《A Love Most Robotic》 To Cure The World Willow Grace was a prodigy, and among the fifty or so people sitting in her class at that moment, not a single one of them doubted that fact. As the daughter of Christopher and Anastasia Grace, she was about as Scottish as one could get. Her hair was a mess of ginger curls, her skin pale like porcelain, with freckles dotting almost every inch of her body. Her eyes were green, pure in color and piercing to look at. She was tall, thin, curvy, and truth be told¡­ She was the kind of woman that every man wanted. She loved taking advantage of that fact. She was strong-willed, and had the confidence of a goddess. She could get whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted it. And oh, was she smart. Straight A''s all throughout high school, which infuriated her teachers. Willow wasn''t exactly the most¡­ Attentive, well-behaved student. She was, in fact, in a full-on rebellious swing. Going out drinking, smoking pot, spray-painting buildings¡­ She did it all. She had mellowed out somewhat once University had rolled around, but she still held onto her rebellious attitude. She was wearing a leather jacket, jeans, and a white t-shirt, meticulously put together to look nonchalant. Her makeup was well-done, and her hair was pulled back into a messy bun to keep it contained and away from her work. She was sitting in one of the lecture halls of her University, waiting for her professor to arrive. She chewed on a piece of gum absentmindedly, scrawling down notes in a large binder. It was beginning to near the end of the semester, and their final projects were coming up. She figured she''d work with her best friend, Blake, but it didn''t really matter to her. She''d pass with an A. She always did. All of a sudden, a wad of paper hit Willow in the cheek. It was, of course, covered in spit, and part of it was disgustingly heavier than the other. "Hey. Nimrod." A woman dressed in all black knelt down next to Willow, putting a hand on her back. Blake Medea was a perfect fit to be Willow''s best friend. She hooked her up with drugs, even though Willow only did the lighter stuff, and told her where to go where she wouldn''t be caught. Blake Medea was a criminal unknown to the law, and had likely stolen every piece of clothing she owned. She was, like Willow, absolutely brilliant. The two had been academic rivals, but socially inseparable, since grade eleven, when they¡¯d both scored a perfect on their entrance exams. From then on, it was history. "I''m going to be working with Shayne for this project. He''s totally into me, and I bet you he''d dick me down if I did all of the work for him. God, you need to get laid. I can feel your virgin blood through your shirt." For emphasis, she wiped her hand on the desk, smirking. That was, of course, when their professor walked through the door. "Hello, class." Doctor Erran said, a kind yet tired smile on his face. "You know what today is. Today is when you pick your partners for your final project of the semester. Please remember, it is worth twenty percent of your grade. Make sure you pick someone you can work well with." Blake grinned, her black hair falling over her face as she pressed a quick kiss to Willow''s head, then walked over to sit next to the wily jock named Shayne. Likewise, everyone began pairing off in twos, and considering Blake had been Willow''s only plan¡­ Most people were taken up rather quickly. Willow watched her go, and after a moment, snickered and rolled her eyes. She stayed sitting, resting her head on one hand as she examined the chalkboard with disinterest. This project would be easy, and she just hoped her partner would be competent enough that she didn''t have to do the whole thing. She could, she just really didn''t feel like it. She planned on finishing it right away and then getting drunk with Blake. That was pretty much their routine every few days, truth be told. She closed her binder and leaned back in her chair, watching the people mill about the classroom, pairing off with their friends. If no one approached her, she''d just take whoever was left. "Willow?" She heard her professor¡¯s voice, and turned to see him walking up to her desk. He looked over his shoulder to a student who hadn''t moved, and who simply sat with a book in his hands. "I see that you and Ms. Medea aren''t working together for this project. Would you be willing, therefore, to work with Nych? He''s a very quiet fellow, and I know that isn''t usually your thing, but¡­ He hasn''t got many friends in this class. I''m afraid nobody will go up to him if you don''t. He''s exceptionally young to be in this program, he hardly even looks twenty, but he''s very bright." The professor seemed to sigh, looking her up and down. "I know how brilliant you are, Willow Grace, and I know you carve your own paths. You don''t listen to much of my instruction, but you ace everything anyway. So if you do this for me, I''ll give you your A for attendance. You''ve missed a few days, and attendance is twenty percent in my class. I don''t know what that would do to your grade, but I''m assuming you don''t want to find out." He scratched his beard absentmindedly, looking down at her with his pale blue eyes. Willow looked up at him silently for a couple seconds, and then her gaze flickered over to Nych. She stared at him for a moment or two, and gave her shoulders a slight shrug as she stood up and collected her things. "Alright." She smirked ever so slightly as she looked at her professor. "You¡¯ve got a deal. I''ll go see if he wants to pair up with me." She didn''t give a shit who this guy was, her professor was offering her bonus marks. Blake was going to be so jealous. She knew her attendance grade was probably taking a hit too. With that, she turned and walked over to Nych''s desk. She dropped her heavy binder down onto it, looking down at him with condescension. "Nych?" She quirked an eyebrow. "Professor says you''re smart. Want to be my partner?" Well, she certainly cut right to the chase. The moment Nych looked up, his gaze pierced directly through her. From the back, he looked like any nerdy kid who raised his hand for everything and always knew the answers before the professor even asked the question. From the front¡­ He was a bit disarming. It was his eyes, for the most part. They were such an intense shade of hazel that they were almost orange, and that color danced around the veins of his irises like sprites on a carousel. His mouth twitched a bit, and then he smiled. His face was a bit narrow, and his hair was a deep shade of black, if shades of black were possible. His skin was rather pale, though it was free of blemishes or acne. The way he looked at her carried an overbearing sense of self-worth, which was unusual for the quiet kid. "You''re¡­ Willow, right?" Well. At least he paid enough attention to know that much. "I''m planning on actually working on the project, not just doing something quick for the A. We have to come up with a logical reasoning behind a cure for a terminal illness, using a background in technology. Well¡­" He pulled out a notebook, and when he opened it¡­ There were almost Davinci level drawings within, beautifully showing whatever cryptic technology he meant to dazzle her with. "I''m going to cure cancer. So are you in? Or are you going to ditch me?" She stared at him for a couple seconds, and looked down at the notebook as she studied the drawings within. They were impressive, she had to admit, and she figured that the professor wasn''t lying to her. This kid certainly seemed as smart as he looked. And even though she wanted to do something quick so she could go and party¡­ She was never one to back down from a challenge, and the chance to show off. She was Willow Grace. She was the smartest woman in the room, and she''d prove it. "¡­ Alright." She tilted her head to the side, a slight smirk coming to her lips. "I''m in. What do you have so far?" Nych Haywiyth wasn''t one to react much, but when she actually agreed to help him¡­ That was a surprise. He''d asked tons of people to partner with him on the project, and even though everyone in the room claimed that they would love to see a cure to cancer¡­ Nobody wanted to help him in his research. So he raised a brow, a bit of shock evident on his face. He sputtered for a moment, before turning back to his notebook. "Well¡­ Are you at all familiar with nanotechnology?" So. This guy was a jack of all trades as well. "Do I look stupid?" Willow quirked an eyebrow, grabbing a chair from a nearby table and yanking it over, sitting down as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. She tilted her head to the side, blowing a stray strand of curly orange hair away from her face. "I build robots, Nych. I''m also taking robotics and engineering courses, of course I know what nanotechnology is. What about it?" She opened her binder, flipping through to some blank paper as she looked up at him. "¡­ Well?" It was at that moment that he grinned. He liked this girl. "Then you know we''re having a very serious crisis right now involving transistors within computers. They''re becoming so small that electrons can simply pass through via quantum tunneling, therefore halting our computing progress." He flipped to a page in his notebook, where it showed exactly that. "Well, my proposal is to build a robot that is the size of a current transistor, which should be impossible. It doesn''t have to have many capabilities, just a hive mind and a few instructions. And those instructions¡­" He closed his book with a smile. "Guess what they are?" "Destroy cancer cells?" She tilted her head to the side, bracing an arm against the table and letting her head rest on her hand. "Alright. I see where you''re going with this. Tiny robots to fight tiny cells." She scrawled a couple words down on her paper, crossing her legs. It did sound like a good idea in theory, but there was no telling how it would transfer over to real-world applications. Would it work? "This theory had better work, you know." She tapped her fingers on the desk. "If my grade drops because of this, I''ll be pissed." She didn''t seem like the type that was fun to anger. He stared at her for a couple moments, and when he realized she was being serious, he chuckled a bit. "So. I see you aren''t much of one to read directions. Fine by me, I''m kind of the same way. The only requirement for the experiment is to have a logical reasoning planned out, not to put it into application. And this¡­" He said, dropping the very well-illustrated notebook in front of her, "Counts as logical reasoning." "So I''ll turn this in, but until that day, you''ll help me in the experiments. I''ve heard you''re brilliant, so I figure with two people¡­ We might actually be able to cure this son of a bitch." Hmm. He didn''t seem like one to curse. Her eyes followed the notebook, looking down at it as a somewhat pleased smile crossed her lips. So she didn''t even have to do any of the work. Oh yes, she liked this kid very much. This was better than she could''ve hoped. Blake was going to be so jealous, and it would be hilarious. "Alright." Her gaze lifted back up to him. "I feel like going down in history. I''ll lend you a hand." She seemed cocky and egotistical, but willing to put actual effort into his experiments. Which was nice, because if she was as brilliant as he had heard, she would certainly be able to lend a helping hand. His eyes flicked over to Blake, who was currently sitting on Shayne''s lap. Considering she was wearing a skirt, and was sitting in a very unflattering position¡­ Nearly half the classroom had a good view of what was underneath. "Will Blake be joining us? I heard that you two are nearly inseparable."You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. So he knew her decently well, enough to know that her and Blake were close. "She seems to definitely have a thing for this one. I''ll give it two weeks." Nych said, surprising her with his knowledge of Blake¡¯s¡­ Tendencies. Willow looked over at Blake, and after a moment snickered and started laughing. He was totally right, and Willow knew that after Blake hooked up with him, whatever feelings she had would probably fade immediately. She just wanted to get laid, and Willow knew it. "Yeah. Soon as the project''s done." She rolled her eyes, looking back over at Nych and examining his face. He was a lot more attentive than she thought he was. She liked it. "And maybe. If she comes, it''ll probably just be to watch because she''s bored." She shrugged her shoulders, twirling her pen between her fingers. "So, are we going to do anything today or are you still planning stuff?" He raised a brow, looking at her with, again, a bit of a shocked expression. "I, uh¡­ Everything''s set up, and there''s really only one obstacle we''ll need to surpass. We''ll need to figure out how to program information into a robot so small, after figuring out how to build it. We¡¯ll have to solve the transistor problem. After that, it''s the home stretch. I''ve already got the information we need to store on the bot, and I''ve compressed it down to only a few bytes. It should be able to fit, once we build the thing." He stood, collecting all of his things and shoving them into what looked like a laptop bag. "Everything''s set up in my private underground lab." He had¡­ A private lab? She stared, and slowly stood up. "You have a private lab?" She had always just done all of her work in the kitchen. Her parents, and Blake, all hated it. She always got in the way, and more often than not, she took apart the kitchen appliances to steal their parts for her own work. It was annoying. "I can probably figure out the coding." She shifted from foot to foot, looking down at Nych. "I''m learning how to code AI. And I''m getting pretty damn good at it, if I do say so myself." She turned her head to look over at Blake. "Hey, skank." They were such close friends. "I''m leaving to work on the project. I''ll see you later tonight. We still going to go to that old twenty-four-hour diner for dinner?" Blake looked up at her, and slightly adjusted her skirt. It didn''t do much to hide the fact that Shayne''s hand was resting on her inner thigh. "Don''t worry, honey. You know I always come." That was¡­ Either very cleverly worded, or a very obvious innuendo. Nych looked to Blake with a strange stare, and Blake returned it with a hint of laughter in her eyes. "Have fun with the nerd, don''t let him drag you out of the fun life." That was when Blake turned back toward the guy she was actively trying to fuck in class, and was lost to them. Nych nodded as they left the room, signing out with the professor. "I have a private lab because the city, and the school, deemed my experiments ''too dangerous'' to be demonstrated anywhere but underground." "Oooh, fun." Willow perked up somewhat at the sound of that. "Are you blowing shit up down there?" That sounded right up her alley. She had made miniature bombs before. Her parents owned a couple acres of land outside of the city, and there had been time and time again when her and Blake set off little explosions on their property. It was endless entertainment for them, and an endless annoyance for her parents. Willow was a bit of a problem child. She blew a bubble with the gum she had in her mouth, looking over at Nych. "Sounds fun to me. Wouldn''t be the first time I singed off some hair." Nych chuckled, looking to her with a bemused expression. "I have blown things up, yes, but I most often work with electricity. I think you''ll find my work rather fascinating. Sitting in a metal cage while millions of volts of electricity pass around you¡­ It truly is an exhilarating experience." He led her down the stairs, out through the corridor and into the common yard. His lab was on the campus property, but barely. It had been an old bomb shelter, built during the Cold War. Everyone knew that Canada would likely be safe, but many bomb shelters were built anyways. Just to be safe. This one¡­ It just so happened to be huge, considering it was meant to house thousands of students. "I''ve gotta be back home at four." She said after a moment, looking over at him. "So I''ll have to leave at three thirty since I need to bus back to my apartment. I live off campus with Blake, so." She shrugged her shoulders, carrying her binder under her arm. "My schedule varies. I''ll get your number though and you can text me." He chuckled a bit, looking at her with dubious eyes. "I''ve heard how hard it is to get your phone number, Willow Grace. Be careful, or you might just begin to fall for me." He smiled as he walked ahead of her, pulling a ring of keys from his pocket and slowly going through them. Eventually, he picked one out, and slid it into the keyhole of a cellar door they had just made it to. With a loud creak, he pulled it open, and lights automatically flicked on through the entirety of a very long hallway. "After you." "Fall for you?" She scoffed, rolling her eyes as she walked into the hall and started walking down it. "Nice try. Don''t flatter yourself, kid." She pulled off her jacket, holding it in one arm as she