//Ahn: Underwater

Ahn's knees buckled. There was a crunching sound as he landed on a few circuits that had been in Ava just a few moments before. Sae had killed her. He wasn't mad at her; she had saved his life. He just felt...sad.

He felt like he was underwater. Everything was so blurry. Somebody walked over to him. 'Sae?' he thought. 'It must be.' It was hard to see. Everything was dark.

He managed to choke out a few words, but was unable to hear them leave his mouth. They were being muffled by the sea of emotions around him.

So dark.

Blue. Green. Under ordinary circumstances, the soft colors in front of him may have come off as pretty. But right now, he was alone in them. There was nothing but the blue.

Pain. His stomach hurt.

'That's right,' he remembered. 'Ava stabbed me.' He thought for a moment. 'She's dead now.'

Sorrow.

It was so dark.

The blue had encased everything. He was in the blue. The blue was the only thing there was.

He looked for the surface of the water surrounding him, only to discover there was no exit. There was no light in this painful world. Ava went through such a horrible thing, and he was only able to watch it unfold. He couldn't help her.

'It's not entirely different from my own situation,' he thought, not even managing the sad smile he usually was able to force out.

There was a voice coming from outside the water. It sounded confused. He listened intently. It reminded him of someone.

No, he thought. There's nobody here. There never had been.

Darkness.

The blue was gone.

Black. Swirling black, Consuming the things he was vaguely aware of around him. It spread like spilled ink through the water, covering the melancholy colors.

He let it do so. He would rather not feel at all than deal with this unbearable sadness.

Darkness.

Nothing else.

'Ah,' he thought. 'There never was anything else. I've always been alone.'

That's right. He was always alone. If he let anyone in again, he would only be left with those horrible emotions that followed him like a malicious shadow to keep him company.

A sensation.

What could it be? There was only darkness.

A voice. A pretty voice. Almost soothing.

His hand.

Warmth.

Something was squeezing his hand.

No, he realized. Someone was grabbing it. Holding it. Something was there.

The thing squeezing his hand was soft, delicate. So warm. It was small, but it felt like it was protecting him. What could such a small thing hope to protect him from?

Noise.

A voice. It was a pretty voice, almost soothing.

The thing in his hand tightened its grip. Another hand, he realized. Someone else's.

"I'm here."

A girl. Who was it? Everything was so blurry.

"You aren't alone. I won't let you be."

His vision cleared, the black melting away. A female android sat in front of him.

Her hand was so warm.

She had a concerned expression on her face. Her eyes matched his own, letting off a soft blue glow.

"You aren't alone." Her soft hand tightened around his. "I won't leave you now, and I won't leave you later."

Sae.

The water drained away in a torrent of emotions being released.

Sae sat in front of him, holding his hand, speaking softly. "I'm here," she would say, over and over.

She was there. Sitting with Ahn. Showing sadness for the first time. What had made her feel that way?

It didn't matter. At least she was still there.

"I'm back," Ahn said, the sound of his voice clear in his own ears.

Sae smiled.

"Stay that way."