Apothic Grey: Forget me not

They dart along the side of railroad cars in the darkness. Only lights are random bulbs that glow along the fencing and the moon in the sky on this chilly night.
The shadows are of two inhuman beings in the shape of homo sapiens.

Heavily armed men in the guise of gang members complete with bandanas tied around their foreheads patrol around a single railway car that appears no different from any other.

Two sets of eyes set in infrared mode easily pick them out from their roost above their heads.
Like vultures in the night they leap out and down, landing on the men silently before they have time to react. The two dark figures stand up over the crushed bodies and pick up the guns. Without a word they move in unison back into the shadows and slide along the wall of the rail car.

She peaks around the corner and spots a group of men all heavily armed and surrounded two men with brief cases. She holds up a hand to her male comrade and shows five finger, then two, does a circle, then signals him to go.
He nods and disappears.

"It's $500,000 for the chemicals and 1 million for the device." The geeky looking man speaks in an insecure voice. The collar of his trench coat is hiked up to his thick glasses.

The man before him is a darker foreigner, obviously Iranian, and holds a darker aura. "It is all there. Go ahead count," he has an accent thicker than his dark hair. He holds open the briefcase and hands it to him patiently waiting for his accomplice to confirm.

"It's alright, I believe you," he shuts the case eager to leave. "Here, the instructions will be emailed to you once I'm home safe, you understand. This has been the biggest risk of my life. I need to disappear."

"That you should. Your imperialist government will not be happy if this is found out," the foreigner agrees, "But if this is a double cross you would need to fear me much more." His eyes show the true evil.

The geek in the trench coat nods. He turns and walks slowly with great fear for his life. He couldn't trust anyone.
There's a rush of air behind him and he pauses. The men in the semi-circle are wide eyed in surprise.
The geek turns around to see a red haired man cloaked in all black stand up from where he landed. His face is stone and eyes are like computer screens. A chill runs through him he knows exactly what this creature is.

"Kill him!" The Iranian man orders as he turns to run with the briefcase of chemicals.
The intruder swings up with a hard backhand and cracks two of them upside the head. He reveals the Uzi he picked up and opens fire. The other three can only shoot off a few misguided rounds into the air before they end up riddled with holes. He turns the gun on a strange teenage girl standing behind them as they fall like a curtain. Her long dark hair and pale features only make the pink dress she's wearing glow. He isn't sure where she came from but he takes a shot at her and in the blink of an eye she disappears. He turns to the other two who are getting to their feet and puts bullets into their skulls instantaneously.

She hops down in front of the Iranian which causes him to stop dead in his tracks. She is beautiful under those dark sunglasses yet very robotic.
"Now-now, miss, this we are vastly rich can pay you more than who you work for," he tries with false confidence to convince her to let him live. "You could be very rich woman."

"Negative, your crimes will be accounted for as will your ultimate end." G raises her handgun and puts a clean hole into the front of his head only to blow out the back in a gory mess. She picks up the briefcase and walks over to her partner who is standing still, glaring at the geek who is frozen solid in fear.
"Scientist Nathan Peters, we are here to apprehend you and the device you stole out of Apothecary labs. As of now you are to be detained until further notice. Please cooperate fully and come with us."

"You-you were once human, weren't you? You can understand I wanted to start a new life. I wanted to get away from that place. My pay was terrible they were going to own me forever. Don't' you understand?! Please, we can split this money," He pleads pathetically, but to no avail. "Or here, t-take it all!" He sets it down and puts his hands up. "Please, just let me go. . .they're going to kill me. . .or worse."

"None of our concern." Beau reaches out and snags the man up only to throw him in the trunk of their car.

G signals in the location and arranges for a pick up of the device hidden inside the rail car. As she opens the drivers side door she notices Beau is still standing at the trunk and staring off into the distance. "Beau, is there something amiss?"

"The girl. . ." he whispers, "there was a girl there with dark hair. Was she part of the terrorist group? Do we need to pursue?" He sounds confused.

"There is no girl here. There never was," Gedra has been over this with him once too often, "our target was acquired let us return." She orders. Beau is a bit hesitant, but does as he is told. In the passenger seat he is silent and very stern. "Would you like to go out tonight and practice shooting in a remote location such as the landfill or reservoir?" She is offering a social outting since it is not something they have done since his reprogramming.

"It is not a required activity. If my aim if off it can be recalibrate overnight." He gives her a professional answer that is unlike the old Beau that slowly Gedra was beginning to miss.

Back at the Apothecary Nathan is handed over to the guards and Beau retires to his pod. There he lays back and stares at the ceiling. It's an empty place inside his empty room and empty memories. So much is missing, but he cannot search for it. All programming is basic and straight forward. There were no questions. Yet with his bleached mind there are dreams, so many dreams, unfamiliar faces and unfamiliar places.
He was human once is it just residual residue stuck inside his subconscious or was there something much greater, much more than he has ever known?
It all boils down to that girl.
The darling ghost.
She haunts him inside his dreams and during every mission.
Was she real? Who is she? Will she ever go away?

Beau closes his eyes and shuts himself down in hopes his dreams will not return for another night of fantasy.

Cloaked in darkness it's as if the world she once knew was no longer existent. What events transpired that lead her spirit to end up in such a could, dark emptiness? Surely she must be dead. Corpse are cold and lifeless, empty and with no light to glisten from their eyes.

