The End of All

Chapter 6

•Cole's POV•

I'm not quite sure what I expected, but I don't think a cozy modern living area with a television mounted to the wall and a small kitchen to the far right was quite what I had in mind. The furniture appeared comfortable enough, and large windows in the side of the mountain side let in a surprising amount of light. I frowned at the sight of two more girls sitting on one of the couches.

"Hey. They're here." Darcey went to stand by them, and when she turned to inspect our group, I felt her gaze fixed on me. I didn't know what she saw, but suspicion was evident on her face. The other girls whipped around.

"Hey there! Welcome to our lovely mountain home!" One of the two said, standing. Frankly, if Zane weren't a nindroid I would have guessed they were related. Same face, and she had long white hair pulled back into a ponytail. She reached a hand up and pushed her bangs to the side. "I'm Zuri, and this is Nathaira."

"You can jussst call me Nat. Everyone doessss." The whole group drew back in shock. The narrow pupils, the sharp teeth, the forked tongue...

"Y-you're a serpentine!" Jay's shout caused a crescendo in my headache, but thankfully it faded quickly.

"Part ssserpentine actually. My mother really loved ssssnakesss, if you know what I mean." So her father was a serpentine. Fascinating.

"We aren't here for a meet and greet, where's Zane?"

"I'm right here." The door to the left had opened and Zane stood in the doorway.

"Zane!" I sprinted over.

"Don't touch him! Stay away!" The voice in me screeched, but I threw my arms around him anyways.

Too late, I thought. The headache faded along with the voice, as if Zane were some sort of miracle cure. I felt his arms wrap around me as I pulled back slightly. I frowned.

"What happened? You look horrible." Zane smiled at me.

"I will be fine, my weight should raise to an acceptable level soon." I looked at his thin face. He looked sick, or rather that he was just getting over being sick. But then it hit me- something I had felt while hugging him. It had been a steady pulsing which he had never felt from the other before. A heartbeat.

"W-what happened to you?" I stepped back, shock keeping my eyes locked with him.

"What's wrong?" The others looked at him as well, trying to see what I saw.

"A heartbeat, he... he has a heart." The words felt wrong. There was no way a nindroid suddenly had a pulse. It made no sense. The pounding had gone, but the situation was making my head spin in its own way.

"That's impossible." Kai crossed his arms.

"Not for him." Zuri came over and gave him a side-hug. I was absolutely ready to both fight her and go die in a hole at that point. The pounding in my head was slowly starting to return.

"What do you mean? He's a nindroid, and as unfortunate as that is nindroids don't have hearts."

"It... it is complicated," Zane looked at the ground before looking back up at us. "But I am no no longer a nindroid."