glanced around the hall. "This looks like a damn murder chamber. I wonder if there are any other tunnels underneath the campus." She tilted her head to the side, studying the cracks that lined the stone walls. "Maybe I''ll go check out the library and see if I can find anything. Those tunnels would be fun to explore, I''d bet." She smirked slightly. They would be a good place to get drunk or high off their asses. She had¡­ Interesting priorities. "Oh, there are. I''ve got a map down here, somewhere. I used to explore them, but eventually got bored of beer cans from the eighties and dead rats. So be my guest, if you want." He closed the door behind them, locking it as he began to walk down the hallway. "I promise my lab isn''t as murderous-looking as this hallway. I just never got around to furnishing it." He chuckled as he glanced over to her, looking her up and down. "So. Think we''ll be able to cure cancer?" "I think that''s on you, isn''t it?" She quirked an eyebrow, turning her head towards him as she looked him up and down. "This is your theory. I''m just helping you test to see if it works. If it doesn''t, that isn''t really on me, now is it?" Her voice was somewhat calculated. She was obviously quite intelligent, though it wasn''t apparently obvious at first glance. She just looked like one of the party girls that hung around campus. And she kind of was. "So where''s your place, then?" She changed the topic after a couple seconds of silence, looking forward again. "Do you live on campus?" "I rent an apartment downtown. Not many people on campus really wanted me here, so I just decided to get my own place. I''m not exactly one of the popular ones, Willow. That''s why I''m surprised you''ve decided to work with me." It was obvious he didn''t know about the attendance bump she''d get for working with him. And figuring that out would break his heart. He figured he would finally be able to make a friend. "But I suppose you''re right; this has been my pet project for a long while. I would just like to get a second opinion on the subject, especially yours. I''ve heard wonderful things." Everyone had heard both the wonderful and the terrible things about Willow Grace. At least her reputation was better than Blake''s. "Yeah, I''ve heard that before." She knew of her reputation. Her father was a successful businessman, and the Grace name was certainly known to some. She was making a name for herself too, both good and bad. She was a genius, and many people knew it. Nych nodded his head, but had fallen silent. She was very sure of herself. She knew she was beautiful, and would likely use that to her advantage. She also capitalized on her intelligence, and he knew that she was likely just using him now for the notebook. Then again. She was helping him, when she didn''t have to be. The two of them were such polar opposites, but¡­ He could see their partnership actually going somewhere. They could do great things. "Here we are." He muttered, making it sound nonchalant. But oh, it was not. The large room they walked into was bigger than a football field, and was a perfect square. There was a sliding ladder on every wall, because nearly floor to ceiling¡­ There were plans. Paintings of technological blueprints or design work. The room was filled with tables covered in papers, sliding chairs, empty bottles of who knows what and a few pizza boxes and Chinese food containers. "Pardon the mess." He said shyly, walking towards the center of the room. In the center sat a giant metal cage, with a bench on the inside. "¡­ Wow." Willow''s breath left her, and she looked around the room with wide eyes. It took a lot to impress Willow Grace. She set her binder and jacket down on the closest table, taking a couple steps into the room and looking around it with visible awe on her face. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, tucking stray strands of orange hair behind her ears as she examined each poster and the cage in the center of the room. Nych was a very lucky man, because he was going to see a side of Willow very few people ever saw. The side that was completely devoted to science, and was amazed and excited by it. "I, uhh¡­ I''ve been meaning to clean the place up, and straighten all of the papers, but¡­ You know, I never really have time anymore with medical school, robotics classes, hospital volunteering, the works¡­" He volunteered at the hospital? No way. It was almost impossible to get a volunteer spot at the hospital in Vancouver. People registered months in advance. "So just kick anything aside if you need to. You can look at any of the paintings, if you''d like, most of them are just random musings¡­" He fell silent again as he pulled his ring of keys from his pocket, unlocking the cage in front of him. "¡­ I''m impressed, Nych." The tone of her voice was different. Was it¡­ Admiration? She walked up to a random table, picking up some of the drawings and notes and flipping through them with curiosity. There was a clever gleam in her eyes, and she leaned against the table as she examined all of the pages. They were certainly impressive. The amount of research and work that had gone into everything in that room was astronomical, and it was just lying out there ripe for the viewing. She looked towards him after a moment. "How many projects have you completed down here?" He turned to her, a bit of a smile coming to his face as he pointed toward the far wall. What appeared to be just lines before became, apparently, dashes. "Two-hundred and twenty-six. Most of them were small things, though. I''ve helped pioneer many processing units for modern computers, but I''ve also helped in medicine. My crowning achievement is actually in testing right now." His smile finally widened, because this was something he was truly proud of. "I cured Malaria." "¡­ You cured Malaria?" She gaped at him, and after a moment walked over to him. She looked him up and down, assessing him, and after a moment narrowed her eyes as she examined his face. "¡­ How?" He had her attention. That was something quite few people were able to grasp. Willow usually didn''t pay attention to anybody unless she found them to be truly captivating, and this time around it happened to be Nych. To cure Malaria was a huge achievement, and she sure as hell wanted to know how he had done it. This time, Nych genuinely grinned, and began rushing around his lab. He eventually came back with a large sort of tube in his hand, though it was sealed on both ends. And inside the tube¡­ Were about fifty mosquitoes. "Alright. So these babies are the answer. They have antimalarial properties, and therefore they can''t contract the disease themselves. The nifty thing is that when they bite people, they also pass those enzymes on to the person who was bitten. So yeah, you''ve gotta deal with a mosquito bite for a while, but it gets better. When these guys bite you, they also pass on a specific set of genes I designed that make mosquitoes absolutely hate the smell of you. So you won''t be bitten by mosquitoes again, while also being immune to Malaria." That¡­ Was genius. She examined the tube with rabid fascination, tilting her head to the side and reaching up to lightly tap on the glass. "That''s remarkable. It''s like you vaccinate the mosquitoes themselves rather than actually give a vaccine to humans." It was¡­ A different approach. But it would work. And probably better than a vaccine. "You could wipe it out completely with this method." She looked up at Nych. "They do pass on the genes to their offspring, right?" He rolled his eyes, smiling. "Yes, of course they do. But I''ve got something better for you. These mosquitoes were designed to be highly fertile, so they¡¯ll create more offspring than normal mosquitoes. And my personal favorite thing about them is that they feed on normal mosquitoes. Therefore, in a few generations, these genetically altered mosquitoes will have eaten every non-modded mosquito on the planet, and after that¡­ They¡¯ll die out themselves." That¡­ Was amazing. "Did you know that mosquitoes are one of the only organisms that, if they went extinct, would not affect the world''s ecosystem in the slightest? Mosquitoes make up such a small percentage of the food source of every animal that feeds upon it, they would hardly be missed." He set the tube down on the table very, very carefully. "In a few years, we can wipe mosquitoes from the face of the planet." Willow looked at him incredulously, nodding along as he spoke. ¡°This reminds me of the procedure called the Sterile Insect Technique. They''ve been using it with screwworms, moths, fruit flies, and they''ve been trying it on mosquitoes too." She grinned, obviously pleased to start going in depth. "They sterilize the insects using x-rays, and the males go out and mate with the wild female population. But all of the eggs that those females lay aren¡¯t fertilized, so it cuts the population in half and helps prevent disease and economic loss from pest insects." It was certainly something she was well-versed in. She probably kept up on the news pretty well. The smile that lit up Nych¡¯s face at that moment was much larger than any he''d shown before. "I can''t believe you actually know about the SIT! I''ve contributed heavily to that project, especially with the recent development with my mosquitoes. They''ve started using the chemical repellent strategy, like I did, for the more hardy species. X-Rays work fine until a radiation immunity develops, or mutations fail." He''d never met someone who actually knew about the Sterile Insect Technique. "I¡­ Well, I expected this partnership to be kind of awkward. We''re pretty different, but¡­ I kind of like you now." She stared at him for a second, before she snorted and started laughing. "That''s good. You''re not as much of a dweeb as I thought you were." She poked his chest, smirking slightly and taking a step back. "Of course I know about it. It''s kind of important, yeah? I fucking hate mosquitoes. Anything that spells their eventual extinction will be lovely for me." She shrugged, shaking her head with amusement. "So." She looked around the room once again. "What else?" She wanted to get the full-scope on the things this room held. "Oh, a few things, but that''s the major one. Right now I''m working on two things; harnessing the power of lightning for power consumption and, of course¡­ The cure for cancer. I can actually demonstrate the first one for you." He said, smiling as he opened the door to the cage. "Would you mind?" He was about to show her something that not many people got to see. It would definitely shock her. Not literally, but¡­ You get the point. She stared at him for a moment, and after a second nodded and walked over to the cage. She sat down inside, and looked up at him once she was properly seated and comfortable. "Just saying, if you''re gonna murder me down in your bunker, I''ll haunt you forever and throw things off your bookshelves." There was a smirk on her face, and a teasing lilt to her voice. She was obviously just trying to mess with him. There would probably be a lot of that in the following weeks. "Alright." She sat up a little straighter. "Show me what you¡¯ve got." He nodded, closing the door and pressing a few buttons on the control panel located within the cage. A light blue glow began to take over the metal, and he sat down next to her. "Just¡­ Don''t touch the side of the cage, and you''ll be fine." He said, nodding towards the four walls and the ceiling made of what looked like fence material. "Understand that this lightning is created via friction, just like it is within the clouds. Therefore, there isn''t much electricity being put into the production of it, besides the minuscule amount used to create the friction. Now, watch this." He pressed another button, and oh. The lab came to life. From the ceiling, tens or hundreds of bolts of lightning began raining down on them, seemingly only focused on the cage. A green bar on the screen on the panel began to rise, and Nych shouted above the noise. "See that bar? That''s a percentage of energy needed to run the college for a month. We''re already at ten percent, and we''ve been here for a few seconds." Steadily, the bar kept rising, and the bolts of lightning continued to rain down upon them. Finally, however, the electricity stopped flowing, and Nych pressed the same buttons he had before. The blue glow around the cage faded. Willow grew more and more exhilarated the longer she sat in the cage. It was incredible. She felt like Nikola Tesla, sitting there in a cage surrounded by thousands of volts of electricity. She kept her hands on her legs, and after a second looked at Nych with a big grin. "That was amazing." A laugh bubbled up from her throat. "Oh my God." This was¡­ Quite a different side of her. Far more mellow and laid back than the regular tough-girl persona she had on. He nodded, smiling as he carefully opened the door to the cage. He did so with rubber gloves, because he never knew if any of the electricity would linger in the metal. "Isn''t it? It feels absolutely amazing to have all that control over lightning. Eventually, we''ll be able to control the storms and get lightning that way, and won''t have to use any electricity at all, including what''s used to create the friction." This man was, obviously, brilliant. "I''m working on other things too, but we''re not here for those. I''ll tell you about them some other time, if you decide to stick around after this project is done." Hmm. He obviously wasn''t very self-confident. "We''re here to cure cancer. Ready to see what I''ve got?" "Ready as I''ve ever been." She stood up, leaving the cage and being mindful not to brush up against any of the metal as she did so. She didn''t want to wind up accidentally electrocuting herself, considering she still had a lot she wanted to do in life and didn''t want her brain getting fried. She had already made several breakthroughs in her own personal projects, but those didn''t matter at that moment. "Show me your progress." She crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked around. "Might as well get to work." When Rumors Arise The hours passed with pleasant conversation and interesting information about each other. Nych and Willow were, surprisingly, very compatible with each other. Many of their interests were the same, once Nych got past Willow''s party shell. She was actually quite nice, and not the prude everyone made her out to be. Nych had decided to ride the bus with her, simply because he didn''t have anything else to do and wanted to continue the conversation with her. She was fun to talk to. "So like I said, the machinery is going to be difficult. Building something this small hasn''t been done before, but¡­ I think we''ll be able to do it." They were nearing Willow''s stop. "I work with a lot of really small components." She ignored the strange looks she got from other college students on the bus, and reached up to press the button for her stop. "If I have the right equipment, I can probably do it. A lot of my projects revolve around robotics themselves. The medicine is sort of an add-on, and a way to have steady pay when I graduate. I do find it fascinating, though." She shrugged her shoulders. She glanced out the window and pursed her lips. "This is my stop, here." She said after a moment, looking over at him. She didn''t really want to leave, but she''d talk to him again the next day. He nodded his head, looking around the bus with a bit of amusement. "I''m sure I''ll be able to find my way home. It appears you and Blake are going somewhere?" Ah. Yes, that was Blake. On the sidewalk. Jumping up and down. Waving like a lunatic. She would never give Willow any peace, would she? She had changed, hopefully for cleaner reasons than anything having to do with Shayne, into a long black skirt that hugged against her legs. Her top was black as well, and her high-heels gave her a good three inches over Willow. That was saying something, considering she was usually an inch shorter. Nych chuckled, looking at the very gothic-looking woman outside the window. Willow stared at Blake for a second or two, and then rolled her eyes. What an idiot. She stood up, and cast a look back at Nych. "We''re getting dinner. I''ll see you tomorrow during class." She stuck her tongue out at him teasingly, and then stepped off of the bus and onto the sidewalk. He was nice. She was glad her professor had approached her earlier that day, as working and talking with Nych had actually been quite the pleasure. "You look like an idiot." Those were the first words she said to Blake, and she smirked slightly as she adjusted the leather jacket she was wearing. "So. How was your day?" Blake feigned that Willow had hurt her feelings, before bouncing right back into her very cheery attitude. "It was fantastic. I feel like I''ll totally bang Shayne by the end of the week. And honestly, I can''t wait." She smiled a bit, because this time she was actually being sarcastic. "I''m kidding. I don''t really like him that much, considering I''ve heard stories of what he''s done to girls. I think I''ll lead him on a bit and then break his heart." Well. She really didn''t hold anything back. Blake was definitely not a modest girl, but she had standards. She''d throw any asshole out to the wolves if she figured out he''d done something that she didn''t like. "Maybe at the football game. I''ll reject him out on the field. Think that''s good?" The two of them had begun walking towards their apartment, with a skip in Blake''s step. She''d had a good day. "Ooh, that''s good." Willow nodded in agreement, looking over at her best friend as they walked along the sidewalk. "Embarrass him in front of most of the campus? Sounds like a good idea to me." She knew the turnout for those football games, and she knew that having something like that happen would crush even the strongest of egos. It was hard to recover when there were hundreds of people laughing at you. It was quiet for a little while, and Willow enjoyed it. The streets of Vancouver seldom were. "I''m gonna get changed when we get back to the apartment, and then we can walk over to the diner." She carried her binder under one arm. "I''m getting sick of wearing skinny jeans." "Ooh, can I watch?" Blake asked, batting her eyelashes and winking at her. She was a very flirtatious woman, regardless of who she was talking to, and Willow had gotten used to it. Sometimes, though, it was hard to distinguish her jokes from her desperate sexual desires. Blake was a very sexual person. "So how was your date? The nerd scare you off?" "He has an entire underground laboratory." Willow spoke after a moment, a slight grin coming to her face. "It''s huge. He''s already finished our entire project, and we''re working on actually testing his theory to see if it works. We''re trying to cure cancer, Blake." Blake was one of the few who got to see the more mellow, science-loving side of Willow. She did, after all, have to deal with Willow building things in their kitchen.