It was the longest breakfast that you had in your life. Popola fidgeted with the hem of her shirt while Devola had a hard time looking at you. Eventually, you finished your meal and set it aside.

"Alright, Popola, Devola." You looked at both of them. "I know that you had a reason for whatever you did, and I also know that you wouldn't dream of doing anything to hurt me. Tell me honestly, now. What. Did you. Do?"

Popola flinched when you started talking and remained quiet, but Devola held firm. She took a deep breath before speaking. "Do you remember being injected soon after your mental breakdown, when your pods were re-designated to work with us? I may not have told you about everything that was in the syringe. Now, I want to make sure you understand this- we know that everything there was completely safe for you. We've had thousands of years to ensure so."

"Tho-?! …R-right, 11945. So then, what was in there?"

"'Nanomachines' is the closest word I have, although they're not quite that size. All they're built to do is float around in your body and help repair any damage they run across," she gestures at the remains of the burn on your cheek, "as you have seen."

Your hand involuntarily moved up and tested the site again. "Alright, so why was I kept in the dark about this? Why do something like this without my consent?"

"You weren't mentally in the right place for it. We were also concerned that something might happen to you and we wouldn't have had a fallback in place. Please," she balled up her hands as she looked at you pleadingly, "were we in any other circumstances, we would have talked to you and made everything clear. Popola and I were extremely hesitant to do this in the first place.

"We were wrong about what we thought would happen. We sincerely apologize for what we've done and we hope you can forgive us."

You paused. You weren't sure how you felt. You felt betrayed that the twins did this to you without your permission, treating you like an unstable patient who needed to be treated for their own good, but you could also tell that this wasn't a choice that they made lightly. You could feel it in how they held themselves- guilt saturated Devola's speech and Popola's posture. As you pondered the situation, you found you couldn't cleanly settle the issue. How could you, when you hadn't had the time to think things over?

"Popola, Devola," they perked their heads up, eyes expectant, "I'm… going to need some time. To think about things and to really forgive you. I'm sorry, but I'm still… I'm still aggravated that I wasn't informed about this at all."

"Wh- hang on, Theo-"

"What do you want me to say, Devola? I can't just ignore what you did against my will." You stopped yourself and took a breath. "I'm angry- no, furious that you did this to me without asking me. Hell, if you had just told me that you'd injected me with nanobots for my own well-being, I would have at least understood your reasoning.

"But you didn't." They had a reason, you told yourself, trying to force yourself to calm down, but the tearing anger wasn't going away. Quietly, you feared it getting the better of you, of inadvertently lashing out at the twins. "You passed it all off as nothing." The words all but spoke themselves, leaving even you surprised as the venom dripped out. "How did you think I would react? Did you expect me to thank you for violating my bodily autonomy and injecting this, this-?" You finally managed to hold yourself back, but you didn't know how long you could hold your tongue.

"No," Devola began to stand up, fear evident in her eyes as the situation slipped further from her grasp, "no no, Theo, wait-" Behind her, Popola gripped onto Devola's sleeve ever tighter.

You needed to get out of here, distance yourself from the problem and calm down before you lashed out again. The maelstrom of emotions around you made it hard to truly plan an agreeable course of action, but you forced yourself up and towards the door.

"Leave me alone." You bit down on your tongue after you said those words, unfortunately cutting yourself off from an explanation. Deep down, you felt… guilt and disappointment from leaving the twins like this, but staying any longer would have risked worse in your current state.

You felt as much as heard the door slam behind you. In the moment, you didn't have anywhere to go to isolate yourself- until now, your room was the only private place you had, and you weren't about to step outside and possibly run into someone. That generally meant that you could only go-

A surge of anger swept through you when you heard your door open. You snapped your head over your shoulder to see 904 trying to follow you. "Theodore-"

"That includes you!"

-up to the roof. You turned back and began to climb the stairs.

You stumbled out onto the roof before stepping back onto the threshold, eight flights up and no door stopping you. You only got a few steps out of the door before slumping back onto the wall, your emotions crashing back over you.

How could they do that to you? Injecting you with nanomachines without your consent, much less knowledge! And what was their plan, just assume that you'd be fine with all of this happening? Just assume that you wouldn't have issues with this massive breach of trust? If this was going to be a problem in the future, it's going to be a ****ing problem now!