I'm all alone.Juliet dropped to what she believes now is the floor, crying from loneliness. She's dead, cold and alone. What a terrifying afterlife. So this is what it was like; nothing but a void of empty shadows. Were there other souls lingering inside them? If so then they all must be long silenced, accepting their eternal darkness. There was no light, no Sun, no warmth, no moonlight, just cold. So cold that if it wasn't dark she could see her own breath coming out as white puffs.

From within the darkness she could hear a voice. Juliet looked up, it was familiar. Who could it be?

"Juliet..." Someone was calling out to her.

"Hello?" She answered. The disimbodied voice called out once more. The exciting possibility of another soul in this world couldn't stop the teen from running toward the voice.

"Juliet..." It kept repeating her name. Could it be someone she knew in her days as a living being? She got to her feet and ran toward where it came from.

"I'm here!" She answered. The voice kept reciting her name over and over. Juliet answered the same phrase each time.

"I'm here!"

It was a man. If he knew her name than she must've known his, of that she was sure. Every beat of her heart pulsed faster even skipped a beat every time he pronounced her name. It's you. I know it's you.

"Come back to me." Her eyes teared up. For so long she had been waiting and now she can see him again. Juliet ran faster toward his voice.

"I will, I promise, be strong, just sleep and I'll wake you. I won't let you sleep forever." It was definately him. He promised her that a long time ago and now she will awake and be with him.

The darkness that had devoured her slowly lifted like fog. As it did so there was so much noise- gunfire, people making sounds of agony. What was going on? The dark fog disipated, Juliet found herself standing in front of a bunch of dead bodies. She muffled her own scream. There was blood everywhere she looked.

A gun clicked. Her eyes met those of the man she once knew. So green, yet empty. He was pointing a gun at her, but why? Did he kill these people? No he wouldn't. This couldn't be true.

Beau?

Bam! Like that everything vanished, back to an unpainted canvas. This time she wasn't just looking at a light but basking in it. Her body was shaking, there was a sharp pain in her abdomen. Juliet looked down upon a splatter of blood upon a pink dress she had no clue she was wearing until now.

I... I've been shot!

A scream surfaced as she dropped to the floor and onto a small pool of her own blood in agony. It hurts! Wasn't she already dead? Why does this hurt? Can souls hurt aswell?

"Someone help me! Please!" She cried out, but who is going to come? There was nothing here.

Warm arms wrapped around her. Someone was shushing her in order to calm her down. "Juliet, calm down it isn't real." She heard her own voice say. There was only one other person who shared her voice. It was Jyu. She was here with her.

"Shh... calm down. Look. It's not there anymore."

Jyu was right; the blood disappeared as if it was never there in the first place. But how could that be? It all felt so real. It had to be real.

"How could this have happned? Where was I?" The confussed Juliet asked her doppleganger.

"You and Bea are connected remember? I don't know where you were... or why he shot you." It was strange indeed. Beau cared about Juliet more than anything. Jyu saw his devotion to protect her first hand, so why would he hurt her?

Juliet huged her clone so tightly, desperate for comfort. She cried so much that if she were awake or alive her head would hurt. Beau attacked her... Beau just shot her!

Why would you hurt me?



From a dark realm to a white kanvas, like the one she remembers painting a beach with her's and Beau's memories. Once again in this inbetween realm, but thankfully not alone. The two girls walked on the white veil both knowing the path will lead to nowhere; unless Juliet decided to create an atmosphere.

"How did I get there?" She asked Jyu.

"You and Beau are connected. The device that kept you both together and my new pathogen somehow helped you make some kind of psychic connection." Jyu tried to explain it in a way she understood could be the reason. It was farfetched, but it could have some kind of logic.

Juliet tried to put it together, but she still couldn't understand. It didn't matter, what really mattered to her is Beau's hostile actions. They were together for a short while, but during those days with him he never raised a weapon against her. He was, in his way, understanding and supportive. There must be a reason for his actions.

Juliet stopped in her tracks. A decision has been made. If she could, by accident, project herself into reality then maybe she could do it onpurpose. Maybe she could connect with Beau in his dreams like before and try to talk to him, find answers.

"I want to see him. Can you help me?"

Jyu looked at Juliet. She doesn't know how to help her, she's just a figment of her subconscious called out here by Juliet for the sake of companionship.

"I will try."

The two sat indian style, one in front of the other. "What were you feeling and thinking about when it happened?"

Juliet went thoughtful. Back there all she could think about was wishing not to be alone, she was desperate to have Beau with her. "I was lonely... and I wanted to be with Beau more than anything."

"Focus on that. Call out to him. He may hear you."

Juliet closed her eyes. Beau. She used her thoughts to call out to him, saying his name over and over until he answered. It's me. Beau.

The world around him meant nothing.

The world within him meant nothing.

He is a machine, his actions a mere program, yet he has some sort of free and an ability to dream. . .

He always enters this world of cold and blue and ice. It’s a frozen ocean touching along a pale blue shore while the sky is a misty gray that churns with a hint of blood red. There’s a figure in the distance, two in fact, they are blurry and yet familiar. He walks towards them. An almost audible sound begins to be heard. What was it? What could they be saying?
The voice is light and sad. He keeps walking as if being pulled to these figures sitting upon the frozen sand. There is just something so familiar about them and yet so warm like the feel of a sunrise after a frost bitten night.
“It’s me. . .Beau. . .” he can make out.

