From the Ashes- Afire Love part 2

bridges

a/n: u guys these comments🥺 i was taking a break bc i haven't been feeling my best lately, but i feel much better now so i decided to come back. and the first thing i see when i open this app are all the super kind comments! thank u so much guys u don't realize how much happiness that u bring me! and so sorry about the hiatus but i'm working on finishing the story now!

Virgil's cave had changed a lot.

Where there were originally chain chimes dangling from the ceilings and turrets that stood at the entrance to the main chasm, there was nothing. What happened here?

"Haylen, be on your guard," you whispered to her. You pulled your pistol out, crouching lower to the ground. With every step, you brought your feet down lightly.

"You think I'm not?" she spat back. You turned around to see that she'd already drawn her firearm. You shrugged off the hostility in her voice and continued into where Virgil's room was. The faint sound of clicking filled your ears.

Virgil was seated at his desk, hammering the keys on his keyboard in frustration. From across the room, you could her him grunting in anger. "Virgil?" you called to him, standing up straight.

You saw the mutant's shoulders jerk up before he swiveled his chair around. "Y/N, it's you," he said, sounding a bit panicked. He stared at you through his broken glasses.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to sneak up on you," you apologized. You approached him, meeting him at his desk. "What's going on here? You were armed to the teeth last time I was here." Now that you'd had a look around, you'd noticed his protectron wasn't even with him.

He glared at you and scoffed. "Is that a serious question?"

"Excuse me?"

"The Institute is gone, remember? I saw that explosion from here." He explained himself with a very short tone. "So now that there's no Institute, they'll be no Coursers looking for me. I got rid of everything."

"What's with your temper?" Scribe Haylen scowled. Her arms were folded.

"Who's this?" Virgil asked you impatiently.

"She's a friend," you sighed. "Calm down. And I hate to break it to you, but your Institute wasn't doing much for us. Ever since it went up, we've been fine on the surface. Your friends weren't making as much of a difference as you thought." Virgil scoffed again and opened his mouth, but you continued on before he could say anything. "But look. There's something we have to tell you." You exhaled slowly, looking at the ground for a moment before meeting his eyes again. "A little over a year ago, Danse was shot."

Virgil's face relaxed. "Danse, the one who came in with you last time? The synth?"

"Yes. Him." You tried your best to stay calm. This whole time, he had known the truth. He had repaired torn apart wire and shattered electronic devices with his own hands. He knew that he wasn't human. Why didn't you tell us? you thought.

"We all thought he was killed, but now, there's evidence that says... otherwise. So we went back to where everything happened, and we found this. Haylen?"

The scribe pulled the slip of paper out from a pocket. She unfolded it carefully and handed it to Virgil. "Does that look familiar to you?" she asked.

He brought the paper close to his face. Squinted at it. A show of expressions played across his face, landing on one with wide eyes and slightly parted lips. "Yes, yes. I remember this."

"What is it?" you gasped eagerly. You looked at Haylen, who looked just as surprised as Virgil.

"This is from one of the earliest designs of the Molecular Relay. Before we fully developed it, the burst of energy it created singed the ground that it was used on. But that was a long time ago," he explained. "We've fine tuned it since then, so that it leaves no trace. Where'd you say you found this?"