Battle for Some Actual Peace and Quiet for Once

Episode 26 - Striving to be Better

The past few weeks had been quite exhilarating for Pin.

She'd spent much of her break time doing nothing but constantly breaking the law. Despite the constant reminders to not leave the facility under any circumstance, and the truly harsh punishments for those who are caught, it turned out that the facility's security was rather lax, allowing her to slip away then back in completely undetected. All one really needed to do to escape was being attentive and having the strength to climb up fences. As soon as no one was looking, Pin would quickly climb up, and before any eyes turned to look at the area again, she was already gone, and the facility guards would be left clueless as to where she had gone, assuming that she had just gone away during that time. They didn't really dig any deeper, considering that they were barely paid for it. And why would they? By the time break time was over, and the scientists gathered all the subjects up for another round of experiments, Pin would be standing alongside them, as if she hadn't gone anywhere. Even though her escapades were definitely better off remaining secret, word *always* manages to get around. Pin had obviously told Coiny of it, what with having left with her in several instances, and would tell of what he saw to his friends, who would talk about it to *their* friends, and so on. It had barely been a week since her first escape when virtually all of the subjects knew of her funny business in some form. A few employees did hear of it as well, but they either didn't care or quickly forgot. There were many things to care about in the facility, and so a possible runaway wasn't in their best interest. As long as the employees weren't affected by her shenanigans, they didn't really care.

Her bold little maneuvers caused her to gradually build up a better reputation among the subjects, particularly with the unruly ones, of which Coiny fell into. Tales of awe and wonder from her daring feats caused them to begin speaking of her in a more positive light, although it'd obviously remain rather secret. They didn't want to be known as the one who ratted her out, after all. And as days turned into weeks, keeping the whole thing under wraps became more of a necessity. They had now kept the secret for so long that they could also face punishment if they didn't confess to it. And with almost everyone hearing of it... Well, that was something all the subjects, both boys and girls, could mutually agree on. The days went on, the experiments and tests continued as usual, and the subjects were always there to do their best in them, always numbering 19-ish strong. They did perfectly well in the tests, but during their breaks, they gradually grew to become more mischievous. Inspired by Pins antics, they decided to try and escape for themselves, along with pulling a few other pranks on the employees. If any of them *did* get caught, they'd simply be told off, and they wouldn't confess whatsoever. The guards would certainly notice the uptick in escape attempts, but figured it was just because of their natural desire to get out of there. They couldn't blame them, since they mostly felt the same. As long as both employee and subject continued to cooperate, everything would be fine. And it *was* fine for those few weeks.

-

Pin and Coiny were at the cafeteria for dinner, sitting with the boys clique, where she had become revered by its members. They'd usually say that they let her in because of her personality when asked about it, but everyone already knew the real reason why. They'd mostly be doing tricks with their abilities, talking and laughing throughout the meal. It was a relatively good experience overall. But suddenly, a certain someone would tap on Coinys shoulder. "Huh?" He turned to look at who it was, and he saw that it was his friend, Needle. It had been quite a while since they actually spent all that much time together, and he always swore he was going to get around to it, yet something always came up in his schedule. Needle was frowning, clearly displeased by this sudden change in their friendship. "Uh... Hey, Needle." Coiny greeted her. Pin would notice this and would take a look as well, glancing at her for a moment or two while muttering something against her under her breath. "What's up?" Coiny asked. "Hey, uh... Coiny." Needle took a deep breath. "Can we talk for a minute?" She asked. "In *private*?" Coinys eyes widened. He blushed a bit, fearing that this could be *the* moment, especially considering what he and Pin had talked about during their escapades. He'd glance at Pin for a moment, frowning slightly, then looked back at Needle. He nodded. "...Sure." He then got up and followed her to a more empty corner of the cafeteria. Pin noticed this, and tried to listen in to their conversation, yet couldn't hear a single thing over all the talking of the others. She couldn't even inch closer, since that would obviously be suspicious behavior.