He pauses. “Who are you?” He demands. “Are you the ghost in my programming? Are you a virus or an error? Why is it I see you but no one else does?” He doesn't expect an answer, but the frustration of flaw in a perfect being such as him could mean a permanent decommission. “No matter how many times I reboot you are there and no matter how many scans are run you haunt me. I do not understand.” He informs the blur. “Why is it I try to find you but I don’t even know what you are?”

It's always cold. Everywhere a frozen wasteland of what was once a special place Juliet and Beau created, where they shared a special moment that will never fade from her memories.

There was a figure in the distance, could it be him? Juliet stood up, forgeting that Jyu was there. She was happy that he was here, even though the setting is dark and sad. She took a step toward him, but stopped in her tracks when he began to speak to her in an unBeau-like manner. The first smile she had in a long time vanished. What was going on? This was her Beau in front of her, but how is it that he acts like she is a total stranger? What happened?

"A... ghost? Me?" She answered confussed. Cautiously she got closer.

"Be careful." Jyu warned her. She too sees a difference.

Juliet stopped once they were only a foot away from each other. "Beau, it's me, Juliet." She gently cupped his face in her hands. He still didn't recognize her. Which could only mean that the scientists did something to him.

She hugged him. "Why did you shoot me?" She looked up to him. "I thought you'd be happy to see me."

He just stood there motionless without showing the slightest emotion, like back when she was nothing more than a lab rat inside a cage. "You promised me... you promised you wouldn't let me sleep forever."

As he approaches cautiously to the figures one rushes towards him. He readies himself and stays perfectly tense for any attack. But this thing, this girl, does not attack him she hugs him.
"Beau, it's me, Juliet." How does this small woman know his name? Her voice is very familiar, but he cannot place it. "Why did you shoot me?" She looked up to him. "I thought you'd be happy to see me." So it was her at the railroad yard. It wasn’t just a mere hallucination. She then becomes very emotional. "You promised me... you promised you wouldn't let me sleep forever."

“I am neither happy nor sad. I promised you nothing.” He bluntly discourages her. “I do not know what you are or why you disrupt me, but I intend on doing my duty as a soldier of the Apothecary without disruption.” He informs this illusion of his dreams. “I shot at what I thought was an enemy and nothing more. Yet my partner could not see you. How can you project yourself to me yet no one else?” He glares down at her. “Are you an error in my human mind? I recognize you yet I cannot discern who you or what you are in any way.” He admits. “This is an odd error indeed.”

Those Apothica goons did something to Beau, not just memory, they stripped and robbed him of his true self and banished the Beau she once knew and held dear.

Standing before her was not her Beau, it wasn't human, but a machine. To this machine, Juliet wasn't anything... an "error", a malfunction. Something that is not suppose to be, but there was still hope. Somewhere inside this mechanical being was her Beau, because he can recognize her.

How can she tell him who she is? Most of all, will he even believe her?

Jyu stepped in beside Juliet. The clone could see it, his memory was no more. All that remained of Beau was his inhuman self. The one side of him that was meant to serve the Apothecary. This side of him would never listen to anyone, but his creators or this partner of his, that Jyu could assume was G, the other android.

"You were human once." Jyu began to speak to him. "You gavr yourself to the Apothecary and they turned you into what yoy are now. Your purpose was to protect her," She motioned to Juliet. "the carrier of the most powerful and unique virus created by the Apothecary's top scientist, Takeru Saito, but you failed. You helped her escape..." She recalls all those new emotions she felt outside this place. How she longed to be alive. To feel again. "Your partner had to bring you both back by force. I suspect they took your memories." By they she refers to the mechanics that created the androids, therefore Beau's creators. "Because you refused to bring Juliet back..." she smiles at him. "In the events of all this... you became human... you could feel... you became conscious... you wanted to keep Juliet safe from the Apothecary more than anything..."

The world around them began to distort. The connection was about to fade. "Ask your partner. She knows what is happening to you." She tells him before they disappear. Then it all goes dark and silent.

The twin girls speak to Beau as if they know him. The solemn one explains someone he had once been but was not anymore. He listens to them carefully to decipher any clues to their exitance or why it it’s all familiar, but it answers no questions that he finds immediately important.
As they begin to fade he speaks up, “If I failed then my purpose became worthless. If I was reprogrammed then my mission is over and you are no longer my problem.” He tries to make this innocent voice inside his dream go away.

His eyes open.
There being no windows in his room one could not tell if it wasn’t for the clock.
He sits up and glances around for anymore ghosts.
He’s alone. . .all alone.
“Ask my partner?” She must be referring to G. How did she know anything about her? In any case it could not hurt for him to inquire.

He finds G in the shooting range in the back of the basement. It’s makeshift but all hers. He waits for her to reload before speaking up. “You don’t need to practice when our systems have auto-lock.”

“I know,” she speaks as she manually reloads her clip. “I turned off my auto-lock so that I can practice aiming just in case anything should happen to my programming. It is foolish to rely so totally on mechanical advantages.” She warns him.

