Chapter 7

        (Y/n) had decided to go home, and Add didn't even attempt to stop her. She didn't live with him, so it was only natural for her to leave. The only problem was that Add couldn't help but replay her comment over and over within his mind.

        "It makes you look cooler." He huffed in frustration. "What's that even supposed to mean?"

        (Y/n) was no longer there for him to interrogate, and he doubted he'd actually ask her anything about it. It would feel uncomfortable to question her any further on the matter. He was very well aware of her tendency to shoot compliments his way. Often times they were attempts to tease him while sometimes (y/n) truly meant what she said. Add could tell when her words were meant to be taken seriously which was why he couldn't get over her most recent statement.

        "Why doesn't she get that she can't just say that to me and leave?" he asked himself, but he already knew the answer. He hadn't bothered to tell her what it is that she was doing to him. She didn't seem to want him to see her in that light. "We're practically family. She even said so. She wouldn't think like that, so I..." he found himself thinking. His felt a fluttering sensation in his heart. "That's not-!" But he knew. He lowered his head into his hand to hide his expression from absolutely no one. His fingers brushed against his covered eye. "It makes you look cooler..."

        Add cursed himself for allowing his thoughts to return to that once again. "I can't take this anymore!!" he said aloud, raising his voice to scold himself. If he could just do something, anything at all, to redirect his thoughts then maybe he could stop feeling so pathetic. Pathetic? That wasn't what this was though. This was tender and welcoming. It pulled at the strings of his emotions in ways that he hadn't experienced before.

        He threw all his frustrations aside and prepared to leave. With his dynamos active and bag of supplies ready for anything, he headed out to take a walk making sure to leave a note behind for (y/n) in case she returned before he did. Add didn't have a destination in mind, so he let his steps take him towards whatever came along. That was until he realized that he was heading right towards the city. Towards (y/n). He stopped in his tracks even though he had already crossed the bridge that led up to the city gates. He wouldn't let himself seek her out in this state of mind. He knew he'd only embarrass himself.

        Instead of going all the way back home, Add wandered towards the entrance to Elder's underground waterways. He hated the filthy tunnels that ran throughout the city, but he had a certain level of tolerance for them. Numerous bandits could always be found lurking around, so it always meant plenty of target practice for him. However, that wasn't the only reason he willingly ventured into the unsanitary space. Parts of Elder's underground passageways were connected to rooms and vaults containing the research left behind by his family. The entire city seemed to be built on top of the land that his home once occupied. Dynamo had helped him locate one of these such places back when the helpful nasod had still been alive.

        "Huh?" Add felt his instincts react to something far within the waterway as soon as he entered it. The hairs on the back of his neck rose. A force of some sort was beckoning to him, calling him forth with a voice that didn't use words. His craving for knowledge had him investigating without hesitation.

        Add easily traveled down the damp pathways to reach the source of this call. The signal was practically pulsing through him as he found himself getting closer. The trip was easy. Too easy he realized when he came to a stop in front of a glowing symbol. His family's signature sign was engraved on the wall and slowly flashing a soft glow against the dimly lit environment. Nothing was there to stop Add from reaching it or entering the space that he knew had to be hidden somewhere nearby.

        "It's obviously a trap. Too obvious but..." Add reached up to temporarily remove his eyepatch. Using the access codes stored in his implant chip, he easily unlocked the hidden door that opened to him alone. Only when he had taken a look around the abandoned laboratory did he step down off his dynamos. The room was filled with cob webs and dust, letting him know that it had been sealed well. It was a shame to let the outside moisture reach the room.

        "Terminal, must find a terminal," he mumbled to himself. There weren't any problems locating the main computer in the area, but he hoped that it would actually still be able to function. With his eyepatch already off, he could make better use of his natural hacking capabilities. He pulled a cloth from his bag and wiped off the surface of the computer's enterface before placing his hand onto it. It lit up, and the entire room began to whir to life as various machines resumed their functions. The light sources above him flickered but ultimately stayed off.

        Add couldn't hold back the jolt of excitement that ran through him at the discovery. The centuries old data began to display itself across the screen. All of it was being downloaded into his mind, slowly and carefully so as not to overload his senses. As Add sorted through the new information, he realized that none of it really had anything to do with nasods.

        "Huh?" His eyes widened at the sudden realization. "This is...it can't be." But it was. All of it was his mother's research, and it was stored as a lasting record of the work she had once carried out. "Mother," he whispered. "This was what you had been doing all along."

        Rather than detailing the nasod race, his mother's research provided a full break down of the human body. Add found files about different plant species as well. The overall quality of the data was nothing short of a miracle. Just skimming over the notes. Add could tell that there were medical procedures detailed in the notes that didn't even exist as of now. Cures, poisons, enhancers, and even potions were listed within the saved research.

        "Just how long has this been here?!" Add was angry with himself for just now finding it. He'd been living around Elder for nearly two years now, yet this was his first time coming in contact with this information. A feeling of unease crept upon him as he realized that someone had actually found it first and didn't have the necessary codes avaliable to access it.

        Add took another look around the old lab. There were still samples left behind. Some were dead plants, but he held no doubt that he would be able to revive them with the proper studies. "This entire room. I need to take everything that I can," he realized. Add connected his conciousness to the main computer's system and ordered it to transfer all of the data it held over to him. It would run in the background of his mind like a program while he searched through the cabinets and shelves for anything of use.

        Just when Add turned to check another area, he froze. He sensed it coming. Multiple of them actually. Just as he had predicted, this was a trap and the hunter had returned to see what had been ensnared in it. Above all else, he had to protect this room. The download was nowhere near being finished, and he'd be furious if anything within the lab was damaged in the battle that he knew was about to be fought.

        Add stepped out of the secret room and spotted the nasods approaching from both ends of the path. "Ah, so that's who was behind this. That damned old man needs to learn his place!" Add's energy spiked in response to the command he gave his dynamos. His power erupted into a physical form, surrounding him in purple electricity as he began to hover off the ground. "Let's see how you handle this!!"
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Until next time you spectacular readers!

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