After a few minutes, they'd walk back to them, with them going their separate ways once again. Coiny would sit next to Pin again, still somewhat blushing. "What'd she say?" Pin asked. "Oh, uh..." Coiny scratched his head. "She just talked about how long it's been since we last talked... You know, what with me hanging around you and all..." Pin nodded. "...That's understandable." She remarked. She didn't show any anger about it, in order to not needlessly escalate the tension. "I have been hanging out with you a lot, aren't I?" They'd both chuckle. Coiny continued. "...Anyways, Needle said she was studying for her competency exams, and she asked if I could be with her. You know, for motivation." Pin nodded. "...And you said..." Coiny frowned. "...I said yes." He replied. Pins eyes widened. She didn't expect him to actually agree to it, considering their... Connection. Pin fell silent, and Coiny would grow more anxious. "Pin, it's not that. It's just-" "No, no." Pin interrupted, nodding again. "...It's okay." She lied. "It's just... Needle still is my friend, and she just feels left out. Barely anyone wants to talk to her anymore, considering what she's doing, and I don't want her to feel like that." Pin nodded once more. "Yeah, yeah." She frowned slightly. "...She does deserve some of your attention as well. It's fine." Awkward silence followed. "...So, does that mean that I won't be 'hanging out' with you tomorrow afternoon?" That was code, of course, for one of their little excursions to the outside world. Coiny nodded. "...Yeah, unfortunately." He replied. "I'll make it up to you, though." Pin smiled. "Of course you will." She chuckled. It was a weak one, but it was required to maintain the facade.

Dinner time eventually ended, and after a short break period, they were rounded back up to their containment cells to go to sleep. Once again, there was going to be yet another day of hard testing tomorrow. Best to sleep and stay refreshed and filled with energy. As Pin tried her hardest to sleep, however, she found herself being unable to do so. It had been quite a while since Needle was on her radar. She assumed that she had fallen into obscurity and irrelevance since she took Coiny from him. She had a tight schedule, filled to the brim with tests, studying, and exercise, and so could barely fit in any socializing. Perhaps she didn't have any bad intentions in mind from hanging out with Coiny just this once: she *had* felt that sort of loneliness many times before, especially after being reprimanded. But she couldn't shake the thought off her head that she was planning something, something to get revenge on her.

-

It was a couple of minutes until curfew. Most of the other subjects were already rushing back to their cells to head off to sleep, but not Needle. She wandered the plain white corridors of the facility, now barren after all of the employees had gone back to work. She looked at all the doors that lined the hallways, looking for the one which was most likely to have the person she wanted to talk to behind it. She eventually did come across the door in question. It was the same as all the other ones, but remained constantly guarded by two armed guards. The sign next to the door made it clear why such protection was needed: 'Office of the Director of Subject Experimentation'. Behind that door was the one that was pulling the strings and managing their misery from just beyond their reach.

As she approached the guards, cautiously looking around to make sure no one else was looking, the guards would quickly notice and would grab their weapons. "Halt!" One of them shouted. "This is a restricted area, don't come any closer!" Needle sighed. "I know." "State your intentions!" The other one shouted, already pointing his rifle at her. Needle instinctively raised her hands, having already expected this sort of thing to arise. "...I need to speak to the director." She stated. "...It's about one of the other subjects."

-

The following day was much like any other. Get up, get in line, match to the test chamber, do the warmup exercises to get the body going, eat breakfast (that order was questionable, but who was she to question the employees), take a break for half an hour, do the first set of exercises, eat lunch, take a short break, then do the second set of exercises. It was all ordinary stuff for Pin, of course. Nothing she hadn't done before. She'd just do as she's told, and sometimes get berated for doing something wrong. There was *always* something wrong, even if she had done the exact same thing Needle had. It was still quite annoying each time she was told off by the instructor for all the other subjects to see, but it had happened so many times by that point that it just didn't matter to her all that much anymore.

