Your Own Independent Person

“What did you do!?” Avery stared at his friend from the other side of the door. “Don’t even try to lie. I know this was you.”

“What are you talking about Avery?” Dorian called back, his voice muffled. “I’ve been locked in here since whatever this is started happening. Listen, the person behind this is…”

“Mayor Neeves also Union noble Carwyn Utrecht, also known as giant dick head. I know. I also know that if he is involved, then you are involved too. You two just can't seem to leave each other alone. It's creepy.”

“I haven’t seen you in days. How could you know that? And if you know it wasn’t me, then what’s the hold up?”

“Oh, I don’t know D-Dorian. Maybe it’s because somehow I’ve got a telepathic connection with a Droid. My mum was killed by a giant robot army that revolted after the people of Lugus beat them. The girl I like, who is also a robot, is now collapsed on the floor, probably because of something you did. And to top it all off, that alarm is really loud!”

“Woah…There’s a girl you like?”

“That’s what you took from this!?”

“You’re right, you’re right, I’m sorry, but we need to figure out what’s going on. Let me out and we can find my friend Issac. He knows his way around the place like no one else. He’s probably on the case already. If we can get to him, we can plan a way to escape from here.”

Avery felt his teeth grind. There it was again, Dorian the leader making all the big decisions, Dorian the leader telling him everything was going to be fine.

Dorian, the leader who didn’t have a fucking clue.

“No.”

“Wait, what? No? What are you talking about?”

“I’m not going to let you out.”

Dorian chuckled nervously. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, buddy, but the entire dome has gone into lockdown and the Greenhaven Guard are on their way to drag us back home. I’m sorry if I’ve upset you, but you need to help me get free.

“I don't need to do anything.”

Dorian slammed his fist against the glass. The sting caused his eyes to water. He used the pained yelp forming in his throat as fuel for the next sentence.

"Avery, please! I don’t know what I’ve done to upset you, but you have to let me out! I'm sure we can sort out whatever the problem is! Now really isn't the time to almost kill me. In any other situation I would think this is hilarious, but right now I'm incredibly claustrophobic. Please, let me out."

Avery scoffed. He knew he should do it, and he would, but the bubble of rage wouldn't leave his chest. So before he did, he needed to let it loose.

“Oh, so I should let you go? Because you told me to? God forbid I don't listen to the Wise Dorian Pepper. The same Dorian Pepper who took a helpless little boy like me and made him his friend. The same Dorian Pepper that dragged me around and made me do things I knew would get me into trouble. The same person who rarely took my feelings into account and spent his time yelling from the top of his lungs when nobody would listen. The same heartless Dorian Pepper that is currently destroying the only happiness I've ever known!”

“Avery, this isn’t my fault!”

“I know the Mayor push the b-button! But what about everything else? Did you really need to argue your point? So much that we would get kicked out of the village? Did you really need to question the hospitality of the Dome? Did you really need to get tangled up with the Mayor again?”

“I did it for you! I wanted to give you freedom. I wanted to help you experience what it was like to be a normal person. I wanted you to have a life! I may not have been very good at it, but I'm still a kid. I did everything for you, Avery. I-”

“You still can’t admit it. You say that all of this was for me, but did you want to even ask? If you didn't make sure I was o-okay before doing all of this, how does that make you any better than Greenhaven?” Avery sighed heavily. “I’m going to let you out and we're going to solve this, but I don't think I can forgive you. Gee, if you would?”

“Of course, Avery.” the robot’s eyes glowed a bright red under his arm and the door flew open.

“Well, don’t just stand there Dorian, lets actually be heroic for once.”

***

Given the building was currently in a state of chaos, Avery was surprised to see everything so calm. The people they passed seemed almost peaceful in their sleep. He cursed as Dorian ran ahead, not even stopping to check if they were okay.

“Where are we going, anyway?” Avery stopped in front of his friend. A large metal door blocked their path.

“This is the exit, or at least one of them. Ask Gee to open the door. We can get to Issac if we run through the clearing. His base is there.”

“Base? What are you, five? Do you guys spend your time playing guards and gangsters too?”

“No! Look, can we just put whatever this is aside for a second? We don’t know when your dad and his goons are going to get here. Gee will listen to you.”

