She’d found them. Holy shit! Cass still couldn’t believe it. It had been five years, and she’d actually found Tee! And it wasn’t even her fault it had taken that long! She’d long ago given up on the idea of finding her friends, let alone going home. And now here they were. Different, of course, and more than a little bit. But they were here, and so was she, and that was fucking rad. Not that she’d been in a terrible place before finding Tee. Five years was a long time, and her wounds had been healed for some time. She’d built a life here, as Cassandra, Loki and Tore, and she quite enjoyed it. But now she had people from before to share it with.
Tee was very different, indeed. Mandy had done an amazing job, all according to Tee’s specifications. Cassandra looked at them as the cab ascended. She was actually spending a fair bit of her own money getting Tee up this quickly, but now that she knew this was about finding Ellis, she wasn’t about to waste any more time. Tee was looking out the window. The face they’d ended up choosing, with a few modifications, was a lot like what they’d used to look like, albeit more angular. Mandy had asked several times, making sure, but Tee had insisted that they look distinctly robotic. Alien. Cheekbones that could probably literally cut glass. Concentric pupils. Symmetrical welding lines across their face. The hair was the most organic looking thing about them. But their resemblance to who they used to be was still… striking. Especially now that they were wearing clothes again. Sure, it was an outfit that fit with the styles of the city more, but it was unmistakably Tee, from the black boots to the red checkered shirt. Where had they even found one of those? The leather jacket with a retractable hood finished the ensemble. Robot-Tee rocked the hell out of the punk outfit. Cassandra felt her old crush bubble back up in the best and the worst way, so she focused on steering.
Tee was still a little drowsy from the… operation? Surgery? Regardless of what to call it, it had taken a lot out of them. The reconfiguration matrix they’d been installed with would apparently heal superficial damage, but the more damage there was, the more energy it would take to heal, and a lot of modifications had been made. They hadn’t been able to move their face much, leaning against the vehicle’s window. That was okay, it let Cass keep her mind on flying the cab. It wouldn’t take them more than a few more hours to reach floor 40, and from there it was a short hop to Double M’s place.
Double M was a strange character. It was said that they alone knew how big the city was, or at least, were the one to have gotten the most information from every direction. Cassandra had never met them, but apparently they ran most of the entertainment between floors 25 and 55, from clubs to casinos, and that every single one of their facilities had eyes and ears everywhere. It was why they’d been recommended as the person to ask about Ellis. Cassandra almost flew past the part of floor 39 where she knew she could talk to them privately. Fun as a trip to a nightclub would be -- and she definitely wanted to take her friends to one when this was all over, now that she was so comfortable with herself -- she had much, much higher priorities right now.
She parked the cab in a small garage on the side of the floor. Her credentials would get her through the door at the very least. She didn’t know how the conversation with Double M would go, but for Ellis, there was a lot she was willing to give up. Tee shook from their half-sleep -- hibernation mode? -- when the cab came to a halt, and immediately they were greeted by several people who looked like secret service personnel. Beautifully gold-trimmed black suits, perfectly tailored and hex-patterned.
Cassandra stepped out of the vehicle slowly, with her empty hands raised in the universal sign of ‘please don’t shoot me, I’m unarmed’. Tee followed her lead. Cass had expected something like this, and she also knew that people like this actually didn’t like the little game where someone pretended not to be armed but were actually armed to the teeth, and she didn’t want to risk perforation-by-way-of-gun, so she’d left all her weapons in the cab, and had dropped off her hammer at home just to be sure. Tee hadn’t even gotten out of the car, they’d been so tired, but Mort had wanted to go to sleep in his own bed, so Cass had let him go too. There’d be time to show Tee the place later, Cassandra had figured. The closest of Double M’s guards scanned her and Tee quickly and then nodded them through. She’d messaged ahead making it clear that Tee was sentient, so there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings about a possible ‘servant’ or an assassin-bot.
They were led through what appeared to be a fairly ordinary building, with offices and people working behind desks and a water cooler. Somehow she’d expected the owner of what was essentially an entertainment-empire to work in a more flamboyant location. Finally, she was led through a set of double doors with Tee, which were closed behind the two of them. The only way forward was another set of doors, which had a little green light blinking above the door. Cassandra looked at Tee, who nodded at her. They were awake enough, and clearly more than a little nervous. Cass figured green meant go, and approached. The doors swung open, and the room behind it was… underwhelming. It looked like a mid-level manager’s office.
Double M, however, did not disappoint. They were big. Bigger than Cassandra herself, and that was saying something. They looked out through what appeared to be a one-way mirror out onto the skyways, hands clasped behind their back, wearing an elegant, sleeveless dress that seemed to go on for miles. They turned to their guests, and their face split into a wide smile. Cass was dumbstruck, and she was pretty sure she’d audibly gasped. Where Tee had always eschewed particularly gendered presentation, preferring to come across as ‘none gender with left punk’, Double M was the opposite. Every possible way of making any kind of assumption with regards to their identity was violently and ruthlessly quashed by the sheer abundance of obvious gender markers. Double M’s appearance was unlike anything she’d ever seen before.
“Uh,” Cassandra said eloquently.
“I get that a lot,” they said with a voice that was low, husky and commanding. “Please, have a seat.” They stretched out a hand to the two luxurious looking chairs opposite the desk. Cassandra and Tee did as they were told almost automatically. It felt almost criminal to say no to this person. Everything about them commanded respect, from the perfectly manicured and painted nails to the slightly arched eyebrows, eyes hidden behind a set of round sunglasses. They sat down themselves and steepled their fingers, grinning their perfect teeth bare. “So…” they said, looking at Cass and Tee, “usually these things go only one way.” Cassandra took a breath. On the one hand, she didn’t like someone like this taking complete control of the situation, but it also seemed like a bad idea to interrupt someone so… well, in control.