“It is an extreme effort but I understand your premise. It is easy to see why you are the Apothecary’s highest mercenary.” He compliments. This causes G to peek back at him through the corner of her eye. “Do you remember yesterday when I informed you of the girl in the train yard?”

“Yes, did you find any error?” She tries not to let on who it is he saw.

“No, there have been no errors. I am fully functional.” He assures her. “Yet I dreamed about her as I was in sleep mode. She knows my name and has a story of a failed mission which resulted in my memory being erased. Is this true?”

G takes a moment to debate on letting him know. “It’s no longer relevant, but yes that is essentially what happened. The virus inside the host became unstable and took over. If she was not brought back it could have ushered in the end humanity. Her influence over you caused a lapse in judgment which almost cost you your very existence.”

She waits patiently with her back to him for him to react. He remains quiet.
“Thank you, that is all.” He excuses himself with no reaction what so ever.

Gedra lifts up her safety glasses and rubs her eyes. Something in her stored memory was disturbing her psyche. For a woman who hasn’t felt sympathy or empathy since she was a child this was becoming stressful.
She takes a single shot and imagines her target is the test subject Juliet. She cannot destroy her nor can she save her. How long was this going to haunt them?
Beau is on his way back to his room when something about the entire scenario is bothering him. He needs to discover his mistakes and find if there was anything he can do to exercise himself of these ghosts.
He finds one of the information storage labs. He sits at a computer and hacks into the mainframe, but doesn’t go as far as to set off suspicion by hitting security codes. He simply looks into the files left by Dr. Takeru. Much to his dismay the records are wiped clean. Only his basic information remains and video feed that was logged away into the security system. The only thing he notices is that his home grown test subjects looks just like her, the ghost, and there are many of them.
What did it all mean? There were two of her in his dream, but could there be another running around in the world following him?

He sees himself keeping her down as they poke and prod the only girl outside the incubators. It’s her he knows it. The name on the video stamp is Juliet.
He needs to find this test subject because if she is not dead it means she has found a telichanetic way to communicate with him and that could be a problem.

As he leaves the room to head down to Dr. Takeru’s old office he is stopped by call over the PA system. “SJ-004-B, please report to the briefing room.”

Dr. Jeno Vibia went on with her usual routine work, keeping close monitoring on all her preserved specimens.
She opens Project Juliet's chamber for inspection. As always there has been no change of her preserved state. No surprise there she's always been very careful for her work.

Everyone has been rumoring a change happening in the company. Could Pharmacy and Apothecary merge at some point? It's what everyone's been talking about, but Dr. Vibia never pays mind to this gossip bussiness, she is much to above it. Only time will dictate the course of the company.



The city in her head is exactly as the city in reality. Only here is deserted. A cold, lonely place. It's not even a happy reminesce. Her happy memories about this place were nothing but lies and her true memories were not all happy.

At the top of a building she couldn't see a horizon, but a void. If she walked beyond that point she might as well fall into the eternal abyss. There was so much outside the city that she has never seen. The beach was not her creation. It was born from the connection she had with Beau, but that's gone now. She could go see him whenever she liked, but it's not worth doing so. He would just look at her like a total stranger, call her things that she now begins to believe are true.

Juliet was not meant to be. She was born in a lab, grew in a lab, like a caged animal, poked and proded by scientists who felt no remorse. Her friend was an unfeeling robot that only looked after her, because it was his task, part of his programming. What if everything that happened between them, everything he said and did for her, what if it was all just programming and not real? He was human once and he still had the opportunity to feel like a real human, but what if it wasn't that? He was protecting her because somehow that part of his programming was still there.

"Juliet."

She turned to see it was her only companion in this cold world. She couldn't speak anymore. She was destroyed.

"I'm sure he will come back for you. He promised, did he not?"

Silence. He wasn't coming back. That android was nowhere near the one she knew.

Beau enters the silent meeting room where the executives are seated around a table. Gedra is standing in a corner with her arms crossed and head down. The atmosphere is grim.

Before Beau is able to ask where to stand or sit the top executive in an expensive suit, Rolex watch, and slicked back hair gives the disappointing announcement. "Cogs and members of the board our beloved Apothecary is under direct financial duress. No thanks to the ill-advised research of Dr. Takeru the reputable damage his subjects caused have billed the company millions in retribution and pay-outs to cover his failures. Funds provided to him have almost bankrupted the company." He places all the blame on a man who can no longer defend himself. Whether or not it's true the higher ups will never admit to anything being their own fault. "Take note we are doing everything in our power not to fall prey to greedy corporations that wish to buy out our company in order to strip it of its resources and lay off all our valued employees who are like family." He tries to reassure them.

"In that being said I would like to point out that we do have possible investors," An older man in a nice tan suit and graying hair left to the head executives speaks up. He's clearly been with the Apothecary since the beginning. "These investors will take reigning stock in the company and fiscally responsibility will fall upon them so their influence and projects will become top priority. On our side the Apothecary will still be our own and no one will have to be let go." Even as he says it's all a possibility its already sounding as if it's been done.

The brunette man in the toupee to the right clears his throat. "G-001 and B-004-SJ you are considered legal property of The Apothecary so all orders taken will still be handled by us. You are to stay with the company and continue your services as rendered."

"Is that all you needed me for," Beau isn't in the least bit interested.

