Human After All

It was only six in the morning when Ethylon burst through Beau's door with harsh force. Beau rolled out of bed away from the side of a worried Joshua who whimpered quietly when Beau pulled away. Joshua hadn't been able to sleep after Jaydin came by. The thought of both Leighlan and Lejend being taken away chilled him to the bone. They had already taken away two of the smartest personal computers in the community, and who knew how many they took from other districts. There was only so much Beau could do, Joshua thought. He is only human, and what could he do to keep the solar sailors away from him?

"Ethylon, stop." Beau said, trying his best to calm Ethylon down, but he didn't sound too enthusiastic. He could only imagine what it felt to have your bot taken at a moment where you trusted your hideout so deeply. "I'm sure Lejend is fine."

"I know she's fine, Beau!" Ethylon snapped. "I know she's fine. The thing that pisses me off is- is—" Ethylon paused angrily, stuttering and searching for what he wanted to say. "How the fuck did we know we were hiding there!?"

"Well...." Beau glanced at his room where Joshua lay.

Jaydin slipped past her bedroom door quietly, rubbing her red and teary eyes through a lazy yawn. She was asleep, but crying. Beau didn't blame her; Leighlan being taken away was probably all on her mind. Beau didn't even like to think about when Joshua was nearly taken away at the underground party. He got him back, yes, but he would never live with himself if Joshua was taken away.

" 'Well' what?" Ethylon shouted.

"Joshua told me that Lejend snuck out of Automate to see him. They probably saw h—"

"What?" Ethylon said quickly, furrowing his brows together with a sneer on his face. "Why would she sneak out to see Joshua?"

Beau couldn't tell if it was the way Ethylon said Joshua's name, or if it was just the tension in the room, but he felt his hand clench tightly into a fist. He rolled his eyes.

"She just did. Maybe you don't know her as well as you think you do, Ethylon." Beau mumbled. "They most likely followed her to Automate, then planted the bomb. It's not hard. But trust me, we'll get her back."

Ethylon scoffed, throwing his fist in the direction of the wall. The hard wall barely budged as his fist landed upon it with a growl rising from the back of his throat. He did it over and over until the side of his fist grew red and irritated. Then Ethylon pulled his fist back and instead threw a chair in the direction of the door.

"Take a breath." Beau said. "I know, you're—"

"Why would Lejend come here to see Joshua?!" Ethylon stopped. "It's his fault!"

"Ethylon, I swear." Beau felt his fists clench at his sides again as Ethylon calmed down a little bit but walked in front of Beau, shoving him slightly. Jaydin, already sensing the fight that was undoubtedly going to happen, gently pushed the two apart with little success.

"You swear what?" He pushed Beau again. "You'll kill me? You'll sic your little bot on me? Go ahead." Ethylon laughed. "I dare you to."

"Stop it, Ethylon. You keep talking about Joshua, and I'll hurt you."

"Yeah, you and what army?"

"I don't need an army, I'll kill you right where you stand."

"You don't even have your knife with you, how are you going to hurt me?" Ethylon laughed again, giving one more shove to Beau. Beau bit his bottom lip, pushing Ethylon twice as hard as he originally intended, nearly knocking him over with the one push.

"I could knock you out right now." Beau hissed. The time to fight wasn't then, though. He wanted to stop and tell Ethylon to grow up. Lejend needed them, Leighlan needed them, and what were they doing? Fighting about petty things like whose fault it was that this happened. They could figure out blame later, but for the time being, Beau wanted to save them both as much as he wanted to save Troia. This time it was different. Leighlan and Lejend had a chance of living. They knew information that is vital to the Capital. If they use that to their advantage, they could work something out. Keep themselves alive for a few more days, at least.

"Hit me. What's your bot gonna do, come in a start crying like he always does? Where's your precious little Joshua now?"

Beau tried his hardest to keep his fists at his sides, but when Ethylon mentioned a few more things that just hit Beau where it hurt, he couldn't help but throw a punch. He landed one square on Ethylon's jaw, then he lunged himself on Ethylon's rough body.

Ethylon reversed their positions, throwing Beau in the direction of the glass table in the living room. The weak glass shattered under Beau's body, a few shards lodging themselves comfortably in Beau's back. Beau hissed, just barely getting off the ground before Ethylon landed a punch in his stomach. With the wind knocked out of his stomach, Beau barely had enough energy to pull himself off of the floor, he somehow managed to grab Ethylon by his neck and wrap his arm around his throat. He squeezed while Ethylon gasped for breaths, kicking his feet until his cheeks flushed to a deep red color.

Through loud shouts from Jaydin, Beau could hardly see the fact that Joshua was standing at the door with his eyes glued to the ground. He held his right arm, a look of pure shame and depression upon his face. Beau couldn't bare to look at his bot like that, especially when it was all Ethylon's fault!

"Get off the ground." Beau yelled after pulling himself off of the floor. Ethylon coughed, desperately trying to get a breath, but he was preoccupied with the fact that Beau was completely challenging him. He was openly saying 'Come get me', openly taunting Ethylon.