But did all of this absolve you of your actions? If your outburst at the twins was any indication, they were right. You were stressed and weren't in any state to be making these decisions, and this was arguably making your situation worse. This was the kind of thing they were trying to avoid, weren't they? And you were making your own situation worse by overanalyzing everything again stop it stop it stop it.

Dammit, dammit. They were right, they were just doing what was best for you and you blew up in their faces, they were literally apologizing to you and asked for your forgiveness and you spat in their faces like that? Maybe if you could have held yourself together just a little bit longer, you wouldn't have sabotaged your relationship with the only two people keeping you alive in this God-forsaken world and hurt your chances and… and… and…

You were slowly stirred back to your thoughts when you heard something thudding… up the side of the building? You pulled your head up and sniffed while wiping away a tear- wait, were you crying? No, no time for that now, you've got to act presentable.

In a quick confirmation of your first question, you saw someone first set a hand on the edge of the roof, then with one shockingly fluid motion, hoist themself up to standing. He was a tall, stockily-built android with terra-cotta skin. That actually seemed to be a more apt term than you first thought, as you noticed the dust and grime caked in patches over him, which was especially noticeable on his bald head. His once-green clothes were faded and patched-over to the point of nearly being several different sets of clothes joined together. But over that, he seemed to be half-wearing, half-carrying a suite of different well-kept instruments and tools of increasingly specific and detailed use.

He let out a sigh, then began to speak in a moderately disgruntled tone as he spotted you. "Proclamation one-five-eight-seven, subsection two." His voice was deep and gravelly. "'Any android's emotional outbursts are to be carried out in the unclaimed rooms on the outskirts of the camp, and should avoid the roofs of surrounding buildings. Stated rationale: high intensity outbursts can be disruptive towards the general peace of the camp.' I can suggest a few locations, if you need one."

"No thanks." You paused. "Actually, does that apply to me, since I'm not an android?"

The android blinked a few times in surprise. "This was never in the job description," he mumbled, before walking closer. He knelt down slowly, maneuvering some of his tools out of the way of each other as he did so. "I doubt it, but I don't know if the judgement will necessarily fall in your favor. Let's just deal with it, and we can both get on with our days."

"'Just deal with it'? That's not how-"

"You have been sitting up here for who-knows-how-long, and it seems to me like you're not much further towards resolving this whole issue. I have seen more than one android just stew in their thoughts as they tried to deal with a problem. Firstly, it was unnecessary, and second, it just looks pathetic." A glare from you didn't stop him from speaking. "The sooner that you have a way forward, and thus the sooner that you have a solution, the sooner that you can start repairing whatever went wrong."

You paused. What he was saying wasn't wrong… "This is a very personal matter."

"And I have dealt with personal matters before. My job is to serve the inhabitants of this camp, and I have helped several androids with their concerns, as well. As long as you live within the borders of this camp, then I have a reason to help you, as well."

It wasn't a terrible idea. Maybe talking about your thoughts out loud would help you find some sort of solution, tentative though it may be. "I…" you took a deep breath and decided to not divulge some of the details for now. "Fine. I've been having… an issue with someone I know. They went behind my back and did something major without talking to me or asking what I thought about things. And it's not anything minor; this is a huge breach in trust. But the thing is, when they brought this whole issue to light to me, they asked for forgiveness in their next breath. They stated their reasons, which I can't say were unreasonable, but I couldn't excuse them in the moment. I was too angry to think straight, and had to separate myself from them to keep things from getting worse. But since I didn't outright accept their apology when they offered it to me, now they might be thinking that I'm not going to forgive them."

"Can you not go up to them and tell them this?"

"I could, but I don't want to go up to them without being able to accept their apology."

"Then just tell them that you forgive them."

"But I-" you paused and took a breath. "I don't know if I can forgive them right now. I'm still upset, almost livid over all this."

"Your actual forgiveness is not necessary."

You stopped. Your gaze slowly drifted over to him as you parsed his words a second time. "…Beg pardon?"

"You do not need to actually forgive them internally for them to feel relief. If you can convince them that things are fine, you can find your forgiveness at your own pace."

You stared at him half in shock. "What the hell are you saying?!"

"Are you surprised at this solution? You want to give amnesty without actually having it. What other solutions are there?"

"Ones that don't involve me lying!"