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. "He''s cured Malaria." That was impressive, and Blake couldn''t deny that. "And he has a fucking cage you can sit in like god damn Nikola Tesla and watch thousands of volts of electricity in the room around you. It''s like being in the middle of a lightning storm." She had evidently had a good time. Blake''s eyes widened as she spoke, but in the end, she didn''t give off the expected reaction. She sighed, and put her head in her hands. "You can''t actually like hanging out with him, Willow. Haven''t you heard the rumors about him?" Oh? "¡­ What rumors?" Willow frowned slightly, looking towards Blake. She hadn''t actually heard anything about the kid. In fact, before she had been properly introduced to him, he was no more than some random person on campus to her. Some nobody who asked too many questions and someone she would never know the name of during her time in school. That had changed, and she was somewhat worried if not intrigued. "What have you heard about him?" She asked. "If it''s anything bad, I doubt it''s true. He''s a pretty cool guy, honestly." Blake looked at her with a bit of a frown on her face. "Willow¡­ I''ve heard he experiments on animals and stuff. I''ve also heard that he gets human test subjects to participate in his weird experiments, without telling them what''s going on." They reached the apartment building and walked in through the front doors. "I''ve also heard¡­ Well, I''ve heard there''s something wrong with him. Like a disease or something, but he won''t answer when anybody asks him about it. Everyone suspects there''s something wrong with his brain, and that''s why he never talks to anyone." Blake seemed very nervous about Nych. Willow frowned slightly, thinking of their interactions earlier that day. For the most part, he had seemed¡­ Normal. He was on the same par as her with an unhealthy obsession with science, but other than that, she hadn''t noticed anything out of the ordinary. ¡­ Had she been wrong? "I¡­ I don''t think I saw anything like that there, though." She shook her head, walking towards the elevator so they could get up to their floor. "The only living things I saw in there were mosquitoes, but that makes sense considering he was engineering a cure for Malaria. And I mean, who gives a flying fuck about those little bastards anyways?" She rolled her eyes, but then sobered up once again. "¡­ I''ll be careful, don''t worry." She lightly bumped Blake with her shoulder. "You know I''m tough as hell. If he tries anything, I''ll crush his balls so hard he won''t be sitting straight for the next year." "Or maybe¡­ Maybe you wanna ride those balls." Blake''s mouth fell open after saying those words as she looked to Willow, surprise lacing her eyes before she fell into a bout of nearly hysterical laughter. "Oh my God, you like him, don''t you? You have a thing for him! That''s why you''re defending him!" Blake pulled her keys from her purse, but she was laughing all the while, and it took her a bit to get the door open. "I can''t believe the first person you wanna fuck is the college weirdo." "Oh my god." Willow scoffed, face-palming and sighing as she dragged her hand down her face. "He''s nice, but not fuck material." She stepped inside the apartment, throwing her binder onto a nearby couch and kicking her shoes off before she walked further into the apartment. "I also like having access to a private underground laboratory that''s bigger than a football field, and somewhere I can take some of my equipment." Blake would be happy about that. It was kind of clogging parts of their apartment. She shrugged, pulling her hair from its bun and letting the wild orange curls free. Her hair went down to her waist. There was no telling how the hell she was able to take such good care of it. It was a monstrosity. "Oh, you know that''s a downright lie. He might be weird, but I''ll give you the fact that he''s attractive. Those eyes? Have you ever seen eyes like that? They''re such a weird color, I''m almost tempted to say they''re fake. But¡­ I really don''t think so." She smiled, following Willow to her room. "You should ask him next time for me. If they''re natural, he really won the genetics game. If I wanted to fuck another goth, and wasn''t kinda scared of the kid¡­ Well, I''d go for it." Of course she would. She was Blake. "I''m putting money on it right now. A hundred bucks. He takes your virginity." "You''ll give me a hundred bucks if he takes my virginity? Sounds like a deal." She raised an eyebrow, snickering to herself, as that obviously wasn¡¯t what Blake meant. She eventually walked into her room. It was a bit of a mess, robotics parts scattered about and blueprints pinned to the wall in random places. They were all pieces of her crowning achievement, which was sitting on the dresser in her room. It was an arm. A fully functioning robotic prosthetic arm. She hadn''t told anyone other than Blake yet. She wanted to patent the design and make it widely available to amputees who needed it. She was working on replacements for other limbs as well. She pulled off her jeans, walking around in a t-shirt and underwear as she dug through her dresser. "I gotta say, it''s tempting if you''re the one giving me money." Blake, although tempted, stayed out of Willow''s room while she changed. "Haha, very funny. You think I''m joking? I''ll bet you a hundred dollars that he''s the one you fuck first, and if you cave and actually bang him, you owe me a hundred. If I''m wrong, and you fuck someone else, I''ll give you a hundred." Would she take that? It would be interesting. They were nowhere near that close yet, but¡­ Nych was definitely the most interesting man in the school. "What if I don''t fuck anybody?" She pulled on a pair of sweatpants, and took her bra off under her shirt and tossed it to the side as she grabbed a hoodie off of her bed and put it on. She wasn''t planning on looking nice. She was planning on going to that diner, eating a shitty burger and a bunch of french fries, and probably watching movies on the TV in her room until she passed out later that night. Good priorities. "I''m gonna be celibate." She smirked, walking out of her room. "I''m a nun, now. God bless you, you slutty bitch." Blake groaned, banging her head against the wall. "God, you''re hopeless. Are you taking the bet or not?" She looked her up and down when she came out of her room, and didn''t comment on her outfit. The two of them had very different styles, and they had learned to never criticize the other person''s. It just never ended well. "Because I could really use a hundred bucks right now." "Does it look like I have a hundred bucks?" Willow quirked an eyebrow, walking over to the door and slipping her shoes back on. She was hungry. She hadn''t eaten since breakfast, and she was starting to get a little wobbly on her feet. She needed to eat sooner rather than later. "We''ll see. Come on, get your ass in gear. I want a burger and I''ll be damned if you¡¯re gonna stop me from getting it." She grabbed her keys and her wallet, and opened the door to their apartment to step outside. She mulled over what Blake had told her earlier. Perhaps she''d have to talk to Nych about it the next day. She was never one to keep things quiet anyways. Turning Lead Into Gold "Willow! Good afternoon." Nych seemed to be in a much different mood than the day previous. He had walked up to her at the beginning of class, a smile on his face. "I already signed us out with the professor. Are you ready to go?" The day before, he''d been much more¡­ Sulky. Willow''s dinner with Blake had been rather uneventful; she still hadn¡¯t answered her question about the bet, and eventually, Blake just gave up asking. They''d fallen asleep watching some dumb horror movie together. Nych smiled at her, awaiting her response. Perhaps he was just more comfortable around her. Willow perked up somewhat when she heard his voice, lifting her head and staring at him for a moment. Her hair was down that day, and everyone could truly see the volume it had. "Oh. Hi." She lifted up her binder, standing up as she looked over at him. "Yeah. I''m ready to go." She noticed the change in attitude, and was somewhat happy to see it. He certainly looked like he was in a good mood. She''d have to ask him about the rumors. She tucked her hair behind her ears. "You look¡­ Excited." She tilted her head to the side, smirking somewhat. "Is there a reason for that?" He immediately toned down the excitement, but the smile remained on his face. "Oh, it''s nothing. It''s just¡­ I got some personal good news today, and it was something that I didn''t expect. I won''t bother you with it, though. Let''s go! We need to start building tiny robots today." He opened the door to the classroom for her and followed her out into the hallway, walking alongside her. "So what about you? How was your dinner?" "It was nice." She shrugged, glancing back at him and slowing her pace somewhat as she waited for him to catch up to her. "I dunno. It''s a shitty old twenty-four-hour diner, but they have damn good food. It''s where we go if we''re hungry at three in the morning or hungover as fuck at five." She smirked slightly, shrugging her shoulders as they walked through the campus. She was more at ease with him, she noticed. It was just something about his presence. She wasn''t sure what, but it relaxed her. "How was your night?" She asked after a second. "You make it home okay?" "Oh, uhh¡­" He seemed to shy away at that question, but eventually he answered. "I got jumped, but it''s okay. I don''t usually carry money with me anymore because the same guys usually wait around near my apartment. I''m fine, though. Only a few bumps and bruises this time." That¡­ That was really sad. He went through that every day? "But the diner sounds great! You should show me where it is sometime." "Hold on." She stopped, turning towards him and narrowing her eyes. "You got jumped? Jesus- are you okay?" She furrowed her brows, putting a hand on his shoulder and looking him up and down. "Does this happen all the time? Why haven''t you called the cops? Fuck, Nych." She sighed, taking a deep breath to steady herself and simmer down the anger boiling in her chest. She was quick to fight, and often threw punches without thinking of the consequences. She put her hand to his chin, tilting his head from side to side to check for any injuries. When she found none, she relaxed slightly (aiming for the face was a scummy move, though one she was guilty of) and let out a small noise of disapproval. "I''m walking you home." She said after a moment. "If those guys want to fuck with you, then they can get through me. I''ll grind their asses to a pulp." "No, Willow, I- It''s fine. People have very strong opinions about me, and no one really likes me that much. I''ve gotten used to it, and they don''t do much damage anywhere that''s noticeable." It was at that moment that he lifted his shirt, and oh, those guys were assholes. There were bruises lining the entirety of his stomach, as well as right on his kidneys, which could honestly kill someone. He let his shirt fall, and smiled a little smile. "I don''t need you to walk me home, it''s okay. You have other plans, and I understand." He wasn''t used to anyone offering him any kind of assistance. Her lips parted in shock, and she stared at his stomach for a second or two before she looked up at him. "No, Nych. It''s not okay." Her hand moved down to take his, and she gave it a squeeze and stared into his eyes to hold his attention. Her eyes were piercing, but¡­ Soft. She seemed genuinely worried for him. "Those are serious bruises. I''ve been in a lot of fights, but I''ve never had anything that bad before. That''s not okay." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and steadying herself. "From now on." She opened them again, and released his hand. "If anyone gives you trouble, you tell me. And I''m walking you home tonight. And the next night, too. Until those dickheads get it in their head to leave you alone." His eyes flicked around the hallway, and when he found it empty besides the two of them, he sighed. "Why do you care?" Damn. That wasn''t a direction anyone expected that to go. "Why don''t you care about being seen with me? You must have heard all of the things going around about me. Hell, I''ve heard before that I''ve killed a man, which was definitely a surprise from my perspective. So why don¡¯t you care?" He stared her down, his arms instinctively wrapping around his bruised stomach. "Why do you care what happens to me, Willow Grace? I''m just another kid in your class." She hesitated, not really expecting that kind of response from him. "No, you listen to me." She narrowed her eyes somewhat, shaking her head. "Of course I care! I''m not some heartless bitch, you know. You''re cool, Nych. You cured malaria and can control thousands of volts of electricity at once. That is so God damned amazing, you know that, right?" This wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d heard before. "You are literally the most fascinating and interesting person I''ve ever had the chance to talk to." She simmered down somewhat, withdrawing herself and speaking with more elegance and class. "And even if I didn''t like you, it is wrong that these things are happening to you." She held out a hand for him. "You''re my friend now. I''m going to look after you like I do with Blake and all of my other friends." No. No, no, no, no, he wasn''t supposed to have friends. Not with his¡­ "I¡­ I¡­" He was absolutely stunned for words. He didn''t know what to say. She was a party girl, extremely popular, and well-known throughout the school. She was also brilliant, knew what he was talking about when he spoke about his projects, and was overall just¡­ Fun to be with. So why was he hesitating? "I¡­ Thank you." He just seemed to¡­ Break. He crumbled in upon himself and took her hand, but didn''t cry in the slightest. He let his arm leave his stomach, and it became obvious that guarding it was a very defensive move that he often had to make. "But¡­ You really don''t have to walk me home. It''s nowhere near where you live, I don''t want to burden you." She squeezed his hand gently, frowning as she looked down at him. She knew this was all probably hard for him, and she waited a moment before she spoke again. "No. I''m going to." Her voice was soft and gentle, and she pinned her binder between her thighs to free up her other arm. She gently put her fingers beneath his chin, tilting his head upwards so she could look him in the eye. Her touch was so gentle, so soft¡­ "I''m not going to let those guys, or anyone else, hurt you." Her voice was sure. "I can take them. I''ve won almost every fight I''ve ever been in. And you''re with me now, which means nobody gets to pick on you apart from me." She smirked ever so slightly, before it faded. She was going to protect him. Someone like him didn''t deserve to be treated like this. "I just¡­ I don''t want to see anything happen to either of us, and they carry guns, and when it''s just me they don''t do anything really rough. But if you''re there, they''ll feel threatened, because there''s three of them and there''ll be