Lendulin’s clear, vibrating rage was something that TO’s mind acknowledged, but tucked away in the back of their head. There was a far more important problem that was taking up all of their mind’s focus. 

“Where’s DH.” TO said, looking around frantically as though their mate had to be in that pod somewhere, though clearly they weren’t, “I saw them, I had them in my-”

“Are they a Synth too!?” Lendulin demanded. “You’re synths! All this time you were synths-”

“Where’s DH!?” Their ears pinned back, and they bared their own teeth. It was entirely unintentional, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was figuring out where DH was, and if they were safe.

She flinched, her eyes flicking from TO’s face to their armor. She backed up, pushing herself away from TO with her hands and tail. “I-I got them into a pod as soon as the water hit us.” She said, “I couldn’t get them into one of the fancy ones, but one of the maintenance ones got washed towards us so-”

TO stopped listening. They slumped against the side of the pod and just laughed; a manic, joyless laugh. DH was safe. DH had been safe all this time and was probably worried sick about them. They checked their armor again, trying to deactivate it with their bracelet, but it was still offline. As soon as they could, they had to tell DH that they were fine, and that Lendulin-

… That Lendulin had seen them. Lendulin had seen them take off their helmet, and knew that they were a synth. Now that they knew DH was alright, they could process this problem. 

It was a problem. Civilians weren’t supposed to know what a synth looked like out of armor. 

“You lied to me.” She finally said. She started to shake, and a moment later she threw herself at TO, her hands beating at their armor as she screamed incomprehensible words at them. TO grabbed her wrists, and held her back, but she slammed her tail into them. The force of her powerful tail knocked the air from them and slammed them back against the wall as they let go of Lendulin. She pulled back again, curling against the opposite side of the pod.

“You lied to me.” She hissed. “I thought you were my friends. “She started laughing almost manically. “Pearla. Pearla knew there was something about you two. She knew that there was something wrong and tried to tell me and Petra to stay away from you. I said she was paranoid. I was all ‘oh no, they helped me out, they can’t be that bad!’ And all the time, you were synths!” She laughed again. “What? Why was that? Why did you help me? Why were you even there!? What the hell do Synths need fancy clothes for?”

It took a few moments for them to regain their breath, to speak. “... For parties like this?” They said with their voice hoarse, their ears down, and their wings finally able to wrap around them since their armor was powerless. They looked down into the water at the bottom of the pod, which they were still sitting in. “We’re told to get civilian clothes when we arrive for our placements. Formal clothing was a part of that.”

“Why? So you could trick us?”

TO’s wings tightened around them. She wasn’t wrong, really. “... It makes blending in easier when we need to.” They said instead, “So when we’re pretending to be civilians-”

“Pretending. Right.” She gave a snort of laughter. “You pretended to be civilians. Pretended to be my friend-”

“No, we didn’t-”

“Then tell me, why did you bother to help me that night?” She snarled, “When my chair broke in the shopping district. Why?!”

“You needed help.” TO said, “And… we could help. So we did.”

“Lies.” She hissed, “You had some other reason. Why would a synth help me?”

That tone, that utter disgust that was so vicious that even TO could pick it up. “... You hate me.” TO said, their ears low, their throat burning. Lendulin was their friend. Well, had been their friend. Well, she had become their friend. TO didn’t think they’d have visited her in the Outer Ring if it hadn’t been for Pearla, and their orders to get closer to her, but they cared about Lendulin. They liked her.

 
“Why do you care?” She hissed. “Shit… Petra was wrong. She kept saying that synths had to be AI or something, because she couldn’t think that something living could be so vicious.”

“What exactly did I do that was so vicious!” TO said, their hands digging into their arms, “I didn’t do anything-”

“Synths took Helen, remember? Helen and her family-”

“That wasn’t me!” TO said, “That wasn’t me! I did nothing to her. I’ve never met her!”

“But you’d have done it if you were told to, wouldn’t you?”

TO remembered wondering if they could. If given the order to apprehend and eliminate a child, could they? They thought about the juvenile synths floating in their tanks, and the one that PQ03 had forced them to dissect.

