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Description
For the next few days, Penelope tried to live as normally as possible, but there was an obvious tension in the air. Weiss wouldn't talk to her, and would only leave his room to eat, once a day. Penelope spent most of her time exploring the labs, and researching the Soul Collector outbreaks.
Known as “Reapers” by the media, Soul Collectors had begun to attack the public. They were reported to appear via dark portals that were becoming more and more numerous. Those who were brave (or stupid, in the minds of some) enough to enter the portals were never seen again. Because of their viral nature, the attacks were becoming more numerous every day.
Most disturbing, though, was the cult that sprang up overnight who apparently worshiped the Soul Collectors. Called the “Reapers' Guides,” they considered Soul Collectors a blessing, sent to earth by a higher being to “Cleanse the human race of their sins.” Other than that, little information was available to the public, as information was only given to those who joined the cult.
“Typical,” Penelope muttered at the computer. She had seen her fair share of cults flourishing in her time, and they all seemed to follow that same theme. She shut down the computer, feeling a bit hungry. She walked to the lab they used as a kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and found it empty. The day she had been worrying about for weeks had finally come: they had to go and buy food to restock their supplies. She decided to take Weiss along with her, as she didn't know where anything was in the city.
"Hey, Weiss?" Penelope knocked on his door nervously. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," he mumbled, "I suppose so." There was a pause. "What do you want?
"I think… we should go out."
"Wh-what!? Are you insane?"
Penelope was taken aback. She opened her mouth to snap back at him, but then she realized just what she'd said.
"No!" she blurted, her face burning with embarrassment. "We're out of food. I meant that we should go out and get some, not… that."
There was another pause.
"Oh," Weiss said, finally. "That way. I don't know, Penelope. You can go if you want…"
"Please, Weiss. I need you to show me around."
He opened the door.
"You sure? Can't you figure out how to get to the supermarket by yourself?"
"If I say that I can't, you'll have to come with me, won't you?"
Weiss gave a resigned smile. "Yeah, I guess. It wouldn't kill me to get a little sun, anyway…"
"That's the spirit!" Penelope said, beaming.

Penelope and Weiss walked down the street towards the supermarket. It was a brisk fall afternoon, and the streets were full of people going into and out of shops Having been in the confinement of the labs for so long, it felt strange to see them walking by. To conceal her unusual prosthetics, Penelope had put on a baggy sweatshirt and let her bangs fall over her right eye, and so, nobody noticed anything about the two of them other than Weiss's crutches.
"Hey, Weiss?" Penelope asked as they walked onto an empty street. "What was your life like before you were sent to the Dark Realm?"
"Pretty normal." He looked up at the sky, then shook his head. "Well, as normal as you can get when you're living without any parents. Still, I went to school, hung out with my friends, ate junk food, you know… the usual."
"Did you like it?"
"You want to know the truth?" he asked after thinking about the question for a moment. "I hated it. I was bored out of my skull, and I had no goals or plans for my future. In fact, it's crossed my mind that I somehow… wished this all to happen. It's killed some time, I guess."
They entered the store, took a shopping cart, and filled it with all the food they would need for several weeks. Penelope was enthralled by the grocery store: she couldn't remember ever seeing that much food in one place. When they were finished, it was quite a sight: there was a small mountain of foodstuffs in the cart. After Penelope decided that they'd collected enough food, they got in line to check out. Weiss gave Penelope a skeptical look.
"Uh… Penny? How do you think we're going to pay for all of this?"
Penelope laughed, and took a plastic card out of her pocket. "Oh, you worry too much. This card lets us use a massive checking account that was made to let researchers at the labs buy their own supplies. Apparently, it's still active."
"That's awfully convenient…"
She grinned, and cheerfully talked with the cashier as they checked their groceries out.

They chatted animatedly on their way home. Penelope noticed that Weiss's mood had definitely improved, though he was still obviously hurt. They were each carrying a few very large plastic bags full of groceries, and as they rounded a corner, walked right into a girl, knocking her over.
"Oh, no, sorry," the girl said quietly as she brushed herself off and got to her feet.
"Sorry? No, we're the one's who're sorry! We should have looked where we were going, right, Weiss?"
Neither of them were listening. They both ignored Penelope, staring at each other for a long time.