It was now the afternoon. She was already in her usual spot, the spot by the fence that she frequented to leap over during her little escapes from the grueling monotony of life. As she stared into the great forest beyond, she wondered why they weren't allowed to even go out there every once in a while, considering that it'd probably do more good to them in the long run. Wink, wink. She recalled her calming afternoon walks in the forest, listening to all the nature all around her, and enjoying the shade of a tree as the nearby stream continued running its course. As she recalled those memories, the usual thoughts came to her mind. It was very much soothing to the nerves, and she couldn't help but wonder why they prohibited the others from experiencing it. It was probably something to do with protocol, but the protocols are dumb, anyway. She sighed, thinking about a hopeful future where both employees and subjects could go out there to enjoy the scenery. It wasn't like there was any harm to it, anyway. The subjects *probably* wouldn't try to escape, and even if they did, they guards could just bring their guns along. Perhaps they could all rest in the shade, perhaps enjoy a picnic, and reminisce upon the joys of life. It could be calming, relaxing, tranquil, and... Peaceful. A thought then arose in the back of her mind, a thought she had constantly tried to suppress. The man by the stream didn't exist, she told herself, and even if he did, he was probably talking nonsense. Yet whenever the memory found the opportunity to resurface, it would come to plague her mind for an unbearably long time.

Could the man still be out there? She continued looking out into the forest, seeing his shape just barely visible amidst the shadows, appearing in the corner of her eye, and just disappearing as she focused on them. She grumbled, berating herself for feeding into her fears. What good could she even gain from pursuing this man? It already wasn't a good experience for her the first time, and so there wasn't any good reason for her to seek out a second. His appearance, however, ensured that her memory of her first escape would remain always imprinted in her mind. Well, unless some massive accident causes her to lose her memory, but that could *never* happen. If *he* was out there, then what else was just beyond the horizon? She had seen faint glimpses of the outside world before: reports of a world of horror, or pain, and of constant war blasting on some employees computer. It seemed like an awful world, from what little she heard of it, but curiosity naturally got the better of her. It couldn't be any worse than being in here, right? At least in the wider world, she could simply leave her problems behind. In this facility, her issues could always find her within the few square kilometers the fence had marked off in the land. Although the reports made the outside world seem extremely depressing, the even more depressing happenings in the inside world somehow made it appealing. Pin yearned to eventually get out of here and explore the wider world, escaping her obligations to seek out new ones. It could do nothing but good, right?

Pin turned her attention to the security cameras, with their eyes still trained on her. She hadn't been taking note of the cycle, and so it could be quite a while until the next opportunity arose. Fortunately for her, however, it wouldn't actually be long. Several guards would come along not long after, going on their usual patrol routes. She anxiously waited for the cameras to look the other way, each second passing by along with a beating of her heart. Even though escaping had become as routine for her as the usual scolding, her thoughts about Needle made her more paranoid than she usually was. What if she was right, and Needle had taken Coiny away just so that she alone would be caught in the act? Had she already told the guards of her escapades, throwing caution to the wind and not caring about the fate of her fellow subjects if she confessed? She'd nervously sweat, watching fearfully as the cameras remained trained on her, until eventually, they'd finally look away, just as the cycle predicted. Immediately, she'd quickly climb up the fence, her climbing work being a bit more sloppy than usual due to her fears. She'd almost lose her grip on several occasions, which could've caused her to make too much noise as she fell. Eventually, however, she'd finally manage to make her way over to the other side, her landing on the grass being a bit less graceful than her usual ones. She quickly rushed behind a tree, making it just as the cameras looked back. Another successful escape, it seemed. Pin sighed in relief, being so relieved from the close call, that she didn't notice the camouflaged guard descending from the branches and swiftly hitting her in the head, knocking her out instantly.

-

Pin woke up, immediately noticing that her leg was chained to a chair.

The room was rather dark, as was the aesthetic for the rooms reserved for interrogation and scolding. There was nothing but a single light in the ceiling, a table in front of her, and another chair on the other side. A few moments after she woke up, the lights would turn on, blinding her for a minute or so. As she tried to piece together what had happened, one of the guards would enter the room, his weapon strapped to his back, just in case. He sat down on the other chair, and waited for Pin to settle down. As soon as she did, he looked at her, rather unamused. Pin glared back at him, clearly angered. "Where am I?" She asked. The guard scoffed. "We didn't hit you *that* hard. You know where this is." "Oh, Prison?" Pin fired back. The guard remained silent for a few moments. "...I'm sure that was meant to cause offense, but most of us were already calling it that." He sighed. "The question you should be asking is *why* you're here. Someone tipped us off about your little... Escapade." "Who was it?" Pin asked. She was already certain that it was Needle, but she just wanted to make sure. The guard simply scoffed. "We won't tell you, of course. What would that gain for us?" He chuckled. "As you *probably* knew, attempting to escape the facility is one of the most severe violations of facility protocols. We'd thought that even *you* wouldn't try to break it, yet here we are." He paused for a moment. "Fortunately for you, however, the others are particularly generous today. For this case, we'll just ask you a few questions, and then we'll let you go. I don't think they'll be so kind the next time, however." He took a moment to breathe. "...Is that alright?" Pin reluctantly nodded.