Ethylon landed a punch on Beau's eye. A stinging sensation slowly worked its way through Beau's eye, and already he could feel it swelling shut. Ethylon could sense the helplessness that came from Beau, and he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, snickering under his breath.

Jaydin stepped in between them, but not before Beau headbutted Ethylon in the lip. Ethylon sputtered out blood, wiping his lip with the white sleeve of his shirt.

"Stop it!" Jaydin sobbed. "They're tearing us apart! We used to be such good friends, and now look at us. Fighting about stupid things when we could be doing better things like saving the ones we love!"

The silence grew between them before Ethylon wiped another stream of blood upon his chin. The tension was already like an elephant in the middle of the room.

Finally Beau spat out a drop of blood to his right.

"I'm not working with him." Beau said. "I'd rather choke on my own vomit that work with him."

"Talk to me like I'm fucking here, Beau." Ethylon snapped. "And fuck you. I don't need to work with some kid that thinks he knows everything."

"I know you're a complete ass, but don't forget who you're working with here." Beau snapped. "I had your life in my hands, and I still have it here."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Beau said. "I could go to the sailors at any time. I'd say you blackmailed me into working with you. They'll arrest you. Life is complete and hunky-dory again."

"We're forgetting about Leighlan!" Jaydin's voice grew shrill, as though she had been trying to catch their attention the entire time they were speaking. It was too early in the morning to be fighting about such petty things like that. Beau's world was being turned upside down, and for what? For some stupid words between tense friends?

Was Ethylon really his friend? Perhaps an accomplice, but the fact that Beau and Ethylon were constantly at each others throats definitely took away from the fact that they really cared for each other. Conflicts constantly arose between the two. They were both hardheaded leaders. Having them work together was like a recipe for disaster.

"I'll help you get Leighlan." Beau said. "I promise, I will get Leighlan, and Lejend." He murmured the last part. "But I'm not working with you anymore, Ethylon."

"Save me the speech, brat." Ethylon growled. "I'll get Lejend. I'll get Leighlan. I can do it myself."

"No, you can't, you idiot!" Beau stepped past Jaydin. The anger rose in a matter of seconds. Ethylon had Beau by the collar, Beau had his hands wrapped around Ethylon's throat.

"Get out." Beau said.

"Beau—"

"Get out!" Beau threw Ethylon at the door, kicking it shut when he was finally out of the door. He quickly locked it and rested his back against it with a loud sigh. Jaydin sat down next to Beau, resting her head on his shoulder. The ends of her hair were still ashen, split due to the heat from the explosion. Beau laughed quietly.

"With his luck, he'll get caught just leaving the building." Beau muttered.

"He'll be okay." Jaydin lied. She knew something was bound to happen. Something terrible was in store for all of them, including Joshua. They would never actually mention that, though. It seemed that Joshua was the only link to sanity that they had. Losing him meant losing whatever sense they had left, and they would do anything to preserve that. Joshua was the lifeboat in this situation. Already the pressure was on, and Joshua was the easiest target now.

Joshua first grabbed Jaydin off of the ground, sitting her down on the counter before he pulled out a pair of scissors. Jaydin nodded once, and nothing was really said between them after that. In a matter of minutes, Jaydin's hair was short, and choppy. Joshua really missed her braid, but the fact that the ends were split and soot covered was just worrying him.

Then Joshua gently picked his master off of the ground, bringing him to the kitchen. He pulled a small tube of cream out of a cabinet in the kitchen.

"Master? Are you okay?" Joshua traced his fingers against the purple mark forming around Beau's eye. It was a bit swollen as well, only allowing Beau to really be able to see out of his other eye. It was a strange feeling, having a black eye. Especially getting a black eye from Ethylon. It hurt so much.

"I'm fine."

"This is going to hurt." Joshua said quietly. "Please let me do this, master."

"Okay." Beau nodded. Then Joshua spread a green salve over his fingers, barely grazing his fingers over Beau's eye. The cream numbed the pain that was ever-so quickly spreading through Beau's eye. Beau sighed in relief as the numbness cooled the pain down. The salve dissolved into nothing more than a bit of grease. Joshua pulled away, wiping his fingers on a towel on the counter. Jaydin left, most likely to try and sleep. Beau doubted it though.

"Are you all right, master?" Joshua said quietly. Beau thought about what had just happened, and even though he knew the worst was still to come, for now, he was okay. So Beau nodded, and Joshua gave a curt smile. He pressed his lips to a tender piece of skin on Beau's cheek, but he didn't bother to do anything else. Instead, he looked at Beau's back where shards of glass were distributed among his back. Joshua hissed.

"Master?" Joshua asked. Beau already knew, and he closed his eyes.

"Get me a towel." Beau ordered. Joshua grabbed a black one and handed it to Beau, who bit down on it roughly. Then he nodded. The first squish of glass slipping out of his flesh came from the air, and Beau muffled a low growl through the towel. Being on the verge of insanity and in pain was not exactly a good combination. Perhaps it was the fact that Joshua was the only string of hope of sanity for him that kept Beau from running out of his apartment and killing Ethylon himself.