The people have spoken. New stuff it is! (And longer chapters, even if it takes me longer. I heard that, too, don't worry xD)

Day 131:

It's 9:15 when you pop the question.

"What would it take to have him released?" you ask, head resting on your wrist as you lay slumped over the white couch, Aliyah on a video call on the table across from you. The fingers of your other hand skims over the white fabric cover of your father's journal.

A beat of silence. You grimace- she's going to explode at you, tell you you can't make friends with time, can't-

"I figured you'd be asking that soon," Aliyah says quietly, and you snap your head up.

"What?"

"I mean, you were sympathetic to your monster before," she says, and you see the reflection of glowing water rippling across her face. Aliyah loves the ocean. She has a blue light that ripples across her room when it's too dark to be outside, a contrast to the candles we usually use. "And then you got trapped with him, and since then..."

She shakes her head with a small huff. "Well, you definitely kissed. At least."

You flush bright pink. "Aliyah!"

"Well?" she says, raising an eyebrow. "Did you? I have a bet going with Jin and Rob. Jin is convinced nothing happened, and I'm in the middle, but Rob-"

"Aliyah!" you exclaim again, gripping the blanket to you. "Stop! We just kissed! One kiss. That was it!"

"So I win the bet!" Aliyah let out a cackle, but then her face sobers, collapsing. "Shoot, Y/N."

"Yeah," you say, grimacing. "You can't tell anyone."

"I won't," she promises, shaking her head. "But you're in deep trouble."

"But that's the thing," you say, glancing down at the submarine door. "He didn't kiss me, not at first. He's not- I don't think this is a manipulation. I think he genuinely-" your face burns hot again, and you trail off the end of the sentence.

Aliyah doesn't say anything. Then: "So you're serious about getting him cleared."

You exhale, breath whooshing around the candles that light up your living room. They flicker around you. "Yeah."

"You'd be risking your life. Are you ready for that?"

You shiver, wrapping the blankets around you. Are you?

"I don't know," you admit, slumping back against the white couch. Aliyah nods, turning back to her kitchen, where something is simmering on the stove. "I want him to be free, but... I mean, I've had an encounter with a free Outcast before, and... and I don't want that to happen again, and my Dad died trying to free his."

Aliyah sighs, reaching for a cup of tea that sends steam hissing into the air. "Well," she says, "there's only one way to prove for sure. You have to let him out, and get proof you did. And if he doesn't kill or maim you or-"

"Aliyah," you interrupt, and she raises the hand that isn't holding her tea.

"I'm just saying," she says, taking a sip and setting it down. "Anyway, if he's... if he's fine, I guess you'd want to go to the board. Not Afua or your mom, they wouldn't be sympathetic. Maybe a lesser board member who you could get to present your evidence. They couldn't say no then, they'd have to let him out on probation. Maybe get EUOAT to back you up, just in case."

She takes a sip, and you nod, the plan clicking together in your mind like a shiny silver puzzle. Let him out (and risk your life in the process), get proof, and then tell the board member. Simple enough. There's a man- a scrawny former administrative guy, new to the board, named Davis- who might be sympathetic to the cause who you could talk to.

You snap back into reality as you realize that Aliyah has been silent this whole time.

"I don't want you to do it," she says eventually, staring down into her tea. "I mean, Y/N, you're the one who brought us together. Rob, Jin, Mary, Deion, they're okay, but I like you the best out of all of them. And if that thing kills you..."

She doesn't say the next part, but she doesn't have to. You scooch over to put your face close to the webcam.

"Hey," you say, emphasizing the word. "I'm not going anywhere, Aliyah. I mean it. I won't let him out unless I'm absolutely sure."

"And how will you know? You're smitten for the thing," she says, then grimaces. "Sorry, that came out wrong. You just... I know I don't make very good decisions when I'm in love. Just be careful."

You nod. "I'll do it for you." You heft up a pack of the frozen ice cream you bought from the supplies ship. "Now how about doing what we came to do?"

Aliyah breaks out into a grin and lifts up the tea cookies she brought. "Mo-vie night! Mo-vie night!" she cheers, and you join her, drumming on the table until you're both laughing so hard your sides hurt.

You both put on the same movie- counting down from 10 so you start at the same time- and, for the night, at least, you forget about whether or not you will release the monster, and the repercussions that would come from doing so.

Day 132:

The submarine wheel turns with an eerie creak. The room is dark now, the candles blown out, their smoke still dousing the room in its haze.

Your fingers shake in front of you. They are wrapped around the heavy metal wheel that turns, opening the door to the monster's room.

You have the video pin clipped to your pajamas. It will record everything, if you're ready. It's very small, so neither of you will see it, tucked into the lace of your pajamas.

The door opens with a shudder, a pool of light puddling into the room from those overhead lights, crossing over your feet.

Hesitantly, you step into the light, and walk down the stairs, bounding into the room with Tyler.

He jumps up, almost dropping the paintbrush. "Jeez, Warden, you scared me," he says, setting the small painting aside, behind him, where you can't see. "I thought you'd be outside, you know, for the sunset. Don't tell me you're sick again."