"Then you want an impossible solution to a problem that you created yourself. You cannot grant forgiveness and you want to ease another's mind, but you cannot bring yourself to tell one small lie? It will eventually be true: you said it yourself, that you could not find the forgiveness yet. When you can, you need not do anything at all."

"Shut up! I will not betray Popola and Devola like that!"

The moment the words left your mouth, you knew you had made a mistake. Anemone had warned you that many androids did not hold any respect towards the twins, and this android's deepening glare made his stance quite clear. He stood up, maneuvering the tools out of his way and moving towards the stairway. "I should not have suggested such kindness. Leave them to their self-hatred. One hopes that they will carry it with them until they rust away."

"How can you say that‽" You tried to stop him, but your actions didn't seem to faze him.

He paused to glare at you. "Have you not heard of what those two have done?"

"Anemone said that they were 'the reason that humanity is only on the Moon', and that the specifics of these accusations levied at them range from believable to downright absurd. But go ahead, enlighten me, you're apparently able to condemn them beyond reproach."

The android grumbled. "Of course you would hear this from Anemone. That she granted them quarter is unacceptable. But to your request." He folded his arms, the instruments on his arms clinking against each other. "Popola and Devola irreparably sabotaged the project that housed humanity during a time of great weakness. Because of their actions, they denied countless humans their futures and ensured their doom. It is only because the Moon colony had been set up, because a population remained separated from the planet, that humanity continued. I suppose it is only by luck that humanity has remained there since the aliens and Machines attacked and conquered large swathes of Earth."

You stared at him, half dumbfounded, half worried. For a moment, you doubted which story was right- his or the twins'. "… How do you know your version of events is correct?"

"Huh?"

"The timeline of events I heard had the formation of the Moon colony after Project Gestalt finished. How do you know that your series of events is right?"

He stared at you, confused. "'Project Gestalt'? Is that the name of the project that the twins were involved in?"

"Are you ****ing kidding me?" Anger flared inside you anew. "You don't even have the details about this‽"

The instruments on the android clinked as he shifted. "We do have enough details. We know the twins are guilty beyond reproach. If the verdict were up to me, we would have long had the twins executed."

"What, is murder the only thing you can think of? And what would you do when I showed up without the twins to keep me alive? Just leave me to die?"

The android sputtered and responded quickly. "Wh- no, no, of course not! The twins are doubtless not the sole source of knowledge pertaining to humans. It wouldn't be out of the picture that…"

He continued to talk, but you weren't listening. An implacable anger simmered in your chest, furiously demanding to know why, how someone could so off-handedly wish for someone's death. Didn't he know what could happen to you if there were no one to help treat you if something went wrong? Wasn't he saying, to your face, that he didn't mind your own death? How callous could an android be? Don't they understand the consequences of what they're saying?

Slowly, your thoughts turned away from anger. Was this android considering what would happen to you? If the Commander was telling the truth, ensuring your safety would be a strong concern of any android. But he all but threatened you to your face. Were- were there androids that wanted to see you hurt? Did they not care that you got hurt? Was there a diff-

God, stop, stop, stop! You're doing it again! You saw him stumble and back off, if somewhat, when you pushed him on his decision, no, he doesn't want to hurt you. What's gotten into you, why are you freaking out over this? Just calm down, he wasn't threatening you, he only said that he was going to threaten-

The twins.

He was openly willing to tell you that he would kill Popola and Devola.

All because he wasn't aware of what that would mean for you.

"Hey," the android snapped a few times in your face, ripping you back into reality, "are you listening?"

"I… I don't-" You kept stopping yourself short.

"Look, I want to make sure you know I was not trying to pose a risk to you, alright?"

"I'm well aware." You turned back to the stairwell, your thoughts already churning in your mind. "Look, I'm… I gotta…" You couldn't think, couldn't string a coherent sentence together. "…have to…" You trailed off as you left, unable to find something to say.

"Wait, where are you- urgh."

You heard the android clink away, to which you were thankful, but these noises faded to your deepening worries. The open threats to their person kept resonating in your mind. As one flight turned into the next, you couldn't keep but feel those anxieties gnaw at yourself. You had originally intended to retreat to your room, hope that the twins weren't there, then spend some time alone, away from everyone else, and be somewhere safe.

