My mind flashed to the image of Axios next to me on the couch stuffing his face with popcorn, a smile on his face.
Or the one with Poe and I drunk, laughing as Dax glared at us.
Theo’s face as he asked me why my hair was pink.
The feeling of holding Ever in my arms as she giggled.
“I stormed the rebellion that day never imagining I would one day call everybody here my family. That the cyborg I hacked would be the one I would gladly hand my heart to and trust more than my best friend.” I found the shell of Viper’s ear. “You were never my enemy, Viper. You were my destiny.”
Viper
I gripped Oz tight. The weight of her in my lap reminded me she was still with me. What she was asking for, what she wanted to do, cut me to my very core.
My processors spun. I had no idea how to proceed.Could I agree? Walk with her to Dax’s lab and allow him to reactivate that thing in her head knowing full well what it will do? Do I have any choice?
Oz had made her wishes clear. Even if it destroyed me, how could I deny my female what she wanted?
I let out a deep sigh, the fight leaving my frame. I loved her too much to not honor Oz’s request.
“I’ll agree with one condition.”
She shifted in my arms, her eyes locked on my face. My female wasn’t going to like what I said next, but it couldn’t be helped. If she was going to do this and ask me to agree, then she had to give me something in return.
“There is a bond that develops between cyborgs and their mates. It connects us-an unbreakable link tying our lives together. You are my female. The one I love and wish to tie my life to. And when that life ends, then I want to follow you into the next one.”
Her mouth fell and she gasped, shaking her head. “No. I won’t do it! I love you, do you hear me?”
Hopping off my lap, she began to pace, her hands curling into fists before her feet came to a halt. Her eyes narrowed and she lifted her chin. “I won’t be part of something that kills you!”
I shot to my feet. Clutching her arms, I dragged her to me. “And you think I do?” I roared. “You are asking me for the same thing!” One of my hands slid into her hair, gripping the strands to tilt her head back, forcing her to look at me. Anger flared in her eyes, but I refused to give in.
Using my free hand, I tapped the side of her skull. “This thing in your head is a fucking bomb! And you want me to stand back and watch Dax light the fuse?” I shook my head. “No. Not unless I get to go with you! I won’t let you leave me here all alone! When you go, you’ll take my heart, don’t you understand that? You’re my fucking heart, Oz!” I took her lips in a punishing kiss as I backed her into the wall, caging her body with mine.
“Agree!” I growled against her lips. “Please,” I begged. “Say yes.”
Her small fists pounded my chest as her eyes welled up with huge tears. “I love you! I love you,” she chanted over and over, striking me repeatedly until all the fight drained from her and she slumped against my frame.
Her whole body trembled, and she took a few deep breaths to get herself under control. When she finally pulled back to look at me, I gasped, seeing how pale she was. A trickle of blood dripped from her nose, her eyes were rimmed in red, and a trail of tears stained her cheeks.
I tried to wrap my arms around her, but she backed up out of reach. “Damn you, Viper.” Her voice hitched. “You asked me for the one thing you knew had the power to change my mind.”
Pain seared through my chest. That’s not what I had intended. But the betrayal in her eyes told me it didn’t matter. She had taken my request as a direct attack on her choice. Hurting me would be the one thing she would never do. I hadn’t calculated this outcome. Not that it had been my processors making this choice. It had been my heart.
What was the point of having an endless lifespan if I couldn’t spend it with Oz? Years and years without her seemed like torture-and I knew torture.
I couldn’t die, not in the way she would. But I could go offline. Shut down my processors and hope that maybe cyborgs got to go to heaven. And my version of heaven included having Oz by my side for all eternity.
Dash had been convinced. Iris had been near death, and he had informed Dax he planned to follow her if she died.
The Service Model truly believed that we had souls that would transfer to the other side. And he knew that Iris would be waiting for him.
The act of self-termination had been a taboo subject. None of us had understood the bond between Dash and Iris. Many cyborgs couldn’t understand why he would willingly shut himself down.
We had fought like hell to live. Why would we choose to die? I admit I couldn’t understand it-not until Oz had entered my colorless world and plunged it into blinding technicolor.
I couldn’t go back into the dark. But with my choice, I had backed my female into a corner. And the female who had fought so hard, who had clawed her way out of unimaginable situations, now watched me with nothing but defeat in her eyes.
I took a step, my hands outstretched, but she retreated further away from me.