CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Once I was feeling a little more like myself, I peeled away from David and padded across the room to find some clothes to wear.

I wondered how much had changed outside. Was Clara still being bullied? Was Erik protecting her? So much time had passed that I even questioned whether she still remembered me.

"I'm going to take a walk outside, join me?" I asked, turning to face him.

His face was guarded as he stared at me. No words were spoken, but since he stood up, I assumed he was going to follow me out.

As I walked down at winding halls, I stopped at the door that was slightly ajar with claw marks scraping the sides. Something had happened here, but when I peeked inside, it was tidy. The sheets smelled fresh and everything was where it should be.

I lightly ran my fingers along the scratches, wondering what occurred to cause this. "David -"

He had already gone on ahead of me and was about to round the corner, so I ran forward to catch up to him.

More and more questions swirled in my head. He was keeping secrets from me again and I couldn't fathom what it could be this time. A lot could happen in the months I was unconscious.

When I stepped out of the Covenant, I was greeted by a wonderful surprise. The primitive buildings that we used to have were all upgraded into stone and bricks. There were even metalworking and intricate designs carved in.

The farm had expanded beyond the horizon, lined with healthy-looking crops that made me proud of how far we had come from the initial struggles of even having them take root.

The only problem was… where were all the people? I had never seen the place so empty during the day. How could no one be out, at all?

"Danny? Clara? Jeff?" I called out, hoping that someone would answer me, but no one did. It was as if I was in an alternate universe where everything was just a little different from what I remembered it to be.

Perhaps that was exactly it.

What if I was still unconscious and this was what my mind conjured?

I walked around, going through buildings and peeking nosily into other people's huts. They were all unlocked and unoccupied.

There was no one.

Was this some cruel joke?

There had to be someone!

Just as I thought that, I saw the back of a familiar figure and immediately ran towards him, throwing my arms around his waist. "Walter! I'm so glad to see you. What's going on here? Where did everyone go?"

He slowly turned in my arms to look at me with warm chocolate orbs. "Miss Cassandra…" He wrapped his arms around me, holding me close as he sighed quietly into my ears. "I am heartened to see that you are well. It seems as if an eternity had passed while we feared for your life."

"Well, it was pretty short for me. I was dying one moment and the next, I'm babyless and everyone is gone!" I exclaimed.

"My condolences for the loss of your baby," he murmured, ignoring everything else I had just said.

"So are you going to tell me or are we going to have to keep playing hide and seek when we both know that it's a fixed game?" I demanded, feeling irritated when Walter looked over to David.

David stopped behind me, so I turned to glare at him instead. "Tell me, David! What happened while I was gone? Where is everyone?!"

"I needed to ensure your safety," he stated.

"And…?" I didn't know how that was relevant to my question. "Did they all decide to go on a witch hunt to kill me?"

He continued to stare at me with his piercing blue eyes. I could practically see him trying to formulate the best answer to not anger me further. It was too late for that.

"David, tell me the truth. You can't hide this from me forever," I huffed, crossing my arms.

"Don't be angry, Miss Cassandra…" Walter sighed. "He means well."

"Yeah, well…. maybe he's got to start talking and I'll -"

"I did it for you. I realized that I could no longer keep you safe with so many variables running around." His voice was firm and practically devoid of emotion, but there was a tick he seemed to have developed.

I reached up to rub the spot between his eyes where a frown was trying to form. What a human thing to do…

"You were correct to point out that I promised and failed to protect you," he went on, seizing my curious hand and slowly moved it away from his face. "I cannot allow another mistake like this to occur, again."

"Even Clara? Erik? Danny?" I whispered, feeling a numbness wash over me.

What was I even supposed to think or feel?

"They have all been… repurposed."

The Xenomorphs. There were so many of them when I woke up. I should've known why. They needed a host to reproduce and so…. all the colonists…

"I have left the human embryos alone if you ever want to repopulate the planet," he stated as if that would make everything better.

It didn't.

"Not everyone was going to hurt me, David." I was too tired to even yell. A part of me wished that I could've somehow lived in absolute ignorance, but that was foolish. I was a hypocrite.

David had single handedly destroyed the Engineers. I hadn't felt much for them because of what they did to my family. But these people I had once grown close to… it wasn't something David would understand. What was the human race to him? We were even more fragile and susceptible than our creators.

"I cannot guarantee that. There were too many and they were all capable of harm." His hand squeezed my wrist for a second before loosening once more, but he never let go.

I clenched my eyes shut. This was all too much. I couldn't imagine little Clara hurting a fly.

"Master, we should take her back," Walter suggested, placing a hand on the other synthetic's shoulder.

"Go. Show her her new home," came the reply as he finally let me go and my hand fell limply to my side.

Walter steered me towards the direction of my humble hut, but what was in its place was anything but. The tiny stone hut was replaced by a two-storey stone mansion. "Walter…"

"Come, I will show you around. I hope it is to your liking," he said with a soft smile on his face.

Inside was even more grand than I could've ever imagined. The entryway had a tall ceiling that showed off both floors. There was a large closet that I would never be able to fill off to one side and a bench on the other.

On the first floor was a large sitting room with couches made of leather and a plush rug on the floor - had they hunted animals here for them? Going in further was a sizable kitchen with ample counter space. I wasn't sure exactly what they planned to cook here, but it could probably fit an entire lion.

On the second floor were two bedrooms. One larger than the other. It also had a workshop and…

I froze when I turned to see the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eyes on.

