the story in which Alex Seattle Geer is right for hating enclosed spaces,

[doubletap]

and Neil Park is blamed for his knowledge of vaults.

---

Terminal Entries:

1st Floor, Vault Entry-Room Computer:
- Data Entry 1: Year 20XX, Month XX; There's no escape.
- Holotape Entry 1: Y#4@ SDhig^8705 H98 [data corrupted]; This is hell and I want out of it.

1st Floor, Cafeteria Luncheon:
- Holotape Entry 2: Private Recording; I've had better?

1st Floor, Cafeteria Supply Room:
- Inventory List: Inventory List; A list of food....
- Data Entry 2: Shift Notes; Maybe I should tear the walls down.

1st Floor, Broken Cave:
- Data Entry 3: Preparations; Everything's fine.
- Data Entry 4: Near the End; I'll tell you the truth, but I won't give up my soul.
- Data Entry 5: Finally, the End is at Hand.; This is far enough.

1st Floor, Office:
- Data Entry 6: Vault-Wide Public Service Announcement; Get back to work everyone.
- Data Entry 7: Locked Administrative Reply; You're reaching for straws.

1st Floor, Administrative Secretary's Office:
- Data Entry 8: Drama Hoes; It is sort of funny that people aren't able to lie, though.
- Holotape Entry 3: Bill Self-Log; Byron's access still works everywhere.

Comments

[goodfight]

How the words unfold reminds Neil of that tale about the Sierra Madre. That tiny slip regarding Elijah and his shitty bomb collars that had the man seething in disbelief and rage beneath that haze from losing brain matter, except here, the talk of attempted murder calms him. It reminds him that Alex is in his arms, still breathing. Still very much alive.

Neil breathes in and out, mind wondering how that idiot died. Because of course, he would have fucking died.

Unwavering in his affection, voice steady and soft, Neil continues, "You said Doc Mitchell patched you up, but I've seen your scar." That bullet wound. "You survived what should have been instant death, surgeon or no surgeon." Pretty damn lucky, maybe.

"Even if it meant you lost some things, I'm glad you're up and walking." As opposed to decomposing on the desert sand.

[doubletap]

Lost some things. That's one way to put it.

But the words Neil uses reminds him of other things, and it's that that Alex turns to. "Well, Mobius and the rest made it seem that I had some kind of special brain condition. Those people that can survive a head injury because those functions move to other parts of the brain. I was still a little shaky until they actually sealed over the scar on my brain. Then I was just a little shaky with all the metal in me."

...Ah. Truth vaults.

"...I'm going to need to explain some of that. Aren't I?"

[goodfight]

He follows, and he doesn't. Regardless, Neil lets out a breathy chuckle, finding comfort in Alex rambling for a change.

"Please," he tells him, "And not just because you're boning me, mind you. I would also like clarification for science." If what this Mobius et al. proposed proves true, Alex Seattle Geer is a bit more of an anomalous organism than he already is.

Besides, the talk of metal being in the other is kinda making Neil antsy.

[doubletap]

Alex lifts his head and gives a charming smile, the kind of a boy who caught a frog. "The science stuff you can ask the guys about. I'll take you there...once I make sure they're a little more stable. But the rest...."

Alex sits up again, fingers slipping into his own hair until he feels the light ridge of a scar line. "There's not much left because laser sealing but..." He lifts the hair in places, revealing a perfect circle around the top of his cranium. As if one had had their skull opened. "Brain was taken out for a awhile. Tesla coils were put in instead. Most people that happens to become drooling serial killers--I kept most of myself. Apparently because my brain adapted and sent signals to the coils. Which was the point of the original experiment."

He taps the center of his chest, where a circular white scar rests, as light as the other. "And because Dala was rambunctious, she took my heart as well. Replaced it with a valve." He turns, back facing Neil. He reaches to touch another light scar, running the length of his back. "Took my spine. Replaced it with some kind of titanium tech. All was fine and dandy, but I was happy to get my organs get put back where they belong."

Still with his back facing Neil, he moves his hand up, lifting the bottom of his hair up to reveal a more obvious scar, circular again and moving upward toward the top of his hair. "So after getting shot twice, getting a bomb collar, and having my brain removed, I decided to take a preemptive step. Steel enforced skull."

[goodfight]

...Neil has to remember that this is a truth vault, and the truth in this world isn't as straightforward as a simple A to B. Yes, Alex can probably walk around as himself with only Tesla coils in his head. Yes, he had some kind of major organ transplant surgery going on with scars as evidence. Yes, it all sounds so fucked up, but--

But if Neil Park can be the human captain of a deadly alien spaceship, Alex Seattle Geer can be a cyborg, questionable circumstances or no.

Neil blinks up at the older man, shivering once before chancing speech. "Is that why you weigh like a million pounds?" he croaks.

[doubletap]

...Neil isn't looking so good, but he's not doubting him outright either. Alex turns back, petting a hand against Neil's chest. "Hey," he says gently. "I'm probably only about three hundred pounds.

"I have some augmentation. Mostly the skeletal and circulatory systems. Besides the implants from Usanagi. Most of my bones have some kind of metal in them, makes it harder to cripple any limbs. Heart has some new filters and valves, along with a prototype nanomite fluid that integrates with my blood to keep out toxins and promote healing. All good stuff. All useful."

Nothing weirder than the organs being removed. He's nervous suddenly, inexplicably. That this is too weird for Neil. "...Tried to tell you before," he mutters helplessly.

[goodfight]

It clicks in, this last piece of the puzzle, and Neil laughs. He shifts upward to lean on his elbows, dark eyes holding excitement and wonder. One of his hands goes to touch the one at his chest.