two of us, and that''s closer to their numbers, and they''ll pull their guns out¡­" He recoiled, shaking slightly as they continued to walk toward the lab. "Please, just let me keep doing this. Everything is okay right now." Right now. "No, Nych. It''s not." She pulled her binder into her arms and walked after him. "I refuse to let them keep beating you. They''re going to wind up killing you." She sighed, shaking her head as she looked down at the ground. "I''m walking you home tonight. Either that, or you''re sleeping on the couch at my place. Blake can suck it up, because I''m not letting them get in another beating on you. No way in hell." She was awfully stubborn. "We''re calling the cops." She said after a moment. "We can make an anonymous report. But we''re getting their sorry asses tossed in jail." He sighed, looking back to her with pain in his eyes. "If I sleep on your couch tonight, will you not call the cops?" His plea was so heartfelt, but¡­ Why? Why wouldn''t he want the asshats who beat on him to go to jail? Especially since they most likely didn''t have permits for the guns they carried, and that was illegal in Canada. "I just¡­ Please? I can''t explain why, but¡­ Do this for me, alright?" She stared at him for a couple seconds, and furrowed her brows. She wasn''t sure why he was so defensive about this, but if it was what he wanted, then¡­ "Okay." She sighed, pressing her lips into a thin line as she examined his face. "I''ll let Blake know that you''re staying the night tonight. Be warned, she''s going to tease you, but she''ll stop if you tell her to." She shrugged her shoulders, and after a moment smiled slightly. "I can show you all of my equipment and projects in my apartment. I''ve done some pretty cool stuff if I do say so myself." She seemed to be looking forward to it. She liked talking about their work. It was actually quite fun. He nodded his head, glad they''d finally reached an agreement. He would be very, very uncomfortable sleeping somewhere that wasn''t his apartment, however. He was used to having his own personal space, and having that taken away would be¡­ Interesting. They had reached the door to the lab, crossing through the school''s courtyard, and he opened it with a key on his ring. The hallways lit up like they had before, and he held the doors open. "After you, oh-so-gracious savior." "Oh, whatever." She rolled her eyes, stepping through the door and beginning to walk down the hallway. She felt more at ease knowing he would be safe, and she really didn''t mind having him stay in her apartment. He was quite kind, and was an interesting person to talk to. She was sure even Blake would warm up to him after she got to know him and figured out the rumors were false. And they definitely were. They had to be. Nych was a good person. "So. What are we going to work on today?" She raised an eyebrow, glancing in his direction. "Well, we need to figure out how to build the nanobots. Considering a transistor is less than a nanometer now, we have to figure out how to get all of our programming into something we can''t even see. It''ll be¡­ Difficult. That''s why it''s never been done before." It would be a challenge, even for Willow Grace. "Once we get that done, it should be smooth sailing. I''ve already got the chip programmed with the cancer killing instructions, we just have to make and program the bot to do it." He walked over to a table, smiling as he did so. "First, however, I''d like to show you something else." "Oh really?" She raised an eyebrow, tilting her head to the side as she set her things down on a nearby table. She was curious, because she had no clue what he was going to show her. He was a complete mystery to her, and it was incredibly fascinating. There were so many projects, so many things that he just¡­ Knew. And she loved it, because she had someone engaging to talk to. Someone who challenged her own intelligence. And that hadn''t happened in a long time. "Alright. Show me." She walked over to him, crossing her arms in front of her chest. With that, he pulled a sheet off of whatever was on the table, revealing¡­ A very strange looking machine. "You''ve heard the old tales, right? Of alchemists turning lead into gold?" No way¡­ "I have." She raised her brows, looking over at him and then down at the machine on the table. There was no way he¡¯d actually figured out alchemy, right? It was impossible. Scientists had tried for hundreds of years, and had no success. There was no way in hell that he would''ve been able to do it. ¡­ Right? "¡­ So where are you going with this?" She asked after a second. "What does this do?" He laughed lightly, looking down at the machine fondly. "We''ve come a long way since the Large Hadron Collider, dear Willow. This little thing¡­ It''s another pet project of mine. It''s not the smallest of its kind, but it¡¯s definitely the fanciest. And the most powerful." He looked to her, his eyes full of mischief. "What I''m saying is that this machine can turn lead into gold." Willow stared at him for a couple of seconds, a sparkle coming to her eye. This was remarkable. And there she was, standing right in front of it. Fuck- she was talking to its creator. Nych would no doubt go down in history, and he had already achieved so much in the few years he had been on the Earth. "Show me." Her voice was soft, but alight with excitement. She wanted to see this thing in action. "Of course." He said, a smile on his face as he took a tube from underneath the table. Inside of it was what looked like a rock, and when he held it up to the light, it had a dull sort of sheen. It was strange. "This is pure lead. You know chemistry; it has an atomic number of eighty-two." He opened the tube and dumped the rock into the opening of the machine, and then closed the top.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "You''ll also know that gold has an atomic number of seventy-nine. That''s only three protons in the way. And considering this machine works very, very quickly¡­ Watch." He pressed a button on the front, and the inside of it seemed to explode. In reality, it was billions of lasers, all only the width of a proton, all slicing through the lead in multiple different spots, making it nearly impossible to see. "The machine works by utilizing the three extra protons and assembling them into lithium, while leaving the gold behind. The gold would normally be an unstable isotope, but the machine also corrects that by either adding or removing unnecessary neutrons. So, when it''s finished¡­" Right when he said it, the lasers stopped, revealing two rocks in the center. One was much smaller than the other, and was obviously the lithium. But the other¡­ Was a solid chunk of gold. "Wow." Her voice left her in a breathy whisper, and she gaped at the chunk of gold within the chamber. It was remarkable, and¡­ Could make a lot of money. If someone could just produce gold like it was nothing, they''d be rich. They''d put gold miners out of business with tech like this. She grinned, looking over at Nych. "This is incredible! You built this all yourself?" She tilted her head to the side, and then laughed. He was amazing. "This is¡­ I- wow." She ran her hands up into her hair. "Alchemy. You''re literally an alchemist." He shook his head with a laugh, looking to her with a smile. "No, dear, I am merely a chemist. A chemist who, instead of doing the easy thing and turning mercury into gold, decided to take the route of the fairy tales and turn lead into gold." He smiled, handing her the chunk of gold. "I don''t use this machine often, because I could flood the market and make gold essentially worthless, but¡­ This should be at least a couple months'' rent. That should definitely help a medical student." He was just¡­ Giving her a chunk of gold worth thousands of dollars? Talk about a nice guy She held the gold in both of her hands and looked up at him with shock. He couldn''t just be giving this to her, right? This was an extremely valuable chunk of metal, and she didn''t know what she had done to deserve it. "I-" She looked down at the gold, and then back up at him. Shaking her head, she held it back out towards him. "I can''t take this." It was far more valuable than anything she deserved. Nych rolled his eyes, nodding towards the machine that had just created the highly valuable chunk of metal. "Listen, Willow. You see that machine right there? It can do that however many times I want. So, I would like to make you aware that the piece of metal you''re holding right now has no value to me, other than being a pretty decoration. Therefore, because I know you could probably use the money that would come from selling it, I''m giving it to you. So just take it, and don''t complain. If you really want, you can use it to fund some party or something. I hear you''re into those." He winked at her, and then turned away, as if he hadn''t just helped her substantially with her student loans. Medical school was expensive. "So! Ready to cure cancer?" She stared at the back of his head for a second or two, and then looked down at the chunk of gold in her hands. She supposed she might as well take it. "As ready as I''ve ever been." She set the piece of gold down on top of her binder, turning towards him and pulling her hair back with an elastic band she had on her wrist. "So, what do you have in store for us today, oh wise one?" She said teasingly, walking up behind him with a grin. She was excited. "Today, I want to see your skill at working with small robotics. It won''t be working with the things tiny enough for our job, but it''ll give you a good feel for the mechanics and how everything will be put together. I''ve been able to build the robot at a scale of ten times bigger than required, but anything smaller than that, I start to¡­ Well, fail." His voice sounded strained as he said that, and for the first time, Willow wondered why he had such an interest in the cure to cancer. "Here you are." He said, walking her over to one of the longer tables in the room. In front of them, painted on the walls, were blueprints related to very tiny robots. And spread across the table were very, very small robotics parts, some of them too small to even be visible. They sat underneath glass domes with labels to show they were there. "Let''s see what you can do." "Alright." She walked over to the table, and after a second sat down, taking a moment to examine the blueprints and commit them to memory. She soon started to piece the tiny robot together, only glancing up at the blueprints a couple of times. "So." Her fingers were gentle, and remarkably steady. She held her tools without a shake, which Nych couldn¡¯t manage. That was because of his¡­ Problem. "Blake told me some rumors. About you." She wanted to let him know what she had heard. "Apparently people think you''re sick. Like. Literally. They think you have some disease or illness and that''s why you won''t talk to anybody." She cast him a brief glance before returning to her work. "And that you experiment on animals and people and shit. I don''t believe any of it, really." Nych''s face slowly paled as she made her statements, but by the end of it, he simply sighed. "Well, I suppose rumors do spread like wildfire around here. I''ll tell you what I''ve done, with no lies." Oh? So he''d actually done one of those things? "The only time I ever experimented on an animal was my kitten, when she was bitten by some animal and got rabies. I loved her to death, so I tried my best to find a cure for her. Eventually, she passed away. I couldn''t do anything to help her." Oh¡­ "And I''ve experimented on a person once. Because they volunteered to test my cure for malaria. I flew out to Africa and administered my cure for the first time. It worked." So they were true, but the rumors made him out to be much more¡­ Disturbed than he actually was. "As for me being sick¡­ I do have an illness, but it hasn''t affected my life so far, and I don''t really want to talk about it. It''s definitely not the reason I don''t talk to people." Willow listened to him speak, and nodded slowly. "I didn''t really expect any of the rumors to hold much truth." She said after a moment, narrowing her eyes as she fiddled with some very small parts. "It''s okay, though. Now that you''re hanging out with me, I bet a bunch will dwindle off. Nobody fucks with me or my friends." She was very confident in that statement, and why wouldn''t she be? She was Willow Grace. Nobody messed with a Grace. "¡­ I''m sorry about your kitten." She said after a moment, and frowned. "I''ve always considered getting a cat, but seeing how often I''m out of the house and how much equipment I have in my apartment¡­ I wouldn''t want them to get lonely or hurt." "That makes sense. I used to be home a lot, because that was before¡­" He trailed off, electing not to the continue the sentence. His face told that he didn''t want her to ask about it, and he walked over to check on her machine. She had, very quickly, assembled the tiny robot that had been depicted on the blueprints. "You put this together well, but make sure your wires are in just the right spots. That''s not usually a problem, but considering we''re going to have to build something smaller than a nanometer¡­ We will need the wires to be placed very specifically." He was right. In that moment, after speaking, he fell to one knee, a hand clutching at his chest. He didn''t make any sound while doing so; it was almost dismissible as purposeful. Only the thud of his knee against the floor and the very slight wrinkle of his shirt in his hand. ¡­ What the hell? Willow opened her mouth to respond, but stopped when she examined his current condition. She frowned slightly, setting her tools down on the desk and turning towards him. "¡­ Hey, you doing okay?" She was a nursing student, obviously, and this wasn''t something that he would be able to brush off so easily. Not to mention the fact that Willow Grace was one of the most stubborn women he would ever meet. Her concern amplified after a second, and she moved to kneel down in front of him. "¡­ Nych?" After a few seconds, he looked up to her, lines of what seemed to be pain quickly fading from his face. "Yeah. Yeah, I''m good. Hey¡­ Can you show me that diner?" What? "I''m kinda¡­ Well, I need to get out of this place. The underground. And well¡­ I could eat. Would you take me there?" She stared at him for a couple seconds, and then after a moment held her hand out towards him to help him up as she stood. She wasn''t sure what had just transpired, and she was worried, but he didn''t really seem like the kind of guy to open up the second someone asked him anything. Doesn''t mean she couldn''t try. "Alright." She raised an eyebrow at him. "But you have to tell me what that just was. If you keel over and have a heart attack while eating a burger without warning me, I''m gonna be pissed." He took her hand and pulled himself up, and admittedly, he felt weak. But he''d be alright. This wasn''t the first episode of that nature he had experienced. "I¡­ Maybe later." He said, though his voice told that he''d never want to tell her what was ailing him. It was likely linked to the mysterious disease he''d claimed to have. "So we''re bussing there, right?" He asked, walking next to her as they made their way toward the exit. Willow kept a close eye on them as they walked, grabbing her things as she went and pulling her hair back down so it tumbled in wild curls down her back. "Yeah. I''m saving up for a car, but the traffic here is a nightmare. Honestly, sometimes it''s faster to just walk or bus, because at least then you''ll know you''ll be there relatively on time." She shrugged her shoulders, squinting slightly as they came out into the sunlight. She glanced around at the people in the courtyard around them, and then looked back towards Nych. "¡­ Tell me if you need a break, okay?" She tilted her head to the side and frowned a little bit. "I¡¯ve got long-ass legs, so I walk pretty fast." He nodded his head as he locked the cellar door behind him, walking beside her. He, too, walked decently fast, and pretty much kept up with Willow. There was a slight limp, however, in his step. If one hadn''t been looking, they wouldn''t have noticed. Had that always been there? "So did you move here from Scotland? Or were you born here?" He asked, trying to make conversation as they approached the bus stop. They didn''t, after all, know much about each other. She slowed slightly to give him a bit of a break, leading the two of them through the campus so they could get to the bus exchange. "I was born here. My parents immigrated here from Scotland a couple years before they had me." She didn''t ask how he knew she was Scottish, it was blatantly obvious. She was practically a walking stereotype, truth be told. "They own some property outside of the city limits. Couple acres." That was interesting. Were they farmers, or ranchers perhaps? A lot of land outside of Vancouver was used for that sort of thing. "What about you?" She raised an eyebrow. "Where is your family from?" "I was born in the States." He said, though there wasn''t much pride