"Charlotte?" Weiss asked in disbelief.
"Oh… oh my God! It is you, Weiss! You're alright!"
Charlotte Beauregard ran up to Weiss and embraced him, burying her face in his shoulder. A shy girl with big, round glasses and dark, curly hair with a greenish tint, she had been Weiss's friend for years. After a moment, she gazed up at him, smiling.
"They all told me you were dead… but I didn't believe them, not for a minute!"
Well, here we are…
"Well, it's… nice to see you again, Charlotte."
I'm so glad we could finally do this.
"It's been months! Where have you been, Weiss? And what happened to your leg?"
You won't tell anyone, will you?
"I… er…" Weiss glanced at Penelope, unsure of how to explain himself.
Of course not, Weiss. Confidentiality is my middle name. Now, come here…
"It's a very long story…" Penelope paused as she regarded the girl. "Charlotte, was it?"
Charlotte let go of Weiss, and gave him a wry smile. "Who's this? And where's May?"
The smile was met with a grimace. "She… She's not…"
Penelope cut in. "He's been with me and my family… I'm May's cousin." She gave Weiss, who was gazing at the ground, a sidelong glance, then went on, putting on a remorseful face of her own. "My mom and dad found out about May and how she was living here. They offered to take her in, but she wouldn't come unless Weiss came with her. It all happened very fast… We all lived together for a while, but then… we were all out for a drive, and… there was a drunk driver, you see…"
"Oh, no… Don't tell me…"
"They were killed. Mom, Dad, and… May. We got out alive, and mostly unharmed..."
"That's terrible… I'm sorry," said Charlotte, looking up at Weiss, "For both of you. So…. What are you going to do now?"
"Well… Weiss is just going back to where he was before. I'm going to stay with him for a while… I want to learn more about my cousin."
"I see…" Charlotte looked at her watch, and gasped. "Oh no! I'm sorry, I have to go… If you need someone to talk to, Weiss, you can always give me a call…"
"Yeah," he muttered, "I'll keep that in mind."
"See you!" Charlotte said cheerfully as she ran off.

Penelope and Weiss walked home in silence. As they put away their groceries, Weiss said nothing. This disheartened Penelope, as she had hoped their outing would brighten his mood. She watched as they finished, and he went to his room, locking himself up again. Penelope sighed, and after tidying up a bit, knocked on his door.
"Weiss… Come on now, don't start this again. Let's talk."
"What's there to talk about?" he replied sullenly.
"It's obvious that you're still hurt… I'd like to talk about May."
"No. I'm not going to-"
"Listen," Penelope interrupted, "If you ever want to let her go, you need to talk."
"How would you know what I need?"
"I've seen this many times, Weiss. In the shelters, or the Labs, people lost their loved ones, their families, or their friends on a regular basis. I learned pretty early on that the best thing you can do for grieving people is to talk to them. I can tell you that it really helped me when my mother died…"
After a short pause, the door slid open.
"Alright," said Weiss, "come in."
The two of them sat on opposite sides of the old, beaten up couch in the break room that they'd converted into Weiss's bedroom.
"Okay," he said, "what now? What do you want me to say?"
"It helps if you just start from the beginning. Why don't you tell me how you met her?"
"It's kind of a long story. I have to tell you about my what my situation was beforehand…"
"That's fine. You haven't really told me much about yourself anyway…"
"I had a pretty rough childhood. My parents died before I was old enough to remember them, and I was left with a series of adopted parents."
"A series?"
"I didn't get along with any of them, no matter how nice they were to me. I was violent, angry, and pretty much did what I could to piss everyone off. I was good at it, too: most of the time I was put back up for adoption after a few weeks.
"When I was ten, I was enrolled in the 'Brothers and Sisters' program. It was an experimental child-raising program that proposed that kids didn't necessarily need adults to raise them. Certain kids, like me, were chosen based on their independence and resourcefulness. Others were put into the program because they bonded exceptionally well with other kids their age, but not with adults. One of each type of kid would be paired together, and placed into a small home. Utilities and property taxes and stuff would be paid by the organization, and money would be placed in an account for them to buy food. Other than that, they were left completely alone."
"That sounds… kind of dodgy."
"No kidding. I don't even think the organization exists any more, they were dissolved after being sued for neglect…"
"What does this have to do with May?"