The executives all glance at one another then to the head. "Yes, that is all you are dismissed."

Beau turns back around and leaves quietly. Somehow the attention is diverted to the silent partner in the corner. Gedra hasn't moved a muscle or even let out a deep breath. It's as if they are expecting her to say or do something yet she does not. She only stands up straight and looks at them through he solid black sunglasses. "Is that all, gentlemen?"

"Uh, yes, you are also dismissed." the eldest speaks up and with that she takes her leave.

Once alone the executives are silent for a moment before they begin to murmur. The head executive seems unsure of these inventions known as "Cyborgs" though he knows they can be reprogrammed to any task their distinctly human characteristics are more human than he would care for them to be. He acknowledges that if they wanted to do so they could easily uprise against him and the company so he must be sure to keep an eye on them to keep them under his thumb.

"We have to be sure the keep the intimate details of this merger under wraps. The history between the Apothecary and the Pharmacy is as volatile as the Hatfields and the McCoys it's nothing but bad blood and mistrust. This business between the android Beau and the test subject by Dr. Takeru, known as Juliet, and the Pharmacy has made our institution public and we can no longer be lax in our procedures." He lets them know the obvious. "IF anyone doesn't wish to play ball then it's best you hand in your resignation today." The CEO, Mr. Hughes, informs them.

None dare to move. They are so easily manipulated.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Gedra walks up behind Beau and puts her hand on his shoulder. "This could be a dangerous change. We need to stick together no matter the situations. Can I count on you?"

Beau looks at her over his shoulder. "I follow orders. That is my only prime objective no matter how dangerous." He answers with no emotion. It means nothing to him.

Gedra lets him go and feels empty. This was not Beau. This was just another machine.
A bit depressed she retires to her room with the punching bag in the corner and computers lining the wall in front of her "bed". She lays her glasses on the stand beside her bed chamber before laying herself back. For what she thought was saving Beau has turned into a much less interesting person she had a hand in creating.
If things could sink any lower what was she going to do?
Stick with it or move on? Take or leave Beau?
She has never believed life to matter, it was all a painfully passing faze, but now she could have everything what was she doing here? She didn't need the Apothecary anymore than she needs an appendix.
What was her next move?

She closes her eyes and drifts off into sleep.

I miss you.

Where'd you go?

You said you would come back... but you left. Did you lie to me so I wouldn't be scared?

That motel smell of freshly new bed sheets, liquor and cold air from the airconditioner registered in her senses. Her head still remembered the soft, warm bed she lied in that first night they had together. If she were awake she would shed a tear. Every memory, real memory, was with him. Beau was her real life, though everything was full of stressful and terrifying events, it was all real... and he kept her going.

I wish you were here.

Her hand reached out over the bed, not expecting to find anything for he wasn't here anymore to comfort her, but she did indeed find something; it was a very well developed breast. Juliet's eyes flied open to a total stranger, not just that a woman. A strange woman.

The teen jumped out of the bed screaming. "Who the-? What are you-? How did you-?" She was so shocked her sentences were left incomplete. "Get up that spot belongs to someone else!" She pulled off from the bed the red head. Looking at her more closely she could be Beau's relative, was she?

"I demand to know who in the world are you? I've never seen you before so there isn't any reason for you to be in my head." This new ESP ability was so strange and unpredictable. Who else is it going to make appear?

Gedra feels a hand upon her chest. Who would dare touch her in any manner?

She opens her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. It's a dirty white stained with nicotine around the edges. This isn't her plain room at the Apothic laboratory. This person next to her is definitely taking a good feel of her breast. This person then hops up and start screeching at her as if her being there was her own fault and how would she know if she's in a reserved spot?

As she sits up she sees this person is the test subject known as Juliet. "I demand to know who in the world are you? I've never seen you before so there isn't any reason for you to be in my head."

Gedra isn't sure how she arrived here but it's as if she's been here before. She swings her legs over the side and glances over her shoulder at Juliet.
"You are the experiment known as Juliet." She summarizes. "I am not here by choice. I have no recollection of my transportation to this place. If you cannot answer the obvious questions then neither can I," she informs Juliet. "My name is irrelevant. The only code name I am to be called is G."

She stands up and glances around. Her sunglasses are gone and her green eyes swirling with blotches of blue like that of the Earth itself are exposed so she avoids direct eye contact with this artificial being. "I estimate this space is reserved for Beau?" She states the obvious. "I do not understand why you cling to him so nor why you would reserve any space for him."

No one would understand why she holds onto him so. Not a machine like this one. It probably never had a connection with anyone before. "I don't need to explain my feelings for Beau to you." She turns away from her. "You wouldn't get it anyway." Beau and Juliet had something much more than just a chip in her brain chaining them together. She felt it; it had to be real, more than just programming.

Suddenly the world around them shifted, replacign the kanvas with a beautiful beach. The waves strongly crashed in the shore, spraying them both with it's cool waters. This is her favorite and saddest vision. It's where she and her Beau were together for the last time.

"Is he alright?" She asked G, without turning to look at her.

He rescued her once, but then this happened. Some how he disappeared into the air. If only she knew how and why. Though she has begun to accept the possibility that Beau may not return ever again she wishes to know that at least he will be alright.