in his voice with that statement. "In between the states of bumfuck and nowhere. That is to say, right on the state line of Wyoming and Montana. My parents¡­ They weren''t very happy with my aspirations toward technology." It made sense. Most of the people in those parts of the USA nowadays were inhibitive conservatives, a newer party trying to hold back progress of technology. Not everyone, of course, but a good percentage. His parents were a part of that percentage. "When I was sixteen I stole a bunch of jewelry from my mother and made my way here, on a bus. That was a hellish, terrifying ride, especially at the border. But I''d gotten all my documents and passport legally, and they let me through without a hitch. When I sold the jewelry, I got an apartment for two months, and during that time I built my machine that could change lead into gold." Wow. His life¡­ Was interesting. "And then I bought a chunk of lead with what I had left and turned it into gold, sold it, and that''s how I''ve been living ever since." Willow stared at him for a couple seconds, slowly nodding. "Wow¡­ That''s really impressive, actually." She sent him a glance, brows furrowed slightly as she examined his face. He could be incredibly rich if he wanted to, judging by the machine he had down in the laboratory. She had to wonder why he lived in an apartment in what she assumed was a bad part of town, considering he was getting mugged every night. "Yeah. My parents and I have had a bit of a rocky relationship." She shrugged. "Not really their fault though. I''m not the most cooperative daughter. Doesn''t sound like it can compare to your situation, though." She tucked her hair behind her ears. "I''m sorry about that." She was so much¡­ Nicer than she had seemed. Nych stared at Willow for a few seconds, and then looked forward. They were coming up on a bus stop, where luckily, nobody else was waiting. He didn''t feel like controlling his topics like he would around others. "Willow, I''ve got a question." Oh? "Why is it that you present yourself so differently? I was hesitant to work with you at first, not because of your intelligence, but because of your reputation. I thought that you never took anything seriously. Now that I know you¡­ You aren''t like that at all. So why?" That was a loaded question. She glanced towards him for a moment or two, and after a moment smiled and shook her head as she laughed. "Nych, I was an absolute monster when I was a teen." She looked ahead, shrugging her shoulders. "I''m serious. I''d get drunk and smoke pot on the regular- I mean, I still do. But I''m nowhere near the level I was at when I was like seventeen." She walked up to the bench and sat down as she set her things on her lap. "I still enjoy that life. Going to punk-shows, getting smashed, running from the cops with Blake. But¡­" She looked down at her binder. "I know now that I have to keep that life separate from my school and professional life." She perked up again, and shrugged casually. "I don¡¯t know. I guess that''s just the way I am." He seemed to ponder over that for a few moments, before he nodded his head. "I guess I''ve never really been able to get into that kind of lifestyle. I mean, the way I am¡­ I wouldn''t get invited to parties or anything of the sort. I can''t handle loud noises and such, and I¡­ Well, I can''t be away from medicine for too long." He stopped talking as a bus pulled up to the stop. They presented their student passes, got on the bus, and continued down the aisle. "I''ve always wanted a quiet future. One where I might have a couple kids or something. Change the world with the things I invent. That''s what I really want." He sat down on the inside seat, giving her the outside. "I want to make the world better than it was when I came into it." "That''s fair." Willow nodded, leaning back in her seat and relaxing in the crowded bus. The buses that ran through the campus were always crowded. It was kind of a given at that point. "I''ll show you some of my projects tonight. I''ve got working prototypes and everything." She grinned somewhat, apparently excited to show off her own projects. She could talk to Blake about them, yeah, but she never quite got it. It was quiet for a moment or two. "You know, if you ever wanted to come to a party, you could come to the next one I go to." She looked towards him. "Just chill with me for the night. They get kinda crazy but¡­ That''s part of the fun." Nych looked at her, surprise lacing his eyes, and asked, "Why?" That¡­ Was an odd response to that statement. "Why would you want to be seen, at a party, with me? That would put a definite dent in your reputation, no matter who you are. Do you care that much for me, to be seen with someone universally hated at a party he never should have gone to?" That was the first time he''d let genuine self-hate show through. She frowned, and after a moment shook her head. "You think I care about what a bunch of dumb frat boys and sorority girls think of me?" She said after a moment. "There is not a brain cell in a single one of those parties, they''re the dumbest fucking people I have ever met." A brown-haired girl standing nearby gasped, scandalized, and glared at Willow. Willow glanced towards her, and after a moment flipped her the bird and rolled her eyes as the girl huffed and turned her back towards her. "The reason I go is because they have booze, and admittedly, it''s hilarious watching them do dumb shit." She shrugged her shoulders, looking towards Nych and putting a hand on his knee. "I have fun because my friends are there with me. That''s why me and Blake do everything together. It''s fun." She sent him a reassuring smile. "I would take you to any party you wanted to go to, because I think you''re cool and I like hanging out with you." She leaned back in her seat. "And I''m six foot one of pure Scottish muscle and I''ll beat up anyone who questions me." Ah yes. There was the rebellious Willow again. It was a good thing that they had nearly reached the diner. Because Nych reached up and pulled the rope, signaling for the driver to stop. He then stumbled out of his seat, making his way toward the entrance of the bus and falling to the ground outside of it. He was coughing. He was coughing up blood. But that wasn''t the thing that he was most concerned about. Oh no, this had become rather normal. The thing that alarmed him, well¡­ It was the fact that there were tears rolling down his face. It didn¡¯t take long for Willow to follow him. "Shit-" Willow cursed, looking down at him. She carefully hooked her arms beneath his, and lifted him out of the way of the other exiting passengers as she ushered him towards the side of one of the buildings lining the streets. "Fuck, are you okay?" She knelt down in front of him, looking him up and down with worry as she put a hand on his shoulder, gently rubbing his back. She wasn''t sure what was happening. "Should I call an ambulance?" She fumbled her phone from her pocket, almost dropping it before she looked back towards Nych. "Nych?" He was going to have to tell her what was wrong sooner or later. "N-No." He said, blood dribbling slightly down his chin as he weakly tried to slap her phone away. "D-Don''t call an ambulance. They''ll take everything away. All my work. All of it." He was mumbling now, and everything he said was barely audible. "Just¡­ Give me a second. I''ll be okay." With that, he pulled a bottle of pills from his pocket, unscrewed the top, and downed two of them. He stood up very slowly, using the building as support to pull himself to his feet. "Hey, no. Sit your ass down right now." She lightly eased him back down to the ground, hesitantly putting her phone away and furrowing her brows as she looked to her friend in front of herself. In her eyes there was absolute worry, and she was clearly very concerned for his well-being. "Take it easy, Nych. I''m a medical student for God¡¯s sake, you can''t just pull this and expect me to brush it off." Her features softened after a moment, and she took one of his hands and squeezed it. "¡­ You need to tell me what''s going on." She sighed, shaking her head. "I¡­ I gotta know what''s wrong. You''re obviously in some pretty bad shape, considering what I''ve seen today. I''d like to know what''s going on so I know how to deal with it too, and I can help you. Otherwise, I''m just going to treat it how I see it." Nych stared at her for a long, long while, with tears streaming heavily down his face. This was the first time that someone, anyone, had cared this much about him. Nobody had ever noticed the coughing fits, the reddened tissues, the sudden bursts of weakness. He had always wanted someone to hold onto, to help him with this, but after so many years of isolation¡­ He didn''t know if he could do it anymore. "I¡­ I¡­" In that moment, he threw his arms around her, and began absolutely sobbing. "I have cancer." Learning The Truth Willow tensed up, and her breath left her chest. His words echoed in her mind for a moment or two, before she cinched her arms around him tightly to try to comfort him. "Shhh... It''s okay..." Her own heart was racing, and she could feel anxiety begin to set in on her chest. He had cancer. The most brilliant man she had ever met, someone who she had discovered she loved being around, had cancer. But she pushed her own thoughts aside. He needed her at that moment. "Oh, Nych..." She closed her eyes, resting her chin atop of his head. "I''m so sorry." She bit the inside of her lip. "I- what kind? Do you know how bad it is?" He nodded his head, though it took a moment to get himself under control. Even when the tears had stopped, however, he still clung to her. He held her tighter than he''d ever held anyone before. "Stage four acute myelogenous leukemia. It''s a blood cancer. I could''ve possibly gotten rid of it with a blood transplant a few years ago, but..." He looked down to his arms with a sigh. "Have you heard of Rhnull blood? The rarest blood type in the world? It appears that I have it, and that it''s diseased. So a blood transplant, well... It was impossible.¡± Which meant... "There''s no cure for me anymore. I''m reaching my end." Willow was silent for a couple seconds, and it felt as though she had been punched in the gut. She hadn''t known Nych long, but the thought of him suffering through this and dying... It pained her to no end. She hugged him tighter after a second, closing her eyes and biting the inside of her lip. "I''m so sorry." Her voice was quiet, and... Sad. She didn''t want to lose him, even though she had just met him. Anger suddenly flared within her chest. He was ill and suffering, and everyone else had the audacity to be so... Awful. If anyone so much as glared at him while she was around, she was going to crush their head against the pavement with her own bare hands. It flickered out after a moment, and she sighed heavily. "... Do you know how much time you have?" Willow murmured softly after a second. Nych chuckled a bit, and looked at her with something new in his eyes. Determination. "I should have died yesterday according to the doctors, but... I''m still kicking. Three months and one day ago, they gave me three months to live. I''m still out here trying to find a cure for all cancers. Not just my own." So that was why he was so adamant about it. "Other than that... I''ve got no idea how much time I''ve got." She stared at him for a moment or two, and then slowly nodded. "... I see." After a second, a small smile came to her lips. "I guess we''re going to have to make the most of every day, huh?" She quirked an eyebrow, and after a second leaned forwards and lightly touched her forehead to his. It was shockingly intimate, but the woman didn''t seem to notice or mind. "We can work on those bots like we do every day. And... Once we''re done working for the day, we can go do other fun shit." She paused for a second, content with staring into his eyes. "We can go to parties." She continued after a moment, eyes sparkling. "Oh, have you ever gone horseback riding? My parents have horses. I''ll take you out there and we can go ride. And we could see some movies, or go to restaurants we''ve never gone to before. We could go to some of the conventions around the city-" She shook her head, looking into his eyes. "We''re going to have fun, okay? And... I''m going to help you through this. No matter what." Nych looked into her eyes, and saw something there that he''d never seen in another person. Compassion. For him. Just the fact that she was willing to spend her life with him, for the rest of his own... It was more than he could ever ask from anyone. He never would have asked anyone to go with him on his journey of death, and yet... Here was Willow. Offering to go. "I''m... I''m so glad I met you." He had put his chin back on her shoulder, averting his gaze from her eyes, because he was terrified of saying anything too intimate to her while she gazed back into his soul. "... Me too." She nodded, silently holding him as they sat on the edge of the busy street. She sighed, relaxing in the embrace and tuning out the rest of the world around them as she lightly rubbed circles on his back with her fingers. "... You''re brilliant, Nych. And... If we don''t get those bots done fast enough, I promise I''ll finish them for you." She was a little more somber now. "I won''t let this be the last of you, I promise." And she meant those words with absolute sincerity. After a second, she pulled away from the embrace, and held her hands out to help him up. "Let''s go eat shitty burgers and unwind, yeah?" She smiled a sad smile, tilting her head to the side. "You think you can make it?" Nych scoffed, pulling away reluctantly and nodding his head. "Like I told you. Yesterday, I was supposed to be dead. So I''ll keep walking until this fucker drags me under. Let''s go." With that, he began walking toward the dimly lit building at the end of the street. It really wasn''t a big place, and therefore most of the college students didn''t know about it. And that was the best part. "I''m... Sorry about all that." "No, no." She shook her head adamantly. "Don''t apologize. This is hard, I know." She walked slowly for him, looking towards him with worry imprinted on her features. "You should have people that are able to support you through all of this. So I''m serious, if you ever need me, even if you think it''s for something stupid, don''t be afraid to call me. I''ll come sleep at your apartment if you want me to." She pushed open the door to the small diner, and lead him inside and over to one of the booths. She sat down, setting her things on the table and leaning back into the vintage leather seats. It was old, but it had a certain small-town charm to it. It was nice. Eventually, a waiter walked up to them. She was a small girl, and had to be as young as you could possibly be and have a job. She was wearing a green jacket over the employee uniform, and was extremely thin. Her dark brown hair dangled in front of her face, and she was constantly blowing at it to keep it at bay. "Hi Willow." Jacqueline said shyly. "What can I get you today?" She seemed sweet. "Uhhh." Willow pursed her lips, glancing at the board they had above the cash register a little ways away. Most of their menu was on there, and the rest she had memorized from her and Blake¡¯s constant visits. "I''ll get the double cheeseburger with a side of fries, please." She sent the girl a polite smile, and then looked over at Nych. It was clear that something had transpired between the two of them not long ago. They were both still a little worked up. "Do you know what you want?" She asked after a moment. "The burgers here are really good." Jacqueline was a rather bright child, and could see the tension that existed between them. She didn''t say anything, however, and merely waited for Nych to give his order. "Just give me what she''s having." He said, smiling kindly. The girl nodded, scribbled their order down in her pad, and walked off. Leaving the two of them alone. Two geniuses walked into a shitty burger joint. One had cancer, the other drank so much she''d probably join him in the hospital with liver failure.