"Alright, so, first question." The guard continued. "What was your motivation?" He asked. Pin thought about it for a moment, wanting to come up with a witty retort, but quickly realized that it probably wouldn't help her case. "...I wanted to see what was out there." She replied. "They've constantly told us that going outside is extremely prohibited, and yet we were never told why." She sighed. "...It's just a natural response, I guess. I was curious." She took a moment to breathe. "...I thought you people would be familiar with that sort of thing." The guard frowned slightly, but continued on. "Did you act alone in this attempted escape?" He asked. Pin glared at him again. "Did you see anyone else with me?" She asked back. The guard wasn't all too amused by this tactic. "No, but-" "Then there's your answer." Pin folded her arms. The guard nodded. "...I'm sure you're smart enough to know what I meant. Did you have anyone helping you escape?" Pin thought about it. She *could* say that Needle helped her, but given that she was probably the one to inform them of her escaping, they probably wouldn't believe her. Of course, putting the blame on anyone else was out of the question. "...No one helped me." She confessed. "I acted alone." The guard nodded. "How did you do it?" He asked. Pin wanted to at least lie about *that*, given that they'd definitely work to make it harder for her, but she couldn't find a way to lie about it without saying at least some truth. "I..." Pin became nervous. "...I just waited until no one was looking, and... I climbed over the fence. Wasn't exactly a smart idea to train us in climbing, was it?" The guard simply nodded.

He remained silent for a moment, thinking about what possible punishment he could give her, she presumed. "...Well, I'd usually suggest having guards constantly surround you, but... That may be a bit too harsh, even for you." The guard took a moment to breathe. "I'll probably just drop a suggestion to increase guard patrols around the perimeter." He paused again. "One final question. Do you intend on trying to escape again?" There was only one obvious right answer to that. "...No." Pin lied. "I realized my mistakes, and I will not try again." The guard nodded. "That's good to hear." He'd then get up and pull out a key, which he'd use to free her. "That's all we wanted to hear." The guard continued. "You're free to go, but don't expect your next violation to be let off *that* easily." Pin grumbled as she walked off. As she left, she noticed that the clock indicated that it was around dinner time. She'd quickly make her way over to the cafeteria, where she saw Coiny, thankfully with only his usual pals, and with a seat reserved for her. As she sat down, she was celebrated by the others, and was asked a few questions about what happened. When the conversation finally died down, and things finally returned to normal, Pin would talk to Coiny. "Hey... Coiny?" "Hm?" Coiny looked at her. "...What did Needle say to you, exactly?" Pin asked. "I already told you what she said." Coiny replied. "She said that she wanted me to help her-" He stopped, quickly realizing what was going on.

"...You think she was the one who told them, don't you?" He asked. Pin simply nodded. "...Well, she didn't tell me anything about *that*. Only that she wanted me to be with her. Although I'd say it *is* likely, she didn't tell me anything at all." Pin nodded again. "...Good. Good to hear." She'd then angrily glance at Needle, who was currently seated with several employees, presumably thanking her for what she'd done. As she continued staring, she'd swear revenge. She *had* to retaliate somehow.

-

The next few weeks weren't so kind to Pin.