Gee’s eyes flared to life. “Dorian, you are correct that I will only listen to Avery when it comes to concrete instructions. However, I feel it is my duty to tell you it won't be long before Mr. Midorikawa arrives. When my previous Master activated me, it gave him access to all the systems of the Dome as he was the owner. This includes the fast teleportation system. It is essentially a larger version of my Executive One protocol that sent you here.”

Dorian winced. So they’re going to be here soon? How soon?”

“The system is fast molecular transport. Copying and moving cells is the fastest way to transfer somebody. Given the large distance between the two of us, I calculate that it will take between nine and ten minutes for them to arrive. The system was activated one minute ago.

“So we have eight or nine minutes until they arrive?”

“That is correct, yes.”

Dorian turned his attention to Avery. “I take it you're going to open the door now? Pretty please with a cherry on top?”

“Whatever, Dorian.”

True to his word, Avery held Gee up to the door. With a loud creak and boom of the mammoth bolts unlocking, the main door finally gave way and Dorian was once again outside of his prison and free.

Avery looked back, concern etched into his face.

“Let's go Avery! It's a long walk through forest from here! We don't have time.”

The forlorn boy sighed. “Sure. It'll all be over soon, anyway.”

The dense jungle was easy for Dorian to navigate this time around. He remembered each misshapen tree and each large flower with a slight blemish. He was focused on getting to Isaac as quickly as possible, and while he was very attentive to the landmarks he had passed before, he failed to notice something different about the atmosphere of the hidden depths.

The subtle changes in the air did not pass Avery by. He noticed them as harshly as one might notice a chill on the skin. Crackles in the air that vibrated and buzzed before zapping him in a small but intense way.

The buzzing. He remembered the buzzing vividly.

“it appears that the changes in the atmosphere are starting to take effect,” Gee was talking inside his mind for the first time since his rescue. "We don't have long, Avery.”

“What do you want me to do about it?”

“It is not what I want you to do, it is what you should do. It appears to me that the emotional connection you once had to Dorian has diminished. In a situation like this, would it not be more prudent to look after your own self interest?”

“What? You want me to run away from Dorian? when there are people coming to hurt us? How will that benefit me?”

“I am simply making an observation. You were the one who said you wanted to be free of people telling you what to do. If that is the case, why are you following Dorian now?”

Avery thought this through a second. He was beginning to understand where the appeal of being your own independent person came from. He had a small taste for it now. Gaining an understanding of Dorian's perspective did not make his actions any easier to understand. It merely meant that Avery wanted to be the one to take action for himself.

“Dorian, where are we going?”

“I told you before, to Isaac's hideout. He has working Union lab equipment there and, I assume, a way for us to defend ourselves.”

“Thank the Stars!” Avery faked his relief before turning his attention back to Gee. “if this guy has Union computer systems, you can break into them, yeah?”

“Unless they are the most up-to-date models, which I doubt, then yes, I can.”

“As soon as we step foot in there, I want you to gain access and find solutions to reactivating the dome, understand?”

“Orders received and understood. Given I will be able to gain total control, the solution will be maximalist in scope. Is that all right?"

"I want you to get him out of here Gee. Big or small, I don't care how."

"Affirmative."

They emerged from the final clearing. Isaac was waiting for them, slowly tapping his foot as they ran inside the hideout. Avery took a moment to marvel at the technology present. He was given no time to comment, however, because the owner of this place was quick to chastise Dorian as soon as they arrived.

“Took you long enough. Who's this?”

“This is Avery. He's a friend from my village.”

“Oh! That guy, I-” Issac paused and examined Avery. For a minute, Dorian thought he had spotted a look of distain on Isaac's face, but true to form, he returned to his business as usual approach quickly. “What’s that?”

“This is Gee. He was once the personal Droid of your Master. He wants to help.”

“Oh brilliant! Five points for the new guy for already showing his worth. Can you power defenses, Gee?”

“I can.”

“Excellent! Put him in the weapon systems charge port.” Avery did as he was asked. He winked at Gee as the console came to life. “Okay, now that's sorted out, we can talk about our plan of action. I think we…we can.”

Isaac's speech trailed off. With the powering of the machine, the air began to crackle inside the base. Not knowing what to do, all three boys found cover underneath a desk. The air snapped and pulsed, vibrating with shifting currents. The boys were expecting an army, but out of the electrical chaos stepped one man.

Satoshi Midorikawa.