Then something dawned in her. She turned to G. "Miss G, do you, by any chance, know what happened to Beau and me?" This machine knows them both, surely it must know something. "I know something happened. He can't remember me... I'm always cold." She rubs her arms, but the cold is always present. "Please..." Her eyes were pleeding. "I need to know."

It wouldn't change anything to know the events that lead them to this nightmare, but it would be compassionate if someone would tell her.

Juliet, or rather the image of her, scolds Gedra in such a way she can barely listen. As she does Gedra scans the room. It's so familiar yet she's never been here. From the air conditioner that if turned on sounds like a plane engine to the rusted pipe water in the bathroom that has to ran for a minute before it goes from a tan to clear.
The insecurity of the girl mounts up causing a shift in the scenery. One moment they're in a roach motel then in a blur they're on a warm beach with sand that feels soft under her feet. This is another place Gedra knows she's never been. The only time she was ever on a sunny beach she was using her sniper rifle to take out a surf boarding bigamist.

"Is he alright?" Juliet settles down but doesn't look her in the eye. Gedra keeps inspecting the beach trying to put together the reason for this situation.
"Miss G, do you, by any chance, know what happened to Beau and me?" Juliet's tone completely changes and it's now that she feels it's worthy of a response. "I know something happened. He can't remember me... I'm always cold." She rubs her arms, "Please...I need to know."

"You should remain calm." Gedra glances at her over her shoulder. Without her sunglasses she can't access so much information nor can she hide her somehow human soul. She isn't quick to answer. The sound of the crashing waves and gulls in the distance are so real it's as if this was a new kind of reality. "Beau is alive." It's the most basic way to explain it. "His memory has been wiped out to reinsert his objective programming. He is in body the same android, but subconsciously not. This experimental state over making humans into sub-humans is advanced but still in it's infancy. His hallucinations of you are a clear sign that robotics cannot completely eliminate a human consciousness." She delivers the grim news.

She turns to the seemingly vast ocean knowing the end is right where the programming stops and folds her arms. "Beau sacrificed your other clone to stabilize your current body. Once done he proceeded to take you back into the city. Before he could take an unstable subject into society I stopped him. To this I prevented the infection of the entire species of homo-sapiens. Selfish goals of an engineered human or her android counterpart are not my issue. My mission was to isolate the subjects and return them to their original source." Gedra explains. "While he was almost erased you were put into cryogenic isolation. Your "cold" is the result of being perfectly frozen without your cellular structure being compromised."

There's a sudden pain inside her head. Something feels as if it's pushing out. She only gasps before. . .
Beau stands on the shoreline and turns to Juliet. He doesn't know how he's gotten here or why but he knows it's good to see Juliet still alive. He smiles and holds his arms out to her. "Juliet. . .I didn't know if they had destroyed you. . .but you're here. . ." He embraces her and grips her soft hair in his hand. "Thank god."

This G answered her questions without hesitation or second thought, absolutely sure that her knowing of the truth of the matter won't cause any trouble. It's hard to listen to G, her information about Beau's fate stabbed her in the chest and all around. He was gone... forever. Those people took him away and now he can't remember her or anything related to their time together... or his feelings... their feelings for each other. While his empty shell walks down the halls of the infamous Apthecary, Juliet can only slumber through the days, or maybe years, with this pain and loneliness that will haunt her dreams to come. All this, because they wanted to be together, to have freedom, to be more than what they were made to be. Can that really be called selfish?

She can only produce a tear that strays down her cheek.

"Juliet..." That voice.

Juliet looked up to find someone who was gone, or suppose to be. Beau? Though it was him she dared not get excited, because it could be a trick. Was her mind playing tricks on her? As he approached her with his arms open she took a half step back, but let herself be embraced in his arms.

I didn't know if they had destroyed you. . .but you're here. . . Thank god." Did he remember her after all?

Her tears transformed into those of joy. Was it really him? "Beau..." Her hands wraped around him in a tight grip. "I-is it really you?" She looked up to see him. He looked much different than the last time she saw him. He was full of emotion and life and he recognized her. "It is you." She smiled as her hand gently caressed his cheek and brought him close to her for a kiss.

"You remember me? but G said..." She looked toward G who is apathetically looking at them. "I- I don't understad."

Juliet turned to Beau. "Where'd you go?" She hugged him tightly. "Please don't leave me again. I want to be with you." She pleeded him with a soft tone.

Juliet embraces him and kisses him. . .
Beau isn't sure what is going on but it's a sweet reunion.

"Last I knew you were comatose and I was fighting Gedra. . ." He feels her cold flesh against his warm body. It feels like being in a displaced dimension where this is the slight world in between.
"I don't understand what happened, but. . .I-I do know. . ." Beau lifts his head to answer. "I, as in me, is just a memory. I only exist inside Gedra's memory. I know this somehow. She had to of saved my memory banks into her base. Not sure why but it must have been drastic..." He looks at Juliet. "There's not many people you can trust but Gedra is like a sister to me. I can sense she misses me and if she saved my consciousness into her own brain she must have went to extreme measures to save me." He informs his petite love.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Juliet. . . I don't know where you are and that's my fault but if Gedra went this far then I know it's all about patients. She'll get me back to myself. When she does I will be there for you no matter what. FUCK humanity and what they expect this world to be you deserve life and as long as I exist I will be here for you!" Beau lets her know his devotion.
His eyes tear a bit. . .
His subconscious rendered bare before his sleeping princess he is exposed. There is nothing left to hide...
"Juliet, I will spend the rest of my existence protecting you. . ." Beau whispers, "I love you."