Double M just continued. “Usually, people come in here and go ‘I need to know so and so’ and I’ll ask them to give me a piece of information I don’t have yet. Usually they can’t, and they either leave or find another way to pay me. However.” The pause was deliberate, measured, and Cassandra was absolutely convinced it was here for dramatic effect only. “That’s not what’s going to happen here.” They leaned back and pointed at Cassandra. “You’re an interesting one. A bunch of different names, and a prolific career, going back five years. I’m pretty sure you’re not some kind of Deadstone gone bad, because you’re too different from the original.”
Cass knew they meant Tore, so she just nodded. “I’m not some kind of clone, no.” Double M smiled slightly, and Cassandra got the feeling the confirmation was appreciated.
“So you came out of nowhere five years ago, and slowly took over for a famous mercenary. That’s already… unusual. Two out of your three names I’ve never heard on any of the floors you’ve been active on, and the third belongs to someone else. But you,” they turned their head to Tee, “are the really special case. Came out of nowhere less than ten days ago, magical chassis, but I think I have an idea of who you were before that. Except that that person existed for only hours before going to visit the Queen of Black-62.” They looked between Cass and Tee. “So my offer to you is simple. You tell me who you are -- and I’ll know if you’re lying, so don’t even try it -- and I will tell you anything you want to know.”
Cassandra took a deep breath. It was clear Double M knew a lot about both of them. She’d heard Tee’s story, but the odds of someone connecting the young angry person appearing on floor 62, out of nowhere, with the robotic chassis coming out the other side, was pretty slim. If this character could really tell they were lying, would there be any harm in telling them? She looked at Tee, who looked at her. Finally, almost simultaneously, they nodded. They both turned to look at Double M, and told them everything.
Double M listened patiently and intently, nodding occasionally and asking a question from time to time; Cass was sure this conversation was being recorded. Finally, Cassandra ended with them coming here, and their search for Ellis Hamilton. When they were done with their story, Double M leaned back in their chair and crossed their arms. “That’s… an unlikely story. But you’re both convinced you’re speaking the truth, and nobody would walk in here with a story like that expecting it to be good enough as payment, which is why I believe you.” Double M bit their lip. “I’m sorry to say, however, that there is not, has not, has never been someone by that name in the city.” Cassandra closed her eyes and sighed. She saw Tee dig their hands into the armrests of the sofa, destroying the fabric with the tips of their fingers. But their face was calm.
“I understand,” Tee said. “I was already afraid Cassandra and I got here before he did.”
“I’ll keep an eye out. For what you’ve told me, the implications here… I owe you that knowledge. I’ll contact you the moment he shows up on my radar.” Double M got up, and Cass and Tee walked back to their cab in a daze. Who knew how long it would be for Ellis to show up? Would it be five years this time? Ten? It had been five years the first time, and Cass feared the worst. They sat in the cab in silence for a minute, until a well dressed guard -- Cassandra had already forgotten about them -- knocked on her window and motioned for them to leave. The trip back down was quiet. With nowhere else to go, she made her way back down the floors until she got to her own, and parked the vehicle on the roof of her apartment building. She guided Tee down to her place. They seemed out of it, which was understandable. As she turned on the lights, Mort growled in annoyance, but kept his mouth shut when he saw their expressions, instead hopping onto the large couch and curling up into a ball, where he knew he was statistically likely to receive pets. Tee sat down and obliged.
“Now what?” they asked. “I’ve been so busy looking forward I don’t know what to do with myself.” They looked so lost, a sad robot in a punk outfit petting a cat on a sofa in a world where they were so utterly lost. Cass could relate. She’d been there. Well, not literally. But she knew how Tee felt, to a large extent.
“We wait,” she said. “We get you acclimated to the city, and we wait for Ellis to show up. And then we go rescue him.” Tee scoffed.
“You know, when I just got here I figured you’d be the one that would need saving. That you’d get yourself killed within minutes of getting here.”
“I mean, I did.”
“Well, yeah, but look at you now.” Tee waved at all of her. “You’re… amazing. You’re powerful and tall” -- something about the way they’d said that made Cass blush -- “and you’re gorgeous and you look happier than I’ve ever seen you. You went to get me and now you’re ready to go get Ellis!” Cassandra leaned against the table. They weren’t wrong.
“I just… had a lot of time to figure myself out, and not a lot to do beside that, I think.” Tee got up and stood in front of her, looking up into her eyes. Cass’s breath caught in her throat. This was her Tee and they were so close and it was just them and all they had was each other.
“I’m very glad you did. I can’t express how happy I am for you. I’ve always wanted this. For you, I mean.” Tee sighed, more for effect than needing oxygen, and leaned against Cassandra’s chest. Tee didn’t seem to grasp the effect they were having on her, her heart pounding furiously. “I’m sorry I didn’t help you figure yourself out sooner.” Cass wrapped her arms around them.
“That’s not on you.”
“I know. I’m still sorry. I feel lost. I don’t know what to do with myself.”
Cassandra pulled them a little tighter. “What do you want to do?”
Tee looked up at her, and a tear of filtered water ran down their face. “I want to go home,” they said, and kissed her.
Oh it's cute all over!
And double-m is very cool too
It's beautiful!
This whole story is incredible
It's a good thing Ellis and Tee already talked about this, or the next year or so would have been VERY awkward between Tee and Cass.