“... I don’t know.” They admitted.

“... She’s going to lose her mind when I tell her.” Lendulin said, shaking her head, “Tio and DH are synths-“ 

“Please don’t tell Petra.” TO said. If a civilian knew, they had to be dealt with. TO didn’t want to deal with Lendulin and if she could just promise not to tell anyone, then maybe they wouldn’t have to.

“Why not?” She snapped.

“We’re not supposed to let others know who we are.” They said, “It can endanger people and other synths, and…” They sighed, “Ideally, I’d have to take care of any potential intelligence breeches. I don’t want to do that… Not to my friends.”

The rage that colored Lendulin’s face drained. “Friends.” She said, though even as she spoke, her voice cracked, “Friends, but you couldn’t tell me you two were synths.”

“It was dangerous.”

“Why? You didn’t trust us? Friends don't keep secrets like this-”

Their ears pinned back, “Your friend, Pearla, is part of the insurgency.” TO snapped back, “Or… Associated with them at least. So, clearly they do!”

Lendulin laughed again. “Pearla? She’s not part of anything.”

“I have every reason to believe that she is.” TO said, “And I have every reason to believe she knew that DH and I were synths, So…” They shrugged, leaned against the wall again, and stared out into the ocean.

The fish were following the glowing pods, carrying them off one by one. It was as TO thought; they were recovery fish, mixed into the aesthetics of Thalassa.

DH was safe. As soon as they were able, they’d contact them. They’d be fine. Everything was fine. 

Everything wasn’t fine.

“... What was all that about you and DH, then?” She asked, “I mean, you cried. In my house.” She stopped, shook her head as a strained,disbelieving laugh escaped her throat. “I had a love-sick synth crying in my home. Shit.” She rubbed her eyes. “Was that even real?”

“Was what?”

“You're all upset about DH. What’s really happening!?” Her voice echoed in the pod, making TO dizzy, “You said all this shit about being mates, about your families, but clearly you don’t have families since you’re synths, so what the shit was all that about?”

“Just… Just stop shouting?” TO said, their voice was a lot softer than they wanted it to be at that moment, their wings wrapping around their arms tightly, “I’ll tell you… but just…” they let out a sigh, and looked at the water. This wasn’t supposed to happen. They did like Lendulin, and they thought they had a friend in her, even if they wouldn’t see her after Kei was with them… but this wasn’t how they wanted their friendship to end.

“Just what?!” she snapped.

“... I’m sorry.” They whispered. “I couldn’t tell you. We couldn’t tell anyone. We’re not supposed to.” 

“Well, tell me now!” She glared at them. “You won’t shoot me, are you?”

“No.”

“How can I know that?”

TO shrugged, “I don’t have my multi-gun with me right now, regardless.”

She huffed, then leaned against the wall, staring outside into the water.

“... Why did you spend so much time with me?” She asked. “No, go back. Why did you help me?”

“The truth?”

“Yes.”

“... Honestly, it was exactly.” TO said, “You were kind in the shop, Celesto mistreated you, and I felt bad for that, and then you were stuck, and you needed help so…”

“So you just did it because you felt bad.”

“Yeah.”

Another irritated huff. “I didn’t think synths could feel bad about anything.” She snapped.

“Well…I do..”

“Right.” She said, “And why did you visit me after?”

Their ears dipped down. “That’s… complicated.” They admitted. “And a long story.”

“Pearla, right?” SHe said, “You said you thought she was an insurgent, so you were probably using me to get to her, right?”

TO winced, “Getting closer to her was part of my orders.” They admitted.

“And why?”

“... That’s confidential.” TO said, “I can’t tell you.”

“You already told me she’s part of the insurgency, so what does it matter?”

TO’s stomach churned as they realized that. Well, in fairness, Lendulin had shaken them with the whole, “Friends don’t hide that stuff” comment.

“The more I tell you, the more dangerous things are for you.” TO admitted, “It’s bad enough that you know I'm a synth.”

“Right.” She sighed, and looked out again, but her eyes went wide, and her tail curled up. “How dangerous.”

