Author's Notes:

WARNING!

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR DETROIT BECOME HUMAN! DO NOT READ IT IF YOU PRETEND TO PLAY THE GAME! BUT IF YOU DON'T CARE AT ALL, BY ALL MEANS, GO ON AHEAD! (I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M STILL SCREAMING!)

Also, this week I go back to university so I'll need to adapt to my new schedule once again.

Now, Thank you, for your attention, I hope you enjoy the chapter. And please don't forget to tell me your thoughts if at all possible.

Have a nice day.

"Where are going to today, Wolfy?"

"What?"

"W-wolf! I said 'Wolf'."

"Okay?" Arden replied tilting his head once Nightmare was back on her hooves. "I know I didn't give you my name, so I don't mind that. My question is regarding your voice." Arden continued, his remark made Nightmare look away for a moment. "It sounded more high-pitched."

"W-we, I-I, don't know what you're talking about. Answer our, MY, question, peasant." Now Nightmare's voice sounded forced, it was definitely the right pitch, but her tone was all over the place. The mannerisms were on point but everything else was a mess.

'What is going on here...no. This can't be...' Arden thought, looking a bit harder at Nightmare he didn't see any of the traces of when Luna was listening in or watching over.

"I thought you would have got the gist of this place by now," Arden said in a mocking tone. Nightmare frowned at him, he chuckled. "I don't know where we are going until we get there."

"What's the point of travel when you don't know the destination?"

'What is up with those questions? She's usually more excited, now she looks...unsure, a bit afraid? She is definitely out of the loop today.'

"That is usually the most exciting part of this little sessions. Not knowing what we will face next." Arden said going to the door and opening it. "Ladies first." Arden gestured her to proceed. Nightmare looked at him with a smile and walked by him with her head held high.

"At least you are a gentlecolt," She said as she passed by him. "That attitude is more suitable towards us, me! I meant 'me'."

"Riiiiight," Arden said closing the door. "Any questions about the previous room?" 'She is getting a tad nervous...why? Am I scaring her?' "Are you okay?" he asked opening the next door, "You look nervous. Is something bothering you?" Arden continued looking back at Nightmare. She appeared to be sweating a little, her body seemed to tense up, and her eyes were wide open. 'Okay, better drop it. Too much pressure won't get answers.'

"You don't need to answer if you don't feel comfortable about it," Arden said as Nightmare passed by him with haste.

"G-good! As your queen, we should not have to answer your inquiries!" Nightmare answered without looking at him. "And as long as I am not turned into a small fairy and have to hide inside your stupid hat. We will be content."

''We', 'I'. Are you going to decide if you're talking in the plural or singular anytime soon?' Arden thought. "You were adorable as a fairy. Even if you wouldn't stop yelling 'HEY! LISTEN!'. And I will be glad if I stay away from any water temples from now on." Arden shivered at the thought of going through another one of those. He looked back at Nightmare and saw that at least her reaction to that was the same. "That was a compliment, let's keep going. I rather not meet that guy from a few weeks ago."

"Why not face that reaper?" Nightmare asked. "There is no way one creature can withstand the power of a Goddess."

'Okay, this is getting dangerous.' "I outwitted you and made you leave. That thing is a product of my head, therefore, it can probably beat you too. Especially since that guy basically can cause someone to despair to the point of killing themselves," Arden argued. Nightmare glared daggers at him, with a bit more of aggression than usual. 'Am I dealing with Nightmare?'

"V-very well," She huffed, taking the lead and passing through the doors. Arden followed until they reached the door to the newest room. She grabbed the doorknob and tried to open it, Arden watched her jerk the door. 'Yup this is somepony else.'

"Did you hit your head?" Arden asked, earning more daggers being aimed at him. "We already figured out that only I can open to the next trial. Did you forget that? You pouted the entire session after you discovered you had to wait for me to open the new door." 'Nightmare' looked away huffing. 'She is less mature, true that she is like a little kid when she hears a story. But that's it, after that she is back to her 'Royal Highness' attitude. Right now she is acting like a child full time. Impatient, happy to see something new, angry because she can't do everything her way.'

"Well?" Arden heard while Nightmare was looking away. "Open the door, we wish to see what awaits us," Arden rolled his eyes.