"I met May in the child services agency where they were assigning us together. At first, and for a long time, I didn't like her at all. She was so clingy… She wouldn't even move a finger unless I told her it was okay. She really hated the idea of living without anyone to look after us, but after a while, she got used to it, and I got used to her. It was around then that I stopped being so antisocial… I think it was because of May."
"Why's that?"
"She taught me the value of others. Before, if I didn't like somebody, I could just be mean to them, and eventually they'd leave me alone. But with May, I was stuck with her. I slowly learned that we'd both be happier if we were just nice to each other."
Penelope laughed. "Tell that to some of the kids I had to work with. Believe me, you weren't alone. Orphans can be like that… and they don't always learn that lesson." She smiled. "I'm glad you did, Weiss. So… You just gradually got closer to her until things got romantic?"
"No… not quite like that. I didn't feel like that towards her until around the time we started high school, but it came as a bit of a shock."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. See, I viewed our relationship as more… familial than anything else, and I thought she felt the same. That is, until one night… we were watching some stupid made-for-TV movie, and she just kissed me." Weiss's eyes glazed over as he remembered the moment. "It was just so sudden…"
"But you accepted it?"
"Eventually. After that point, she just wore any resistance I put up down. I realized that I did love her, and I wanted her to be happy, even if I didn't necessarily want to be 'in love' with her. If that was what May wanted, then it was what I wanted…"
"The feeling wasn't mutual?"
"No, that's not it. It was mutual, but I think it was different for me than for her. She just loved me pretty unconditionally, while I felt like I needed to protect her… and I failed."
"No! That's not true, not at all!"
"Please, Penelope… don't try to make me feel better. May is gone, and it's my fault."
Penelope sighed. This feeling was common among those she'd talked to, and  many never got over it. "Don't think like that," she said a bit intensely, "or you'll never learn to accept her death. I know it's tough for you, but that's life. You need to take the good and the bad, and realize that you can't control all of it. You need to move on… for your own sake."
There was a long silence. They had been talking for a long time: night had fallen, and there was almost no light in the room. A faint blue glow cut through the darkness from Penelope's mechanical eye, illuminating Weiss's face as she stared at him. After a moment, her glare softened as she realized how hurt Weiss was.
"Hey," she said, "don't worry. It'll be alright. You seem like you'll be able to-"
Penelope gasped as Weiss gave her a quick hug. "Thanks," he said with a weak smile on his face. "I may not show it too often, but I'm glad there's at least one person who cares."
She grinned. "That makes two of us."
        Weiss laughed nervously. "So, uh... Her cousin, huh?"
        "Oh, yeah, that." Penelope groaned, rubbing her head. "God, Weiss, I'm sorry, that was really stupid of me."
        "No, it wasn't! That was a really good cover story, Penny. I couldn't come up with anything like that! And... I could believe that you were her cousin."
        "Really?"
        "Really. You saved me back there. Charlotte would have thought I was insane if I told her the truth."
         There was another silence, as Penelope searched her mind for the right words. There was an urge slowly growing in her mind, an action she felt she needed to take before the opportunity was gone. "Weiss…" she said quietly. Let's make a promise." The intensity of her eye's glow increased, flooding the room with sapphire-colored light. She was on her knees on the couch, staring right into Weiss's eyes. "Let's promise that no matter how bad things get, we won't give up on each other, okay? Our lives both seem to take some pretty wicked turns on a regular basis, but if we stick together… I know we can make it through. Will you stand by me, Weiss?"
"Y-yeah," he stammered, slightly overwhelmed. "I promise, Penelope."
A look of simple happiness formed on the girl's face, and the blue glow rapidly brightened until there was a nearly blinding flash. Then, there was darkness.
"Odysseus phase two complete," said Penelope in a low murmur. "Bond formed. Generating status report… Heart rate elevated… Energy levels critical… Nervous system at high levels of stress… All other vitals nominal. Diagnosis: Overexcitement. Shutdown and recharge recommended."
She wavered for a moment, then fell forward, collapsing into Weiss's arms. She had passed out. Concerned, he laid her on the couch. She was breathing normally, and smiling. After watching for a few minutes, Weiss realized that he was tired as well. He got into his bed, and fell asleep almost instantly.