Ever since her escape attempt, the guards were obviously told to be more attentive with their cameras and their patrols, causing them to abide by the routine more faithfully. There was now only a few seconds or so between the moving of the cameras and the patrol of the guards, which made a potential escape rather more difficult, at least they loosened up again. That also doesn't include the added difficulty of yet another set of guards being added to the ones patrolling the routes, decreasing the time between their disappearance from a certain area. The subjects were now more wary and cautious with what they talked about, as they now knew that there was at least one person whose allegiance wasn't exactly in line with theirs. Pin would obviously try to shift the blame on Needle, wanting to get back at her for doing such a thing, but there were so many fingers being pointed, that it was barely heard by all the others. Pin frowned as she saw the people who had just become their friends start to tear themselves apart, *just* as she had managed to befriend them. It was probably their true intent from not stating who it was. Not knowing who could expose their plans to break the rules made them more wary of their actions, and more suspicious of each other, ruining their cooperation and preventing such bold actions from being attempted again. Pin saw this motive as clear as day, but the difficulty laid in telling the others of it.

And so the days continued, wake, eat, act, rest, sleep, repeat. Over and over. The monotonous cycle of day-to-day living managed to keep its hold over the subjects, and now with a firmer grip. The subjects had grown more suspicious of each other. They had to, lest they pay for the consequences of being inattentive. Their goals shifted to actually making the scientists proud, as perhaps earning their trust and their favor could allow them greater rights and privileges the legitimate way. They began to strive harder, work harder, all for a reward which may never come. Pin actually found herself reviewing her textbooks for her competency exams for the first time since she first tried it out. No longer being able to escape, and with people no longer as keen to hang out with her, she no longer had all that many things to keep her company, besides the pile of books that laid in her cell. She read up on all the intricacies of the world: mathematics, science, language, politics, public speaking, and a whole bunch of other subjects that make students weep in agony. At first, she found the whole chore exhausting. She yearned to go back outside, to explore it once more and enjoy its tranquility. But being the striving leader she was, she knew better. She instead used it as a tool to motivate her to keep on going, promising herself that she'll be rewarded with it when she finally acts accordingly. Eventually, the textbooks stopped becoming boring for her. As it turned out, they provided an astonishing amount of detail regarding stuff in the facility and what they did, including the weaponry of the guards and a basic diagram of how the security systems worked, which would obviously catch her interest. As she dug into the books late into the night, she realized that she should work on a more feasible goal first: beating Needle in her own game.

But just because she now had other things in her mind, it doesn't mean that she wouldn't try to escape every once in a while. It would first be during every other day, then once every week, then there came a point where she just stopped, seeing it as a fruitless task that simply wasted her time. Every single time, she'd try a different part of the fence to climb over, and every single time, she'd get caught. She'd suddenly go unconscious, and found herself tied to whatever object they felt like this time. It was mostly chairs, but every once in a while, they strapped her to devices that were clearly meant to induce pain. Of course, they'd eventually get tired of her persistence, and so had to teach her a lesson every once in a while. It would hurt, of course, but not *too* much. Whenever an employee decided to take it up a notch, their superiors would berate them, stating that they had to keep them alive. The subjects were worth more to them alive, after all, and they didn't have the resources or funding to replace them. After either being reprimanded or injured for her disobedience, she immediately got up and moved on, looking at each bruise and wound as being merely an experience that she got over. It was most certainly a pain to deal with, yes, but seeing Coiny help Needle in her studies more and more frequently was a far greater pain to her than any slap in the face.

Pin soldiered on, working on her studies, barely spending time to hang out, and constantly training to further excel in the tests. Every day, the scientists would be surprised by Pins nigh-miraculous recovery: from unruly escapee to reformed natural leader. She learned to master her usage of her powers, finally turning them into the deadly weapons her superiors had dreamt of. Of course, each night, she'd dream of killing them with said abilities. But that would have to wait. She'd sharpen the rest of her senses, further improving her physical capabilities, managing to cooperate better with what little friends she had, and sometimes managing to get questions right where Needle got them wrong. Pin found that the feeling of crushing your enemies in battle, no matter what the words 'crushing', 'enemies' or 'battle' meant in context, became far better than whatever she felt when relaxing upon the shade of a tree. Although it was relaxing, it just couldn't compete with the sweet taste of victory. Although the thought of escape still came to her in some instances, it was only as a goal that was far in the future. The more immediate goal now was to convince the others to give her it, to become the person they always wanted her to be. To become a heroic leader unlike any other. The employees and scientists applauded her remarkable progress, and the subjects felt proud of being associated with her. Even the Director became somewhat impressed by her actions. In a way, Pin resembled each and every one of the people working in the facility: they were once a childish and immature bunch, but were reshaped with time into more respectful people. Stronger people. *Better people*.