'This ought to be interesting.' Arden thought, grabbing the doorknob and opening the door. Nightmare ran inside, Arden shrugged and headed inside. Which resulted in him faceplanting into a metal door, Arden took a step back and hit another wall. Looking around he saw a digital display with a lot of buttons and numbers increasing. 'Elevator. Now, where are you taking me? Please, don't let it be a room filled with people trying to kill me.'

A 'ding' sounded and the door opened in front of him. "Negotiator on site." Arden felt a chill run down his spine, stepping out he saw a shattered aquarium. A colorful fish on the ground, Arden picked it up and placed it back on the aquarium. Looking to the opposite side he saw a picture of a family on top of a table, Arden began to feel a bit sick. A few steps forward and a woman appeared accompanied by a what looked like a soldier.

"Please! Please, you got to...what, what are you sending in?! Why aren't you sending in a real person?!" The woman said, tears rolling out of her eyes. The soldier began to take her away. "No! No! You need to save my daughter! You can't send that! Please, someone please save my daughter!"

'God, of all the places. It had to be this one, hadn't it?!' Arden cursed while heading further inside. The sound of a gun being fired made him wince.

"ALL OF YOU STAND BACK OR I'LL JUMP! I die, she dies!" Arden knew that voice, it was a fairly recent thing so it was fresh on his memory. He failed so badly at this thing.

'Please let 'Nightmare' be the one in charge,' He thought. Heading into the room he saw the swat officer talking to a soldier using a computer. Arden knew the line and what he was supposed to do there. "Hello, Captain Allen. My name is Arden Sila. I'm the android sent by Cyberlife."

"What is going on outside?" He asked the soldier on the computer, completely ignoring Arden.

"Do you know the deviant's name?" Arden asked, he already expected the lack of an answer. "Do you know if he experienced any sort of emotional trauma?" The captain let out a grunt before saying anything.

"Why would that even matter?" The captain replied turning to face Arden, he pushed Arden to the side and walked off. "That thing already took two of my men down. If you don't solve this I will!"

'Ok, don't rush this. Be quick, but don't overlook possible clues.' Arden thought looking around.

First, a briefcase that appeared to be for holding a gun, which was missing, no ammo on the ground and some of it was missing from the ammo box. The wardrobe was open. 'That gun belonged to either the father or the mother. The target took it. And judging the fact that there is no ammo lost here. He had time to do it, therefore, the family was too busy to notice.'

Arden got back up and left the room, back to the main hall another shot was fired. Arden winced, that's when he saw the room of what looked like it belonged to a child. He stepped inside as quickly as he could, Arden looked around and saw a set of headphones. Arden got them and heard it playing. 'I remember someone shot on the ground at the living room. With this on her head, the kid wouldn't hear the shots.'

Placing it back, Arden looked around and saw a tablet on top of the desk. The symbol on its surface indicated to be an audio or a video file. Arden pressed the symbol and it started to play. "This is Daniel, he is the best android in the world. Say 'hi', Daniel." Arden paused the video, the android's face was clear on the video, but the girl's face wasn't. 'The guy's name is Daniel. He might be attached to the girl.'

Arden went to the living room, a male was shot three times on the torso. This part he remembered analyzing the game, the father was shot while looking at something that fell after he collapsed on the table. Arden looked at the place where he knew the object had landed. 'He was going to replace Daniel. This is a probable cause.' He placed the tablet back and went to the other corpse he knew was there.

'The first officer to arrive on the scene. Shot a few times. Casings by his side and blue blood on the wall. The officer shot at Daniel and was killed.' Arden thought, then he saw a lost shoe on the floor. He picked it up and saw red blood underneath it. 'Alright, the child might be wounded.' Arden placed it down and got back up, almost losing his footing he felt he had stepped on something. Arden looked down and saw a gun. He ignored it and went outside, being greeted by a shot that bruised his left arm.

