Monarch didn't even turn around. They were doomed no matter who was in the doorway.
"What are you two doing out?" Vega's familiar monotone voice asked.
Monarch spun around to face her. The robot's arms were crossed.
"We... Were... Um...-" Monarch started.
"Visiting Erebia. There isn't a dictionary on Earth that would give me a word to describe the level of how utterly stupid this is. Are you two trying to get terminated? I'm not even supposed to be out of my charging station, but I couldn't stand by and watch the two of you get terminated for the dumbest reason. How did you even get out?"
Acmon just stared at Vega, dumbfounded at the words she'd just spoken. He didn't even think she was capable of reason, let alone directly breaking a rule to find them. He certainly didn't know she was capable of caring about, or even understanding what termination meant.
"My new power," Monarch said.
"I'm going to escort the two of you back to your sleep chamber, and we're going to forget this ever happened. Understood?"
They began following Vega back to their sleep chamber. On the way, Monarch couldn't help himself from asking about Erebia again.
"Vega, they're... erasing her memory, aren't they?"
"Affirmative."
"Vega, I... Sorry if this sounds rude, but... How sentient are you?"
"I don't know the answer to that, Subject Monarch."
"Do you have feelings?"
"Affirmative. Professor Ern programmed me with information from the brain of a mother. Since my function is to take care of you, it was important for me to have empathy."
When they reached the sleep chamber door, Vega opened it and ushered them inside. Once they were inside, she shut the door.
"Don't let me catch you trying this again," she said from the other side of the door.
The next day started as usual; Vega came to wake and dress them, they had breakfast in the cafeteria, and everything went as if they hadn't broken out of their room the night before. It was around lunchtime that the day became less than normal. Instead of being escorted back to their room like usual, Vega received an order to keep them where they were.
The anxiety in the room went up a notch each minute they were forced to wait. After a half hour, the doors finally opened. Their hearts skipped a beat when Professor Ern himself walked in.
He didn't seem angry; his dark brows were relaxed, and in fact, he wore a small smile. After sitting across from Acmon and Monarch, he set a folder of papers in front of them.
"Hello, boys. Bet you're wondering why I've organized this little meeting?"
"Uh, yeah. What did we do this time?" Acmon asked.
Ern chuckled, and shook his head. "You aren't in trouble per se, but we do have a slight problem. As you know, Monarch. I've been made aware of your interaction with Subject Erebia. That in itself wasn't much of an issue, but then I heard some questionable conversations between the two of you. I can't overlook such a strong early sign of rebellion. Surely you know which conversation I'm talking about?"
Neither of them answered, so the Professor sighed and pulled out a small device. He pressed the top button, and a holographic video projected above it. It was a video of them from their room right after Monarch returned from the hospital. The video played back everything from his entrance to the room until just before their pillow fight. When it ended, Ern put the device back into his pocket.
"So you see, I'm a bit concerned. You two weren't even supposed to know about Erebia, but such a strong emotional reaction to her is problematic. I'm going to have to erase your memories."
Acmon lost any cool he had. "YOU SON OF A-" Without skipping a beat, Professor Ern jabbed him with the Tranq-Pen as if in some kind of routine. Like he'd done this many times before. Acmon collapsed instantly.
"I won't be running into any problems with you, Monarch?" he asked.
Monarch shook his head. "But... Professor? Since I won't remember any of this anyway, can you tell me about Erebia?"
The professor chuckled. "I suppose there's no harm now. Very well. Right after I made you and your brother, I continued working on the Meta-Gene. You and Acmon were just prototypes, but still crucial to research. Once I perfected the gene, I took a sample of the DNA I used to make the two of you, and created another subject. Erebia's form of the gene has been much more potent, so we've begun research on her much earlier."
"So... She's our sister?"
"I suppose. She's nearly genetically identical to you two. I only changed a few things."
"Thanks for telling me."
"No prob, Bob. Let's get you to the lab. I'll have to erase your memory first, since your brother will be recovering from the Tranq-Pen. We have to start it while you're conscious."
The walk to the lab was silent. Professor Ern gave Monarch a reassuring smile every so often, but it didn't stop the pang of unease buried deep within his stomach. How many times had Professor Ern done this?