-

It was just past curfew, and Pin was planning on going to bed. She had finished her studies throughout the break, and she needed to get up bright and early. After all, as always, there was a day of strenuous exercises ahead. She'd spend a few more minutes reading, then finally turned off her lights and went to bed, getting comfortable quickly and immediately starting to drift into sleep. As she fell asleep, however, she began to hear a low rumbling noise coming from somewhere nearby, reverberating throughout the place. She thought that perhaps it was just the sound of a fan or a light left unattended, but it continually grew louder, much to her surprise. She got up, grumbling and thinking about what could possibly still be stirring in this hour. Well, besides all the employees which continued working late into the night, of course. "KEEP IT DOWN!" She shouted. "SOME OF US WANT TO SLEEP EARLY!" That seemed to stop it after a few seconds, and she'd sigh in relief, quickly going back to bed. A few minutes later, however, the rumbling would continue, growing louder than ever. Pin became frustrated. Was this some new plot by Needle? It *had* to be. Who else would it be? She got up once more and began furiously pacing around her room, thinking of what she was going to do to her afterwards. She was already beginning to pay for what she had done to her, but apparently, it wasn't enough. It continued growing louder and louder, until eventually, with a rather loud thud, it finally stopped.

"Psst!" An unknown voice then shouted to her, although they'd try to keep it as hushed as possible. "Huh?" Pin raised an eyebrow, confused. She looked around, wanting to see where it came from, but no one was nearby. "Psst!" The voice shouted to her again. "Up here!" They'd call out. Pin slowly looked up at the ceiling. It was the familiar plain ceiling as the rest of it, with a few lights scattered throughout, with the exception of... The vent. She made her way over to the place where it loomed overhead, and to her surprise, Coiny was inside, smiling and waving at her. "Hey, Pin!" He greeted her. "...Coiny?" Pin was baffled. "Why are you here?" She asked. "...I just wanted to say hi." Coiny replied." "It's been a while, hasn't it?" Awkward silence followed. "...Okay, maybe that was the wrong question to ask." Pin replied. "*How* did you get here?" She asked again. "Oh, right." Coiny chuckled. "I suppose that this warrants an explanation. Well, a few days ago, I noticed that these vents were rather large, and I wondered if I could fit in them. So tonight, I made my way up, unscrewed the cover, and crawled my way over here." He then blushed slightly. "...I may have been the one causing all the noise. Sorry." Pin frowned slightly. "...Unscrewed it with what?" She asked. "I originally tried it with a pencil, but all the ones I had were either broken or had dull ends. So I just used a needle that Needle gave me." Pin became disgusted. She obviously didn't have the best feelings towards Needle, what with the whole thing about Coiny and snitching and competing and all that. Coiny frowned as well. "...Being friends with her has its perks, okay?" He defended himself.

Awkward silence then followed. "...Alright. I can sense that it was a mistake talking about Needle." Coiny sighed. "Look, the reason why I came here and did all this work was because I wanted to come see you." His blush deepened. "...It's... It's been a while, Pin. You've changed. It's for the best, I know, but we haven't even kept in touch." His frown grew. "...Just what happened to you? You haven't talked much ever since the whole incident, and things just haven't been the same." Pin sighed. "Well... You can probably guess why." She replied. "I mean, how am I supposed to be able to do my little trips after all that happened? They've become more vigilant. More watchful." Coiny raised an eyebrow. "Those... Are some big words." He remarked. "I was getting to that." Pin replied. "As I was no longer able to do the things I wanted to do, I decided to conform to them, give them what they want. Maybe they'll allow me to actually go outside if I did it, you know?" Coiny frowned. "...That isn't the Pin I know." "Yes, but it's a better Pin, don't you think?" Pin smiled. "I'm smarter, stronger, all that good stuff. I'm finally becoming a heroic leader! That's what they wanted from me." Coiny sighed. "I mean... Yeah, you *are* better, but it's not the Pin that I was used to. We actually used to talk, to hangout, to go out, to..." His blush deepened even more. Pin then began to blush as well. "...Oh, right." She sighed. "...Just to be sure, you're not feeling those sorts of things for... Needle, right?" She winced. Coiny continued to frown. "I know what you want me to say, but..." He sighed. "To be honest, I am."