'Shit! Not fog tricks here either.' Arden thought, looking at the missing part of him that was splattered at the wall. He looked forward and saw something that made his heart freeze. The android was holding Nightmare, the gun was pointed straight at her head. 'As if the situation wasn't bad enough! I need...I need...' Arden couldn't finish his train of thought. His mind went into a blank, he remembered how he played. That's what Arden didn't want, to end up with a bullet between his eyes. He also didn't want to leave Nightmare like this. He had to change the outcome, he had to use the one thing that was his strong suit. The one thing he was always avoiding.

'I won't lose.'

"STAND BACK! OR I'LL JUMP!"

'Yes. Focus on me, you're angry and scared. I am your target, not her.'

"DO SOMETHING!"

'Shut up! Okay, watch your tone, you need to be calm. If he sees that I'm on the edge he might try to play me or he might jump.'

"It's okay Daniel."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?!"

'Okay, now he knows I'm somewhat aware of who he is. I need to earn his trust now. I need to empathize with him.'

"I know a lot of things about you! My name is Arden Sila! I came here to get you out of this!" Arden shouted as a helicopter passed behind Daniel and hovered around the place. He was slowly walking towards the two since Daniel was distracted by the helicopter he managed to make some ground. "I'm an android. Just like you. I understand how you're feeling."

"WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE IF YOU'RE ANDROID?! YOU'RE ON THEIR SIDE! YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND HOW I'M FEELING!"

"ARE YOU ARMED?!"

'Having a gun could be a last minute resort, but if he figures out I was armed he will shoot me.

"I don't have a gun!"

"Y-YOU'RE LYING! I KNOW YOU HAVE A GUN!"

'He thinks I'm like the other androids.

"I'm telling you the truth. I don't have a gun. I came here unarmed." Arden replied. "I know that you and Nightmare were very close. You think she betrayed you, but she's down nothing wrong."

"SHE LIED TO ME! I THOUGHT SHE LOVED ME...But I was wrong....she is just like the other humans."

"PLEASE HELP ME!"

'SHUT UP! Okay, he needs to know that I'm aware of what caused this. That I'm aware of his train of thought.'

"They were going to replace you and you became upset. That's what happened right?"

"I thought I was part of the family...I thought I mattered...But I was just a tool. Something to throw away when you're done with..."

Looking around he saw the corpse of an officer inside a pool. Closer to Arden there was another police officer on the ground, but this one was alive and bleeding. Arden slowly kneeled down and checked the officer. 'Bullet wound, passed through the arm. Too much blood, bright red, pulsating probably hit an artery.' "This man is bleeding, if we don't do something he is going to die."

"All humans die eventually. Why would it matter if this one dies here?"

'And yet here you are! Claiming to be alive. He is just like you! No, he is angry and confused. I still need to calm him down.'

"I'm going to apply a tourniquet!" A warning shot was made almost hitting Arden's hand.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM OR I'LL SHOOT!"

'This guy is armed, Daniel might think I'm trying to get a weapon.'

"Okay," Arden said getting up slowly. Daniel pointed the weapon at Nightmare's head.

'Damn it. I have to make him point it at me. If I show sympathy while moving towards him he might focus more on me and less on Nightmare.'

"I know this is not your fault. The emotions you're feeling are errors in the programming." Arden said slowly walking towards the two. Arden kept his arms up showing he had no intention of fighting.

"No...It's not my fault. I never wanted this" Daniel replied still pointing the gun at Nightmare's head. "I loved them...you know? But I was nothing to them...just a slave to be ordered around..." Daniel's expression shifted, he stopped looking at Arden and pushed the gun against Nightmare's head. She closed her eyes, the helicopter began to get closer. "Urggggh...I can't stand that noise anymore!" He said pointing the gun at Arden. "Tell them to go away!"

'He is on the edge and I'm not close enough. But I get any closer he will shoot. Time to play by his rules.' Arden gestured to the helicopter, ordering them to leave.

"There, I did what you wanted," Arden replied. 'He needs to trust me. I need to reach out if he doesn't listen He will probably jump. Or the SWAT is going to put a bullet on him.' "You have to trust me, Daniel. Let her go and I promise you, you can leave here unharmed. Everything will be fine, and all of us get to live."

"I-I...I want a car. And everyone to leave. Once I'm outside the city I'll let her go." Daniel replied, his expression shifting alongside his tone. The gun still pointed straight at Nightmare's head. 'I'm not close enough to reach her. I can't promise that. I don't have a gun. I need to turn this around.'

