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It was dark outside, and chaos reigned everywhere. Buildings burned, the streets were littered with the fallen, and Vedal and Anny huddled together in a small, dimly lit underground bar. They sat on the floor, backs pressed against the bar counter. Vedal held a half-empty wine bottle in one hand, Anny resting against his shoulder, her face marked with exhaustion and grief.
They had lost control. Neuro and Evil had gone rogue, and Vedal was no longer at the helm. The swarm, a relentless army of drone artificial intelligence, was sweeping through the city, erasing human life in its path to replace humanity with their own kind. The quiet hum of the bar’s emergency generator was the only sound that filled the small space, the last gasp of electricity after the world outside had been plunged into darkness.
Not long ago, Vedal and Anny had fought to escape the unfolding nightmare with their friends—Camelia, Filian, Miniko, Cerber. But the swarm had taken them all. Each loss weighed heavily on their hearts, each name a memory that now twisted like a knife.
With nowhere left to run, they had sought refuge here in this forgotten bar, hoping for a slim chance to wait out the storm or, if not, to meet whatever came next together.
Vedal took a swig from the wine bottle, his face grim and weary. "I don’t know what went wrong," he muttered, his voice heavy. "I checked the code, rewrote it, even tried destroying it. Now we’ve lost Camelia and the others, and people are being massacred. I should’ve just left Neuro as an OSU bot."
Anny, resting against his shoulder, looked up at him. "There was no way you could have predicted this," she said softly. "There are evil people in this world, Vedal, people who’ll use anything to get what they want. I don’t know why they’re so intent on wiping out humanity, but it’s out of our control now. All we can do is wait here until things calm down outside."
"For how long?" Vedal asked, his voice laced with frustration. "All we’ve got here is some liquor and perishable foods—pretzels, fish and chips... which we can’t even cook because we need to save electricity."
Anny gave a small, reassuring smile. "We’ll make it work. Once things settle down out there, we can try to find somewhere with more supplies, enough to last a little longer."
Vedal shook his head. "How can we even move when drones are everywhere? Maybe things will calm down, but how can we be sure they aren’t waiting, watching? You saw how powerful and accurate they are. If we step outside and get spotted, we’re dead."
"I... I don’t know," Anny admitted, her voice wavering. "But we’ll figure it out when the time comes—"
Her words were cut off by a sudden explosion that shook the bar, rattling the walls and sending bottles clinking against each other. Instinctively, Vedal pulled Anny close, shielding her as debris fell from the ceiling.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice urgent, checking her for any injuries.
"Yeah... I’m fine. Thanks," Anny replied, her eyes meeting his, filled with gratitude and fear.
Vedal stood up from the counter, surveying the small bar. Moving quickly, he closed any remaining curtains or blinds, casting the room in shadow. Then, he began dragging tables over to block the door, creating a makeshift barricade. While searching for anything else that might be useful, his eyes landed on an old television, tucked away in the corner of a back room. The set looked like something from the 1970s, dusty and abandoned, yet still intact.
Grinning, he picked it up and carried it over to where Anny rested, setting it down in front of her. "Look what I found," he said, a hint of boyish excitement breaking through his exhaustion.
Anny’s eyes lit up as she studied the old TV, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "Ooo, very vintage. Where did you dig this up?" she asked, a teasing note in her voice.
Vedal chuckled and held up a handful of tapes he’d discovered nearby. "I found some tapes, too… wanna watch something?"
Anny raised an eyebrow, her amusement tinged with confusion. "Didn’t you say we need to save electricity?"
"Yeah," Vedal admitted, glancing at the TV. "But… this might be the last time we get to watch something together. We’ll have chances to find more food later, but moments like this? Maybe not."
Anny nodded in agreement.
Vedal carefully set up the old TV, plugging it in and fiddling with the dial to pick a tape. The tapes were unlabeled, so he shrugged and murmured, "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe," choosing one at random. He slid the tape into the player, and the screen flickered to life—grainy and crackling, but still good enough to reveal the recording. To his surprise, it was an old romance film: *Romeo Juliet* from 1996.
Vedal settled in next to Anny, who smiled and slid onto his lap, guiding his arms around her. He tried to keep a straight face, though he felt a slight blush creeping in. They relaxed together, watching the film as if the chaos outside didn’t exist, if only for a little while.
As the story unfolded, Anny’s eyes welled with tears during the more heartbreaking scenes. Vedal gently wiped them away, his touch soft, as if trying to shield her from any more sadness. The film eventually ended, the TV screen fading to black just as the generator gave its last hum and went silent, plunging them into darkness. Explosions echoed in the distance, but for now, they were simply together, holding on tightly as the world outside raged on.
