"Over here!" The shout came from a gruff voice, followed by heavy footsteps. They pounded against the thinly carpeted floor, stomping on the metal beneath it and sending echos down the hall. Anyone would have heard them coming for minutes before they did, but it did nothing to ease Eros's fear. At least, what he believed was fear.

It was hard for the android to discern for certain what he was feeling. The tangled knot of programmed emotions no longer came with a protocol. Whatever was meant to guide him was missing. He'd tried to restart the programming, but it was as if the system was missing completely. Whether it was glitched out or shut off was a mystery to the bot. All he knew for certain was that it left him without a guideline.

I'm scared. There was a different feeling thinking that to himself than there had been before. There was no affirmation in his head, and he could not rely on his body as a human would. He couldn't sweat without physical exertion, he did not have a heart that could beat. The way his body was pressed up rigid against the door behind him was the only clear signifier. His processor spun fast, the fans inside him faster. His body was trying to cool himself down, to tug him back into a rational state of mind he didn't know how to restore.

The footsteps were closer now, still fast and hard against the ship but the speed had let up somewhat. "I think one of those brats came down here." The words were hissed between clenched teeth that Eros couldn't see. All he could do was watch frozen as shadows flickered beneath the door frame he was hidden behind. "You see anything?" What's wrong with them? Eros's body shuddered, his framework rattling inside his synthetic skin as his fingers curled into fists. The droid didn't make a sound, only watched as the feet gradually moved away.

Something had happened to the guests of the ship. They were sick. Even sick felt like an under exaggeration, but the android had little to no experience with sick humans. All he had was what he'd seen, and it was not what any source defined as sick. They were violent, vicious. A man had swung a fire extinguisher at another's head full force. The sound that followed was a sickening crunch that had shaken Eros to his core.

With the sound outside faded, the android slowly rose to his feet. He gripped the doorknob for support but hesitated to pull it open. When he did, the process was slow, done as quietly as possible as he peered between the crack he had created and assured himself there wasn't a living soul left in the hallway that would see him. All I want is Aaron. Eros's body warmed at the thought alone. For all the terrifying screams and crashing that came from the deck, that was what he cared most about.

He must be back in his room. Eros left behind the room he had dove into only a few minutes earlier, sure he had lost the others that had attacked him. Whether they knew he was a human, android, or even alive, he hadn't known. All the sick ones he'd stumbled upon were spotting nonsense, paranoid, or bent on blood for any of those that didn't appear sick. It wasn't Eros's own fault he had been spared the beginnings of this riot locked alone on a lab table, but it forced the android to stand out like a single flake of fresh snow on a black tarmac. His clothes were clean, Aaron's white shirt kept in perfect condition and his shorts untorn. A few curls lay out of place, but he wasn't sweaty, flushed, or glassy eyed. He wasn't even smeared with blood or bile, minus the bottoms of his feet. The only part of him that was sullied was the android's bare feet, now smeared red from the numerous messes that lined the hall. It was impossible to step around all of them.

A low wail echoed to Eros's left, his eyes flickering that way only to see another shut door. His feet propelled himself forward, both hands clutched over his chest as he tried to avoid the horrors others were experiencing. A shred of guilt wormed its way between his wiring, tangling itself up and forcing his heart to ache all the harder. He wasn't a medical android or built as a bodyguard. He was thin and fragile, a soft model meant for nothing useful in a situation like this. He was utterly helpless to others as he followed the arrows of the hall, following them back in the direction of Aaron's room.

Please let him be there. Please let him be okay. As long as Dr. Han had let him return to his room, then Aaron would be okay. He could be locked inside, safe and secure and waiting out the mess that was going on. He could be waiting for Eros. Worry pushed Eros's faster as he turned down another hall toward the employee rooms and up a half flight of stairs. The hallways became more familiar, but so did the sound of footsteps. They were around the next corner, standing between the android and Aaron's room. He wished he had the ability to hallucinate, that the footsteps weren't real or that his hearing system had been tampered with but they were clear, a slow, soft shuffle picked up that the bot couldn't ignore.

Squeezing his hands tighter, Eros slowed his own pace to a crawl and risked a peak around the corner. Whatever he had dreamed would be waiting for him was not what he found. Hope bloomed inside the droid's chest. He was left breathless and frozen as his processor tried to catch up to the image in front of him. Finally. A relieved grin unfurled on Eros's face as he rushed forward. "Aaron!" he called out, losing all sense of worry as he recognized the man's back as it leaned against the hallway before him.

All of the anxiety that had been crushing the android, all of the fear, the panic, everything melted as he bounded the few steps and caught up with Aaron. Eros's hand landed on his shoulder, the other catching his arm as he waited for Aaron to turn and face him and smile back. When the man turned, though, there was no smile. Their eyes meeting didn't settle the feeling in Eros's chest, it didn't squelch the ache in his chest that had been throbbing, just waiting to see Aaron again. Instead, the android could only freeze as a pair of glassy eyes met his. Blood was smeared along Aaron's forehead. It was messy and smudged, wiped there absently and dragged from his hairline down to his left eyebrow. Blood trickled over his lips, straining the top one and painting the lower fully as it spilled onto his chin and clothes below.

