It had been 2 weeks since their last date night. Jill had convinced Jack to not go back to the Cyborg Island, and though Jack wanted to go despite the risks, his mind feared what happened last time and wasn't ready for another ordeal. As the Guild's new leader. he was recruiting and training adventurers and had consulted with the inventors guild in the town to develop EMPs, as he thought it might help disable the cyborgs and their machine. They promised to add it to their list, and as they were working simultaneously on 129 projects, gave him an estimated completion time of 6 years. Jack was outraged, but after negotiating an incentive of 350 credits, 50 in advance and 300 upon completion, he brought the required time down to 6 months. However, it was a long time still, and in hindsight, Jack would have preferred to speed up the process at all costs.

Jill had found her time in the art gallery very fulfilling. She could create whatever she wanted, without worrying about whether it would be accepted by anyone or not. She also didn't need to worry about paying bills. Though she occasionally missed her family, Jack's presence comforted her, and art occupied most of her time. Her favorite work was a painting she made of herself standing in sweatpants and a loose comfy shirt. She didn't bother to make it pretty, but Jack found it attractive. Over time, her art's motivation changed from 'to impress' to 'to express', which she found empowering.

It was the thirteenth day after Jack's visit to Cyborg Island. Jill had come back from her art gallery for lunch, while Jack had caused another youth to break down by posing the nihilistic questions the AI had asked him. Jack wanted mentally strong adventurers for his next expedition to the island, and so far they were absolutely not ready for the evil AI. He had come back home for lunch, and was cooking mac n cheese, Jill's favorite meal.

"How was your day?" he asked, stirring the mac n cheese in the saucepan.

"It was good, I was helping with Blue's painting, it was fun." Jill replied, strolling into the kitchen.

"Blue? That's a funny name."

"Yeah, that's what we call him, he paints literally everything in blue. Nice guy." Jill snuck up and hugged Jack from behind. Jack pulled her closer.

"Not nicer than me, haha." The mac n cheese needed another 5 minutes.

"Of course not, love." 

"Tell me if he cause you any trouble." Jack was taking out the plates in advance, so Jill disengaged.

"Sure. By the way, the mac n cheese smells awesome." Jill said, breathing in the aroma.

"Glad you like it." Jack replied, picking up a spoon to give Jill a taste.

"Mmhmm, so good." She replied with a mouthful. To ruin their moment, a voice started speaking from the smartblock. Or more precisely, from both their smartblocks.

"Greetings human town. This is Cyborg fleet 1-20, we hereby take over leadership of your town for the evolutionary benefit of our homo-sapien race. Before rebelling, consider that resistance will result in loss of life. Your life." The cyborg spoke in a commanding, decisive voice. The Mac n cheese kept boiling, while the couple stood in the dreadful silence.

"We are completely made of metal and have machine guns and sniping abilities to take out your entire town in 3 minutes, so please consider that before you try to shoot at us next time." A clang of a bullet could be heard through the smartblock. Jack shivered with fear, and Jill reassuringly squeezed his hand. They looked at each other in the eye, and knew that this time, whatever happened, they were in this together.

"Here's the first list of candidates for our experiment, our cyborgs would be coming over to your location immediately. Please co-operate to avoid your death. The names are-" The cyborg began listing out names. Jill felt stabbed in her heart when Jack's name was called. The list continued, but Jill's name wasn't called out.

"I'm not letting you leave without me." Jill whispered, steely determination in her eyes. Jack nodded.

"And oh, if anyone wants to volunteer, we'll gladly accept. You actually have a better chance of survival that way. Just say it, all your communication devices have been gained control of and we'll know immediately." The cyborg said in an indifferent manner. 

"I will volunteer!" Jill yelled towards the smartblock.

"Oh, its a lucky day for some Mr. Cane Rickson. We actually have a volunteer. Don't worry though, your turn will probably come just as soon, nothing to fuss about." The shattering of glass could be heard in the distance. Jack and Jill walked out of the kitchen to investigate.

A cyborg had broken into their apartment. He was in his full metallic form, and his arms extended into two distinct guns. 

"Proceed immediately towards the lift. You shall not require any belongings." It said, firing a shot towards the ceiling. Jack and Jill complied, having a quick last look at their home again. The cyborg followed them out, guns pointing behind their backs. 

The mac n cheese boiled over.

The cyborg led them out of the residential complex.