G had proven to be the one who saved Beau from oblivion, but Juliet can't bring herself to be fully grateful to her because she is the one who brought them back here and this was the result; Beau reduced to nothing but memory and Juliet cryo freezed somewhere in the vowels of the Apothecary.

Beau goes on vowing to be by her side always and forever so long as he exists. He sounds like he is reciting his vows on an altar. It makes Juliet tear up and smile.

Then he speaks those three words that make her heart soar.

"I love you."

No words. She was too happy and too surprised to hear him say that. "You do?" She has to hear him say it again. "I love you too."

They kiss once more and hold each other where they stand. If they were alone things would be happening right now, but it would be best to wait until they are both back in reality to feel each other's real skin, taste their real lips...

Far behind stood Jyu and she could not have been happier to know that Beau was still alive. She vanishes into thin air, feeling as an intruder.

Juliet turns to G and walks over to her. "Thank you... for saving Beau." She pauses. "What is... going on out there? Is any of us safe as we are?"

Gedra wasn't sure if she even existed in this world until Juliet addressed her directly.
"Safety has always been my concern." She folds her arms. "IF I didn't catch you the Pharmacy may have and you would be dissected while Beau was destroyed. Knowing I was to capture you both made it so it so I could keep you safe and with minimal injury. If another were sent you both would cease to exist." She explains in her usual bland manner.
"Right now you are safe where you are and nothing will happen until I can find a way to safely get Beau back to normal." Gedra looks up. "It is not easy. The man who made you, Dr. Takuro, was fired. His whereabouts are unknown. The body of Beau is back to factory settings so he is not a trustworthy ally. I must admit that having my brother inside the back of my head is becoming a bit stressful." She puts a hand to her head.

"You are causing a major disruption in my conscious self. Beau sees ghosts of you and I am here...This has to end." Gedra sighs. "My only plan was to save the Beau I knew but it seems it will not come into fruition unless I save you as well, project Juliet." She looks at Juliet with her ever changing eyes of green and blue as if the Earth itself was revolving within her iris. "I will return Beau's self into his body once I know he is safe to do so. Juliet we are restricted from your cryogenic state, but I will find a way. There is an uprising in the balance of the Apothecary status. The Pharmacy I know is about to buy us out. Once the transition is made I can gain access to everything and get you both out in the nick of time. Until then we have to play as if we are under their thumb. Can you be patient until then?"

It's not going to be easy as they'd hoped to escape from the clutches of the Apothecary and it's not just them anymore, the Pharmacy wants them as well. With these two companies merging into one it may be close to impossible, but she is willing to do anything if it means being with Beau again. She still doesn't like G much, but this android does seem to be an ally by surprise. Juliet has no choice but to put her faith in G and hope for the best.

"I'll wait as long as I have to." She answers her.

Juliet loses herself in thought of the Apothecary and the Pharmacy merging together. It's not surprising for a rival to want to buyout another in order to eliminate them. Suddenly everything changes from the beach to a containment room. Nothing she thinks about is secret. It's a blur, but she can tell this is where she was kept when she was taken hostage by the Pharmacy. The thought of being imprisoned again terrifies her, the only comfort she can find is in Beau's arms. Juliet burries herself in his chest.

"I hope we get to go to a place with no walls." She tells him.

Still in his embrace, Juliet turns to G again for one last question. "Any idea why the Pharmacy wants to buy the Apothecary? They're already better without us."

Beau holds her cold body and knows she's so far away from him at the moment and yet so close.
"I want that, too." He whispers.

Gedra ignores then and is reluctant to answer Juliet's question. "What does it matter to you? You are merely property just like us. Our fates are inevitable and existence worthless unless we can be used for their purposes. Why worry about it?"

Beau lightens his grip and turns to Gedra while still keeping a hand on Juliet's shoulder. "Don't even try to fool yourself. I know you're not happy with this shit. You wouldn't act so impulsive unless you knew it was necessary and because you did I'm still here in a. . .imaginary sense. . .whatever you know I don't think too deeply." He tries to settle with her. "My big sister didn't want to lose her little brother and I owe you a huge "thank you" you rock, Gedra. I owe you our lives."

"That's not it," she mumbles. "I don't need recognition for my acts. I am but a machine."

"C'mon, you're being moody. This isn't you. Something is wrong." Beau knows her better than she knows herself. "Gedra, what did I do?"

She turns to her with her lovely blue and green eyes churning like a vision of the planet Earth moving in orbit. "I'm not that sensitive, but I would appreciate it if you would confide in me updates about your life. I was out of the loop when it came to your actions and I was left dumbfounded. That is not how I perceive myself."

"I completely lost my memory or you would be the first person I would turn to." Beau explains.

"No, it was before all that while you were being manipulated by that "thing,"' She's referring to Juliet, "you never once came to me about what was happening to you. I was left to worry and no evidence. Is that really the way someone treats their so called older sister?"

Beau finally realizes her unrest over it all. "You're right, I can't call you my sister if I don't trust you like one. I'm sorry," He admits.