"Oh, A-Aaron, no, no, no, no," the droid whispered in horror, turning to stand in front of the man as he held him. "Can you hear me?" The question came out as a squeak. Eros was nervous. His fingers trembled as they clutched Aaron and his eyes darted too quick to hold his gaze. "Are you sick?"

The response time was slow, the eyes staring back at him not fully connecting as Aaron managed to shake his head. His hand fell onto Eros's arm, helping to support himself as he spoke around the blood that'd filled up his mouth. The first few words were unintelligible as he grabbed his head with his spare hand. "Let's go get the car. I'm sure they'll understand." Even with his tongue free, the words were a mumbled mess, mashed close together

"The car?" Eros all but stumbled back as he repeated the words. His body felt numb, his fingers freezing even as they dug into the warmth of Aaron's body. He had been caught up in his own dream, not even thinking that Aaron might have been sick. All of the warmth and safety he'd pushed into the one thing he thought would be waiting for him was lost in an instance. He tried to console himself, to calm the speed the machines inside of him were running at as his voice shook. "Aar-Aaron, are you listening to me?" His hands moved up, cupping the man's face. "Oh, baby. You don't know where you are, do you?"

The response was slow as if Aaron himself was stuck in a dream. Not one that could be seen by anyone but him, his eyes trailing to a spot on the wall behind Eros. There was pupil dilation, his heartbeat erratic, setting off Eros's scanner as Aaron fell back suddenly. He looked as if he had seen a ghost, staring at a spot that held nothing but wall paper as he released Eros and gripped onto the only surface behind him instead. "I- don't," he began, trailing off as tears pricked the edges of his eyes. "Where am I?"

The sight broke Eros's heart. He didn't know what to do, could only watch as Aaron slid to the ground. The man's head hung, his head falling into his hands as he collapsed to the ground. All Eros wanted was to hold onto Aaron, to make him see him. We could be in bed right now, away from all this. It could be like our first night together. The thought was irrational, it was a useless hope that shouldn't have been able to enter Eros's brain and yet it was there, pounding against his temples as he struggled to gain his baby's attention.

Carefully, the droid lowered himself to his knees in front of the man. "Aaron, it's okay." His voice was hard to reign in, a soft static exiting his lips as he let his voice box run, unsure what else to say. "You-You're on the ship, okay? Why don't— Why don't I clean you up a little bit?" He reached forward with delicate fingers, wiping at Aaron's eyes first. The tears helped wash away some of the blood, making it easier for Eros's to smear the blood on his forehead as he lifted the hem of the shirt he was wearing and began to rub away the blood, soaking it up and staining the clean fabric red. It grew heavy between his fingers, but Aaron's face was already improving drastically.

He stirred slightly as Eros worked, glassy eyes lifting to watch the android as he moved. One of his hands slipped to hold onto Eros's arm, the other resting on his cheek. Warmth bloomed at the touch, but it was burning with heart. "You've got a fever too, huh?" Eros asked softly, dropping the fabric and working to smooth Aaron's hair. It was matted with sweat, loose stands glued to his forehead that the android carefully peeled off.

Aaron's hands mimicked his own, they moved into Eros's curls before sliding down to cup his cheeks. His thumbs skated over his skin before he spoke. The words were a mutter, unintelligible as his hands lipped lower still, Eros's eyes knitting in concern. "Aaron, are you— hrck?" The sound came out without warning, surprising Eros as he suddenly struggled to take in air. Pain spurred from his throat where Aaron's hands had moved to, wrapped tight around the delicate area. Eros forced a desperate gasp to try and give his lungs more space, even though he didn't need the oxygen to function, his voice box was beginning to malfunction. "A-A-Aar̛̜͕̖o͏̙n̦̫͕̯, st-̵̱̦s̘̝̩top!"

Eros reached a hand out, grabbing onto Aaron's to try and pry him off as both thumbs pressed down harder, but he was met with a sudden rush of force against his neck. Eros landed sprawled on his back, fallen onto the ground as the human slammed him down. His vision flashed red, twisting his view as more nonsense spilled from Aaron's lips. He was mumbling only to himself, not even looking at Eros as he pressed down harder.

WARNING: EXCESSIVE PRESSURE DETECTED ON SECTION C-3

Eros's pain simulators were signaled and he'd never felt anything like it before. The feeling was hot, burning his skin as the pressure built. His eyes began to well up. There was too much pressing down for him to speak anymore. All he could do was gasp, mouth wide open. Fake tears, brought on by the pain, were pumped into the android's eyes. His vision blurred as the saline solution rolled down his cheeks, and he sobbed harder, hearing the cracking of his components fill his ears.

WARNING: DAMAGE OCCURRING