When they made it to the lab, Monarch sat down in the medical chair and Professor Ern opened a closet and began gathering various materials.
"It'll be relatively painless. You won't feel a thing."
Monarch tapped his fingers nervously on the armrest as he waited. This soon escalated to him tapping his feet as well.
The professor pulled on a pair of rubber gloves before placing a metal helmet on Monarch's head. "You may feel like your brain is being tickled. That's completely normal. Just relax."
Monarch's breathing was now shaky, and his hands trembled at the Professor's every step. Soon, he heard a click, and a buzzing sensation started inside his head. It soon made him feel somewhat drowsy, but not enough to put him to sleep. Across the room, Professor Ern turned on some kind of computer with three screens.
"Think about Erebia. I have to locate where the memory is stored."
But all Monarch could think about was how much he didn't want to forget about his sister. The image of that fragile little girl behind the glass filled him with a sense of protectiveness like the way he felt toward Acmon- but stronger. He wanted to remember.
He reached his hands up to the helmet, but even if he pulled it off, he knew the professor would just put it back on him. If only he could prevent it from working...
"Your mind is in a bit of a frenzy, I see. Try to relax," Professor Ern said.
Monarch's stomach turned at how comforting Professor Ern was pretending to be. None of this was in Monarch's favor- This procedure was only being done to further Ern's own agenda. Monarch was past the point where he wanted to help the professor.
"I located the memory, Monarch. Just relax. The machine is going to put you to sleep soon."
Monarch fought against the pull of his eyelids, just like he'd done the last time he was being put into a simulation. His hands were still clenched around the helmet. His eyes were nearly shut when he caught a glimpse of cyan light traveling up the veins in his hands. His power! But he was too drowsy to focus...
Desperation aided in Monarch's battle to keep his eyes open just long enough for his power to work, but focusing was a completely separate problem on it's own. He fought so hard against the helmet's grip that an aching headache began deep inside his head.
Monarch was so... tired. Tired enough that just closing his eyes once would be enough to put him to sleep. He was so focused on staying awake- but by now he couldn't remember what he was fighting so hard for. All he knew was that he didn't want the helmet to work. The headache had now shifted to a sharp pain and his view of the world was now only a sliver through his barely-opened eyes.
Monarch's mind finally began disconnecting from his body, but by this point all he could remember to do with this power was to stop the helmet, but from doing what, he didn't know anymore.
As his mind grew fuzzier and fuzzier from the drowsiness, he finally felt his eyes snap shut.
Monarch rose into consciousness as if waking from a really good nap. He felt so comfortable, and unusually well-rested. He wanted nothing more than to stay under his covers and bask in the warmth... A smile sprawled across his face as he did just that.
The sudden opening of a door rudely interrupted his comfort. He pried open his eyes to see Vega. She must be here to wake him and Acmon.
He yawned. "Hey, Vega," he said sleepily.
"Good morning, Subject Monarch! How are you feeling?'
Monarch sat up. It was then that he realized he wasn't in his room; He was in the hospital room. What was he doing here?
"Why am I in the hospital? Vega, what happened?" he asked.
"Your Meta-Gene activated. The professor had you placed in here while you recover. I'm here to bring you back to your sleep chamber. Are you feeling optimal?"
He stepped out of the bed. "I think so. My gene activated again? How'd it activate?"
"Another experiment. It was a fear simulation."
Monarch wondered. He shrugged it off and followed Vega out the door.
"Monarch, there you are!" Acmon said as he entered the room. Monarch raised his eyebrows in confusion as Acmon threw his arms around him.
"Is this going to become the norm for you every time I return from the hospital?" Monarch asked.
"The norm? When have I ever done this before?"
"What are you talking about? You said those exact words the last time I returned. Did they do another fear simulation on you too?" he asked.
"Monarch, level with me here. You're messing with me, aren't you?"
He pursed his eyebrows in frustration. "What? I'm not messing with you! Didn't they do two fear simulations on us within the week? Why am I waking up in the hospital for the second time?"
Acmon tilted his head in confusion. "Must have been some crazy dream. You've just been in the hospital for one week after your Meta-Gene activated from the fear experiment. They didn't let me be near you when they took you to the hospital."