I walked to the white keys and slowly pressed down. The sound had enough resonance to make me shiver. "... How…?"

"I have the blueprints of everything that has already been invented. All I needed to do was replace each material with something that was comparable here. It wasn't as hard as one would imagine," he stated. "It was David's idea and since I had a lot of time while he watched over you, I enjoyed tinkering and exploring new hobbies."

Of course….

I sat down and tested each key that was tuned to perfection. Before I knew it, tears began to roll down my cheeks.

"Miss Cassandra?!"

He ran over to me and knelt down by the elegantly carved bench, his long fingers reaching out to wipe the droplets away.

I sniffed, wiping my face and turned to Walter. "Does it make me a bad person if I would rather the entire world burn than to lose you two?"

His eyes softened as he reached out for my hand, so I met him halfway. "No. The feeling is mutual. David had done this to ensure your safety. I hope that you will not stay angry at him."

I began to play with his long, pale fingers, going over everything I knew. He had literally killed everyone and replaced the population with Xenomorphs even though he had been perfectly content with experimenting on humans. He knew that I had a deep connection with them and without reason, they would never harm their own. "I think that's part of the problem. I am not as upset as I should be. I mean…. he killed everyone! I should be a complete wreck! Instead… I…"

He pulled me into his arms. "It is perfectly normal. Do not berate yourself for being human."

"Am I, though?" I whispered. "Am I still human?"

He chuckled, a rumbling noise that stemmed from somewhere inside him. "In all the ways that matter. You are so beautifully human, Cassandra."

I hummed.

"Play me something?" he asked.

"You can play better than me."

"No. It is different when you play it. I can play every note as it should be played; press it down in a way that will give the perfect dynamics, but it will never exude the same emotions. You play with passion, with love and grief." He leaned back, giving me room to turn to the piano.

I began to play the first song that came to mind, "The Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla."

"Why this one?" he quietly inquired, barely audible through the music.

Without stopping, I thought about it. "It's one of the songs I hold most dear." Because it was his favourite song and many times before the expedition, I played it for him. I loved how peaceful and content he looked while listening to the song.

Walter smiled as if he knew all of my inner thoughts.

Closing my eyes, I lost myself to the music.

He was right. Why couldn't I be selfish? It wasn't as if there was anyone left to judge me. I could do anything I wanted! This place was now my Valhalla and David was the God, changing the world as he saw fit.

"But what if I get bored here?" I wondered.

"Do you think we will not occupy all of your time?" he purred into my ears. "Do you think you will have a chance to be bored?"

I swallowed hard, finishing the piece before rotating to see David looming over me.

"I don't know… Will I?"

He sat down beside me, slowly playing a slow accompaniment on the lower octaves and I found a rhythm to join him. "You won't want for anything here, Cassandra. I will make anything you want happen. I couldn't do it on the last planet, but this will be your paradise."

I watched the way his long fingers dance deftly across the keys. It was so beautiful…. "But what about you? Won't you get bored?"

"Even without humans, the possibilities are infinite," he told me.

"And if they were to turn dangerous?"

"They won't. I currently have no plans of experimenting on sentient species, yet, not until the possibility of error is zero."

I hummed, resting my head on his shoulder as we continued to play. "I love you, David. Even if you're strange and you annoy me half the time. Even if I have a hard time understanding what you're doing, my heart sings for you, so please take care of me."

"The feeling is mutual, Cassandra."

His response made my heart skip a beat. Did he mean…?

I swallowed, running what I had said and how he responded. I hadn't imagined it, right?

Walter leaned down, pressing a soft kiss on my temple. "I love you as well, Miss Cassandra."

I turned to press my lips against his. "I love you, too, Walter."

I scooted closer to David to give him room to sit. It was snug, but I liked snug.

He seated himself beside me and I smiled.

Things definitely weren't perfect, but I was happy.

I was happier than I had ever been in a very long time.

And I was going to accept being selfish.

"Hey, can we test the bed after?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Exactly three years ago, I started this story and at one point, I thought I wasn't going to be able to finish it, but here it is! All done! I'm pretty sad that it's over. It was a nice journey that we all had together.

There were some things I still wanted to cover, but I kind of felt like I was dragging the ending too long already. On the other hand, I hope I haven't ended it too abruptly.

For the ones who are wondering about David suddenly liking Cassandra, he had always liked her in his own way. He's not human, so the way he showed his affection was a little different. Her safety was his number one priority because he always wanted her with him and thus, he sought a way to make her immortal.

He's willing to share with Walter because he saw the other synthetic as something he could control and an extra pair of eyes to keep Cassandra safe. Furthermore, Walter was usually there when he couldn't be during the times he went about satiating his curiosity.

Regarding the baby, David found that he should cherish what he has now because he nearly lost Cassandra in his pursuit to keep pushing the boundaries of what was possible. He was also unsure of whether she would be able to safely deliver a baby since she wasn't completely human. Aside from that, he didn't want to share her affection with someone he knew would steal her attention away from him – not yet.

By the end of the story, I intended to create a environment that would lead up to Alien. If I feel a spark of inspiration, maybe I'll continue on in that route. Who knows?

Thank you everyone for supporting me throughout the years and everyone who is reading this in the future.

Thank you to those who reviewed the previous chapter, CamiStark13, BrySt1, saltedChips, sansviolet, MageVicky, guest (Guest).

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourite and followed this story!

I will most likely be posting a new story soon regarding Danganronpa 2 if anyone is interested.