♫ That look in your eyes
is making me lose it♫
-- Jason Zhang (張杰), Pretty White Lies

Maddog stubbed his cigarette on his ashtray, extinguishing it. He grabbed his coat, immediately exiting his shop.

The moment his presence wasn't detected in the shop, the lights switched off on its own. Even the sign of his shop went dead, and the "OPEN" sign flipped over automatically to "CLOSED".

Leaving the black marketplace in a hurry, he said his goodbyes to the guards hastily. They questioned where Peach was these days, but he only gave them a half-hearted smile as a reply.

Peach's house was close to the black market area, and he would always walk to her house if he found the need to visit her. He has tracked Celeste's location while they were on the call earlier, and they would definitely arrive at the same time at their destination.

Maddog wore a frown on his face, his onyx eyes apparent with worry. He shoved one of his hand into his pocket, while the other swiped across the screen in front of him.

Setting your destination...

Your estimated time of arrival according to your walking speed will be 15 minutes. Would you like to hire a vehicle?

"No." Maddog stated and he sighed, wishing at this moment now, he was a runner like Peach.

However, Maddog disliked exercising and going for a daily jog was out of the question.

"I hope Peach doesn't kills me for doing this, but it was the only option I could think of. Her life takes precedence."

Maddog picked up his pace, shoving both hands into his pockets as he groaned lowly.

He wasn't looking forward to the time when Peach woke up, with a sound mind.

***

Celeste parked the car, scanning his surroundings, clueless. The destination that Maddog led him to was an abandoned street with decrepit buildings. This part of Neo wasn't clearly reflected in the map, and if Maddog hadn't led him here, Celeste wouldn't have known such a part of the city existed.

Peach slept soundly in the seat beside Celeste, and Celeste stepped out of the car, wanting to close the car door, until he remembered Peach being awfully sensitive to sounds. He hesitated, looking at her, before leaving the car door open.

"Are you really alone?" A familiar voice questioned Celeste.

He spun around, finding Maddog standing behind him with a cigarette in his mouth, hands in his pockets.

Celeste nodded silently.

Maddog leaned in to observe Peach, before his eyes wandered all over the car.

"So that's why they scrambled off to hide."

Celeste furrowed his eyebrows, noticing Maddog's eyes on the car.

Maddog gestured his head at the car, blowing a puff of smoke out as he held the cigarette stick between his fingers. "The people here recognise police cars easily. If you weren't here with the car, I wouldn't be surprised to find you being mobbed by someone here."

"People live..." Celeste glanced around, his voice dubious. "...here?"

Maddog smirked, inhaling at his cigarette stick. "They need to, Little Ash."

"Alright." Celeste nodded, he wasn't here as a cop now. "How can we help her?"

"Carry her, I'll lead the way."

Celeste blinked at Maddog in disbelief, "...me?"

"If I carry her, I'll drop her, and she'll kill me," Maddog shrugged his shoulders. "I don't wanna die so early."

Celeste was speechless at those words.

So you are okay with me dying instead? If I drop her?

Maddog gestured for him to pick up the pace. Celeste sighed, walking over to the other side of the car and opening the door.

Peach blinked awake sleepily, and just stared right at Celeste with a dazed look. He carefully carried her into his arms, and she kept her milky peach eyes on him the entire time.

Celeste finally looked at her, a rare expression of discomfort written all over his face.

"You're staring too much."

Peach didn't react, only staring for a second longer before she closed her eyes. She didn't feel too heavy in his arms, but he would definitely feel the strain after a while.

"I can't carry her forever." Celeste stated, sounding a little miffed.

"I know, I know. Just..." Maddog lifted his hand, scratching his head with his free hand, glancing warily at Peach who was motionless in Celeste's arms. "Just--nevermind, follow me."

***

Celeste observed his surroundings, his arms feeling slightly heavy. Maddog led him to a nondescript carpark with litter everywhere, ranging from furnitures broken beyond repair and toys that were not salvageable.

If one didn't know it was a carpark, they would assume this place was a dumpsite.

They advanced to the second level, and Peach groaned softly in Celeste's arms.

"Where are we going, Mekhi?" Celeste asked, a little impatient.

The weight on his arms were growing heavier.

"Somewhere Peach won't like." Maddog answered, and they remained quiet after that, their footfalls resounding throughout the silent carpark.

They made a turn and they came to a halt, finding a concrete wall blocking their way. Celeste was bewildered at this point, glancing at Maddog.

"Mekhi."

"Relax, it's here," Maddog waved him off, taking a few steps forward. "Hi Arwen, it's me."

Celeste remained impassive, repeating the name in his mind.

Arwen? Who's Arwen?

Suddenly, a pretty woman appeared before them on the concrete wall. She was dressed neatly, her fiery red hair tied into a bun and her face was unblemished as she blinked nonchalantly.

"Greetings, Master."

Celeste faltered, his arms loosening in shock. The woman wasn't a real woman, it was a hologram on the wall.

"Good to see you, Arwen."

"Do you need me to order your usual preferences?"

"There is no need, let me in."

"Very well, Master. You are left with two more free entries into Peach's house."

Maddog scoffed, despite him playing a major role in "building" this house for her, he was still treated this badly.

After visiting Peach for the second time, she tossed him out heartlessly. He had a habit of tinkering with objects, and he had tinkered with one of her gaming equipment too far.

Peach adored her gaming equipment as much as her running shoes.

Maddog had learnt that the hard way.

Arwen disappeared from the concrete wall as it slid open, and Celeste raised his eyebrows slightly.

Maddog noticed Celeste's expression, grinning as he walked through the door. "Pretty neat, right? This place actually belonged to someone I knew long ago, and it wasn't this great of a place at that time, so I tinkered around a lot with it--"

Maddog began to explain, already letting himself into the house, until something occurred to him. He stopped abruptly, spinning around.

"Celeste, wait!"

Before Celeste could stop, he had already walked in behind Maddog, still carrying Peach. Instantly, dozens of robots arms revealed themselves and zoomed in on Celeste. One of the robot arms had even pushed Maddog away gently.

"Unknown presence detected. Initiating "Compromised" protocol for Peach. All non-allied will be regarded as intruders."

"Arwen, this is--"

Celeste froze, not moving an inch as the sharp tip of one of the robotic arms was aimed at his neck. He didn't even move after he saw the robotic arms charging murderously at him.

"Scanning targets, Peach has been identified, Master has been identified, all allied targets found."

"Little Ash, don't move!"

"I can't."

"Detecting signs of concussion detected on Peach. Initiating "Emergency" protocol. Non-allied targets will be neutralized in three seconds."

Celeste widened his eyes in horror.

"Three."

"Arwen, wait--"

"Two."

"Arwen, please identify the target as an ally of Peach and Master! I permit you!"

"Permission granted from Master."

Arwen stated, and relief coursed through both men.

"Awaiting permission from Peach."

Their bloods ran cold, Peach was still completely out cold.

"Permission not received. Resuming the countdown. Three."

"Peach!"

"Two."

"Oh fuck--"

"One."