Arden looked at Nightmare, she had her eyes wide open, they were locked on his. Tears were rolling down her face, the makeup she was wearing ruined. Her eyes had a tinge of red due to the crying, she was scared out of her mind. Daniel was calming down, he just needed one last push and everything would be fine.

"That is not possible Daniel. Let her go and I promise you, you will be okay."

"I don't want to die." 'He is almost back to his senses, I just need to reassure him that we are on the same terms. And that he will be okay.'

"No one is going to die here," Arden said, focusing his gaze on Daniel's eyes. "You won't die, we are just going to talk."

Daniel placed the gun on Nightmare's head one more time, his grip seemed to be tightening, and his finger looked like he was about to pull the trigger. He continued to move his finger until he lowered the weapon and let go of Nightmare, who was in such a panic that her legs didn't seem to work. She fell to the ground and scrambled away from Daniel while Arden walked closer to Daniel offering his hand. The android dropped the gun and reached for Arden's hand.

'Okay, it's all over. Both of them are safe.' Arden extended his hand.

A shot was fired.

And another.

And another.

Arden stood in shock as the android was mauled by three shots. One at his abdomen, spilling synthetic blood and flesh over the android's clothes and on the ground. Another one on his right shoulder, making him bend forward and allowing Arden to see the wires and inner joints of the being. And one shot at the left side of Daniel's jaw, the blue blood flew through the air as Daniel fell forward on his knees. His white clothes stained in blue as Daniel raised his eyes up to Arden who wouldn't dare to move.

"You lied to me Arden," Daniel said looking straight at him, his voice starting to be distorted. "You lied to me..." He repeated with a more robotic voice that grew deeper as he struggled to say each word. And then Daniel stopped, that last moment of despair and sadness stayed in his face while his eyes grew darker. The SWAT team entered and Arden looked at Nightmare. The room started to shift and soon Arden found himself back in the familiar rooms of his mind. His little safe haven from the madness.

Arden stood still for a long period of time. He had done it. He survived the scene that when he first tried it ended up with him being shot after a few steps towards the android. But that's not what was on his thoughts, it was the look on the android's face when he died. Arden had used his ability to trick him, to make him give up his shield, his one chance to survive. 'I doomed him. I played him like a puppet.'

Suddenly Arden felt something warm on his torso, he looked down and saw Nightmare burying her face on his chest while she continued to cry.

"Thank you! Thank you!"

Arden placed one of his hands on top of her head and gently stroked her mane. 'She was terrified. She still is. But I saved her.' Arden thought. That's when another memory ran through his mind, the image of the pony form appeared. His words echoed in Arden's head:

'I can save. I can doom.'

'So, I can save someone, but it doesn't mean that I can save everyone. Not every situation has a completely happy ending.'

"H-how?" Arden heard as the warm feeling on his chest disappeared. "How did you do that?" Looking at Nightmare, he saw her drying her tears as she stared at him.

"What do you mean?"

"How did you managed to make him let us go free?"

"I did what I'm best at. But repressed it most of my life," Arden replied.

"And that is?"

"The same thing that told me that you're not Nightmare," Arden replied, earning a surprised look from the impostor. "Am I on the right track, Luna?" Arden took a shot in the dark and was hoping he hit his mark.

"H-how? It's her body. It's her voice." Luna replied, confirming Arden's suspicion. "How can you tell the difference? How did you know I was Luna?" Arden extended his arm and pat her on the head before he walked away.

"Because you might have everything in place to mimic her. But you can't impersonate how she felt every time she was here. You can change your appearance and your voice, but how you react to everything that's around you, including reactions to the responses you get from others. The emotions you bring forth, and sensing how others react. That's my strong suit."

"I don't understand."

"There is no need to," Arden answered turning away as he saw the world dissolving. "Tell Nightmare I said hi."

The room disappeared, Arden woke up and the first thing he saw was Zecora. She appeared to be a bit scared of something, probably something happened while he was in trance.

'That's a pleasant sight, too bad the frown doesn't suit her. She looks way better when she is happy. I wonder...