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. It sounded like a bad joke. Willow was quiet for a moment or two, and then reached across the table and lightly took his hand. She didn''t say anything about it, however, which was somewhat more jarring than if she had gone off on another long emotional spiel. "... You''re staying at my place tonight." She said quietly after a moment. "Blake will be there. But... She''ll probably do her own thing for the most part. We could just sit and watch movies if you wanted." She rested her head on her other hand, squishing her cheek against it. "I''m gonna walk you home every night." She said quietly. "And I''m going out to my parents¡¯ for dinner tomorrow. I think Blake will be coming too." She shrugged her shoulders. "Do you want to come? We''re going to be cooking on the barbecue. It''ll be really good." Nych gazed at her, completely overwhelmed with the night. First, she''d offered to spend her life making sure he was okay. Now, she was offering to take him to meet her parents, and even eat with them? He didn''t know how to handle it. "I, uh... Sure." He said hesitantly, looking down at the table. "So..." He was obviously attempting to find something to talk about, because he was absolutely terrible with small talk. "What''s your love life like?" Willow snorted, shaking her head. "A hell of a lot less eventful than Blake''s is, I''ll tell you that much." To be fair, most people''s love life was probably less eventful than Blake''s. She had gone through more boyfriends and girlfriends than Willow could count on her fingers. She wasn''t sure how she managed to go through them all so quickly, but she sure as hell did. "I dunno. I''ve been single for a while now." She shrugged her shoulders, glancing out the window before meeting Nych''s gaze once again. "Had a couple boyfriends during high school but, eh. Never lasted for more than a couple months. I haven''t really been looking for anything lately." There was a clever glint in her eye. "What about you?" "Well, this girl is taking me back to her apartment. She''s rather pretty, and everyone knows her, and she''ll probably try to get me to sleep on the couch at first. If I play the cancer card, though, I''m pretty sure I''ll get into her bed." He raised a brow, a slight smile on his face. "Other than that, nothing much. Kinda dying here, and nobody really finds that attractive." Ouch. She snorted at first, before sobering a little as he continued. She shrugged, glancing away somewhat shamefully. "Sorry. Dumb question, I guess." She looked down at the table, and after a moment slowly lifted her gaze up towards him again. After a second, the mood lightened. "Aw, come on. You''re cute." She snickered. "Putting aside the terminal illness, you could totally get a girl if you wanted to. Or guy. I don''t know what kind of preference you''ve got." She shrugged, shaking her head and looking over at him eagerly. "Come on. Tell me. Celebrity crush? What''s your type?" Well, now that they were on this train she certainly wasn''t getting off. He raised a brow. Two could play at that game. "Well you see, I''ve never really had a type until a little while ago. I''m totally into redheads, especially fiery ones who like to go out and break things. I''m into geniuses who can put together robots in mere moments. My type includes the girls who go absolutely doe-eyed when I show them that I''m an alchemist, and who take me to diners when they figure out some of my deep dark secrets. I''m into girls who offer to live the rest of my life with me, and show me things that I otherwise never would have seen." That had gotten far more real than he had intended. "Yeah. That''s my type." Willow stared at him for a couple seconds, before something truly quite amazing happened. She blushed. Obviously a little flustered, she scoffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She rolled her eyes, leaning back in her seat and trying to play it off like he didn''t get to her when he said that. "Yeah, right." She smirked slightly. "Don''t lie to me. Come on. I wanna know. Brunettes? Muscular? Ooo, short, maybe?" She raised an eyebrow. This was actually quite amusing, and he was probably the first guy to ever get to her to blush. Nych raised a brow, before he sat back in his chair, obviously proud of his newfound ability. "You think I''m joking? Willow, you''re the only person to ever show me any kindness. You know what that means? It means my idea of a good person is based around you. It''s based around your hair that shimmers like the sun against the waves of the sea. It''s based around the fact that you promised, under no obligation, to stay with me. To let me stay in your apartment. To stay in my apartment, even though you know it isn''t in a good part of town. My idea of someone I would like to date is based around them not caring that I have cancer, and understanding that I won''t let it get in the way." Well. He had gone for it, he figured he might as well go all the way. "My type has a name. It''s Willow Grace." "... I-" Willow opened her mouth to speak, but upon finding no words to say, shut it. Her beautiful green eyes studied his face, examining his expression to try and determine whether or not he was joking. Because she really wasn''t sure. There had been guys who had professed their love to her before, but they had been nobodies who she¡¯d never choose to date. She would be just arm-candy to them, and she didn''t want that. "... Are you being serious?" She asked quietly after a moment. It was evident she wasn''t really used to this kind of thing. The easy smile on his face faded, as both of their faces took shapes of sincerity. "I, uh... Yeah." He said quietly, putting a hand to the back of his neck and looking away from her. "I... I find you very attractive, and in this world, you''re the only person that I would ever consider wanting to date." Woah. "But... I''m not going to ask you to tell me how you feel, because I''m dying. Willow, I won''t be here for much longer, and I don''t want to leave anyone too broken upon my departure. So yes, I would date you. You, and only you. But at the same time, I wouldn''t." She saddened somewhat at his words, and nodded slowly. After a moment, she smiled slightly. "It has been pretty fast, anyways." She laughed softly, looking up at him. "Probably a little soon for me to give an answer like that. It''s only been a day or so since we officially met." She shrugged her shoulders, but went quiet. "... I think you''re a pretty good person, Nych." She looked across the table at him. "I would date you too." That was... A very surprising response. Nych''s heart fluttered in his chest. Part of the reason he''d given the whole spiel was because he wholeheartedly believed that Willow would want someone else. Someone fiery like her, while still being brilliant. Someone who could go to parties with her, get drunk with her, and solve the world''s hardest problems with her. Instead... She''d date him? He looked away, a slight tint rising to his own cheeks, before he spoke once more. "You''re really scared of moving fast? Honey, ever since cancer struck, fast has been all I¡¯ve known." "I guess that''s true." She nodded, lightly tapping her fingers on the table as she looked down at them. She was a little bit unsure. She knew that the man across from her had cancer, and she knew that any day now... He would be gone. And there would be nothing bringing him back, despite how brilliant he was and despite how much she wanted him to be there. Death didn''t discriminate, and she knew that. Did she really want to start committing herself to something that would only end in heartbreak? But when she looked up at him again, and met his gaze, there was no doubt in her mind. Every second that she spent with him seemed to be the only thing she wanted to do with her time. And she would not let this be the end of him. No way in hell. Whether they finished their cure, or whether he passed... Determination lit up in her mind. She had an idea. She''d talk to him about it later. "I mean..." That didn''t mean she wasn¡¯t still awkward and flustered about the whole thing, though. "... Are we serious about this?" Her brows furrowed. "Do... Do we actually want to try something like this?" Nych''s heart, once again, fluttered in his chest, and his breathing quickened. She was asking him if he wanted to date her, and truth be told... He did. He¡¯d decided that the moment she''d opened up to him, but he''d kept it buried. He never expected that he would actually have to choose whether or not to date her. On one hand... She''d make every day he had left wonderful. She''d be his light in the darkness, helping him complete the cure to cancer and save millions. On the other... When he died, she''d be heartbroken. "I... I really can''t choose that for you, Willow. If you want this to happen, you''re going to have to ask me. Because I am going to die. So it''s up to you, if you want to deal with the hurt afterwards." Her gaze lowered towards the table once more, and her features saddened somewhat as she stared. It was a hard decision for her, and she knew that. She knew that she would fall hard for this man, and when he was gone, it would most likely tear her apart. She didn''t want to lose him, to lose such a brilliant person so young. But here she was, and she knew she didn''t have much time. After a moment, she let out a big sigh, and looked back up at him. "I think I would rather spend all of my time with you than none at all." Nych''s eyes softened considerably after she said that, and he reached across the table to take her hand. "I''m going to keep fighting. You know that, right? I''ll fight until there''s no fight left within me. I''ll cure this son of a bitch, and then we can really date. None of this countdown clock bullshit." He looked at her with happy eyes, though he sobered up once their food arrived. "I, uh... Don''t think I should really go to too many parties like this. I''ll go with you, but... I don''t know." He didn''t want to see her anywhere near wasted, especially when all he wanted was a calm life and a cure to his pain. That shone through his words. She perked up a little bit, and squeezed his hand tightly. She sent a thankful nod to the waitress, and glanced down at the plate of food in front of herself. "I know. But you know that if you ever wanted to go, I would take you. There''s frat parties like, every other weekend. I''m pretty sure those guys are bombing all of their classes and loving every second of it. It''s almost sad, but... Amusing to watch." After a couple seconds, she released his hand. "Let''s eat. Then we can go back to my apartment and relax for the night." After that day, she really needed some downtime. In Loving Grace Nych was a bit nervous about meeting Blake in a different context than a classroom. Usually, they didn''t even look at each other. They had never spoken, never been partners, hell, he''d never even said the girl''s name until that first day he spent talking to Willow. But now, he''d be sleeping in the same apartment as her. It was a bit odd. They walked through the front doors of the building, and he turned to look at Willow. "What floor is it on?" "The sixth floor." Willow glanced over at him, shrugging her shoulders as she walked towards the elevator. She stepped inside, waiting for Nych before she pressed the button for their floor and stood patiently as the doors closed and the elevator began its ascent upwards. She was somewhat dreading bringing Nych over, because she knew Blake would tease them both relentlessly, but she didn''t care too much. Anything to save him from the assholes that liked to beat the shit out of him every night. The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. Willow walked a couple doors down, stopped in front of what was presumably her apartment, and unlocked the door with keys she pulled from her pocket. "Hey!" She called into the house. "You home?" "Always, dearest." A voice from the back said. And then Blake, a being of shadow at that moment, for all the lights were off in the back room, stepped into the light. ¡­ And she was completely naked. Nych averted his eyes, but Blake made no motion to cover herself whatsoever. She simply evaluated him, looking him up and down before she looked back over to Willow. "I think you''re going to owe me a hundred bucks real soon, missy." She said, glaring her down. There wasn''t any anger there, however. Merely something to tease Willow about later. Willow stared at her blankly, and then rolled her eyes. "Oh my God. I swear, if you did this on purpose, I''m gonna beat you up." She walked over to the couch, grabbing the blanket and tossing it at her. "Put some clothes on, you slut." She stuck her tongue out at her, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "... Why are you even naked anyways?" She furrowed her brows. "Do you have a guy over? Is he at least cute?" She had so much faith in her friend. She was also kind of mad. This wasn''t really the best way to introduce Nych to her roommate and her best friend. "Well, if I''m a dude, I think I¡¯ve got some explaining to do." Another voice said, as a woman walked out from the back room. She, at least, was clothed in a large t-shirt and a pair of panties. She was blonde-haired and had hazel eyes, the green shining through very prominently. Her skin was that of a very light caramel, though her heritage was one that Nych couldn''t quite place. She was, in all honesty, quite breathtaking. Blake never scored someone that pretty. "I''m Emmaline. Please, call me Emma." She said, holding a hand out to Willow. Even though she was barely dressed, she was still extremely polite, and obviously very kind. "... Oh." Willow blinked, staring at her for a second before she relaxed slightly and held her hand out for Emma to shake. "Well, it''s nice to meet you. I''m Willow, but knowing Blake and her big mouth, you might already know that." She glanced towards Blake, and after a moment huffed and grabbed the blanket off the floor. "Put some clothes on, you bitch." She wrapped the blanket around her, trapping her, and heaved her into her arms as she started marching her back towards her bedroom. They had... A very interesting dynamic. That was exactly what Blake had been hoping for. "I hope that all of the rumors turned out false, Willow. And I hope that this thing works out for you. I can see in your eyes that something''s different between you two, and I''ve been your best friend for years, so don''t even try to pull anything with me. I just..." When Willow laid her on the bed, Blake sat up, and abruptly wrapped her arms around her. "I hope this goes well for you. You''re a stuck up little bitch and deserve someone to make you happy." Willow was silent for a moment or two, and then she hugged Blake tightly. She knew she needed to talk to someone. So... She told her everything. And she knew Blake wouldn''t say anything to anyone else when she told her this, because it was eating her away inside. She had to be the strong one for Nych, but that didn''t mean that she had to be the strong one for Blake too. "He has cancer." Willow whispered. "Terminal. He says he was supposed to be dead a day ago. Three months. It''s been three months and one day." Her hands clutched her tighter, and she clenched her jaw tightly. Blake didn''t move. Her face didn''t change. She simply stared at Willow with that same, dark, unreadable expression. Then she spoke. "That''s what the rumors were about, then. He''s sick, but not in the way everyone made him out to be. This is out of his control, but... Willow. Are you sure that you want to do this? Are you sure that you want to be with someone who won''t last much longer?" Coming from anyone else, those words would have been insensitive. But coming from Blake... They were just to make Willow reconsider. "I will support you all the way. Hell, I¡¯ll join a threesome if you want. But... Are you sure that this is what you want? Because I want you to be absolutely positive before jumping headstrong into a relationship that''s focused so heavily around one thing." "... I¡¯m sure." She nodded slowly, looking down at the floor. "I just- God. He''s so brilliant and amazing, and he''s the smartest man I''ve ever met, but I..." She gulped, swallowing down the lump in her throat and taking a deep breath to keep herself together. She didn''t want to cry. She wanted her time with him to be a positive thing. Something that she was glad she enjoyed while it lasted, instead of dreading waking up every morning and finding him dead. It would break her heart, she knew that. "... It just hurts." She sighed heavily. "And everyone is so, so cruel to him. He has no family. No friends. He''s black and blue from getting mugged outside of his apartment every night. I just- it isn''t fair." Blake nodded her head, listening sympathetically to what Willow had to say. "You know... I''m fine if he moves in here. If you want him to live here until his time''s up, I''m fine with that. He doesn''t even have to pay rent, unless he really wants to chip in." Oh, she would love finding out about his wonderful machine that made rent a thing of the past. "I''m with you one-hundred percent, Willow." She said, standing and walking over to the dresser. She finally pulled on some clothes, getting dressed before turning back around to her. "He''s seen me naked, so I guess he''s allowed to stay." Willow smiled ever so slightly, and cast Blake a thankful glance. She was glad she had someone like Blake in her life. Someone who was there if she needed her to be, but wasn''t overbearing about it. She could usually deal with things on her own, and she preferred doing it that way, but... It was nice to have a shoulder to cry on every once in a while. "... Thanks, Blake. I''ll talk to him about it. We''ll see." With that, she took a deep breath, calming herself down, and opened the bedroom door again. "... Alrighty." She walked out, and looked towards Nych. "That''s dealt with. You wanna check out some of my projects I''ve got lying around here?" After Willow walked out, Emma nodded at her and took her place, closing the door behind her. The click of the lock could be heard, and Nych smiled slightly. "I think Blake should keep her. She seems nice." He nodded to Willow''s question, obviously ready to see her projects considering she''d been so willing to see his own. He was actually incredibly excited to see what kinds of things she''d done. "Lead the way, my... Date." The word felt foreign. "Date?" She snickered, looking over at him and leading him into her room. "I think any other pet name would work better than that, Nych." She laughed softly, turning on the light and looking around her organized mess of a housing space. "Give me a break, I''ve never done this before." He grumbled, following her into her room. There were mechanical parts everywhere, blueprints tacked to the walls, and clothing scattered about on the ends of the bed and on the back of the chair at the large, oil-stained desk she had. "Tadaaaaa." She waved her hands around with sarcastic excitement. "It''s a mess." She looked around for a few moments, before she walked over to her dresser and pulled something down that Nych had immediately noticed. ... A metal arm? When he looked back at her to see her holding out a metal arm, well... He took it, and began to inspect it. As he did so, a smile began to grow on his face. "These wires... These are perfectly laid out like the tendons in the human arm. Are you saying...?" "It''s a perfectly functioning robotic arm." Willow nodded eagerly, looking down at the arm he was holding. "There''s a lady a couple doors down who''s an amputee that I used as a model." She bounced on the balls of her feet eagerly, and after a moment ran over to her desk to pull out the blueprints for the arm. "We tested it a couple days back. It works perfectly. I finally worked out all the bugs. And it''s detachable, too."