, a rarity in this climate. He continued walking, his backpack slung over his shoulders nice and firm. A little cube was tucked away in his pocket. 

"Can I come out now-" 

"No, we gotta maintain a low profile." 

IC-0n let out a muffled sigh. 

"Whatever, O Administrator." 

Ahead was a diner. A small roadside diner out in the boonies, with a big flashing sign that read 'Stardust Cafe'. Finally, somewhere for him to wash off his bloody face and get into contact with Kirie. He stepped inside, placing IC-0n's cuboid form on the table. Only one other customer was inside, a man in a coat that obscured all of his features. 

"Okay. I gotta use the restroom. We're in and out. You keep watch for any agents or whatever. Got it?" 

"What's a restroom?" 

"You'll figure it out one day, or something. If you've got any crazy X-ray thermal sensing sonar nonsense keep it pointed in the opposite direction. Kay?" 

"Whatever, Administrator."

IC-0n, out of boredom, read the menu. Sunny-side-up eggs. And that brought back a little memory. 

... 

... 

... 

Max was sitting on the ground with a stick, drawing eggs in the dirt. His stomach growled and he begrudgingly tore a chunk out of his energy bar again. 

"What are you drawing, Administrator?" 

"Sunny-side-up eggs. I've had nothing but these damned protein bars for quite a while."

He let out a deep sigh. 

"Eating, huh? Well, you do you." 

"I kinda have to. Being organic and all." 

"Hah! Score one more for the cube." 

He glared at her. 

"Please, just...leave me alone right now." 

She felt something...strange. Empathy? No, pity. It was pity. She turned around, and felt energy sparking through her. She concentrated as hard as she could. Cubes manifesting out of nothing. She could see it - the shape of an egg emerging from the swirling cuboid shapes. But suddenly...it glitched. Its white shell turning a dark brown. Fluid oozing off of it. And suddenly...it cracked.

Ebony tentacles thin and sharp flailing out, strange cries coming out of it. A head like a cross between a vulture and a shark and a mole. What had she done? Even in her demented mind, she knew...this was wrong. This was horrible. This was an abomination. And she killed it, right then and there, crushing it with her metal hands. She trembled a little bit. 

"The hell are you doing back there?" 

"...Nothing." 

"Please, you were doing something back there." 

"...Fine. I was trying to...ugh, synthesize eggs for you." 

'A genuine act of kindness...? No, remember Kirie's words Max. The Devil is a Lying, Cruel Manipulator. It's a monster, it wants you dead.'

"And how did that go?" 

"...Poorly. As it turns out, organic matter is beyond me." 

"You can make a bike out of corpses and yet you can't make eggs?"