E-1 leads Cassie to the same room we were in last time.

"Here you are dearies. Next door is open for Ivy and Vince, I'll be by in a few hours once you get settled."

"Alright, thank you." I step inside, closely followed by Cassie. The first thing I do is open the window and glance outside. Corax is perched high up on the wall with his flock. He glances at me, nods, and returns to listening to the birds' conversations.

"We'll give you a shout if we need you." Cassie says before trying to close the door.

"Oh wait, before you go! Ivy lost her ability to speak, but she's kind of apprehensive about surgery. Can you ask someone to figure out a way to let her speak, preferably something non-invasive? She already has a basic version of her voice on her tablet, and I can generate a more complex model if needed."

"I've sent a message to Frankenstein to talk to her. We'll get it sorted out, don't worry. You two relax and get settled."

Cassie closes the door and collapses on the large bed a moment later, letting out a loud sigh. "I missed this bed."

"Is it really that comfortable?" I mean, I have to imagine it's better than the floor. "Is it better than Vegas?"

"Ok, no, but at least they might not be spying on us here, and it's comfortable. I'd still prefer my bed at home, but it's a close second."

"We can get Ivy in here to make sure." I climb onto the bed with her, nestling my head on her shoulder and draping my arm and leg across her. Her arms wrap tightly around me.

My mind demands once again to follow through on a promise. Fuck it, if it goes poorly we can just talk about it like adults like we agreed.

"Hey, now that we're safe, there's something I need to tell you."

"Oh, fuck."

"I don't have to say it! I just really want you to know." I say quickly.

"I just need you to not expect me to say it back." She whispers. "It's not that I don't, I might, it just… you know."

"It's scary, I understand. You don't have to say it back."

"Alright. Just get it over with then." She grumbles quietly.

"No! I don't want to say it if you aren't comfortable with hearing it."

"If I wasn't I would tell you. I'm an adult, I can say no."

"Alright. If you're sure." I wait for a few seconds to give her the chance to back out. "I love you."

"Fuck. Yeah, alright. I'm going to go… fuck." She squeezes me tightly. "I'm really glad." She whispers as quietly as she can. "I'll say it one day."

"It's ok if you don't. I promise." I really don't want to pressure her into something she doesn't want to do. "I know you wouldn't do any of this if you didn't want to, and that's good enough for me."

"Thanks for making this whole thing so easy."

"Of course. Like I said before, you've been so patient with me. The least I can do is do the same." I give her a small squeeze, and she gives me one back.

Our conversation ends there, but that's fine. We just enjoy each other's presence. Time ceases to matter when I'm with her. I could spend another forty years in her arms. Unfortunately, we only have an hour.

"We should go check on Vince and Ivy." As much as I hate to disturb her, I should.

"Has it been an hour already?" Aww, a hint of her sleepy voice is coming through.

"Yeah."

"Alright."

It takes us a moment to extract ourselves from each other. She sits up on the side of the bed, rubs her eyes for just a moment, and jumps to her feet.

"Come on, let's go find those lovebirds." Cassie opens the door, and I follow her down the hallway, and out into the courtyard.

I recognize a few people out here, both humans and AI. Both the ones Cassie and I ended up talking to during our first stay, and a few of the people we didn't get the chance to, offer us a smile as we pass. I give a small wave back.

We hear Vince before we see them. He and a familiar voice are talking, while pausing to let Ivy type.

"I think it'll need a full replacement. We didn't bother to set it, just put it in a cast and called it a day." Vince says.

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We turn the corner to find Vince sitting against my and Cassie's favorite tree, with Ivy stretched out across the ground, resting on him. Talking to them is a robotic body that's very similar to mine, actually. It's designed to be shaped exactly like any human's body, with an organic arm grafted on in place of one of the arms.

Corax and a few of the other birds glide down, landing closely in the branches above Vince and Ivy.

"And would you prefer surgery and a complete replacement, or would you prefer an external brace?" Frankenstein asks.

Ivy spends a moment to type as we approach.

"If your hospital is as supplied as you say, might as well just get it replaced. Are you ok with me remaining conscious while you work, and letting Vince stay nearby?"

"Of course, numbing everything south of your stomach is trivial, as long as you can handle the sight."

"Hey Cassie, Little Blue." Vince says while Ivy types out another response. "Give us just a minute."

"It wouldn't be the first time I've seen my own organs. I have a few cybernetics you need to be aware of, but I'd rather discuss that in private." Ivy says.

"Very well. I already have a prototype for an external device that will allow you to speak. It's already been submitted to the manufactury, and will be done soon. I'll deliver it when it's done, and we can further discuss your needed surgery."

"Thank you." Ivy says simply.

