Opening notes: A quick little thing a did for a personal response in english. My subject? The effect self-respect has on a person's response to injustice. Hence the heavy angst. XD Enjoy!

Peach Pit

There is a time in a person’s life when they like to stew in self-loathing for a time. A time when all hope is lost, or so it would seem, and they like to just…despair, for a bit. That critical time between when they’ve fallen, and when they must get back up – when the thought flickers across their mind that maybe, just maybe, it would be easier to stay down. It may not help, it may not make anyone feel better, but somehow, the person deserves it.

At least that’s what she likes to think, after the fact. She stood back up again, she got back on – she deserved her despair, for a moment.

----
“I think I’ll have a look around…. For that key that sleeps inside you.” He smiled; some twisted parody of gentility shining through as he stroked her face. He paused and glanced around, brows furrowing as the room rumbled again.

His hand – swathed all in white, as was the rest of him – hovered over her face.

“Now, ma belle pêche… lay yourself open for me.”

Warned bells began to go off in her head as she began to writhe beneath the white haired man. This wasn’t right, this wasn’t supposed to happen, he wasn’t supposed to –

“Get… out…” She managed to choke out. “Out of my body…”

He simply smiled, and dug his claws in deeper.

“Ziggy… Jr… I’m… scared…” She sobbed, tears beginning to form.

….

100-series observational prototype realian …Designation… found. Designation: MOMO.

That’s right, wasn’t it? She was just a realian. Just a servant created to serve humans, made in their own image so that they might feel more comfortable around her.

“You little realians weren’t even born from a woman’s womb.”

That’s right…she was just a machine, sans the mechanical part. She was just a place to keep the Y-data – her daddy’s… creator’s legacy.

He frowned. He needed to go deeper. It was to be expected, though.

She gasped, half fright, half agony. He reached inside her mind, ripping out each individual memory and taking it in his hands, turning it over and examining each angle, each contour of each one –slowly, oh so slowly- before setting it aside with the others.

He was looking for her daddy’s final gift to the world. He was going to use it against humanity. This man was evil.

And here she was, letting it all happen. It was her duty to protect the data, and here she was, letting it be stolen away by this evil, evil man.

Why didn’t anyone come?

“Hmmm?” He blinked at her owlishly, his violet eyes overly large and dark in his pale face. “What’s this, ma pêche? Waiting for your knight in shining armor to come and save you? Waiting for Rubedo to come and save you?”

She blinked slowly at him. He had heard her thoughts?

He chuckled darkly. “Of course, my beloved pêche… I am inside you, after all. It’s so nice…” To accent his meaning, he stabbed darkly into her mind, giggling madly as she began to writhe in anguish again. “But let me tell you something, ma pêche… so that I might save you suffering later on.”

He leaned down, close to her ear. She wriggled, uncomfortable with his closeness, though in actuality it was no worse than anything else he had done to her this day.

“Rubedo… won’t come.” He breathed in her ear. He leaned back, a smirk on his face as he watched her eyes widen in disbelief, before narrowing in defiance.

“I… don’t believe you.”

“Oh, but you should. After all, I know Rubedo very well. And I can tell you with great certainty that – by some great chance – even if he does come, he will not rescue you. You are, after all, just a toy. A replacement for his dear lost love.” He sneered, once more driving spitefully into her mind.

Firewall…disabled.

He cackled, madness tinting his laughter as it was always wont to do. “That’s the first one, ma pêche… we’re well on our way.”

He was silent for a time, content to merely watch her as she twisted in his lap as he continued to go deeper, always deeper.

A sob escaped her as agony racked her body.

“And even if Rubedo does come… if he even has the intention of rescuing you,” He continued suddenly, his eyes thoughtful, “It will only be for the data. You just happen to be its carrier.” He paused, withdrawing from her mind as suddenly as he had invaded it. Her entire body slumped in relief, though her mind was in as much in a tumult as ever.

Was he right?

Did Jr. – Rubedo, as he called him – only care because of the data?

Her lower lip began to tremble and tears formed once again, try as she might to fight them.

“Ah, ma belle pêche… crying again?” His hand gently wiped her tears away, frightening her in his gentility worse than any cruelty he could have bestowed. “Tell me… are you worthy to shed such tears?” He echoed the question he’d posed to her some time ago.

“The act of mourning the dead belongs to the realm of humans.”

She stared at him. She wasn’t, was she? Human, worthy, any of it… she wasn’t any of it. She was nothing. She was pathetic. Just a container. A worthless container, who couldn’t do anything, even if she’d wanted to, as this madman stole the one thing she’d been charged to protect.

“Lay yourself open for me, pêche… it will be easier that way. You can’t do anything, anyways… why not make it easier on yourself?”

She blinked, fresh tears forming anew – would they ever stop? – and turned away.

She couldn’t do anything… she couldn’t stop him, she couldn’t even slow him down… why even try? There was nothing she could do…

She seemed to relax in his arms, and he grinned wolfishly as he dived in again.

She screamed.

She was pathetic.

Closing Notes: Aaaaaangst. Review!