But you kept coming back to the threats against the twins. You didn't try and force the issues from your mind, but you tried tamping them down with reason- they had survived up until now, they knew how to keep their heads down and steer away from trouble, they were tough enough to defend themselves. But your mind was a mess- the anxieties made your skin crawl and itch; the restlessness was working its way into your bones, twitching your fingers and fraying your nerves.

You got to your floor, but it didn't even occur to you to stop descending and return to your room. Instead, your body floated down the last set of stairs, your hand settled on the door handle outside before you even realized it.

You grit your teeth and clenched every muscle that still listened to your commands. Stop, go back. You are not going to do this. The seconds hung in the air as you hesitated, unwilling to go forward, unable to go back. A minute must have passed, the air burned around you, another sign pushing you to make some decision.

Slowly, like it was trying to slip beneath your detection, the handle turned and the door opened. You let out a shuddering, slow breath and stepped outside.

You were just out on the roof a minute ago, but now the light here was overpowering, even though you were in the shade. The bustling sounds of activity, earlier muffled by distance and the walls of the building, now wracked your ears unhindered. Even the dust, little that there was in this part of the camp, seemed to actively test you, filling and almost choking the once clean air.

You stepped off the threshold and into the camp and immediately, you felt a number of gazes turn towards you, curious and intrusive. You responded to a few glances not in kind, but by giving a similar distaste to their person. The walk to the entryway of the camp was mercifully short, sparing you from having to worry about them any longer. You turned the corner, towards the twins' residence and-

You saw the twins first. Devola, the one closer to you, was on the ground, leaning against the wall, grimacing in pain and clutching at her lower right leg, which seemed to be bent at a slight but unmistakably wrong angle. Popola was at her side, but a sudden move from the android that loomed over them plucked her up and slammed her up against the wall. You recognized his piecemeal outfit and ragged appearance.

"When will you two learn?" Dakota had seized Popola by the throat. She was struggling to get free, but you could tell she wasn't fully fighting back. "Your place isn't-"

"What the **** are you doing‽" Your shout broke up the scene in front of you. Even Dakota paused as you approached.

"Reminding them of their place." He turned back to Popola.

"By threatening them? What's wrong with you?"

"I'm not threatening them. It's nothing they haven't seen before."

You closed on him. You couldn't believe what you were doing, even as you told yourself to do it. "Then stop being a coward," you grabbed his hand and pulled it to your own neck, "and kill me directly!"

No sooner had you said those words- or if you pulled his hand to your neck, you couldn't tell- Dakota snapped his hand back and took a few steps backward. He stared at you with shock and raised his hands defensively. "****, what are you-! Don't overreact like that, I'm not killing-!"

"What do you think you're doing, when you're putting them at risk? What happens when there's an emergency and they can't perform their duties? Are you really willing to put my life on the line to, what, make a point? Do you think that's worth it? Do you think my life is worth your ego?"

"N-no, I don't- I didn't-" his gaze shifted between you and something behind you as he continued to stammer. "I-I wasn't- I-"

You pointed behind yourself. "Leave. Leave them alone and don't **** with them again. Am I clear?"

Slowly, his gaze slipped away from you. He nodded as he started to move past you, giving you a wide berth, moving into a run as he left you behind.

You let out a breath. You likely screwed things up, for yourself, for the twins, maybe just in general. Why did you let everything get to you? Why did you have to lose your temper and make a mess out of everything? You turned around and looked at the twins, who stared at you as they recovered.

And why did you have to set yourself up in this situation? Save them from one danger and set yourself up as the other?

You couldn't forgive them then, you couldn't forgive them now. But you saw it in their eyes, the pain, the fear. You saw it in how Devola flinched at the touch of her wound, and in the blush of crimson on Popola's neck. You couldn't leave things like this.

"Popola, Devola," you hated yourself for this, "I… I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't forgive you earlier, and I'm sorry for leaving you like that earlier. I forgive you."

For a moment, the twins froze, a look of hope, of joy across their faces. Popola was the first to move, launching herself up and hugging you. Devola took a second longer, having to limp a few steps before joining her sister. Their warmth bled into you through their tight embrace. Popola kept murmuring 'I'm sorry, I'm so, so, sorry…' and Devola traced small circles on you with the hand on your back. You could hear and feel them begin to tear up.

You tried to return the feelings of warmth and care. You tried to show, or at least fake, your forgiveness. But you couldn't shake the empty hollow of a lie.