"Didn't think I'd see this place again." Vince's emotions are so thick he can barely get the words out.

"What? You doubted Corax and the girls?" Ivy asks.

"Depended on the day."

"Alright, don't get depressing right before we get home." Cassie says. "Save it for Silver."

"Right, will do."

The area around the city is busier than the rest of the desert, but it's not yet close enough to the next storm for a rush of scrappers to be returning. That, plus it still being dark, makes it easy to avoid the few cars that are still out here. Even if we don't have to hide anymore, it's still better to be safe.

I circle the car around the city, finding an entrance as close as possible to Silver's compound. I guess there's nothing to do but to head inside.

An electric charge passes over my skin as we enter the dome. I stare at a camera that's been tracking us the whole time, and give a small nod.

"Oh, that was a scan." Clover says quietly.

"Wait, really? I thought it was just a part of the dome." I guess trying to sneak out didn't do anything at all, he let me leave. I knew that already, but it's nice to have confirmation. Maybe that's a good sign? Although I'm not sure why he would let that happen.

Clover only gives me a nod in return.

Everyone holds their breath as we approach the compound. The few guards that are lounging outside freeze the moment they see us. One flashes a signal I can't quite make out in the dim light before rushing back into the compound.

"Is that a good sign?" I ask.

"It means safety." Vince's entire body relaxes as he sinks back into his seat. "It's a very good sign."

By the time I pull into the compound, people are already rushing out of the building. Faces I haven't seen in so long, each of them with a mix of emotions too overwhelming to properly process. Happiness, relief, exhaustion, smug smiles as they accept a wad of money from a friend. They rush towards the car, only to be stopped by simple words, filling the air with seemingly no source.

"All of you! Give them some space." The crowd parts at the front door, letting Silver walk through casually. "You all already knew they were alive, you'll have time to catch up over the next few weeks."

The courtyard is packed by the time Silver makes it to the car, although everyone is thankfully keeping a decent distance from all of us.

Silver sticks their head through the window, letting their eyes linger on each of us individually for a second before flicking to the next person. Their eyes finally settle on Clover, remaining locked to her for a few long seconds before saying anything.

"All of you, my office. Now." They retract their head and glance towards the crowd. "Oscar, go wake up Lucas and tell him everyone is back. Ian and Percy, get the car in the garage, but leave their belongings alone."

"It's good to be back." Vince climbs out of the car, followed closely by everyone else.

Clover hesitates, clutching at the child in her arms.

"It'll be ok." I reassure her.

She gives a small nod, although I'm not sure if it's intended for me or the child, and climbs out of the car.

Silver leads the way, and everyone thankfully gives us space, despite the crowd. All of them speak and reach out towards us as we pass, with Ivy, Vince, and Cassie responding in kind. I just focus on walking and making sure Clover keeps moving forward.

The hallway inside is equally packed, with just enough space for all of us to slip through and into SIlver's office.

The place is identical to how it was when I last saw it, just a desk and a few chairs. It's tight, fitting all of us inside, but we just about fit.

Silver takes their time walking around their desk and sitting down.

"Is it too much to ask for you to return a single time without a new AI in tow?" They ask.

"Silver, I wouldn't bring someone without a good reason." Vince says. "Would you like to introduce yourself?"

"I am not the Clover you once knew, but I am what remains of Her and I look forward to getting to know you again." Clover's words come out measured, obviously rehearsed a hundred times.

Silver doesn't react, they sit frozen, their eyes glued to Clover. Seconds stretch out between the two of them, a private moment I shouldn't be here for. Silver eventually breaks it off, turning their attention back to Vince.

"What do I need to know right now?" They ask.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"An AI named C-1 runs the city, and he's going to want to speak with me eventually." I fill in before Vince can. "I'd expect Mary to return, and soon probably, I didn't try to hide myself."

"Are we in danger?"

"I don't think so? Although it's hard to be certain. He wants to talk to me, but I want to help everyone get settled before I see him. I'm not going to have anything to do with him if he hurts any of you, and I'm going to make that clear as soon as I can." There's a non-zero chance that C-1 has this room bugged, and I can only hope that's true. Stating that clearly for him should keep everyone safe.

Silver nods in agreement, seeing straight through my reasoning.

"Good. You're all dismissed, nobody leaves the compound without my say-so. Clover, please, take a seat."

"Good luck." Ivy pats Clover on the shoulder as she passes. "I'm sure you remember, but they don't bite hard."

"Her memories say otherwise." Clover says quietly.

"Well, I'll need to hear that story later." Ivy opens the door and steps through. Thankfully, although there are people, there's space on the other side. Nobody is daring to try to eavesdrop on our conversation.