Gedra folds her arms and turns to the side. "The Pharmacy is now being run by Lye Christian Anderson. His hostile takeover of the Pharmacy did not go unnoticed. He has made the company buy out all the stock in the Apothecary so now they are the residing head of the finances. Though his intentions are unknown it is a power move to eliminate competition by merging the two sides together and making a super power. The Pharmacy can now obtain it's advancements in robotics to further the Pharmacy's research in genetic manipulation. Both are one are now able to create anything or any weapon they see fit." She gives them the news that could result in global domination. "As of right now Lye hasn't made any other major moves, but if his goal was to obtain Juliet in the past he now has her with one call. We are also subject to the commands. Which is why I waited to reinstate Beau's consciousness. They needed to believe his personality was erased so they would not attempt to do so again." She walks over to the window. "We need Dr. Takeru to stabilize Juliet if you want her to leave the cryogenic chamber."

"Until then I only exist inside you?" Beau clarifies. "How can I help if I have no body?"

Gedra cracks her neck. "I will replace you back inside your body. It has become stressful to keep you as it is this insomnia is not to my liking. My subconscious is not a meeting place for you and your experiment gone wild. This is my mind after all." She snips. "Soon you will be back inside yourself. I have to wait for the right opportunity. I believe it is soon. The instability of the Apothecary has granted me more non-monitored freedom. You need to act like you are still a mindless drone."

"Can do," Beau nods. He glances down at Juliet. "See, I told you I would save you. It may be cold but soon you're going to be like a kitten in the sun. I won't let you go."

It didn't make sense to her why G was being so harsh toward Juliet, so much that reffers to her as an object and not a person, which she was. Even if she wasn't created like any other. It hurt her so that G held her responsible for Beau's actions during the incident with the virus. It's not Juliet's fault, the virus had complete control over her she never meant or wanted to hurt Beau, she loves him.

Even if Beau apologizes sincerely she still feels alienated and antagonized by this G. Obviously before Juliet came into the picture they had a strong bond and Juliet got in between them, but she can't help what she feels for him.

G let's it slide, but Juliet knows that this apology is just not enough. The machine woman goes on revealing that the Pharmacy, the one sole enemy of the Apothecary has infact achieved it's goal, to eliminate the Apothecary. Now the two have become one, super power that no force in this world can come up against.

This Lye Christian Anderson, the man who is now pulling the strings, just who was he? He wants what's inside of her, obviously; it's the only thing that anyone, but Beau, will ever want. That Pharmacy company would've gone as far as to get their hands on this cursed virus by opening Juliet up and have her live through the torment.

Juliet holds onto Beau as tightly as she could. She just had to wait a little more, just a little more and this embrace can be as warm as the sun.

G began to fade away and Beau also began to fade. It could only mean one thing. Their time together has ended and it was time to let G work her magic. Juliet looked up at Beau who has become nothing but a transparent ghost. "I won't let you go either." She kissed him one last time. "I'll wait for you." and with that he evaporated.

She quickly walked over to G and held her hands as she herself faded. "I know you don't like me, but I trust you. I'm sorry too, but I can't help what I feel. Please... I don't wanna be without him."

Just like that she was alone once again.

Her eyes pop open to the darkness.
Gedra lets out a long, slow breath.
It's as if the fog is steadily lifting from her reality.
The dream was so real she could hear the malfunctioning air conditioner and smell the ocean.
She sits up and takes a cigarette out of it's case. As she smokes in silence she has to make an independent decision which is the first time she's done so since she gave up her humanity. Somehow it seems it never quite went away. From her cigarettes and whiskey to her missing a non-related brother and willing to rebel in order to get him back.

Him being inside of her mind she can sense all of his emotions and desires. His emotions for the test subject Juliet were real and his desire to save her was overbearing. It was very unnerving for such a cold machine woman.
She marches down the dimmed hallway as casually as ever.
Outside her destination she looks at the dial pad to punch in the code. She grips the top and pulls the face off the wall. With the snap of her fingers she disconnects the wires that relay from the security camera inside to the security office. There is enough down time this time of night she has at least a half hour to get done what she needs to get done, but she isn't sure that'll be enough time.
She puts the face back on and opens the door.

Inside Beau slumbers with the wires feeding current world updates into his motherboard that transfers data to his human brain. She removes her sunglasses and stares into his face for a moment. If she restores his memory he could leave her forever. He may be destroyed. He could be betrayed or even become unstable. If he leaves forever and becomes damaged there will be no one to repair him. It is also unsure that if Juliet ages. If she does then while she grows old Beau will always be 20-something years old. What will he do then?
What may happen to herself is of little concern she has been and never will be afraid of death.

She pulls the cord from the back of her neck and connects it to his port. "Begin download," she whispers. ln an instant Beau's subconscious is flushed from her mind like a deep rooted memory she can no longer remember.
Beau awakens in a sudden jolt. He has to blink a few times to realize where he is. . .which is back in his pod. . .the same pod he left weeks ago or maybe months ago. . .tethered to the same place he never intended to go back to after he rescued Juliet. . .

He sees Gedra on her knees out like a light. Her cord connecting to him and he can see her memories inside his own head. Scanning them over he knows what has happened and what he must do.
"Juliet."