You laugh at that, brushing your hair back. "No," you say, "not sick."

You remember that time, the brain fog clogging your world, when he'd offered you his coat to sleep in, to keep you warm. You smile at the ground, wrapping your robe tighter around yourself. "I wouldn't mind sleeping in your coat again, though."

He nods, pulling it off, eyes looking down at the paint scrap behind him. "You're getting used to this whole girlfriend thing."

Your chest feels full of warm saltwater as he carefully lays it down on the conveyor belt.

He watches you as you pull it off the belt and wrap it around yourself, bathing in the smell of him- all warm coffee and fresh sheets and something distinctively his.

A smile comes to your face, the smell making you sleepy. You could go upstairs to bed soon- you've already brushed your teeth and everything.

It would be nice to smell his scent for real, to hold his hand before you go.

You sigh. "Maybe I'll lock the main door and open yours again before I have to go, one last time."

Before I never see you again. The words hang in the air.

Tyler ignores them and plays along. "I'll hold you to me and kiss your scar," he says, "and then I'll braid your hair and kiss you goodbye. You'll be a sight to see in Paris."

He sobers at that. "I don't want to lose you, Y/N," he says quietly.

You're at a loss for words. How do you admit that you don't want to lose him, either?

"Here," you say instead, pulling off your robe, leaving you in your silk-and-lace pajamas and his coat. His eyes skim along the short, lacy shorts, and you blush, folding your arms over your chest. "You like my pajamas?"

He starts as though he didn't realize he was staring. "O-oh," he says, laughing and looking away. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was staring."

"I don't mind," you say, giggling. "You know Aliyah made a bet with the others, right? I told her we just kissed, but they think we-"

Tyler flushes bright red, to the point where you can see it. "No, they do not."

You nod, raising your eyebrows. "Yes, they do."

"I wouldn't, not unless I knew you were comfortable with that," he mumbles. "And I didn't know you even wanted me to kiss you, forget anything else."

"I know that." You carefully fold the robe up and send it over on the conveyor belt. "If I'm borrowing your jacket, it's only fair that you borrow something of mine."

He pulls it up to him, holding the soft, fuzzy material up to his nose. "Smells like you."

You blink. "What do I smell like?"

"Paints and pineapple," he says, holding it closer to him like he can hold you with it. "Your coconut shampoo. Love."

You blush, hiding behind the big sleeve of his coat. "What?"

"Oh," he admitted. "When... when the Hyde takes over, I can smell strong emotions in people near me. And you have the normal fear, but there's something else, too. Maybe it's mine, or yours, I can't really tell, but it smells like cool chai tea, like fresh earth on a warm day. When I shift, it's all around you."

Now it's your time to blush, the heat spreading up your fingers and arms, flushing like pink glows all the way into your chest.

He gently wraps the robe around himself, smiling at you. "Thank you, Warden. It's beautiful, love."

You glance up at the submarine door, the dark of the living room. Beyond it is the outside. The sun will be setting soon.

You still can't see the scrap of paper he was painting on. You didn't give him another canvas, so it must be on regular paper.

Can you trust him? His fingers smooth down the robe's fur, and you feel your breath picking up again.

If you're wrong, he'll kill you. Claws up and down your mutilated body. Spilling your hot, crimson blood over deck and silk without a second thought.

And even if they save you in time, or if he leaves you just alive enough to heal yourself, your mother will never forgive you. You'll be charged within the organization with treason, and one night, when you're off-guard, a USOAT assassin wearing their wheel-gear symbol will slit your throat.

You can't be wrong. You'd have to be absolutely, one hundred percent sure that you're right.

51 more days. Only 51 more days to debate, and the last week will be filled with scrambling as you pack your things and undo the Bubble's mooring.

What's 51 days? Will they help any?

Aliyah is waiting for the results.

Tyler has sat back down again, glancing at the paper he was drawing on. His hair floats down in front of his face, casting shadows across his face, that handsome face with those gorgeous lips that met yours in the most perfect-

And you can't do this because you're in love, either. That's not enough. It won't save you.

The decision has to be logical.

But can you think it through any more than you already have?

Sunset time is almost about to start. What color will it be tonight?

Freeing him will be a declaration that locking him up alone is morally wrong. Freeing him says to the world that you believe, like your father, that the everyone has good in them.

Are you sure? Are you sure?

Do you want to end up just like your father, Y/N?

"Hey, Tyler, you might want to... to take off the robe," you say, voice quivering, shrugging out of his coat. The cold of the room hits your bare shoulders and legs.

Tyler looks up, brow creasing. "What?"

Every breath is a struggle. You feel like you're going to pass out. Your voice shakes uncontrollably. "I want you to watch the sunset with me."

His face changes, and he runs over to the glass closest to you. "Y/N, no," he pleads with you. "You'll get in trouble. Don't do it. Don't do it, baby."

"Shh," you say to quiet him, heart pounding a million beats per minute. Moment of truth.

You walk over to the release button and slip your bare hand on it. It pulses for a moment, then, with a beep,

the glass

slides

open.