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. She pulled the blueprints out, laying them flat on her desk. "... I plan on giving it to her." She said. "I just want to patent everything first. Then I have full control of the designs and what gets done with them." She shrugged, and sighed. "I''m not letting some big corporation get a hold of it and charge so much no one can afford them. I want to handle it all myself, at least, for the time being." Nych looked down at the piece of machinery in awe, his eyes lighting up. "This... This is incredible, Willow! Wow... If we get our stuff out there, we could literally change the world. My cures, and your prosthetics... Hell, we could save the world." He was right. Medicine was better, and prosthetics were better, but neither came anywhere close to the two young geniuses. They could control the world. It was in that moment that he put his hands on her shoulders, and said, "When I die, I want you to take everything I own. Everything. Hell, please take the lab. You could use the space." He gestured around the room, the smile on his face growing ever wider. "You could come to the lab now! That way, you won''t have to keep your apartment so cluttered! And you could get a cat!" She blinked, and after a moment smiled. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, and looked around at all of her equipment that laid scattered around the room. "Well... If you''re okay with that, I''ll certainly start moving some of my things down there. I''m sure Blake would be happy with less stuff lying around." She was saddened by the thought of him being gone, but... It was reassuring. She would let his legacy live on. They could make the world a better place. Even if he wasn''t there to see it. "I''m working on blueprints for legs right now." She grinned. "I figured it''d be easier to perfect an arm first, considering how complicated they are. So a leg shouldn''t be too much of a problem." She walked over, rifling through the multiple blueprints she had. She found a chocolate bar wrapper mixed in among them somewhere, and tossed it to the floor. There was a beep from under her bed, and after a second a tiny robot holding a trash can wheeled out to go retrieve it. ... What else did she have hiding around there? Nych looked down at the robot, and a compulsive smile spread across his face. "Are you working in the field of AI at all, by any chance?" He asked, looking down at the small robot. "I''ve been trying, but... Artificial intelligence is a bitch to program. Plus, we run into the filling problem. You can''t build it on too large a hard drive, or it''ll become too large of a file and corrupt itself. Either that, or... Go rogue." There had been a prototype AI that had nearly launched a nuclear missile at its mother country before it was shot down. That had been five years ago. Those were dark days. "But you... I feel like you could do it." "I have been working on it, actually." Willow nodded, glancing back at him. "I''ve had a bit of an AI pet project going. His file name is D3N-N15, but I call him Dennis." She grinned, tilting her head to the side. She was obviously very proud of her work. "He''s just on my computer right now. Super basic so far, but... I think as long as I set the right perimeters he could grow into something quite beneficial. I''m being very, very careful with him." The trash robot picked up the wrapper, and then with an amiable chirp wheeled itself back under the bed. "I could show him to you, if you want. But he''s kinda boring right now." She shrugged. "He just answers very basic questions, nothing much." Nych nodded, smiling. "I''ve built something similar before, and she''s still sitting on my computer, just waiting to be opened. I actually got pretty far in my AI; I could hold a full conversation with her. I stopped working on her when..." He seemed to go distant, before he came back to the conversation. "When she erased part of her code when I told her I had cancer, and she effectively killed herself." He had created a friend on his computer, and even she had left him. "I have the code saved, of course, but... I didn''t want to bring her back into a world she didn''t want to live in." "... Oh. Wow." Her brows furrowed, and she shook her head. "They really must have a mind of their own, huh?" She grew somewhat solemn, pursing her lips as she set her pile of blueprints down on her desk. "... What if we could bring back people?" What? That was a very out of the blue question. "... Like, I don''t know. If we somehow preserved the brain and personality of the person, we could bring them back. Stick them into a robotic body that has the same functions as a human body, and they could continue on their lives as usual." It was evident she had started thinking about this earlier that day, as her thoughts seemed somewhat scattered. "... Do you think that would be plausible? God- I guess there''s no way to tell unless you had a brain to test it on. And that oxygen was still provided to that brain during the transfer process." Nych''s smile continually widened as she spoke, until finally, he nodded his head. "Yes. I very well do think it''s possible. In fact... I built an apparatus to test it." What? "In my lab, there is a box. The box is a very special box, because it is filled with a very special liquid. It is, for all intents and purposes, a type of preservative spinal fluid that regulates the oxygen level within the box. Therefore... The box could keep a brain alive, or even bring a brain back to life in some cases, so that it can be used later." That... Was a miracle. "I think it would have to be a mixture of hard drive and brain, in order to provide electricity to the brain in small enough bursts. It would also help for data storage, considering a brain begins deteriorating rapidly after death. In fact, if a brain isn''t pulled from the body in three hours or less, it won''t work." Willow nodded slowly. "... And, hypothetically. If one were to ask that of doctors, so to have their brain ''preserved'' for science, they would remove the brain after the fact to keep it alive?" Her voice garnered a strange sort of tone. "And perhaps could have that box used. Because if it''s a person''s so-called ''religious'' values, they would have to do that, no?" She sat down on the edge of her desk, tilting her head to the side. Willow had an idea. And once she had one, it was very hard to make her forget about it. Nych tilted his head, giving her a strange expression, and then shook his head slowly. "No, that wouldn''t work. Doctors aren''t allowed to release brain matter into the custody of an individual person, even if it is for religious purposes. Disease would spread too easily that way." Damn. That put a fork in her plan. "If a person is an organ donor, however, their organs are often preserved quite well until they can be passed along to the next person." Well... It might just work. "... But the brain is iffy." She bit her lip as she thought. "Perhaps if a special request was made? Like if one wanted it preserved the same as the other organs so it could be donated to a university or science program." She thought for a moment or two. Yes. That would work. The university sometimes used donated human brains in labs, or simply to have them for study in some of the higher scientific programs. She looked up at him. "... Can I steal your brain from the hospital?" She asked after a second, quite bluntly. ... Nych simply stared at her, his eyes cold, unreadable, calculating. "...Yes." That was certainly an unexpected answer. "But only if you promise that you''ll bring me back only when everything is perfect. I don''t want to come back inside of a computer, Willow. If I do, I will corrupt my coding. I want to come back in a body, if that is possible. If it isn''t, then I am dead. End of story." He narrowed his eyes at her, a smile coming to his face. "You''ll have a bit of trouble, though. Brains infected by cancer aren''t typically sent off for scientific purposes. They''re nearly impossible to get." "Deal." Willow nodded, and after a moment tilted her head to the side with a grin. "I''ll get Blake to help me. A grand heist of the hospital. I think it''ll probably be a lot easier, considering we''re dating and that I''m going to probably be the one arranging everything funeral wise." It hurt a bit to talk about, but she was somewhat lightened by this new prospect. She would bring him back, if it was the last thing she ever did. And it would be her crowning achievement. "I''ll stash it at my parents¡¯ house. In the crawlspace. Nobody would ever think to look there, if they could even find it in the first place." She shrugged. "I can start planning everything now. Making sure I''ll be able to get into where I need to go." He looked to her dubiously, before he nodded his head. "Fine. I couldn''t really stop you anyway, considering I''d be dead. But you do you, boo. And if you can bring me back... Hell, that''ll be great." He looked around the room, a slight smile forming on his face. "But that''s enough death talk. We should probably sleep soon." He was right. It was getting late. He was very happy that he''d be sleeping without fresh bruises that night. "Yeah." She nodded, and glanced around the room. "So... I guess we can sleep in here. But I don''t know. Do you want to go to bed now, or stay up and watch a movie for a little while?" She asked, gesturing towards the TV that was mounted to the wall across from her bed. "We also have popcorn in the cupboard, so we could make a bag of that if we wanted." She walked over, and sat down on the edge of her bed. So she wasn''t making him sleep on the couch after all. She looked up at him, and tucked one strand of ginger hair behind her ear. "Up to you." Thirty minutes later they were laying together in the bed, a bowl of half-burnt popcorn in front of them and the newest horror movie playing on the large television. The room was, of course, entirely black. "I can''t believe you don''t watch any horror movies." Nych muttered, gesturing towards the TV. "They''re obviously the best." They were pressed up against each other, and honestly... It felt amazing. There wasn''t anything even intimate about it; just their proximity, their skin pressed against each other... It was intoxicating. Perhaps both of them had been starved for affection. "I... Might want to stay here more often." "... Blake said you could move in, if you wanted." Willow glanced up at him for a second, and then looked back towards the TV screen. She sighed internally. Him and Blake were going to get along great, with their stupid love of horror movies. She really didn''t understand the appeal. They just used the same cheap scare tactics every time, and they were predictable as all- There was a bang in the movie, and Willow jumped. "If you want." She continued, playing it off like she totally hadn''t jumped. "We''ll help you move." Nych stared at her in absolute awe, a slow smile spreading across his face. "Weren''t you the one complaining about moving fast?" He laughed, wrapping his arms around her and laying his head on her chest. It showed he was comfortable around her. He also wrapped his legs around hers, which signified something completely different. It signified that he wanted to be closer to her. "Oh, whatever." She rolled her eyes, but relaxed when he moved closer to her. It was nice, having someone be so close. To be able to feel his breathing, the warmth in his body, and more importantly, how his body felt against her own. She could really get used to something like this. She knew it would be cut short, however. But it was still something she desired. She pushed her thoughts aside, and lightly laced her fingers up into Nych''s hair. She ran her hand through it, lightly stroking it and trying to soothe him as she wrapped her other arm around him to hold him as well. Her eyes were still locked on the horror movie, but all of her actions were focused on Nych. It was at that moment that Nych held a hand up to her chin, turning her head slightly so that her eyes were looking directly into his own. A beautiful green against a strange, beautiful orange. He pressed his forehead against hers, their bodies now moving as one as he lightly pushed her down, moving so that he was on top of her. And then, he asked something he never thought he''d ask. "Can I kiss you, Willow Grace?" Her cheeks tinted, and she looked up at the man on top of herself. She stared into his beautiful eyes, and for a moment she didn''t dare breathe, simply taking in the beauty of the man in front of her. The man who had charmed her so effortlessly, and the man who was now asking to kiss her. So instead of answering him, she did just that. She leaned up, letting her eyes flutter shut as her lips pressed to his. It was a soft and tender kiss, nothing too passionate. She didn''t want to frighten him off for any reason, but she held the kiss and let her hand drift to his cheek. His skin was so warm against her own, and it was like molten rock had been encased in living muscle. And his lips... She had never thought another person''s lips could be so soft. For a few precious seconds, Nych was shocked into stillness. Then... He kissed her back. Dreadful Silence It was when Nych collapsed in the middle of making love with her that Willow knew something was terribly wrong. She gasped, looking up at the man she¡¯d been grasping at and quickly rolling him off of her. She moved his body into a recovery position, and panicked as she looked around the dimly lit room. "Fuck, fuck, BLAKE!" She screamed for her friend, wrapping Nych in a blanket to try and keep him warm as she put her hands on his cheeks. "Oh, no, Nych-" Her heart started racing, and she desperately tried to get some kind of reaction out of the man she had fallen for. This couldn''t be happening. "God dammit- BLAKE!" Willow screamed louder. "HELP ME!" The door was thrown open wildly to reveal Blake, who was only just dawning a bathrobe. She did, however, have a knife in her hand, and it was obvious that she had thought Nych was doing something awful to Willow. Now that she saw the reality, however, the knife clattered to the floor. "Call 911. I''ll have to get him down to the entrance so they can load him into the ambulance quicker. Hurry, Willow." This was a side of Blake that no one ever saw. The worried side. Willow looked up at her friend with desperate eyes, tearing up as she clutched the man she loved in her arms. He couldn''t be gone now. Not so soon. She couldn''t lose him. "No- I-" She shook her head, and when she blinked, tears rolled down her cheeks. "I''ll take him. Call an ambulance." She sat up, wrapping herself in a housecoat and putting Nych''s pants on to at least save his dignity as Blake dialed for an ambulance. She was panicking. Not yet. This was too soon. She sobbed, heaving him into her arms and running for the door, bursting through it and running down the hallway towards the elevator. Eventually, as they sat outside the building, waiting for an ambulance to arrive, Nych opened his eyes. He looked around slightly, though it obviously pained him, and he sighed. "I guess I''m just not good at anything anymore, Willow. I wish we''d started talking a few months ago. Maybe then you would''ve had a bit of time to get to know me." He was talking like a dead man, and that wasn''t good. Willow jolted, and then looked down at him with a sob. She clutched him in her arms, holding him tightly as she leaned down to press her forehead to his. "Don''t say that." She whimpered, a couple tears falling down her face. "You''re the most amazing man I''ve ever had the joy of meeting. And you''re going to be fine. You''ve still got time, we¡­ We can finish those bots and we can fix you, you hear me?" She didn''t want this to end here. "Just... Take it easy, okay?" She sniffled, furrowing her brows. "It''ll be okay." He held a shaking hand up to her face, just as an ambulance pulled up in front of them. "It''s almost the end for me, Willow Grace. But not for you. You can live on and do great things. You can do amazing things, just please... Keep my name alive. If anything I created goes anywhere, make sure people know that I died for what I loved." They began loading Nych onto the ambulance, and the medic asked Willow to ride with them and explain his condition. She was the only one who knew anything specific about him. "I... I..." Willow clutched Nych''s hand as she sat beside him in the ambulance, her hands shaking with the liquid terror that was running through her veins. They were supposed to have more time. This wasn''t fair. How could life be so cruel to them? Internally, she cursed whatever God was watching them up in the sky. They had caused this, or they had watched it and done nothing. They could''ve saved the world together. "He has stage four acute myelogenous leukemia." Willow looked up at the paramedics, panic evident in her features. "I... Please... Help him." She knew they couldn''t. But she would beg for them to do so anyways. The medic''s face fell as he contacted the driver on his walkie, and then looked back to Nych. "This is stage four? Why aren''t you hospitalized?" Nych let out a choked laugh before he responded. "I''m an inventor before I''m a genius, Mr. Drew." His name was printed clearly on the name tag attached to his shirt, but it still appeared to slightly spook the man. "And I won''t lay in bed all day waiting for a cure that won''t come when I can work on the cure myself." The medic looked up to Willow in exasperation, and he asked, "What is your relationship with this man?" "We''re together." Willow sniffled, clinging to Nych''s hand tightly and bringing it up to her face so she could gently press her lips to his knuckles. She wanted him to be comfortable. If this really was going to be the end for him...Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. She wanted him to feel loved. Because he was. "Can you do anything?" Willow asked desperately, letting out a shaky sigh as she tried to steady herself. She had to be strong. She had to be strong for Nych. "I... I don''t know, we''ll have to see what the doctors say. If possible, we can could do a full-body blood and bone-marrow transplant, which might buy him a little bit more time-" "It won''t work." Nych said, sighing. "My blood type is Rhnull. The golden blood. And I doubt you''ve got a body''s worth of that lying around." The man''s face paled as he looked back up to Willow. He tried to form words, but none would come out. So he closed his mouth and began taking Nych''s vitals. Tears silently streamed down Willow''s face, and she looked down at Nych as she held his hand tightly. She supposed that no good deed went unpunished. The world was a cruel, ugly place. She took a sharp stuttered breath inwards, and reached down with one hand to gently press it to his cheek. She ran her thumb along it and sighed as she examined his broken, battered form. "... I''m sorry." She whispered. He shook his head, taking her hand in his own. "You have nothing to apologize for, Willow. You do understand that you made these days amazing, don''t you? You made them worth living again. I never wanted to keep living as much as I do now, and I promise, I''ll fight until the very end. But when I''m gone... Make sure I come back as I was." He meant that wholeheartedly. The medic didn''t bother to ask questions; he''d heard stranger things aboard the ambulance. "Thank you for giving me my happiness back." "I should be thanking you." She sniffled, leaning down so she could be closer to him. "You''re brilliant. You actually challenged me. You''re a genius, and spending these past couple days with you was all I ever wanted to do with my time." She leaned down, pressing a tender kiss to his lips before she pulled away and looked down at him with sad eyes. "I will rebuild you." She said, absolute determination in her voice. And she would. He shook his head, a sad smile in his eyes. "I have no doubt in my mind that you will try your very best. But if I never come back... I just want you to know that I love you, Willow Grace. I know it''s fast, but fast is all I''ve got now. I love you, and if you think that you''ll be able to bring me back..." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, finally beginning to cry. "Then wait for me..." "I will." Willow whimpered, and after a couple seconds of holding back, her tears started to fall as well. She wrapped her arms around him, and sobbed into his chest. She didn''t want this to be the end. She still had so many things she wanted to do with him. So many things they could build together. So many diseases they had yet to cure, cancer being one of the innumerable few, but one of the most important. "I love you too." She whispered, lightly curling her fingers into his skin. She had only known him for a couple days, but why did it hurt so much? He smiled, relief flooding his face. All he wanted in the world was for her to be his, and only his. But now that he was dying... He would understand, if he was never coming back, if she decided to move on. He didn¡¯t deserve her, but he couldn¡¯t bear the thought of her being with someone else. "We''re coming in." The medic said into his walkie, evidently talking to the people in the hospital. In a few seconds, the doors opened, revealing several people holding a stretcher between them. They transferred Nych and began taking him inside. Willow stood up, chasing after them and squeezing in to take Nych''s hand amidst the chaos. He was not going through this alone, and nobody was going to stop her from making sure of that. He needed to know that she was there for him, no matter what. Even if these were his final hours, she wanted to make the most of them. She kept a good grasp on their surroundings, however. If this was the end... She''d have to call Blake and get her to help retrieve the part of him she needed to bring him back from the dead. The men and women in white coats that carried him along eventually brought him to a room that was adorned with nothing but white wallpaper, a table with flowers in a vase, and a television. Apparently, they''d deemed that the case wasn''t worthy of the ER. ¡­ Why? Eventually, a doctor came in, and looked to Willow sadly. He didn''t tell her to leave, or to move, and he hardly even checked Nych at all. What was going on? Willow looked around the room, and she knew in a heartbeat what it was. Her heart sank, and she sat down beside the man she had come to care so deeply for, clutching his hand in both of her own. They had brought him here to die, and though it angered her that they didn''t even try to help him, she knew that there was no help to be given. This was terminal. And he was bound to pass on at some point soon. But that still didn''t stop her from breaking down, dipping her head and sobbing quietly as she squeezed his hand tightly. She wished this was all some nightmare. She didn''t want this to be their reality. "I''m... So sorry." The doctor said, looking at the two of them with a genuine apology in his eyes. "The chances of a man with Rhnull blood getting this particular form of blood cancer are very slim, and... There isn''t anything we can do." "It''s alright, doc." Nych said, his voice a whisper from the bed. He held onto Willow, his hand tight on her arm, and he said, "Could you... Leave, doc?" The doctor nodded his head in understanding. Nych wanted his last moments to be with Willow. "You need to call Blake, if you''re actually going to go through with this." He said, his voice cracking. "My keys are still on your nightstand, and the box is on the second table on the left in my lab. I... I''d ask you to get it, but..." But he wanted her to stay. "I''m staying." Willow said, voice weak as she tried to keep herself from sobbing out loud. After a second or two, she pulled herself up onto the bed, and laid down beside him in the sterile hospital room. "I- I''ll get her to grab it. It''ll be faster for her anyways." She settled in beside him, and after a moment wrapped her arms around him and pulled him taught against her body, burying her face in his dark locks. It was quiet for a couple seconds, and Willow clung to him tightly. This was all the time they had left. "... I''m sorry." She whispered. "I love you." Nych wrapped his feeble arms around her, the slightest of smiles gracing his pain-stricken face. This was all too sudden, but then again. It had been coming for a long, long time. "Please don''t leave, okay?" He asked, his voice pleading and his eyes full of tears. "You''re the first person in my life to make me feel like I''m not actually alone. I... I don''t want to die alone, not when I finally have you." With that, he stopped talking. His eyes stayed open, and he stayed with her for a good few hours afterwards. But those were the last words uttered by Nych Haywiyth. A Hopeful End He was gone. Willow sat alone in a quiet office, tears still streaming down her face. She had requested to talk with the people who would be helping her deal with the funeral arrangements, and those who would be dealing with his body. She wanted to make sure they treated him right, and she needed to know what kind of options she had. She could pay for everything, thanks to Nych and his alchemy, but she just felt... Numb. There was an ulterior motive behind this meeting as well. Because Blake had the box. And she was going to get his brain. She had explained everything to her on the phone, and she loved Blake for the fact that she would get it done without a hitch. Not only that, but she would be there for her afterwards. She''d have to explain the entire situation to her parents, though, and she really didn''t want to do that. She didn''t want anyone to see her like this. She was a wreck. Eventually, a doctor, a coroner, and a funeral director walked into the room. Hmm. Familiar sounding. Almost like the start to a bad joke. "Hello, Ms. Grace. We''ve been filled in on everything." The coroner said as he sat down, taking the front while the other two men sat behind him. He was obviously the frontrunner, due to the fact that Nych''s body was currently six feet under. In a refrigerator, meant to keep the bodies preserved until it was decided what would be done with them. A perfect opportunity for Blake to get the brain. How she would do it... That was a different story. But Blake always came through. Willow sniffled, reaching up and wiping tears away from her face as she looked at the men around them. "Right." She sighed heavily, trying to push down the empty feeling in her heart. She needed to be strong for this. She had to make this meeting take as long as possible, so Blake could get to the body uninterrupted. She would pull through, she knew she would. And she knew that she would know exactly what to do to get the brain. She was in almost all the same medical courses as Willow was, after all. So she took a deep breath, and puffed up her chest to try and make herself feel more confident. "... What are the options?" The coroner''s eyes were sad; it was as if this was actually a man, instead of a beast simply trying to make money. "Well, for my part, there isn''t much we''ll be able to do regarding organ donation." The doctor said, looking over the coroner''s shoulder. "His blood was extremely cancerous, and we don''t want to take any risks of passing that on to another patient." It made sense. "As for the body... You could have him donated to science, or we could pass you on to the funeral director." The coroner said, looking at her kindly. Willow nodded slowly, mulling over her options. She took this quite seriously. She wanted to do something that she thought Nych would''ve wanted. "... Science." She said after a moment. "We... We are- were, both scientists. We were working to try and cure cancer- I-" She shook her head, and wiped away the tears that filled her eyes. "I think he probably would''ve wanted his body to go to something useful instead of rotting away in a cemetery."Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Yes. He would''ve liked that. "... Could you explain that process to me?" She asked softly, looking up at them. Stall. Buy her more time. "Of course." The coroner said, pulling out a small notepad and a pen. "First, you can either specify an organization you want his body to go to, or he will be put in a repository, so that once his body is needed somewhere, it will be sent to that place." The second option sounded better. That way, they would make sure his body was actually needed. "And you can still have a funeral service for him if you''d like." The director said, a sad smile on his face. "If you want something along the lines of a funeral without the body, we could make that happen." But who would go? Willow pursed her lips, taking another deep breath to steady herself. She didn''t think all this decision making would come so soon. They were supposed to have more time together. They were supposed to be able to- She pushed her thoughts down. She could grieve later. Now, she had a mission. "The second option. He should go where he''s needed the most, especially considering his blood type and condition." Her voice wavered. "... He''s estranged from his parents." She murmured. "And... He didn''t really have many friends. I don''t think a funeral would be the way to go. I could invite my own friends and family but... What''s the point, really?" She let out a shaky sigh. "No funeral. But I''d like to at least have a headstone. Someplace I can go on my own time." She looked up at the coroner, and sniffled. "Do you know any of the logistics surrounding that...?" The coroner shook his head, but the funeral director piped up. "If you''re donating his body to science, you''d have to purchase a plot in a private cemetery. I can tell you that around here, those go for one or two thousand dollars. Then, a personalized headstone can cost you anywhere from a hundred dollars for a cheap one to thousands of dollars for an expensive one." That wasn''t exactly a problem, considering her newfound wealth. "I think we should see the body before we discuss further plans." The coroner said, standing. The other two did as well. "There may be special conditions surrounding his case." With that, he opened the door, allowing the other two to walk through before holding it for Willow. Uh oh. Willow tensed, but she supposed there was no avoiding it. She had already pulled them away from their jobs, and stalled them for at least an hour and a half after Blake had arrived at the hospital, considering they¡¯d had to check all the paperwork before meeting her. She just hoped that was enough time for her to get out of the hospital with Nych¡¯s brain so she could hide it away at her parents¡¯ house, while the hospital undoubtedly flipped their lid about this happening. Little did they know, she was in on the whole thing. She slowly stood up, taking a moment to steady herself as she wiped her eyes again, before she slowly walked after the men. They wouldn''t rush her. Who the hell would try and rush a woman who had just lost the man she loved? The men did, indeed, walk slowly, glancing at Willow every so often to make sure that she was following. They wanted to get back to their jobs, but this was an especially sad case. They had learned all the details about how the young couple had just gotten together. Ah well. That was just how the world turned. Eventually, they reached the vault that held Nych''s body. All that was left to do was open the door, slide the tray out, and it would reveal the man she once loved. And so the coroner opened the lid. And nearly screamed. The other two men recoiled, horrified at the sight they were presented with. And Nych, well... He laid there, without a brain, the top of his skull cut off. What an exit. The image would haunt Willow''s nightmares for several years to come, but as she stared at the dead body of the man she loved... She couldn''t help but feel relief. Blake had done it. She turned away from his body, and fell to the floor as she broke down into tears. Part of it was real, genuine despair from seeing the man she loved dead on a table with his head sawed open, but she exaggerated it as well. To play it off like she had nothing to do with the entire scheme. And she had an alibi now, too. The choked wail that broke forth from her throat would certainly leave her hoarse in the days to come. She couldn''t help but feel truly alone.