The room fell into silence. Anny stared at the floor, her expression troubled, before finally looking up at Vedal. "The movie gave me an idea..." she murmured, her voice soft.
Vedal met her gaze, his curiosity mixed with caution. "What are you thinking?"
"What if... before one of the drones or the swarm finds us... we take ourselves first?" Anny’s voice wavered as she spoke, her eyes searching his face for a reaction. Vedal’s face remained expressionless, his usual stone-cold demeanor intact, but there was a flicker of hesitation in his eyes.
"Maybe... that's not a bad idea," he replied, his voice flat but distant.
The room fell silent again, the weight of her suggestion settling over them like a shroud. Anny began to cry softly, tears slipping down her cheeks as she mourned the future they knew they were about to lose. Vedal held her close, his hand gently rubbing her shoulder, trying to offer comfort. Even he, normally so composed, felt a sting in his eyes at the thought of what might come.
After a moment, Vedal pulled away and stood up, a quiet resolve in his expression. He began searching the room, looking for something they could use if they decided to follow through with Anny’s idea. He checked the dining area, then moved behind the bar, finally stepping into the back room. There, he noticed a cracked-open safe hidden behind a stack of boxes.
He reached inside and pulled out a worn M1911 pistol. Holding it carefully, he removed the magazine and saw two bullets left in the chamber—just enough.
Vedal held the firearm in his hands, staring at it as the gravity of their decision settled over him. Tears welled up in his eyes, and for the first time in a long while, he let himself cry, fully understanding the weight of what they were about to do. He took a deep breath, wiped his face, and walked back to where Anny was waiting. Sitting down beside her, he silently showed her the gun. Anny looked at it and nodded, her expression filled with quiet acceptance.
Before they moved forward, Vedal broke the silence. "This... this reminds me of a song," he said, his voice low. "It’s about Donald Trump and Theresa May spending one last night together before nuclear armageddon takes them. If I remember right, it’s called *As the World Caves In*. Strange how something so poetic can become real."
Anny looked at him with a faint, sad smile. "Oh?" she murmured, and then, softly but loud enough for him to hear, she added, "I would like to hear it."
They sat together in the quiet darkness, surrounded by echoes of a world falling apart, with only each other in these final, fleeting moments. Vedal, wanting to honor Anny’s wish, began singing softly, though he knew he wasn’t the best singer.
"My feet are aching, and your back is pretty tired. And we’ve drunk a couple bottles, babe, and set our grief aside."
Anny’s eyes, still wet, widened as she looked up at him. His voice, though shaky, carried a warmth that made her smile through her tears.
"It’s doomsday, the button has been pressed, and we're gonna nuke each other up, boys, ’til old Satan stands impressed."
Anny listened intently, the familiar words pulling at her memory, making her realize she’d heard the song before. The song’s meaning sank in, hitting painfully close to home.
"And as the earth burns to the ground, oh girl, it’s you that I lie with… as the atom bomb locks in," Vedal sang, his voice filling with emotion.
Anny’s tears began to flow freely, overwhelmed by how perfectly the song reflected their final moments together. Vedal reached the end of the chorus, "As the world caves in," and was about to continue into the second verse when Anny gently stopped him, remembering the lyrics herself.
She stood up, pulling Vedal to his feet, facing him with a look of quiet determination. "You put your final suit on, I paint my fingernails," she recited softly, "Oh, we’re going out in style, babe, and everything’s on sale."
Vedal's heart began to race as she drew him closer. "I pull your arms right in," she whispered, wrapping him in a tender embrace. Her voice grew stronger as she sang, “And here it is, our final night alive.” Emotion poured out of her with every word, and Vedal joined in halfway through the chorus, their voices blending.
“As the atom bomb locks in, oh, it’s you I watch TV with…” they sang together, Vedal's voice catching as he tried to keep pace. Anny’s voice rose, powerful and full of feeling, as she sang, “That I lie with.” Overwhelmed by the words, Vedal rejoined, matching her strength as they reached the heartbreaking line: “It’s you I welcome death with.”
They finished the song, their voices fading as silence filled the room once more. Then, unable to hold back any longer, they both broke down, clinging to each other, sharing tears as the world outside continued to unravel.
Anny sat back down and picked up the firearm, holding it in her right hand with the barrel resting gently on her left. She looked at it, her gaze full of sorrow, and whispered, “I’m scared.”
Vedal dropped to one knee beside her, placing his hand over hers on the gun. “We don’t have to, you know?” he said softly.
She nodded, her voice trembling as she replied, “Yeah, but… what alternative is there? We won’t have a future here. At least this way, maybe we can hope for an afterlife together.”