Description
For the next few days, Penelope tried to live as normally as possible, but there was an obvious tension in the air. Weiss wouldn't talk to her, and would only leave his room to eat, once a day. Penelope spent most of her time exploring the labs, and researching the Soul Collector outbreaks.
Known as “Reapers” by the media, Soul Collectors had begun to attack the public. They were reported to appear via dark portals that were becoming more and more numerous. Those who were brave (or stupid, in the minds of some) enough to enter the portals were never seen again. Because of their viral nature, the attacks were becoming more numerous every day.
Most disturbing, though, was the cult that sprang up overnight who apparently worshiped the Soul Collectors. Called the “Reapers' Guides,” they considered Soul Collectors a blessing, sent to earth by a higher being to “Cleanse the human race of their sins.” Other than that, little information was available to the public, as information was only given to those who joined the cult.
“Typical,” Penelope muttered at the computer. She had seen her fair share of cults flourishing in her time, and they all seemed to follow that same theme. She shut down the computer, feeling a bit hungry. She walked to the lab they used as a kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and found it empty. The day she had been worrying about for weeks had finally come: they had to go and buy food to restock their supplies. She decided to take Weiss along with her, as she didn't know where anything was in the city.
"Hey, Weiss?" Penelope knocked on his door nervously. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," he mumbled, "I suppose so." There was a pause. "What do you want?
"I think… we should go out."
"Wh-what!? Are you insane?"
Penelope was taken aback. She opened her mouth to snap back at him, but then she realized just what she'd said.
"No!" she blurted, her face burning with embarrassment. "We're out of food. I meant that we should go out and get some, not… that."
There was another pause.
"Oh," Weiss said, finally. "That way. I don't know, Penelope. You can go if you want…"
"Please, Weiss. I need you to show me around."
He opened the door.
"You sure? Can't you figure out how to get to the supermarket by yourself?"
"If I say that I can't, you'll have to come with me, won't you?"
Weiss gave a resigned smile. "Yeah, I guess. It wouldn't kill me to get a little sun, anyway…"
"That's the spirit!" Penelope said, beaming.

Penelope and Weiss walked down the street towards the supermarket. It was a brisk fall afternoon, and the streets were full of people going into and out of shops Having been in the confinement of the labs for so long, it felt strange to see them walking by. To conceal her unusual prosthetics, Penelope had put on a baggy sweatshirt and let her bangs fall over her right eye, and so, nobody noticed anything about the two of them other than Weiss's crutches.
"Hey, Weiss?" Penelope asked as they walked onto an empty street. "What was your life like before you were sent to the Dark Realm?"
"Pretty normal." He looked up at the sky, then shook his head. "Well, as normal as you can get when you're living without any parents. Still, I went to school, hung out with my friends, ate junk food, you know… the usual."
"Did you like it?"
"You want to know the truth?" he asked after thinking about the question for a moment. "I hated it. I was bored out of my skull, and I had no goals or plans for my future. In fact, it's crossed my mind that I somehow… wished this all to happen. It's killed some time, I guess."
They entered the store, took a shopping cart, and filled it with all the food they would need for several weeks. Penelope was enthralled by the grocery store: she couldn't remember ever seeing that much food in one place. When they were finished, it was quite a sight: there was a small mountain of foodstuffs in the cart. After Penelope decided that they'd collected enough food, they got in line to check out. Weiss gave Penelope a skeptical look.
"Uh… Penny? How do you think we're going to pay for all of this?"
Penelope laughed, and took a plastic card out of her pocket. "Oh, you worry too much. This card lets us use a massive checking account that was made to let researchers at the labs buy their own supplies. Apparently, it's still active."
"That's awfully convenient…"
She grinned, and cheerfully talked with the cashier as they checked their groceries out.

They chatted animatedly on their way home. Penelope noticed that Weiss's mood had definitely improved, though he was still obviously hurt. They were each carrying a few very large plastic bags full of groceries, and as they rounded a corner, walked right into a girl, knocking her over.
"Oh, no, sorry," the girl said quietly as she brushed herself off and got to her feet.
"Sorry? No, we're the one's who're sorry! We should have looked where we were going, right, Weiss?"
Neither of them were listening. They both ignored Penelope, staring at each other for a long time.