Pin then grew angry. Obviously, that was unacceptable. "You *what*?" She asked. "D-Don't take it like that!" Coiny replied. "They're not that strong yet. Especially compared to how I feel about you." He sighed. "It's just that... Because you've been so silent, it kinda gets hard not to, alright? The only other girl I ever hang out with is Needle, and with you gone..." He sighed. "...I'm not doing a good job of defending myself, am I?" He asked. Pin chuckled. "...You certainly haven't been reading up on public speaking, yeah." Coiny chuckled as well. "...But seriously, though." He continued. "Like, it's not going to be the end of the world if you take some time to talk to us, you know? We've been doing fine and all, but you could spice things up a bit." Pin thought about it. It *had* been quite a while since she had a good conversation with anybody besides her superiors. "I dunno, though." She replied. "I want to continue being better. I want to make it up to everyone I've ever disappointed. And I can't do that without spending time on it." Coiny sighed. "But you already *are* better. Remember? You said so yourself. You're a better Pin." Pin frowned. "I know what I said." She replied. "But I want to be... *Better* better." She sighed. "Not a single day goes by without me thinking about Needle, and how she's probably spending her time more wisely than I am. She's had quite a lead, and I need to do a lot of things to catch up. In order to... You know, win everyone over."

Coiny sighed. "Pin..." He reached out towards her, indicating her to hold his hands. She'd reluctantly do so, weakly smiling and blushing as she did so. "...You don't have to do that, you know." He continued. "You're already far better than most of us. As much as I don't want to admit it, I admire you more than my friends." He sighed. "You shouldn't spend all this time becoming something you're not, Pin. You can work all your life, trying to be perfect, but in the end, you'll realize that true perfection lies in not trying to pursue it." He chuckled slightly, realizing how dumb he sounded. He had just lifted a few lines from some of the textbooks he read with Needle. "...Don't overwork yourself, Pin. Just be happy, do what you want, be with what you love, and live a great life." He smiled. "That's perfect enough, isn't it?" Pin chuckled as well. "...Now that I think about it, yeah." She smiled. "...But I *have* to work." Coiny then frowned again. "Come on, Pin. We already went over this. Why?" He asked. "How else am I supposed to ensure that I can live a great life?"' She replied. "How else am I supposed to guarantee that we could stay together, be happy, and live not regretting a single thing throughout our lives? You need knowledge to know what's right for you, and that's exactly what I'm looking for." Coiny chuckled. "Alright, you got me there." They then both laughed. For a brief moment, they didn't care whatsoever about how loud they were being. They only cared about being happy.

They looked into their eyes for a good minute or so, the moment only being dampened by the vent cover blocking their view of each other, acting as a barrier which prevented them from entering what they saw was their perfect world. Eventually, however, they had to say goodbye. They let go of each other, frowning once again. "...As much as I hate to say it, I gotta get back." Coiny continued. "They *might* be checking for that noise as we speak." Pin nodded. "I suppose." She smiled. "I'll see you around, Coiny. I hope that one day, we'll eventually be together, without a single thing getting in our way." Coiny smiled back. "...Yeah. I hope so too." He chuckled. "A man can always dream, can he?" He then proceeded to make his way back up the maze of vents. "...I'll see you around as well, Pin." He then disappeared back into the vents, the rumbling slowly but surely dissipating, until Pin was back on her lonesome, as if nothing had ever happened. She went back to bed, thinking about what just happened as she finally fell asleep. After spending so much time not knowing what she was bound for, she finally had some assurance.

For the first time in her life, she felt at ease.