“... the other synth that’s coming is… a lot stricter than I am. They follow procedure carefully.” If Kei were told to kill a child for King Decon, TO had no doubt that they’d do it without hesitation. “If they think that there’s been any compromise in my position here, then they will deal with that efficiently and quickly.”

“… That means they’ll kill me.” 

“Most likely.” TO said, “If they considered you to be a more… visible citizen; a public figure, or a politician, perhaps there would be more effort to do things differently but-“ 

“But what, because I’m legless, there wouldn’t be?” 

“It has nothing to do with being legless.” TO said.

She was very pale now, and her hands were shaking. “Right.” She said quickly, “And uh..” She chewed her lip. “That entire story about you and DH.” She said, the words tumbling out of her mouth as though she was trying to put as many words between her and the previous conversation as possible, “What’s really going on there?”

“What do you mean?”

“You and DH being mates, and getting caught and all that. Are you actually mates? What’s the real reason DH is leaving?”

TO’s felt their ears burn and the tears sting at the corners of their eyes, “That… was true.” They said, “I suppose you’d change ‘family’ to ‘commanding officer’ And ‘cousin who hates us’ to ‘another synth who hates us’.”

“But aren’t you all the same or something?” She asked, curiosity covering up her anger for a moment, “I heard you all had some kind of hive mind-”

“Not at all.” TO said, “A lot of synths didn’t like me or DH when we were in training. We…” they shrugged, “We were a little different. Weird. Strange. So, they didn’t like us.”

“... And what… your commanding officers don't want you and DH together.”

“They don’t.”

“Why?”

“Not supposed to be together with anyone.” TO said, “Most synths don't have mates. Most synths don’t want mates and find the whole idea…. Disgusting. That’s more why the one coming doesn’t like me. They caught us, and-”

“And they found you and DH disgusting?”

“They figured it made us unworthy of serving king Decon.” They said, “Thankfully, my performance so far has been excellent, so rather than correct me-”

“Correct? What, like… brainwashing or something?”

“No. Well, maybe?” TO frowned, “They use lasers, and alter the physical makeup of the brain. It reduces our mental capabilities, but leaves us able to do menial tasks. I suppose if they caught two synths like myself and DH, then ideally they’d correct the two.” They looked up to Lendulin, and were absolutely shocked to see such a look of horror on her face.

“What the shit, Tio.” She said, “What, they just lobotomize you?”

“No, they correct malformations in the brain.”

“It sounds like a lobotomy! And what, for falling in love? Why?! What’s so-”

“A synth has one duty; serve King Decon. Anything else is a distraction.”

“... then leave?” She said, “Quit.”

“Quit?” TO’s ears flicked in confusion. “What?”

“Just fucking quit!” She clenched her fists again. “Take DH, take yourself, and run! Get out of there! I mean-” her tail slapped against the water, “Do you really believe in what King Decon is doing?”

TO’s ears pinned back, “King Decon created us so that we could help Him unify the galaxy.” TO said, “King Decon does everything he can to unify countless different peoples and cultures to improve the lives of everyone in the galaxy-”

“King Decon decided that all the people in this solar system should be moved to Arkane.” She said, “And the native Arkanian people here didn’t like ‘legless’ people from aquatic planets taking up space in their waters.” She narrowed her eyes. “My life hasn't improved. My parents came here and had to work doing cleanup near the coast. The filth in the water got in their lungs, and killed them, so the move didn’t improve their lives.”

“... I am sorry for that.” TO said, “But, the collection of -”

“Don’t you dare give me the whole “essential ores” shit.” She snapped, “I don’t care what you think. Some ore isn’t worth a life.” She looked away. “King Decon cares about staying in power, and to do that he lets the powerful people, the rich people, do what they want.”

How many planets across the galaxy were like Arkane? TO remembered wondering about that not too long ago. How many were being helped, compared to how many were being hurt.

“How did you even become a synth, anyway?” She asked, “What, were you recruited? Did your parents give you up?”