"Charlotte?" Weiss asked in disbelief.
"Oh… oh my God! It is you, Weiss! You're alright!"
Charlotte Beauregard ran up to Weiss and embraced him, burying her face in his shoulder. A shy girl with big, round glasses and dark, curly hair with a greenish tint, she had been Weiss's friend for years. After a moment, she gazed up at him, smiling.
"They all told me you were dead… but I didn't believe them, not for a minute!"
Well, here we are…
"Well, it's… nice to see you again, Charlotte."
I'm so glad we could finally do this.
"It's been months! Where have you been, Weiss? And what happened to your leg?"
You won't tell anyone, will you?
"I… er…" Weiss glanced at Penelope, unsure of how to explain himself.
Of course not, Weiss. Confidentiality is my middle name. Now, come here…
"It's a very long story…" Penelope paused as she regarded the girl. "Charlotte, was it?"
Charlotte let go of Weiss, and gave him a wry smile. "Who's this? And where's May?"
The smile was met with a grimace. "She… She's not…"
Penelope cut in. "He's been with me and my family… I'm May's cousin." She gave Weiss, who was gazing at the ground, a sidelong glance, then went on, putting on a remorseful face of her own. "My mom and dad found out about May and how she was living here. They offered to take her in, but she wouldn't come unless Weiss came with her. It all happened very fast… We all lived together for a while, but then… we were all out for a drive, and… there was a drunk driver, you see…"
"Oh, no… Don't tell me…"
"They were killed. Mom, Dad, and… May. We got out alive, and mostly unharmed..."
"That's terrible… I'm sorry," said Charlotte, looking up at Weiss, "For both of you. So…. What are you going to do now?"
"Well… Weiss is just going back to where he was before. I'm going to stay with him for a while… I want to learn more about my cousin."
"I see…" Charlotte looked at her watch, and gasped. "Oh no! I'm sorry, I have to go… If you need someone to talk to, Weiss, you can always give me a call…"
"Yeah," he muttered, "I'll keep that in mind."
"See you!" Charlotte said cheerfully as she ran off.

Penelope and Weiss walked home in silence. As they put away their groceries, Weiss said nothing. This disheartened Penelope, as she had hoped their outing would brighten his mood. She watched as they finished, and he went to his room, locking himself up again. Penelope sighed, and after tidying up a bit, knocked on his door.
"Weiss… Come on now, don't start this again. Let's talk."
"What's there to talk about?" he replied sullenly.
"It's obvious that you're still hurt… I'd like to talk about May."
"No. I'm not going to-"
"Listen," Penelope interrupted, "If you ever want to let her go, you need to talk."
"How would you know what I need?"
"I've seen this many times, Weiss. In the shelters, or the Labs, people lost their loved ones, their families, or their friends on a regular basis. I learned pretty early on that the best thing you can do for grieving people is to talk to them. I can tell you that it really helped me when my mother died…"
After a short pause, the door slid open.
"Alright," said Weiss, "come in."
The two of them sat on opposite sides of the old, beaten up couch in the break room that they'd converted into Weiss's bedroom.
"Okay," he said, "what now? What do you want me to say?"
"It helps if you just start from the beginning. Why don't you tell me how you met her?"
"It's kind of a long story. I have to tell you about my what my situation was beforehand…"
"That's fine. You haven't really told me much about yourself anyway…"
"I had a pretty rough childhood. My parents died before I was old enough to remember them, and I was left with a series of adopted parents."
"A series?"
"I didn't get along with any of them, no matter how nice they were to me. I was violent, angry, and pretty much did what I could to piss everyone off. I was good at it, too: most of the time I was put back up for adoption after a few weeks.
"When I was ten, I was enrolled in the 'Brothers and Sisters' program. It was an experimental child-raising program that proposed that kids didn't necessarily need adults to raise them. Certain kids, like me, were chosen based on their independence and resourcefulness. Others were put into the program because they bonded exceptionally well with other kids their age, but not with adults. One of each type of kid would be paired together, and placed into a small home. Utilities and property taxes and stuff would be paid by the organization, and money would be placed in an account for them to buy food. Other than that, they were left completely alone."
"That sounds… kind of dodgy."
"No kidding. I don't even think the organization exists any more, they were dissolved after being sued for neglect…"
"What does this have to do with May?"