-

It was a few days after those events. The day started off like any other, they got up, prepared for the day, lined up, ate their breakfast, and waited for the food to settle. But instead of marching over to the test chambers afterwards, they had remained in the cafeteria. The clock indicated that it was now well past that time, and yet none of the guards had arrived to lead the way. They continued sitting idly, making some small conversation, mostly about the delay. Eventually, four guards would finally make their way over, indicating that it was finally time to start the exercises. However, as they stood to get up, one of the soldiers would blow a whistle, which was generally only used to get *everyones* attention, not just the subjects. Everyone else quickly stood up as well, and silence quickly fell upon the cafeteria, unsure of what was happening.

One of the other guards then explained what was going on. "Alright." He began. "All employees, please leave the cafeteria. This announcement only has to do with the subjects." The employees then quickly began packing their things, cleaning up, and made their way over to somewhere else. It had been a while since there was an announcement for *just* the subjects, the last one being about the start of the tests. The fact that there was an announcement going on meant that there was definitely something important, something that had to immediately be discussed. After all the employees had finally dispersed, the guards would begin the announcement in question. "So, as you all very well know, you've been participating in these experiments for... Well, for your entire lives." The guard continued. "We've subjected you to extremely strenuous training, with barely any chances to relax whatsoever, for seemingly no reason at all." He took a deep breath. "And now, after several months, we feel like you are all prepared to finally learn why." He signed. "You've all been created as part of an experimental program to create a new type of soldier: one that isn't strong through physical strength or technological augmentation, but through abilities that are beyond our understanding." A round of gasps emerged from the subjects. "We took the genetic material from an exceptional specimen, and used it in order to create more entities with its unique properties." He breathed in again. "Some of you may actually know who the original specimen is. We call them... the Director." Another round of gasps followed.

Pin could easily recall who the Director was. She had seen the strange little blue drop of liquid as they made the occasional rounds around the facility, checking their progress. She grumbled slightly as the guard continued on. "After much deliberation from our superiors, they have decided that your loyalty and strength has been developed enough in order to learn of this truth. Some of you may be discomforted by this revelation... But that's just how life is in this terrible world." The crowd of subjects began to speak up, expressing their concern and confusion. The guards cared little for their questions, however, and they would continue on. "As such, you will now move on to the next step of the training initiative." The guard took a deep breath. "ES-13, ES-16, please step forward." Pin and Needle reluctantly complied, slowly making their way over to the guards. They were then turned around to face the subjects. "These two were selected several weeks prior due to their exceptional capabilities in both physical and psychological fields, making them ideal candidates for leadership." The guard continued. "As such, they have been chosen as team leaders in the next stage of your training. This stage will focus on developing your cooperation with others, as opposed to the previous stage, which focused on individual skills." He paused to breathe. "You will be divided into two teams, which will compete against each other in a series of challenges. The losing team will then have to choose among themselves on who to eliminate: that is, to be brought back to individual training." He paused to breathe again. "This will continue until there is only one remaining. After this, you will all be finally finished with your training, and you will finally be allowed to leave the facility."

Yet another round of gasps emerged from the crowd, especially from Pin. The whole issue of leaving the facility was what had made her such a controversial figure. "Now, as the number of subjects cannot be nearly divided into two, we have selected one subject to immediately continue individual training." He'd breathe. "We have selected ES-5, due to their complete failure in almost every category." All eyes then turned to ES-5, the fat yellow slab, who immediately became sad due to their predicament. "Aw..." They'd groan. "The rest of you will be chosen by either one of the two to be part of their team." The guard then pulled out a singular die from... Somewhere. Possibly from the ether. "The leader who goes first will be selected based on whichever side this die lands on. ES-13 for odds, ES-16 for evens." He then walked over to a nearby table, taking a moment to take a deep breath, and proceeded to roll the dice. It would roll and spin around for an uncomfortably long amount of time as the two leaders looked on anxiously, hoping that it'd land on a number that would benefit them. Eventually, it would finally settle down. The guard looked closely at the die, squinting slightly, even though he could see it just fine. "We've rolled a six. ES-16 goes first." Needle squealed, and Pin frowned. She already knew what was coming, and no amount of preparation could prevent it from being a huge hit on her ego. "I choose..." Needle didn't even have to think about it for a moment. She knew very well who she was going to choose first, and she knew that Pin knew as well. She had a smug grin on her face as she blushed, relishing the moment. "...ES-14." Coiny.

The competition had already started before it had begun.