[Video]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[Veronica's face appears on the screen. She's sitting at one of the terminals, leaning to the side. Her entire right arm has been wrapped in bandages, the sleeve pulled up to show a few blood stains.]

...S-so, I woke up in a-a n-new room a w-while ago. I g-guess you a-all have too.

[At least it was surprisingly pleasant. Thanks Zo.]

I h-have to ask, d-does the t-tower feel... different? Like, n-now t-that J-Jason is dead.

[Locked to Rick Dawn]

...[It takes her a moment to collect her voice.] R-rick...? Are... a-are y-you there?

[She leaves the message open for a while, waiting to see if he'll reply.]

Comments

[text]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[It takes her a moment to reply, mostly because she doesn't know where to start.]

Sort of. I wanted to know how you're doing.

You were bleeding pretty badly last time I saw you.

[text]

[bashfulshifter]

...I'm sorry. I should have checked in sooner to let you know I was okay. I didn't mean to make you worry.

I'm doing alright, I think, now that I've had some time to sleep. My hand still hurts a lot...it should heal soon, though. How's your arm?

[text]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[She checks her arm.

It's still bleeding a bit, and she still hasn't regained all the feeling in it.]

It's doing fine. It should be good as new soon. And I'm glad you're alright.

Listen. I want to talk to you, like personally, if that's okay.

[text]

[bashfulshifter]

That's good to hear. Just be careful.

[Oh dear.]

...Of course--it's not a problem at all. I'm always here to listen.

[text]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

It's... it's kind of a personal thing though. Can we meet on floor 25 or whatever? I'd rather talk to you in person.

[This sort of thing demands actually being there.]

[text/action]

[bashfulshifter]

Yes. I'll be there as soon as possible.

[Which he is--slowly, given that he's still kind of sore, but still within a reasonable amount of time. Given the gravity of Veronica's claims, he looks understandably nervous.]

[action]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[She shuts the feed off after that and quickly gets herself down there. It's likely that she's ahead of Rick. So, when he gets there, he'll see Veronica, sitting in the middle of the field. She seems to be picking at grass, looking a little nervous herself.]

[bashfulshifter]

...H-Hi.

[Rick stands awkwardly by the landing, shuffling his feet as he debates what the most natural course of action should be. Eventually he decides, with a strange jerk like a kick to the back of his knees, to hurry over and sit at Veronica's side amongst the tall grass.]

...D-Did I...k-keep you w-waiting?

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[She hears him coming before he actually does. Just a perk of having advanced hearing.

At least Rick actually came. Veronica had spent a few minutes wondering if she should do this at all. But in the end, it had to happen eventually. Her smile was thankful, if a little tired.]

N-no, it's... it's okay, r-really. Thanks f-for coming.

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick nods, returning a hesitant smile before starting to poke at the grass himself. He isn't quite sure what else to say; of course he would show up when called, Veronica really didn't need to thank him for that. But he also doesn't want to press her for details, or drive her away...so he'll let her guide the conversation for now.]

[Rather, guide the silence leading up to a probably very one-sided conversation.]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[For a moment, Veronica didn't say anything. She simply sat there, enjoying the silence. She didn't want it to end, and she didn't want Rick to hate her.

Alas, she had to do this eventually.]

...W-with Jason... d-dead things are p-probably g-gonna get worse around h-here. I-I don't know w-what's going to h-happen, but if a-anything happens to one of us....

[She draws her legs up, hugging them close to her chest. This was obviously stressful for her.]

T-there's... something I h-have to tell you. That I-I haven't t-told anyone in the t-tower.

[bashfulshifter]

[Getting Rick to hate someone is a tall order--a lot harder than getting him to worry. Just the tone of Veronica's voice, the way she's faltering more than usual, twists his nerves into as tight a knot as his creased brow.]

[To comfort Veronica (and, in part, himself), Rick takes the hugging of her legs as a cue to scoot slightly closer, resting his chin on his knees so he can be at her level. Without really thinking about it, he reaches out his good hand to wrap around her shoulders.]

...I-It's s-s-safe w-with me.