“King Decon created us-”

“That’s what they say, and if you were a robot, I’d buy that.” She shook her head. “But you’re not. Where did you come from?”

“... A synth production lab.” TO said, “Back in the training center, King Decon created me, and other synths grew me. I’ve worked in the labs that create synths, and we’re all made in tanks.

“... and you’re not robots? I mean, you have scars, so-” She frowned, “That could be cosmetic though-”

“No. we’re not robots.” TO said, “We’re just creations of King Decon. He made us to serve him.”

“And who raised you?”

“There’s a program that we live through that trains us and teaches us before we come out of the tanks.” TO said, “But it’s just like a faded dream when we wake. Most don’t even like to talk about it.” 

“Alright, but when you were kids, someone raised you, right?”

“We don’t come out of the tanks until we’re fully grown.” TO said. “It’s… inefficient to raise juveniles individually.”

“...so you never had a childhood.”

“Synths don’t need one.”

“And... you never had a choice.”

TO’s ear quirked up, “A choice of what?”

“For being a synth!” Lendulin said, as though it was obvious, “I mean.. Do they give you a choice~!?”

“... Why would we need a choice?” TO asked, “We’re made to be tools of King Decon-”

“Tools?!” She looks at them, her eyes wide. “You’re not a tool. You’re a person~!”

“No, I’m a synth.” TO said, though even as they said that, they could hear GiDi’s voice echo in the back of their mind. 

I am not a tool.

“And you’re a person! You’re kind, you get sad, you have a mate!” She laughed, “Just run. I’ll help you. Pearla will help you. Heck, if she’s part of the insurgency, she’ll probably be happy to-”

“We think the insurgency has been torturing and killing us.” TO said, “So… I’d rather refrain from that.”

“Well, from what you’re telling me, you’ve already been tortured pretty badly!” 

“I haven’t?”

“From what you just told me about how you were… What, raised? Trained? It sounds pretty awful.”

“For a civilian, maybe.” TO said, shrugging, “But we’re synths.”

“And it still sounds awful. You can still run.”

TO shook their head, “We can’t. We have to serve King Decon.”

“... So you love King Decon more than DH.”

“No, but-”

“Then leave!”

She made it seem so simple, so easy. Choose between DH and King Decon. Choose between their beloved mate, and their reason for being. Choose between their love and their creator.

“It’s not that easy. Besides, if we left, they’d hunt us down.”

She sighed and looked away again. Silence fell between them before she spoke again. “Is Tio your real name?”

“It’s… it is, in a way.” TI said, “We don’t have names. We have call numbers that change depending on our position. When I was in training, my number was 09T07. DH was 70H67. We gave ourselves nicknames from that and it stuck.”

“Just.. T-Oh? Spelled just T-O?”

“Yes. and DH is just D-H.”

She looked out, gazing across the water again as one of the giant fish led away a pod that was floating well above them.

“At least you could have a name.”

“It was frowned upon, but not something we’d be corrected for.”

“Of course it was.” She muttered. She fell silent, watching the fish for a few moments longer. “What do you suppose those fish are doing?”

“I don’t know for certain.” TO said, “But I think they’re maybe leading the pods away to safety.”

“That’s weird.” She said, “Why are they only going after the service pods then?”

“What?”

“Service pods. Look.” She pointed, “The service pods have just yellow light, while the fancy ones have blue light. It’s supposed to be more relaxing or something like ours.” She gestured to the thin ring of light that was embedded in the pod's top. “So if they’re bringing people to safety, then I'd figure they’d take the fancy pods first, but they haven’t. They’ve only touched ones for maintenance staff.”

With everything going on, TO hadn’t even noticed that. Now, however, as they watched, they could see that what Lendulin said was correct. The fish were only taking the maintenance pods. Not only that, it was only now that TO noticed that the fish weren’t heading to the surface. They were pulling the pods far away into the gloom.

TO’s ears went low, their eyes went wide. “You said you put DH in a maintenance pod?”

“Yes? It was the only one nearby. Why?”

“Because those fishing aren’t rescuing the pods.” TO said, “They’re abducting them!”