Darkness greeted him when Kurt opened his eyes. His fingers immediately searched the dark for the warmth of your skin. In vain. Like so many nights before, you were not lying next to him in bed.

A sigh escaped his lips. Dressed only in a pair of boxer shorts, he swung his legs out of bed. The floor of the flat was icy cold against his feet.

Outside, against the wall of glass, green and blue city lights illuminated Dogtown and showed how much he had achieved in the last seven years.

His right arm twitched, fingers clenched into fists. None of this would have been possible without you. He would probably have burst into flames at the slightest attempt to turn against the NUSA.

And that would have been the mildest of endings.

The knowledge that he had been carrying a killswitch had not weighed on his shoulders for long. No sooner had he realised it, thought about it, than the thing was out of his body again.

But you had to live with the fear of dying every second for seven years. And many more years before that.

With a shadow on his face, he got into the lift and let it take him down one floor to the lab. It was easy to guess where he could find you.

Since Kurt had discovered Cynosure, you had spent every waking minute trying to decode the AI. So far without success.

The doors of the lift opened with a soft sound.

Kurt entered the dark blue lounge where he made deals and threats on a daily basis. His white eyes travelled to the bar.

All the bottles were still in place, full. He checked the time. Much too late.

Sighing, he closed his eyes and shook his head.

The lounge was shaped like half an orb and served to look over everything that was happening down in the lab. Red light flickered from time to time on the windows. Sparks flew. Then everything went dark again.

A scream, born of frustration, shattered the silence. Metal skittered across the floor. Then everything was quiet again.

Swallowing hard, he closed his eyes once more and wiped his face. He didn't look out of the glass front, but headed straight for the door that connected the lab to the lounge.

No one was there. It was quiet, hot and stuffy.

Red light flickered. The machines emitted a sound of warning.

"Stop.", his voice was tired as he reached the foot of the stairs.

The smell of charred flesh reached his nostrils.

A month ago, the Barghest troops had managed to retrieve the metal cocoon of Project Cynosure from its hiding place under the Militech Museum.

The construct had been in the Black Sapphire's lab ever since. And you put everything you had into it, hoping it might make a difference.

Kurt could see nothing. No one seemed to be there.

Except for one body, which lay smoking on the ground. He recognised it as one of your dogs.

Six.

One of his eyebrows raised sceptically.

"It's okay...", your voice was a hoarse whisper, trembling and on the verge of tears.

Kurt expelled a deep breath.

"Come back to bed.", his words were gentle, concerned.

Gritting your teeth, you clawed your fingernails into the metal of the Cynosure container.

"Just a little more.", your eyes glowed a deep red.

You didn't look at him. You just couldn't do that. The feeling of tears sticking to your eyelashes was embarrassing enough, you didn't need his mockery as well.

Anger. There was so much anger.

And the feeling of time running through your fingers like sand.

Numbers and letters filled your field of vision. But it all made no sense. The code couldn't be overwritten, the firewall locked you out.

"Just a little more.", you could hear the madness in your own voice. "One more try."

"(Y/N).", Kurt's had rested on your shoulder.

Heat filled the back of your neck. It was burning. The cables felt like they were burning into your neck, turning bone to ash.

Just a little more. All you needed was a little more time.

"No!", with full force you ripped a piece of metal from the AI's hull as the connection broke. "No!"

A hand slid down your neck, feeling for the cables. But there was nothing left to connect you to the AI. Burning with rage, your eyes jumped over your shoulder.

With half-opened eyes, Kurt held the cables in his hand.

"Come back to bed.", the tone of his voice left no room for discussion.

You wanted to reach for the cables. His fingers closed tightly around your wrist. Salty tears stuck to your cheeks.

"I almost had it!", you hissed, reaching out with your free hand and dragging your claws across his face.

He threw his head to the side, avoiding most of your fingers. Only a single cut remained on his cheek. A thick thread of blood gushed out, dripping down his prominent chin and onto the floor.

You trembled. You had never used violence against him before. At least not seriously, just playfully, to tease him.

Regret tightened your throat, pushing the fear back into the dark.

Kurt just looked at you. Breathing calmly, he wiped the cut with the back of his hand, looking at the red blood reflecting on the pale skin.

"You must go to sleep.", he stood up, pulling you to your feet with him.

"No...", desperately you clung to the metal, the cage in which your salvation was kept away from you. "Kurt I... I almost had it this time."

Slowly, his eyes fell on the corpse, which still exuded the odour of charred flesh and burnt cables.

"You sacrificed one of your dogs.", it wasn't a question, yet he sounded surprised.

"Some things require sacrifice.", you replied.

You wiped the half-dried tears from your face.

"Without your dogs, you make yourself vulnerable."

"I'm more than just a bunch of corpses feeding algorithms for me!"

Your gazes met. There was worry in the whites of his eyes. And the will to achieve what he desired.

All you radiated was despair.

"I have to break this code.", you hissed. "At any cost."

Tired, he closed his eyes.

"We have to go to bed.", he suddenly lifted you into his arms. "And tomorrow we'll find a solution. Or the day after."