"I'm not sure how we can repay you, but we'll do our best to find a way." Vince says.

"Oh, nobody told you? You owe us nothing, we don't use money here. Take what you need, recycle what you don't, and waste not. That's all we ask. Have a good day." Frankenstein turns to leave.

A stunned surprise shows on Vince, and even Ivy's faces.

"Now you see why I didn't want to spoil this place?" Cassie asks.

"Yeah. How the heck did you find it?"

"We did work for Zero." I answer. "It turned out poorly, but it was worth it in the end."

"As it always does. Glad you two ended up alright." Vince's eyes drift off us and onto the greenery around us. "I just can't believe this place has been so close all this time. We're what, a couple hundred miles away from Arc City?"

"Two hundred if you disregard the mountain in between us and home. Five hundred if you go through the southern pass."

"Still. Twenty hours." He lets his thought fade away with a shake of his head. "If I couldn't do more good back at Silver's training the young ones, I'd be tempted to stay."

"We can always come visit." Assuming C-1 goes well. "I was planning on doing it anyway. I don't want to keep Corax away from his flock for too long."

"If they're alright with that, it'd be nice to make a yearly trip or so."

"Maybe twice a year." Cassie adds.

"Maybe. I don't think I'd want to do more than that though. You two can, of course, but I still have a job to do, even if I'm done going out."

"I might want to do it more often than that. Maybe four times a year?" Every three months seems reasonable.

"Careful." Ivy quickly sends her message, and we wait while she finishes the rest of her idea. "Vince is going to be inconsolable while you two are gone."

"I wouldn't say inconsolable. Just a little worried." Vince admits.

"We crossed, what, half the world to get you back? If we can survive that, we can survive a little drive." Cassie says.

Actually, if we drove in a straight line, how much of the earth's circumference could we have traveled? The calculation is trivial, I just have to wait for the information to be retrieved from one of my drives.

"No, sorry. We could have made it about fifteen percent of the way around though. Thirty if you count the portion we did with Vince and Ivy."

"Fuck, really? God, the earth is big."

"Yeah, it is." Vince agrees. "Just think about it, before the world ended, you could hop on a plane and be anywhere on the planet in under twenty hours."

"Why the hell aren't we using them now?"

"They just require too much space." Vince shrugs. "They need a flat landing strip a mile long, and that excludes most cities right there. Even the ones who are living in skyscrapers, the sheer manpower required to keep the runway clear after every single storm is just not doable. Even if it was, you're left with the question of where do you even store the things during a storm? Someone comes up with the idea to try it again every couple of years, but it's never taken off."

"Ugh, shut up." She lightly taps his arm.

Vince just chuckles at his little joke, and Ivy gives the largest roll of her eyes she's physically capable of. Corax, on the other hand, has only amusement shining in his eyes.

We sit and talk for a bit, just relaxing and enjoying each other's presence. That's interrupted by a slight pressure pressing on my mind, so light as to be almost entirely undetectable. A moment later Kismet appears on the path. Their spindly arms still seemingly have a mind of their own, each of them working on separate small projects. Our conversation dies as they approach. Corax's friends take off, and Corax glides down onto my shoulder.

"We're sorry to interrupt your conversation, and we're sorry we didn't get a chance to welcome you back when you first arrived. Clover needed our attention." They start. "Blue, Corax, and Cassie, it's a pleasure to see you again. Vince and Ivy, it's a pleasure to see you in one piece. We are Kismet, and we've brought a small gift." One of Kismet's hands reaches into a compartment, and pulls out what looks like a sleek collar. "This is Frankenstein's design, we just convinced Hephaestus to prioritize it."

Ivy frowns as she takes the piece of fabric. It's pure black with hidden claps on either side. A few sections of it don't fold, there must be electronics either woven into it, or hidden inside. She holds it in her hand for just a moment, inspecting it closely before clasping it around her neck.

"Does this thing work?" Ivy's voice comes out of the collar. It's flatter than her normal voice, but it's so good to hear her again regardless. Her frown is wiped away by a small smile. "Thank you." She says simply.

Vince's face floods with a mix of emotion that I can't even begin to dissect.

"Your thanks is being forwarded to the two who deserve it. It works by reading the muscles in your throat to work out what you're attempting to say, despite your unwilling surgery." They say. "We're certain you can find a way to power it with your existing cybernetics, but if you can't, there's a small removal battery embedded that needs to be recharged once a week."

"Wait, does that mean-" The voice comes out of her collar despite her mouth not moving. "Oh, this is much better than getting it fixed."

"We admit we did not come just to deliver your item. The last thing we want to do is to disrupt your relaxation, but we need to have a conversation and the earlier we have it during your stay, the better."

"What's the conversation about?" I ask.

"C-1."

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