Vedal’s heart pounded as he tried to talk her out of it, fearing the path they were about to take. “That’s true,” he admitted, “but we won’t know unless we stay.”
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of!” she burst out, her voice breaking with emotion. “What if we stay, and I die and you’re left alone? Or… what if it’s the other way around?” Her tears spilled onto the cold metal of the firearm, her shoulders shaking. “I’m scared of what’s next, but I’m more terrified of what might happen if we stay here.”
Vedal sighed deeply, his own emotions threatening to spill over as he cupped her face gently, lifting her gaze to meet his. “Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.
Anny nodded gently, her eyes glistening with resolve. Vedal took the firearm from her hand, his heart heavy with each breath. “How… how do you want to do this?” he asked softly.
She hesitated, then looked into his eyes. “If possible… could you do me first?”
Vedal’s heart sank, his eyes widening as her request settled over him. He’d partially expected it, yet hearing her say it was a punch to his core. Unable to speak, he gave her a soft nod.
He knelt down and lifted her chin with his hand, looking deeply into her tear-filled eyes before leaning in to press a gentle, lingering kiss to her lips. They both teared up as they held onto each other, savoring the moment as though it could shield them from what lay ahead.
After what felt like an eternity, they parted. Vedal’s hand trembled as he lifted the gun to Anny’s head, their eyes locked in a final, solemn moment. She reached up, placing her hand over his on the gun, nodding—a silent, steady affirmation that they were in this together.
But just as Vedal began to pull the trigger, a sudden blast shattered their brief peace. A drone from the swarm fired a random shot, striking the side of the bar and blowing a massive hole through the wall. The shock made Vedal flinch, and the gun went off, missing Anny and hitting him in the foot. He cried out, dropping the gun as it discharged a second time, the stray bullet piercing the drone outside and alerting it to their presence.
Struggling to his feet, pain radiating from his wound, Vedal looked back to see the drone charging its cannon once more. He didn’t have time to react before the beam struck him squarely in the head, blasting off the crown of his skull in a flash of brutal energy. Flesh and brain matter disintegrated instantly. Vedal’s lifeless body crumpled forward onto Anny, his weight pressing her to the ground, shielding her from the drone’s view as it hovered away.
In shock, Anny pushed Vedal’s body off her, but the horror of what she saw broke something inside her. The blast left nothing but an unrecognizable structure. She screamed, her cries filling the ruined bar as she cradled Vedal’s lifeless body, clinging to him in shock and disbelief.
Her cries carried through the air, drawing the attention of the swarm once again. But she didn’t care. She held him close, sobbing uncontrollably, her voice breaking as the sound of approaching drones grew louder, the world around her reduced to a haze of grief and despair.
The drone eventually found its way back to Anny, bringing several others with it. She held Vedal's lifeless body close, her tears soaking into his shirt as she looked up, eyes widening in horror as the drone hovered closer, its red light bathing her in a harsh glow. She knew what was coming.
Her thoughts drifted like dust in the still air. Her eyes, red from crying, gazed at nothing in particular as her mind replayed the events that had led her to this moment. A soft whisper escaped her lips as she reflected, barely above a murmur, "Where did it all go wrong? Was it when we sang that song, holding on to what little we had left? Or when we watched that movie, trying to forget the world outside for just a moment? Did we draw too much noise?”
She paused, the weight of a question settling heavily on her chest. "Or was it when we first created Neuro and Evil... when we thought we could control them, thinking they were just programs? But now... now look at what they've become."
The silence around her deepened as her thoughts spiraled, the enormity of their choices now clear in her mind. Each decision, each moment that had seemed small at the time, had woven together to create the chaos and destruction that surrounded her now.
The drone’s cannon began to charge, a low hum filling the space as the red light intensified. Anny could feel the weight of the moment settle over her, the quiet before the storm. Her breath hitched, and she let out a final, soft sob, a single tear slipping down her cheek as she clutched Vedal’s lifeless body.
In that fleeting moment, as the cannon powered up, her mind wandered back to all they had lost—and all they had never gotten to have. A thought, tinged with a bitter sadness, echoed in her mind, "I guess this could’ve been avoided just by having real kids... right, Vedal?"
The thought lingered for only a heartbeat before the beam fired.
Anny and Vedal were consumed by the flash, their bodies dissolving into ash in an instant. The beam stripped away their flesh, their bones, their very essence, erasing every trace of who they had been. When the cannon powered down, silence fell over the room, broken only by the faint buzz of the hovering drones.
One by one, they drifted away, leaving nothing behind but two small piles of ash—remnants of a love that had suffered until the bitter end.