"So you're a cyborg." Every single augmentation explains a shitload of aspects surrounding Alex. "No wonder it hurts like hell when you conk your head against mine. Why didn't you just tell me?"

[doubletap]

A light mix of frustration and confusion filters through his expression, nullified somewhat by the hand touching his. The laugh echoing in his ears.

"I did tell you," he mutters quietly. "Said I had my organs removed. Don't know what a cyborg is, but I didn't try to hide this part."

[goodfight]

Ah, right. Alex has said that, but with the lack of trust and a second source, Neil had simply dismissed it as a joke. Clearly, that was the incorrect choice.

He sits up to wrap his arms around the bigger guy in a hug. "Sorry," he murmurs. "When you told me, I didn't know exactly what you meant. And a cyborg is short for cybernetic organism, a living thing with both organic and biomechatronic parts. Rex is a cyborg, for instance."

[doubletap]

Neil sits to hug him and Alex didn't expect it at all.

Even with the loving gesture, the drawn-out emotional talks, the easy affection that Neil gives shocks him to his core, and he freezes, eyes filling from something unknown. "Shoulda thought that, I guess," he murmurs unhappily. "Guess me and the pup got some in common."

[goodfight]

The embrace affects Alex in a way that sticks in Neil's mind, and the hands at the older man's back turn to petting.

"Nothing wrong with that," he says. "It's pretty freakin' cool, actually. Not many humans are compatible with cybernetic parts, and you've managed the top three: the brain, the heart, and the spine."

A pause. "You're an interesting guy, Alex Seattle Geer."

[doubletap]

The compliment shifts something inside of him, and he blinks back wet, uncomfortable. "...What's with the sudden compliments?"

When it's the last thing he expects from Neil Park.

[goodfight]

Neil tries very, very hard not to sigh or roll his eyes in exasperation. The man succeeds only due to that ever pesky squishy thing in his chest. "The 'sudden' compliments would have been given much earlier had you been upfront about yourself from the beginning," he gives dryly. "I'm not manipulating you, if that's what you're getting at."

[doubletap]

Despite the niceness, he detaches himself from Neil's arms so he can look at him. "I didn't mean you were manipulating me. I just meant there's nothing really that special about me, in my opinion."

[goodfight]

It's enough, just enough. Neil stares at Alex, a sharpness present along the edges of his dark eyes. His voice rings as foreign to the ears, dry and bittersweet.

"Your opinion of yourself really sucks cocks," he states. "In my humble opinion."

[doubletap]

"Apparently I have some self-worth issues," he finds himself saying easily, and decides to not be surprised. "It doesn't change anything at the moment."

[goodfight]

Honesty, as always, trumps all else, and Neil takes the other's words into consideration. He finally exhales, the breath leaving his lungs a labored stream. His eyes soften to dull points.

"I get it." It isn't hard to get. "I stand by my 'compliments,' but it's inconsiderate to cram them down your throat. Even if I wasn't trying to." To cram anything down Alex's throat. Such a behavior isn't really something Neil likes to touch.

He blinks, pained by something unknown, and looks away.

[doubletap]

The expression touches more than the words, and Alex reaches out, touches Neil's chin. "...Hey," he speaks quietly. "Tell me."

[goodfight]

There is contact, enough to slam his attention back to reality. It proves difficult to speak, what with that seemingly endless well of muddled emotions bubbling just beneath the surface. Still--

"Tell you what?" he mutters in question, attempting clarification.

[doubletap]

Alex watches him. Wonders what exactly he said to make Neil look this way. "You looked...off. Upset. I wanted to know why."

[goodfight]

Neil watches his hands for a moment, before raising his head to meet Alex's eyes. "Do you remember that day you got that book? Theoretical Robotics?" The one that drew out such an extreme reaction from the Courier. "I said something about being no good at kindness."

His hands idly make motions in the air. "You told me to not be discouraged. That being on the receiving end is new to you," Neil continues. "I'm trying to remember that. It's just difficult when I honestly thought I was saying something simple."

[doubletap]

He reaches out, ruffles Neil's hair. Smiles and tries to be kind. "You know me, kid. From the start, I've been no good at talking about myself. The only difference is now you know some of the reasons why. I'll try... to get better at it. But that's all I can say. Honestly."

He retrieves his hand, scratches through his own hair with it. The white at the corners of his eyes are distracting. "Other than I'm thinking of getting more augmentation. I'd like your opinion on that."

[goodfight]

Except being no good at both ends makes the whole thing pointless, but Alex offers a distraction hair ruffling and a want for opinion. Both of which Neil clings to without thought. He straightens, features subdued.

"What kind of augmentation?"

[doubletap]

This gets a genuine grin. "All kinds. I'm really into self-enhancement. The implants from Usanagi and the Big MT were one thing, but tech can really keep you going when you wouldn't otherwise. Plus--"

And it's because of the vault and it's because he's trying to balance things and it's because he's starting to get tired of secrets--

He slips a hand into one of the pockets on his chest, bringing out a shiny casino chip twice the size of any other and pure metal from the looks. "I really need to find a way to keep this on me permanently."

[goodfight]

"Self-enhancement, huh?" What a worthwhile hobby to undertake. Furthermore--

There is a metal casino chip in Alex's hand, far larger than those ceramic and clay types in the Strip. Neil watches almost impassively, eyes absorbing the details and admiring the shine on the thing called the Platinum Chip.

"You looking to prevent another attempted theft?" he questions, partially distracted.