A/N: Alfred's POV

Gears turned, shifted, ground, and pushed roughly together against each other forming a symphony at the tips of my fingers. The small silver plates slithered and tickled my knuckles, before they bared their small teeth and bit into the hand I had offered, making me withdraw my hand with a jerk and quickly push the knuckles into my lips, to mouth the wound for blood.

I shifted in my seat to glare at the gears that seemed to jeer as they continued to dance in lazy circles, until they suddenly clanked to a stop when I slammed the gadget against the wall. It may be cruel to admit it, but I took great satisfaction in seeing that it let out a high pitched screech before it crumbled into a pile of silver and nickle.

Sliding to the floor by the bricked up window and I drew lazy circle in the dust rocking slightly side to side and murmuring the song that I heard being played down in the kitchen. Only interrupted when the door to this makeshift prison swung open silently and hit the wall roughly, causing the door nob to be acquainted with the drywall and insulation that lay quietly under a layer of sky blue paint.

Shiny door nob, meet drywall and insulation.

I'm sure you all will get along nicely, seeing as you will all be spending some time together from here on out.

"Alfred~!" I couldn't help but cringe when I heard the mechanical yet childish voice call out to me, and there was no way I could stop himself from tensing when my creation slid onto the floor beside my drawings of cow and eagles.

"Ivan...What do you want?" I hoarsely asked before attempting to clear my throat, but I gave up when I realized that my voice was not going to cooperate with right now.

The traitor.

Pulleys tightened, and Ivan's lips quirked upward in a small smile; which, made me proud at how lifelike it looked.

How it looked natural.

How Ivan's eyes, even though they were made of lilac chains and violet glass, seemed to carry a soul with them.

His eyes.

I had spent months on his eyes, getting them perfect. Figuring out how the mechanics within would bend and tighten with apparent emotion, until finally I was satisfied.

I was slowly drawn away from my thoughts when a leather clad palm smoothed over my shoulder blade, coming to rest at the arch in my back before a finger curled into the belt loop of my loose jeans and yanked upwards. Forcing me to stand all too suddenly, making my head spin and quiver until I regained my already normally lacking balance.

"Ivan where are we going?" I whispered only receiving a noncommittal noise, I twirled my cowlick through my fingers, a habit I picked up when I was growing up to calm myself down, and stared at the pictures that covered the hallway to the kitchen.

There was a pull in my chest as I stared at my past life.

At the friends and family I haven't seen in..How long was it now?

Months?

Weeks?

Days?

I have lost track.

"Has anyone called for me today?" I asked trying to fill the gap in conversation.

"No." Ivan answered bluntly, and if it wasn't for the clenching fists I would have thought he was telling the truth. I didn't know whether to be angry that he was lying to me, or that apparently I didn't make him as good as I thought I did. I settled for the latter, flicking the cowlick out of my face and succeeded in only causing it to poke me in the eye.

Immediately I dug my fist into my eye socket and rubbed, making neon orbs flash and twirl around my fingers. Apparently my actions were not approved by the AI, because the next thing I know I'm staring at a gloved hand holding my fist.

"Do not do that Alfred. You can hurt your eyes if you rub them like that." Ivan chided while rubbing a finger against my eyebrow. I stared at him questioningly making my eyebrow arch towards my hairline, and received a giggle from Ivan as my eyebrow twitched under his finger. "You are so cute, Alfred~! The human body is so weird~!" He basically cooed to me in a manner I had seen mothers do to their children.

Which was really more mentally scaring than anything. When you look like a grown man, and you guzzle down vodka and oil like no tomorrow you are not suppose to coo.

It is just wrong.

But if I were to just tell him that then I would have to deal with him hovering behind me for the rest of the day, so I just bit my lip and walked into the kitchen. Where there were what looked to be misshaped christmas cookies. "Ivan?" I sent him a questioning look, and he just grinned again but wider. The soft silicon and urethane crinkled slightly as he smiled, before his face became blank when the phone rang.

Hearing the noise, I vaulted over the counter. Scattering the misshapen dough onto the floor and silently thanking my track coach as I ran and picked up the phone. I shoved the red plastic of the phone against my ear, wincing as the hard corner dug into my ear awkwardly, only to hear the dial tone.

I continued to hold the phone against my ear, just listening to the hum as I looked back at Ivan from the corner of my eye. He stood there, still smiling, but the chains in his eyes were loose and I could see the inner gear of his eye whirling busily and confidently. It was obvious that he had ended the call before I could answer it.

We stood like that for awhile, before Ivan turned and left the room leaving me to stare at the place he was.

Taking my chance, I dialed the number I had memorized years ago. I couldn't stop myself from smiling when I heard the phone ring on the other line. That is until I heard Ivan.

"Alfred...This is not a very wise choice you are making~" He sang through the phone, and I couldn't help but slam the phone down into its cradle.

This had happened before with Ivan, and I had already come to terms that the security I had designed to keep intruders out, was trying, and succeeding, at keeping me in.

But just because I have come to terms with my situation, did not mean I was giving up trying to get out.