[This Is Important; Rick's calm blue eyes are unwavering, so she knows that he's taking this as seriously as she intends.]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[The only thing that Rick's attempt at comforting does is cause Veronica to tremble slightly. In a way, she didn't think she deserved these kind gestures.

Drawing in a breath, and letting it out with a slight shudder, Veronica looked up at Rick. This close to Rick, the scars on her face were very prominent.]

It.... I-it's t-the r-reason why I h-have all t-these s-scars.

[bashfulshifter]

[...Ah. Rick had avoided that subject out of politeness, but he supposes it would have to come up eventually. It doesn't really surprise him that the cause would be so traumatic that Veronica would start shivering just thinking about it.]

[...That's because of the memories, and not something he's doing, right? Rick worries his lip.]

...Y-You d-don't...h-have to t-t-tell me, i-if y-you d-d-don't w-want to.

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[It's not the cause she's worried about, it's the effect.

Her breathing is slow as she shakes her head.]

No... it... y-you h-have to know. I-I've been h-hiding it from y-you and...

[He really didn't deserve to not know anymore. He'd been such a good friend to her over all the months...]

Y-you... you see, I-I w-w-was made t-to be the greatest b-bodyguard ever. A-as in.... "m-made".

[bashfulshifter]

[It helps that Veronica clarified herself--otherwise Rick would have been just as oblivious as he was the last time this came up. Even then, it takes him a few moments of confused pondering before he starts to catch on.]

[His eyes grow a little larger. Does he understand?...No, not quite.] ...I-I d-don't...f-f-follow.

[stitchedupbodyguard]

I-I....

[Geeze, not only did she have to tell him, but she had to be specific about it. She sighed quietly, another shudder following. She'd already come this far.]

I'm s-saying.... I w-w-was created t-to be t-the g-greatest bodyguard ever. L-like... in a-a lab.

....I-I'm an experiment.

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick's reaction is...possibly underwhelming. At least, probably not as drastically negative as Veronica might have been expecting. He gasps a little as the realization hits, stares off at a point past Veronica's head as he tries--and fails--to imagine what that experience must have been like, ponders for a moment over why exactly this is such a bad thing and, finally, when those pieces all fit together: ]

...Oh. [He blinks and swallows hard, brow scrunched in concern.] I...I-I'm s-so s-s-sorry.

[What else can he say? How can he fix this?]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[....blinkblink.]

[Well.... this was... a reaction to be sure, just not what she was thinking of exactly.]

It's... uh, n-not a problem. It's j-just h-how I was "b-born", you know?

I, uh, d-didn't t-tell you b-because people b-back home always c-called me a monster.

[bashfulshifter]

[That fact startles Rick more than actually learning what Veronica is. He visibly balks.]

W-Wha--why? [He is genuinely at a loss!] Y-You're--I-I mean...th--there's n-nothing w-w-wrong with you. I-I'm s-s-sorry it...i-it h-had to b-b-be th--that w-way, but...

[Rick shakes his head.]

...if you n-never t-t-told me...I w-wouldn't have g-guessed.

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[Surely Rick was an ace detective in these sort of things. Veronica actually had to wonder why she hadn't told him sooner.]

Really? Huh...

W-well, I had to tell someone. You deserved to know.

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick is truly a master of deduction. He hasn't even really picked up that Veronica is a construct--just that she's an experiment of some kind, or was horribly abused or something along those lines. Whatever it was, Rick knows that it wasn't pleasant.]

[He pauses, looking torn.] ...Th--That...that m-means a l-l-lot t-to me. [Rick tries a smile to show his gratitude, but can't quite manage.] I-I m-mean, I...I w-w-wish there w-was s-s-something I c-could do.

[stitchedupbodyguard]

I-it's okay. It's not really a problem, just how I came to be.

My sisters are the same way.

[bashfulshifter]

[Her sisters...]

[...Oh. Suddenly, a lot of things are making more sense. Although that doesn't quite solve the problem at hand, in Rick's eyes--]

--B-But--then w-why d-d-didn't p-people...why w-were they s-s-so m-mean? I d-don't u-understand...

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[All she can offer up is a shrug.]

T-they were afraid of w-what I could do. I saved their lives and they drove me away.