New Program

Home Sweet Home

tw: arguing, insensitivity towards mental disorders, disassociation

"So... where're we goin'?"

The larger drone didn't respond, seeming lost in thought. Isabella huffed at the lack of attention. She tugged at the tail restraining her hands, finally getting the drone to look at her.

"Need something, pet?" she asked, tilting her head.

It felt strange hearing such a similar voice to her mother's asking something so sincerely. So strange, that it made Isabella hesitate for a moment.

"Well?" the drone asked, "If you're gonna bother me for no reason, then I might as well kill you and your brother right here, huh?"

Isabella panicked, "No, no! No killing, please and thank you!" She laughed nervously. "I-I just.. where are you taking us?"

"Home," she said simply.

"Yeah, b-but... where exactly are we going?"

The drone took a moment to think it over, as if she didn't actually know.

"I haven't thought about that.." she mumbled, more to herself than the worker drone on her hip, "I guess we can call it the Corpse House."

What.

"Ooh, that sounds cool! Corpse House. Cooooorpse Hoooooouse."

While the drone started echoing various versions of the name, Isabella started shrinking in on herself. That wasn't exactly the most welcoming of names for her new "home."

More like... incredibly freaking menacing. It made her feel like she was about to be another brick in its wall, which according to this drone's threats, she probably would be if she misbehaved even the slightest.

She looked around, finally noticing the steadily increasing amount of worker drone parts around them, half buried in snow and permafrost dirt.

She whimpered at the sight, wishing she could wrap her arms around Liam and reassure herself that he was still safe. All she had as a reminder of his presence right now was his weight lightly pulling at the straps holding them together.

She turned forward again as the drone made her way around a building, then froze.

The sheer amount of bodies in front of her, shoved together like makeshift walls around what looked to be a spaceship. Even more were strewn aimlessly around the surrounding area, likely soon to join the rest in the horrifying structure.

Corpse House was.. definitely accurate.

"Home, sweet home!" the drone holding her cheered, picking up her pace, "It's a little small compared to what the others have made, but it's quite effective if I do say so myself! And X says so, too!"

Isabella tried not to gag at the overwhelming scent of oil that hung in the air as the drone skipped over to the ship, jumping up and crawling in through a hole near the top.

"X?" she called into the pod, dropping Isabella down to sit against the wall, "You in here?"

Suddenly, there was a gasp, like someone had been holding their breath for a very long time, followed by harsh breathing.

"Go away, L!" a masculine voice shouted back in between hiccups.

"L" huffed, putting her hands on her hips, tail flicking in annoyance now that it was free, "And after I spent all that time walking our new pet back? No way!"

Keeping a good hold on Liam, Isabella watched as L forced a nearby door open and went in. She didn't get to see what was happening from her current angle, but she could certainly hear it.

There was a hiss, before the gasping suddenly stopped.

"Are you being weird again?" L asked with a hint of exasperation, "M told you to breathe when this happens!"

Another harsh exhale, "SHUT UP! It's helping, okay!?"

"No it is not— X, just because M's been out for a little longer than usual doesn't mean you can just freak out like this!"

"Freak out?! I CAN'T CONTROL THIS, L!!"

Isabella flinched at the volume, but moved to cover Liam's audio receptors instead of her own. She didn't want to wake him.

She didn't wanna go back. She didn't wanna go back.

"'Control'—?? What do you mean 'CONTROL'!? It's your breathing, X! It's just your debris ventilation— it's like one of our simplest functions!!"

"SHUT UP, L! JUST SHUT UP!! You've always made things WORSE!"

"Worse!? YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KEEPS RUNNING OFF LIKE A COWARD!!"

Suddenly...

Mom and Dad were arguing again.

Broken machinery. Corrupted files. Data lost.

They blamed each other, like always.
Isabella was small. So small, so innocent, so clueless.

Big Brother had given her a pair of headphones. He guided her to his bed and drew her attention to his laptop. Adventure time was playing on it; an old show from the early 21st century on Earth that she loved so much.

Looks like Jake's a dad now.

As the sounds of shouting were drowned out by the familiar voices of the characters, Big Brother joined her on the bed, draping a blanket over the two of them and handing her a tattered plush. "Peter Cottontail" was its name.

Still, as the show played and Big Brother held her close, Isabella could still hear Mom and Dad yelling through the noise.

She wondered if they would still like each other after this. She wondered if they liked each other right now. She wondered if they ever liked each other in the first place.

Do they like her and Big Brother?

Isabella was being picked up by her hood again.

Before she could ask why or what was happening, she was thrown into another drone's chest, who seemed to be the source of the erratic breathing.

"Go comfort him or something," Mom— no, L spat at her, "I need to blow off some steam."

Isabella whimpered at the harsh taps L's pointed legs made against the metal floor, keeping herself as small as possible until she shot out of the ship. Slowly, the worker drone looked up.

"X" wasn't looking at her at the moment, simply staring at where L once was with hollow eyes. Most of his silvery hair was slicked down, but there were still quite a few strands that decided to rebel. His chest, of which Isabella had been thrown against, was rising and falling rapidly as his breathing got worse.

Suddenly, he looked down at Isabella, making eye contact. She immediately whimpered and lowered her head.

X growled something under his breath, before a pair of arms wrapped around her, making her stifle a surprised yelp. X pulled her close, resting his chin on her head, once again notably avoiding crushing Liam.

Hesitantly, Isabella relaxed, letting herself lean against his chest. In turn, he seemed to calm, if only a little bit.

So.

This was happening.