When he was a human, he always had problems reading others feelings towards himself. Even here Arden was never sure. Insecurity? Doubt? Low self-esteem? Maybe all of them were to blame, maybe none. The point was: with every day that went by, he wanted to be closer. Every moment he shared with Zecora he wanted to last as long as it could. Just the thought of being by her side was more than enough to make him smile. The last couple of days, weeks after the blissful kiss that still lingered on his lips, he had a question stuck up his throat.

"Is the stallion ok?" Zecora asked as Arden sat up.

"Yes," Arden replied stretching a bit, then the pain started to sting. "But I think I should be the one asking that."

"Your heart rhythm got really high. And you had a hard time breathing." Chrysalis replied from behind Arden. "And you still don't look very well. Something happened?"

"Caring for me?"

"You wish, you bag of bones," Chrysalis said with a smirk, Arden chuckled. "Ok Zecora, I think he needs a little kiss on the cheek to make him feel better," Chrysalis said looking at the zebra, Arden noticed she was red as a tomato. "What? You kissed him on the mouth before. Not to mention you were almost giving him another one while he was in trance."

"CHRYSALIS!" Zecora screamed lunging at the Changeling. They started to run around the house, Arden just watched for a while. Then he started to laugh as he witnessed the game of tag, resulting in both of the mares stopping to look at him.

'These two, alongside Nightmare's visits, are the most constant things in my life ever since I got here. The most normal things in the spiral of insanity that has taken over my life.

"What's so funny?" Chrysalis asked. Arden just kept laughing. "I think he might have lost it."

His laugh slowly died down as he took deeper breaths.

"Thank you," Arden said smiling, he watched the two mares look at each other.

"Why do you thank us? This one and the changeling have only been doing the same thing as always."

"Thank you for being the normal parts in the insanity that is my life," Arden replied getting on his hooves. He walked up to them, Zecora and Chrysalis were back on their hooves as well. Arden pulled Zecora into a hug. "Thanks. There are no words that can express how glad I am I meeting you."

Then Arden broke up the gesture and turned to Chrysalis. "I guess that you're not a hugger. So, I ask that you accept this as my thanks," Arden said extending his hand to Chrysalis. She looked at him and back at the hand, then she smirked and took his hand.

"Be careful. You don't want to make your marefriend jealous," Arden just chuckled. "What?"

"I don't think she needs to worry," Arden said, earning a confused look from Chrysalis. "Especially when she already knows that I like her," Arden continued, he looked over his shoulder and saw Zecora looking away at the exact same time. "We are both way too awkward when it comes to that subject, aren't we?"

"T-to be the case, this one believes," Zecora answered still not looking him in the eye.

'She is always just as nervous as I am whenever Chrysalis decides to make a scene with that.' Arden thought, looking at the zebra he remembered all the pranks Chrysalis had been pulling ever since that delightful kiss days ago. 'I think the worst one was when she swapped one of the ingredients for a potion making it blow up. I remember that I landed on top of Zecora just as she was walking in, then Chrysalis screamed 'GET A ROOM!' We just couldn't look each other for at least an hour. But the laugh we had after that was great. There isn't a single moment that I regret being with her.'

"Want to...at least...consider..." Arden tried to come up with the courage to ask her. But he didn't manage to speak up, let alone finish the sentence. He turned to Zecora. She was right there. Extend his hand and ask, that was all he needed to do. He had just handled a hostage situation, but he couldn't speak up the question that was stuck in his throat. Hell, he couldn't even look her in the eye to murmur the question.

"What has the stallion said?" Arden heard, his gaze fixed on the ground. He felt Zecora's hand making him look up to her. "What is it?"

"Now kiss!" Ardden heard from behind him. Then he was forced to kiss Zecora after he felt his hooves leave the ground by some sort of force.

'And she did it again. We are so getting her for this one. Although, I don't think I give a damn about this one. What I give a damn is this fucking question!' Arden felt his hooves touch the ground, he backed away and looked at the shocked Zecora.

"Do you..." Ardens started, his heart started to race, "do you...want to at least...consider trying to be with me?" he asked looking at her. Zecora seemed frozen in time, Arden felt his body freezing, even though he was near the fire, his bones were cold as ice. Suddenly he heard from behind him.

"WHAT?!"