[ChicletPrime]

okay, lets bring this last chapter home and then i can vibrate for three days, thinking about it.

Chapter 9

• okay, we're back to the opening sequence of disconnection. but.. different this time! "After a long while of trying to place it, I finally recognize the face before me."
  
• [ Caleb ]
  
• he called the Association to book me sick leave. i can rest or walk outside for a few days with him at my side while I recover. i feel like I've lost some important fragment of memory. 
  
• "My gaze drifts to the red mark peeking out from beneath his cuff." My.. bite mark? bingo, guessed it, first try. 
  
• "Caleb, what happened?" 
  
• boyfriend got you out of a chip pickle, you fool. 
  
• oh, man. "For a fleeting moment his expression appears peculiar, as if he's fallen into an abyss of sorrow."
  
• "It's okay if you can't remember for now. Eat something first."  All my boyfriends keep trying to feed me, am I underweight or something? 
  
• i am spoonfed a bit of food. when I refuse more, he accepts that and stands up - and a sudden wave of anxiety hits me and I grab the fabric at his waist. i don't want him to go. he sits back down and makes as if he will speak, but... no. but then he promises to stay with us until we are asleep. he has shadows under his eyes as if he had a sleepless night.
  
• "I don't want to rest unless... you help me fall asleep."
  
• /stares at ceiling and firmly keep brain on the main content track
  
• "I have a hunch that when I wake up, he'll no longer be the Caleb who only belongs to me."
  
• this is STILL HEARTBREAKING
  
• "I curl up against his chest. After a moment he wraps his arms around me, resting his chin on my shoulder and letting out a soft, tender laugh."
  
• he offers to tell me a bedtime or... he could do something else. 
  
• i should be writing this, we could just veer off track right here and the fandom would applaud me and peel me all the grapes in the world.
  
• "A cool silver light glimmers near my neck. The metal pendant gently swings back and forth. Struggling to keep my eyes open, I cradle the pendant in my palm."  
  
• I ask if he still remembers what this gift represents. he says 'you hoped i'd come back safe and sound from every mission, right?'  and she confesses that if he'd just return to her, she wouldn't ask for anything else.
  
• she touches his face and asks if he'll always stay by her side and he, naturally, just says 'yes.'
  
• omg
  
• "Then should I... put a bell around your neck?"
  
• THESE TWO
  
• I feel like I should maybe not be watching this. 
  
• she runs her fingers down his neck, over his adam's apple then presses on the center of his collarbone. "It'll be right here. That way you won't be able to escape."  
  
• . . . 
  
• Caleb: "When you held my hand that day for the first time, I knew I'd never get away from you. So don't be afraid - no matter what happens, I'll be here for you."  /tender forehead kiss of affection +1  "Time to sleep."
  
• and i settle into his arms and close my eyes.
  
• oooh, foggy amusement park time! we'z dreamin'.
  
• "What Caleb doesn't know is that the dissolution of the Toring Chip didn't completely erase those memories."
  
• wah, girlfriend! go you for have a brain that won't let go for nothing.
  
• "Even long after, I still remember every absurd story I told him during those three days, the misplaced kiss amidst the clouds, and the searing warmth of his skin."   "The amusement park is closed. Dreams are meant to remain within the realm of dreams."
  
• aaaand now we're somewhere else? a small garden behind "the shelter" that looks pretty overgrown. "the young man wearing a uniform pushes open the iron gate"... so Caleb is here. "In the distance within his view, a girl is sitting on a paper crane. Her back faces him."   I am going to guess that that 'paper crane' is a piece of play equipment for children. yeah, it is. "She turns to him, the rusty springs emit a jarring, screeching note."
  
• "Caleb, you're here." says "main character name" in quotes. interesting. i guess he's physically there in the shelter, visiting the ruins, but seeing him and her in his memory as children.
  
• "The side of the elephant slide was etched with uneven marks of their height as they grew up, one row on the left, one on the right. His always sit higher than hers."
  
• "This abandoned place with overgrown vegetation is their first paradise."  Also, that looks like an apple tree in bloom.
  
• uh
  
• "Hide and seek is over and she appears before him from the swirling darkness." hello, black hole? 
  
• "Caleb, how come you're always the first one to find me?" Her voice pierces his heart like a jolt of electricity, a lingering affliction he can never quite heal. It's also the source of his fears, his retreats, and his darkest thoughts. She stands at the end of everything, drawing him in. Gravity warps into a black hole around her. He clasps his right arm as though offering a solemn gesture of devotion. 
  
• "Maybe it's because... I love you a little more than you realize."
  
• . . . 
  
• now we somewhere else that looks very... i am not even sure what i'm looking at. a skylight/portal and a flat black floor. If there are walls, they are far away and indistinct.
  
• "In the zero-gravity lab, the young man's body floats under the cold light, suspended in an almost primordial state. Tiny currents of electricity crackle in the air and slither into his mechanical right arm. 
  
• Enforcer (?? nice): "The partial modification that's been completed is still under the Toring Chip's control. However we can't access the chip's records of Caleb's memories.
  
• Prof Lucius (you bastard! i'll murder you): "Has the chip been damaged?"  Despite Caleb not being the perfect subject, they've sacrificed a great deal to obtain him.   what, now? "obtain"? obtain from WHO? why? WHAT? "If the Toring Chip in his body suffers any damage, the long-hidden plan will be in vain."  EDIT: okay, i know from previous chapters that Prof L is not working with Ever, except as its convenient to his purposes. so I am guessing "obtained" from Ever / Ever's data on Caleb. 
  
• Enforcer: "The chip's integrity is at 93%. It appears he's purposefully 'sealed' his brain rather than damaging it. The patrol data disappears whenever it reaches a specific area. It doesn't get rejected or intercepted. It vanishes as if..."
  
• Prof L (who will die soon, please send your condolences): "It's being pulled into a black hole."
  
• I FUCKING KNEW IT. Caleb IS tolerating the chip when he could just crush it whenever he wants. the why is still up for grabs but that's my boyfriend, being a thorn in the side of his wannabe masters.
  
• Prof L (you will not be missed): "Humans are inherently flawed, making us indecisive and hesitant. Only by erasing these weaknesses can we become invincible. If we don't tackle this area, we'll never be able to achieve a complete modification to him. Is there another way?"
  
• The enforcer inputs another string of characters on the control panel. After a moment - "Found it. This area was encrypted with multiple layers, so there must be a key to unlock it. There's likely only one key, and it's probably a one-time use."
  
• The old man (hope your will is up to date) nods, giving one last glance at his great work before turning to leave the room. "Then lets find it. No matter the cost."
  

I... have SO MANY QUESTIONS NOW. i will think on them. But what do you wanna bet the girlfriend is the key to whatever part of Caleb's brain that is under guard? Or maybe Grandma and her research team slapped a welded door on it before she/they defected from the research lab.