Chance to Be Better Again

[4]

Makai was wearing the new clothes he bought back at the shopping center. His face was slightly covered in a black substance, most likely grease or oil. His new clothes had the same substance splattered on them, which was disappointing to both of them. He was holding a rusty wrench and a drill, hinting that he was working on something relating to robots. What else would he be using those tools for? "Makai?!" Rodney said, shocked. "What are you doing in a dump like this?"

"A dump?" Makai replied in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Yeah. It's a dump! Look at the carpets, the walls, literally everything." Rodney posed his hands towards the walls. He then grabbed Makai's arm and hastily walked towards the stairs. "C'mon let's get out of here."

Makai let go of Rodney's hand quickly. "No!" Makai replied.

Rodney suddenly stopped in his place. "Why not?" Rodney said reluctantly, desperately wanting to hold Makai's hand again.

"Because this is my home, Rodney. I was raised here. I don't wanna leave it."

"But you have to return back to us eventually, Makai."

"Do I have to, or is that lady intimidating enough to strike a nerve and get right into your head?"

Makai was right. Who said that they had to do this? Who said that they had to sacrifice each other in order to survive? Some of the gems were deactivated, but they could just live in the regions that are thriving, right? Rodney started to space out.

"Rodney?" Makai said, waving his hand close to Rodney's face to bring him back to reality.

"Sorry," Rodney replied, snapped back to reality. "I kinda spaced out."

"Well, that's fine. I get it."

"So what was that about purple lady?" Rodney asked.

"I don't know. She makes us do these...sacrifices to- to hurt us?! It's so sadistic of anyone to do that!" A couple of tears started to slip down Makai's face before he quickly wiped them away. "Anyways," Makai said. "I want to show you something. Follow me." Makai held Rodney's hand and led him to a purple curtain. The curtain had that black substance on it. Rodney guessed Makai was working on something. It was in bad condition, like very bad condition. There were coffee stains all over it, bugs traveling across its surface, mold covering the corners. It was a mess. 

"Makai what are we doing here?" Rodney asked, putting his mind off of the disgust.

Makai walked over to the moldy curtain. "It's been something I've been working on ever since we got here." Makai sounded insane, almost crazy. Rodney started to feel concerned. "Ready?" Makai asked Rodney.

"Sure," Rodney anxiously replied.

Makai tore down the curtain to reveal a robot with a height of 4 feet. The eyes were light blue, the pattern on the robot's surface looked familiar, the ears were a perfect size. It looked like...Coby.

"Makai!" Rodney exclaimed. "What did you d-?!"

"I made Coby!" Makai obsessively replied. "Isn't it amazing? I-I can finally see him again! There won't be any misery or broken feelings anymore." His voice started to sound shakier by the second, his body quivering. "I-I deserve happiness, Rodney!" He touched the robot's eyes. "Look at how realistic they are. I finally did it, Rodney!" His voice started to raise volume. "I finally did it! Everyone will be so happy once I return with this!!"

Rodney stood there, paralyzed. Makai officially went insane. "Makai," Rodney spoke. "You can't just make.." He points his finger towards the robot. "..this and think that will fix everyone's problems. Isira would be pi-"

"Who cares what that hag thinks?!" Makai yelled back. "She can fucking kill me for all I care."

"You do realize if you showed that to everyone Isira would smash it immediately-"

"WOULD YOU JUST STOP TALKING?!!" Makai threw a glass bottle towards Rodney.

"Woah! Watch it Makai! What's wrong with you?"

Makai got angry. "More like what's wrong with you! Why do you have to always go towards the negative?!"

"I was just saying that you should keep that thing down here so that no one hurts it." Rodney reminded Makai.

"Thing? THING?! It's not a thing, Rodney! Have you forgotten what Coby was to me? To us?" He looked at Rodney engulfed in rage. "There's nothing wrong with me, okay? I'm fine. It's you who's the problem."

Rodney's heart shattered. Who is this version of Makai he's never seen before? Was Makai always like this when he wasn't around? This can't be true, Rodney thought to himself. I have to be dreaming, right? Rodney started to space out again until Makai spoke. "I'll give you one chance," Makai warned. "Leave this basement, this building, this whole acre, or things will get messy." Makai pointed to the stairway as a signal. Without hesitation, Rodney walked right up the stairway and stopped to think. He was going to say something, but no words came out. He continued upwards out of the basement.