Like a lightning bolt, a sudden realization struck Monarch as the events from the past few days came rushing back. Everything from the memory helmet, to seeing Erebia through the hospital window resurfaced. His power had worked! Well, on himself, anyway. It was clear that Acmon had met a different fate.
The natural thing to do would be to simply tell Acmon everything- but he couldn't do that with Professor Ern's prying ears that were probably listening to this very conversation. How was he going to tell Acmon everything if everything he said was tapped?
Monarch pushed Acmon onto his bed. "Bro, get under the covers."
"What?" Acmon laughed. He couldn't tell if Monarch was playing around or if he was being serious.
"Just do it," Monarch said.
"Okay, your Majesty." He tucked the blanket around himself as if it were bedtime. Monarch joined him. Once they were much closer together than Monarch knew was normal, he pulled the covers over their head and leaned his mouth close to Acmon's ear.
"Okay, listen. I have some important things to tell you." He whispered so low, that even Acmon could barely hear him with his ear less than a centimeter away.
"What?"
"No talking. Professor Ern can hear our conversations. Just listen."
"Alright," Acmon said. His grin faded as he realized the seriousness of the situation.
"Okay. First of all, we have a sister. The professor made another subject named Erebia. She's four. Only we weren't supposed to find out about her. The professor erased our memories- but I was able to prevent it from working on myself with my new power that I gained from the fear simulation. I can control any kind of technology."
Acmon turned to whisper into Monarch's ear. "You... Really? Monarch, do you know what this means? They literally can't touch you now. If everything is dependent on computers, you're pretty much unstoppable."
"I'm starting to realize that."
"You need to know that. You can get us out of here. Listen, don't tell the Prof about this. If he knows you have a power like this, he'll terminate you. It doesn't matter how obedient you are- if he knows you could bust out of here just because you wanted to, he wouldn't allow a threat like that to stick around."
"I know."
"So tell me about Erebia. Who is she?"
Monarch started from the beginning. He told Acmon everything from the conversation he'd had with her in the hospital, to their secret escape from the sleep chamber that led to seeing Erebia with the helmet on, to even what Professor Ern had said about her. By the end, Acmon looked like he'd seen a ghost.
"Seriously? They erased her memory, too? That's sick."
"I know. If we try to talk to Erebia, she won't be able to keep her mouth shut about seeing us. But I've come to a decision. We need to get her out of here. I can't let her grow up like we did. She can't stop caring about herself."
"You... Know about that?"
The two brothers looked at each other without a word. Their eyes welled up with tears- but for two different reasons. Monarch, from remembering the way Acmon had basically told him that he didn't care what happened to him anymore- just the idea of Acmon being that dead inside was enough to stab Monarch in the gut with a deep sense of sorrow. Acmon, from his brother finally understanding the level of hopeless he'd sunk to. With Monarch being as obedient as a robot, he never thought he'd see the day. But here they were.
Monarch slid his arms around his brother, and held him as if he could protect Acmon from his own mind. How long would it be before Acmon simply gave up and got terminated on purpose? Monarch knew there was only one way to stop that from happening; They needed to escape. But to where? And how? Erebia wasn't the only person who needed protection. In fact, Acmon probably needed it more.
"Acmon, I need you to promise me something," Monarch said.
"What's that?"
"Don't give up on yourself. Not yet."
He felt Acmon's large fingers press between his own. "Promise."
"You're my best friend, Acmon. You know that?"
Acmon snaked his other arm around Monarch. "Ditto, man. You're my everything."
Monarch chuckled. "Are you gonna kiss me?" He teased.
Acmon narrowed his eyebrows. "Gross! Not like that! Ew!"
Monarch laughed. "Get over here, Ackie!"
Acmon shot up and snatched the pillow from under Monarch's head before smacking him with it. "No! You're my brother, doofus!" He tried to use the pillow to repel a laughing Monarch from getting any closer. Monarch grabbed the pillow from Acmon's bed and slugged him with it.
"How's that for a toothpick, huh?" Monarch asked.
"You're no match for me, and you know it," Acmon said.
"Wanna bet?"
"Dude, I'm strong enough to bend metal! You can barely open a can of soda."
"Soda is evil," Monarch said. They broke out into a fit of laughter. For just a golden moment, the two of them could pretend that everything was okay, and forget about all the troubles that faced them.