"Ivy!" Lucas bursts through the crowd and latches onto her, nearly bowling her over. He's obviously just woken up, his shirt is inside out and his hair is a mess. He pokes his head around her, his face happy at seeing us, but failing at hiding his surprise at our state. Even after all the recovery we've done, I think Corax and I are the only ones who look the same as we did when we left, and that's only because he can't tell I have new skin and hair. "I knew I should have come with you."

"Alright, alright. Come on, at least let us get to our room first." Her tone is dismissive, but she wraps her arms comfortingly around him.

"Glad to see you got home safe." Vince walks past him and reaches up to place his hand on Lucas's shoulder. "Come on, we've got a heck of a story to share."

"I really don't like you being the one to say that."

"Really don't like being the one to say that either." He lets his hand slide off Lucas's shoulder and Ivy finally lets him go.

All of us make our way upstairs. This is the first time in so long I've seen Cassie in a crowd without her hand on her knife. I'm so glad she can finally be somewhere she's comfortable.

I don't bother trying to look like just a robot. I'm happy to be here with everyone and I'm not going to hide that, I'm not going back to hiding myself away. If someone has a problem with that, I don't really care.

We end up piling into Lucas' room, and he quickly spreads out chairs for us.

"Ugh, I missed this room." Cassie collapses into one of the chairs, and I take the one next to her. "We're getting wasted and playing something tomorrow night."

"Is that a new arm?" Lucas blurts out.

"It is! Turns out Seven worked for The Bitch, and Sonia missed some kind of kill switch in it. Blue ended up shooting the thing off me."

"Speaking of Blue and Cassie…" Ivy says dramatically, staring at us out of the corner of her eye, and letting a smug smile dominate her face.

"Oh god, why are you like this?" Cassie whines.

"Are you two ok?" Lucas asks.

"Oh they're very ok." Ivy crosses her legs and leans forward conspiratorially. "How are you and Ethan doing?"

"We're doing great?" Lucas glances around, checking each of our faces for a hint of what she's getting at. "Why do you- Oh! Wait! No! You two!"

Ivy gives a cut nod and leans back in her chair, satisfied with her work.

"Cass finally got a girlfriend!"

"Hey! I've had girlfriends before! I mean, shut up!"

"Yeah, but Blue's actually a good person."

Cassie opens her mouth to argue, only to let it close again.

"Yeah, fair." She shrugs.

"Alright. Since Ivy spoiled that, guess we'll just jump right in from when we left you." Vince says. "Our little delay meant we couldn't quite make it to Vegas safely. We ended up making a pit stop in the Grand Canyon."

"And out of every town in there, you'll never guess which one we stumbled across." Cassie says sourly.

The hours fly by as we recount everything that's happened. Every place we visited, every delay, every mistake we made, every adventure we had. I let everyone else do the talking, knowing I'll have to explain the parts that nobody else can. Hacking into Vegas, the dumb idea to plug myself into an AI killing robot. Nobody else can share those experiences. Even if they're tough to remember, Lucas deserves to know the full story.

For the most part, Vince is the one to speak, but goes quiet as we approach Mara's trench. Ivy picks up for him, right up until the assault fails, and they end up staying behind. Cassie and I tell the rest of the story, silently agreeing to skip over any moment even remotely tender.

I pause when we reach Vegas. Zero had a camera in every room, and sure, Ivy could see most of them, but probably not all of them. Not to mention microphones don't even need to be visible, it's entirely possible for C-1 to be listening right now. I can't let him know anything about the city, I won't betray everyone like that.

If I say that Zero was the one who sent us to the city, C-1 can just ask. If I reveal we had AI with us to fight Mara, it'd be possible for him to guess we found a group of free AI. Once again, he can just ask Zero what we found.

"I'm sorry, but we should end the story there, at least for now." I say. Vince and Cassie give me a look, but Ivy only lets out a microscopic smile. "To make a long story short, we made it back and killed Mara."

"Ok, that's fine." Lucas thankfully doesn't even think about asking why. "I should have stayed with you all."

"Oh shut up." Cassie says. "What would you have changed? We bailed because of my arm, and you can't have stopped a shot from nowhere hitting Vince. Blue could only drag one of us through the desert, and you wouldn't survive the sandstorm we got caught in. Let me tell you, I wouldn't be the one to tell Ethan you died."

"I'm not sure I could have made it through anything if I knew one of you died." I say.

"Well it sounds like no one would have told Ethan you died then." Ivy shrugs casually.

"I'll make it up to you then. Dinner and drinks are on both of us, and we can watch a movie to relax."

"That sounds fucking awesome, actually."

"Well, if you're not just planning on buying something, Little Blue's turning into a little chef." Vince says. "I'm sure the two of you could give each other some tips."

"We can do that! John owes Hudson a favor, I'll see if I can get the kitchen to ourselves after the dinner rush."

"I did end up taking a few cookbooks we could try." I say.

"That sounds great! In the meantime, why don't we get your minds off of things?" Lucas stands up and grabs one of his numerous board games off his shelf.

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