Nyx blinked slowly again, studying Jude with those deep blue eyes of his. "I…I guess. Please." he said softly, his arms still by his sides. He couldn't move them, he didn't think. Yesterday, that click…and now he couldn't control them when he tried to lift them. They weren't responding.
Jude's eyes darted quickly from Nyx's face to his arms, which remained frozen.
"Wh- what? What's wrong?" He asked nervously, grabbing a nearby rolling tool stand and a short bench.
"Arms aren't responding." Nyx replied, blinking, his eyes flicking to the tool stand and bench. He attempted to move them again. His shoulders let out harsh, discordant clicking sounds, and didn't move. He winced slightly, and stopped trying to move them, still watching Jude.
"Oh my- Ok, just don't try to move, I'll see what's going on," Jude said, snatching up a few tools and scooting his bench closer. His hands lingered for a moment above Nyx's shoulder, "Is it okay if I-" Jude said, gesturing him taking off the artificial skin cover that looked fantastically like it was real.
Nyx nodded a little, and turned his back so that Jude could access better. "If you need to remove the shirt, you can." he said. Much of his torso was actually still flesh and blood and bone, but his arms and legs were not, along with a large portion of his left side. His internal organs were mostly intact, save for a few that had been replaced to keep him alive.
(i gtg, see ya later :)
(okay!)
Jude nodded before getting to work, threading his fingers gently through the wires and mumbling to himself.
"*Mm…yeah. ..Not that one– resistor.." He muttered, eyebrows furrowed in focus, and trying to figure out what the problem was. "This wiring…" Jude murmured, biting his lip nervously, "The outside protective rubber's melted off, and the metal strands are tangled and conflicting." He swivelled to face the tool cart, keeping one hand firmly gripped on Nyx's shoulder while the other searched for some polyolefin heat shrink.
Nyx kept still, letting Jude work. The skin where the cybernetic parts met his flesh was scarred and white, dead of feeling from anything. The thin white tank top that he wore did nothing to disguise anything. He was silent, too, not wanting to interrupt.
Jude worked quietly, occasionally muttering something incoherent, his eyes dancing from wire to wire, following the intricate circutry and the clustered strands of cold metal. After re-soldering the broken wires, he turned back to Nyx.
"Now," He smiled, "Try moving it? Gently."
Nyx nodded a little, and slowly moved his arms. They clicked faintly, but held together and worked. He glanced back at Jude, and nodded. "Yeah. That works. Thank you." He said, blue eyes studying Jude.
"Yeah. No problem." Jude smiled proudly, his eyes crinkling and his gaze admiring the details of Nyx's complex figure.
His eyes flickered up to Nyx's and lingered there for a moment, his gaze studying Nyx, studying him.
"So, how are you feelin' today?"
Nyx blinked slowly. "Fine, I suppose." He replied, still studying Jude as if he were an equation that Nux couldn't quite figure out. He frowned a little bit, arms dropping back down to his sides.
"Well, I uh, I got the job. I'll have a room with a back exit, so you can go outside some time." Jude offered a small smile in hopes that he'd reconsider.
"I'll fix you up, and you'll be okay. You'll be free… or whatever." He nodded, "So, what do you say?"
Nyx kept studying him. "I…" He finally gave a quick, sharp nod. "I guess so." He replied, his black hair sticking up a little bit on his head. He wanted…he wanted to actually feel the sun. That was all he really wanted.
"Okay," Jude sighed with relief, rubbing his eyes, and ruffling his hair. "Okay, so- our plan of action; getting you twelve floors down without being noticed." He nodded, remembering the plan he made the previous day. Quickly scanning his eyes over the room; he found it: a tall CPU from the late '90s used for storing server data. It could fit through doorways and could maybe hold Nyx, uncomfortably though.
"What do you think?" He asked, pointing to it.
Nyx swallowed. "Only if I shut off." He replied, eyes flickering over the CPU. "I…don't do small spaces very well." He admitted, crossing his arms loosely. He took a deep breath, shaking his head a little bit.
"Okay," Jude said, nodding, and chewing the inside of his cheek nervously and his eyebrows knitted in thought.
This had to work.
"And your pod…thing? what's the deal with that?"
Nyx blinked. "Oh. Life support systems to keep me alive without me having to be turned on. Tubes and pipes to take care of keeping my body fed, and I automatically shut down when the lid's closed." He replied.
"Oh." Jude simply said. He'd thought of the pod to have a much lesser purpose, but now he knew how essential it was.
"You don't think we could fit that in the 'box'? Do you?" He asked, glancing at its size.
"What do you think we could do?"
Nyx thought for a moment, then shook his head slowly. "Ah…no, not really." He replied. "I don't think it would fit. I didn't know what to do." He shrugged slightly, looking at Jude still. He couldn't quite believe that he would be leaving this room. Leaving it!
(brb)
(ok)
"Well, maybe I could try rewiring it?" He stood up, walking to the pod and looking around the back. The wires were so complex, much more intricate than your standard circuitry.
He groaned, "It's gonna take a shit ton of untangling," Jude glanced at a long, dust-covered desk, and an idea popped into mind. "What if I put it under the desk, and cover the outside…Get some moving guys! Maybe, use the stairs?"
Nyx blinked, and then shrugged helplessly. "I have…no idea." he replied honestly. "I really don't. You have more experience with the world than I do." he ran a hand through his hair, frowning slightly as the joints of his fingers caught in the strands of hair, and returned his arms to his sides.
"Okay uh, whenever you're ready," Jude suggested tiredly, gesturing to the tall box. What is this doesn't work?
Jude tried not to let doubt show, this was Nyx chance, and he didn't want to screw this up for him. He clenched his jaw and fiddled with his sleeve. "Take your time."
Nyx got out of the pod, wobbling a little for a moment as his brain calibrated for him. He took a deep breath, and then climbed into the tall CPU box, curling up into a ball inside. He closed his eyes. The walls are closing in the walls are closing in- The walls remain where they are. The robotic portion of his brain told him, but it didn't stop the feeling of panic that descended.
Jude moved his face close to the surface of the box. "Hey, It's gonna be okay.. just think about what you'll be able to see in a little bit. Just gotta get through this." He said, trying to offer some type of comfort. "Everything's okay."
Nyx forced a quick nod, his arms curled around his knees to make sure he would fit. "I know." he replied cautiously, not opening his eyes. With his eyes closed, he could trick himself into thinking that the walls weren't very far away at all, that he wasn't boxed in inside a tiny, tiny space.
Jude jumped up and down slightly, trying to get rid of his nerves. Everything is fine, the door is shut, everything is gonna be okay. Okay? Okay. "Okay," He said out loud and began pushing the CPU box, surprised that it was rolling so well. He stopped by the door, looking left and right to see if anyone was there. Empty. Good. Moving quickly, he pushed the box out into the open, trying to move as fast as he could to the elevators down the hall. C'mon C'mon almost there… He reached the elevators and pushed the down button immediately. Hurry up Hurry up Hurry up.