"I met May in the child services agency where they were assigning us together. At first, and for a long time, I didn't like her at all. She was so clingy… She wouldn't even move a finger unless I told her it was okay. She really hated the idea of living without anyone to look after us, but after a while, she got used to it, and I got used to her. It was around then that I stopped being so antisocial… I think it was because of May."
"Why's that?"
"She taught me the value of others. Before, if I didn't like somebody, I could just be mean to them, and eventually they'd leave me alone. But with May, I was stuck with her. I slowly learned that we'd both be happier if we were just nice to each other."
Penelope laughed. "Tell that to some of the kids I had to work with. Believe me, you weren't alone. Orphans can be like that… and they don't always learn that lesson." She smiled. "I'm glad you did, Weiss. So… You just gradually got closer to her until things got romantic?"
"No… not quite like that. I didn't feel like that towards her until around the time we started high school, but it came as a bit of a shock."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. See, I viewed our relationship as more… familial than anything else, and I thought she felt the same. That is, until one night… we were watching some stupid made-for-TV movie, and she just kissed me." Weiss's eyes glazed over as he remembered the moment. "It was just so sudden…"
"But you accepted it?"
"Eventually. After that point, she just wore any resistance I put up down. I realized that I did love her, and I wanted her to be happy, even if I didn't necessarily want to be 'in love' with her. If that was what May wanted, then it was what I wanted…"
"The feeling wasn't mutual?"
"No, that's not it. It was mutual, but I think it was different for me than for her. She just loved me pretty unconditionally, while I felt like I needed to protect her… and I failed."
"No! That's not true, not at all!"
"Please, Penelope… don't try to make me feel better. May is gone, and it's my fault."
Penelope sighed. This feeling was common among those she'd talked to, and  many never got over it. "Don't think like that," she said a bit intensely, "or you'll never learn to accept her death. I know it's tough for you, but that's life. You need to take the good and the bad, and realize that you can't control all of it. You need to move on… for your own sake."
There was a long silence. They had been talking for a long time: night had fallen, and there was almost no light in the room. A faint blue glow cut through the darkness from Penelope's mechanical eye, illuminating Weiss's face as she stared at him. After a moment, her glare softened as she realized how hurt Weiss was.
"Hey," she said, "don't worry. It'll be alright. You seem like you'll be able to-"
Penelope gasped as Weiss gave her a quick hug. "Thanks," he said with a weak smile on his face. "I may not show it too often, but I'm glad there's at least one person who cares."
She grinned. "That makes two of us."
        Weiss laughed nervously. "So, uh... Her cousin, huh?"
        "Oh, yeah, that." Penelope groaned, rubbing her head. "God, Weiss, I'm sorry, that was really stupid of me."
        "No, it wasn't! That was a really good cover story, Penny. I couldn't come up with anything like that! And... I could believe that you were her cousin."
        "Really?"
        "Really. You saved me back there. Charlotte would have thought I was insane if I told her the truth."
         There was another silence, as Penelope searched her mind for the right words. There was an urge slowly growing in her mind, an action she felt she needed to take before the opportunity was gone. "Weiss…" she said quietly. Let's make a promise." The intensity of her eye's glow increased, flooding the room with sapphire-colored light. She was on her knees on the couch, staring right into Weiss's eyes. "Let's promise that no matter how bad things get, we won't give up on each other, okay? Our lives both seem to take some pretty wicked turns on a regular basis, but if we stick together… I know we can make it through. Will you stand by me, Weiss?"
"Y-yeah," he stammered, slightly overwhelmed. "I promise, Penelope."
A look of simple happiness formed on the girl's face, and the blue glow rapidly brightened until there was a nearly blinding flash. Then, there was darkness.
"Odysseus phase two complete," said Penelope in a low murmur. "Bond formed. Generating status report… Heart rate elevated… Energy levels critical… Nervous system at high levels of stress… All other vitals nominal. Diagnosis: Overexcitement. Shutdown and recharge recommended."
She wavered for a moment, then fell forward, collapsing into Weiss's arms. She had passed out. Concerned, he laid her on the couch. She was breathing normally, and smiling. After watching for a few minutes, Weiss realized that he was tired as well. He got into his bed, and fell asleep almost instantly.