Wired Heart

Chapter 14

Emerald eyes slowly cracked open before quickly clamping back shut. After a few moments, they tried again and managed to stay open. A raspy groan escaped his pained throat, and he coughed harshly. Izuku was sprawled on his side in some sort of storage room of the sort. The metal floor beneath him was cold, and when he shifted involuntary shivers coursed through his body. He managed to shift and lift his head up, his eyes squinting and adjusting to the darkness. A clank beside his head caught his attention and he slowly looked up. A strangled gasp caught in his throat as his eyes finally adjusted and he could see the creation before him. He scanned the metal plating and wires of his friend, eyes traveling up and around until they met with glowing yellow. He felt a spike of fear course through him as the memory of being strangled washed over him. Was he dead? If he was, how was Denki here? Did they both die? How would that have happened? Izuku was snapped back to reality as a whirring was heard and he glanced back up in time to see the machine crouching in front of him. A cold metal hand went towards his face, and he flinched, preparing for the worst. He was thoroughly surprised when instead the hand gently poked and prodded at his flesh. He peeked an eye back open before both of them widened in surprise at the pure curiosity Denki's own eyes held. It was as if he had never had flesh of his own. Izuku felt his heart crack, did the other really remember nothing? Denki scanned him for a moment longer, tilting his head and poking at him before finally speaking.
"Squishy?" He looked Izuku in the eyes, confused and clearly wanting an answer. The emerald teen hesitantly sat all the way up, gently touching his bruised throat. The robotic undertone to the others voice was strange, as normally the blonde had a mischievous lilt and a joyful tone when he spoke. Izuku hesitantly opened his own mouth and spoke
"It's....It's my skin...do you not remember? Y-You used to have skin too," He said softly. Denki blinked owlishly. He poked at Izuku's cheek and then poked his own.
"I was squishy?" Izuku nodded at the question. Izuku hesitantly reached his own hand forward and touched Denki's face. It was cold and smooth, none of the lively warmth the other had before was there, all traces of their friend gone like a leaf in the breeze. Izuku's frown deepend.
"You...you were my classmate, my friend. You had bright yellow hair and you could spark, you-you made electricity. You were so friendly, you were funny and you made us all happy. You were friends with Katsuki Bakugou and his friends, do you not remember any of it?" Izuku couldn't help the involuntary cracking in his voice at the end of his sentence, the stinging in his eyes making Denki blurry. The animatronic stared at him, but not in confusion, almost in a blank remembrance. Izuku took the silence as a no, before the other spoke.
"Bl...Blasty? Kacchan?" Denki didn't seen to understand the words he was saying, but Izuku's heart lifted and so did the corners of his lips.
"Yes! Kacchan! You remember?" Denki blinked and gently shook his head. Izuku started to connect the dots. Denki must have been put under some sort of memory erasure quirk, but something must have blocked it from getting rid of everything, as he still remembered some details. Was it Denki's quirk? It was quite possible that the electricity in his brain sensed something and took fragments of the blondes memory to stuff into the back to save them. Izuku wasn't aware that he had lost himself in thought u til a metal finger poked his nose. Izuku flushed in embarrassment and looked up at the other. Denki offered a hand and Izuku happily took it, standing up. Now that he was focusing on more than his friend, the absolutely horrific odor in the room hit him in the face like a wall, and Izuku's eyes watered and he coughed, covering his mouth and nose. Denki tilted his head and walked away, the emerald teen watching as the animatronic turned on the light. Izuku's eyes shut at the sudden brightness before fluttering open, but his heart soon leaped out of his chest. Directly across from him, in the corner of the room was a sickeningly tall pile of children's bodies. Izuku turned to Denki to bring attention to it when he halted. He felt his blood run cold as he stared at the confused animatronic, more specifically, the blood that coated the metal doors on his chest and driooed down his body. "D-Did...Did you..." Izuku couldn't even form the words, stumbling back and crawling away from the other hurriedly. Denki took a confused stepped forward but the genuine terror in the others eyes made him stop and reluctantly step back. Denki looked between the bodies and his supposed classmate. What was wrong? Should they not be there? Denki was confused, not understanding the concept of death and murder as he looked at Izuku with innocent confusion. Izuku gagged, barely resisting the need to vomit as he turned away from the pile of bodies. He rapidly shook his head to clear it. This Denki might have killed children, but this wasn't their Denki, he reminded himself. Their Denki would never do such a thing, Their Denki...

Their Denki wouldn't be able to take it when he found out.