Alexia crouched down in front of her, all bulging muscles that made Ellie want to cower back in fear. She wore a loose fitting white shirt that revealed even more powerful pectoral muscles, and pants that highlighted just how thick her thighs were. "And you've been lying to us."
The air was all sucked out of her lungs. She had no idea what to say to that because yes, she had. She'd been lying a lot, and so had Proteus, and she wasn't sure what lie they were talking about.
But now was the time when she could finally come clean. She could tell them everything, just like she believed they should have from the very beginning. Doing so would make Proteus angry with her, though.
"Lying about what?" Ellie tried, but she could hear how bad the words were on her tongue.
Anya sighed, and that was when Ellie looked over at the pretty blonde woman. She wore a white dress with pretty lace on the edges. The short sleeves showed off her arms and the pearls that dripped all along her wrists. There was even a pearl bracelet around one of her legs. She had a droid attached to her face, with a screen over one eye. But the expression on her face was one of disappointment.
They knew. Of course they knew.
Alexia sighed and reached out a big hand for her to take. "Come on, Ellie. Get up. We'll show you what we've discovered in that facility of yours, and you can tell me exactly what you think we need to know."
She didn't want to do this. But Ellie didn't think she had a choice in the matter.
Grabbing Alexia's hand, she allowed the big woman to help her up and followed them into a separate room. This dome was a marvel. It was hard for her not to stare at the arching metal and the huge glass panels that held the sea at bay. They were surprisingly close to the surface here. Close enough that she could see a storm leaving as they walked through a long tunnel toward another room.
Ellie reached out and touched the glass where kelp waved on the other side. It was so clear it felt like she could reach out and touch the seagrass.
The other room seemed to be a meeting area of sorts. Most of the furniture had clearly been repaired in some way. But everything in the sea had to have been waterlogged at some point. Some of the seats were ones she recognized from Tau. The clean, modern aesthetic was mashed together with what looked like utilitarian pieces, perhaps from Beta, and then others that looked like they had been handmade here.
Ellie took a seat on one of the chairs from Tau and waited.
Alexia and Anya sat down as well, both of them looking a little uncomfortable. It was Anya who finally spoke, thankfully.
"The information we have discovered at your facility is all very helpful. We believe that Proteus is right. We should be able to fix what has been broken and perhaps move some people Above. At least into that facility, and if we can discover others, then that will allow us to move even more people onto the land. However." Anya paused and took a deep breath. "It's him that concerns us. That's why we brought you here."
"Rather dramatically," Ellie replied, surprising herself. She hadn't thought she had it in her to talk back like that.
Anya smiled. "Very dramatically, one might argue. We knew Proteus wouldn't allow you to come here if we asked him, not without his supervision. And you seem to be the person who knows the most. A good amount of information in that facility is categorized as classified, and it is locked behind walls that very few are able to get past. Certainly not someone we have here. That concerned us."
"It's just information from separate research done at the facility," she tried to lie.
"Information that your droid has functions placed to hide. That makes us think it's not unrelated research." Anya leaned forward, bracing her elbows on her knees. "Proteus is clearly hiding something from us. Considering the old legends about him, we have good reason for our concern. I think you understand that. He wants us out of the sea as fast as possible, but we want to limit the deaths along the way. So you are here to tell us the truth."
A part of her didn't want to tell them anything about Proteus.
Another part of her wanted to tell them everything. Anya was saying what Ellie had wanted to hear Proteus tell her. Thathe wanted to minimize death. That he would take her concerns seriously about the creatures who were already living Above.
She opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. "I don't think I should tell you anything without Proteus."
"I told you," Alexia grumbled. "There is a reintegration program for a reason. The clones need support. They need therapy. They need to be reassured regularly that they can go against whatever they were trained if they were woken up. Clearly Ellie had been used, perhaps even abused, and she will not be interested in helping us unless Proteus tells her to do so."
A spark of anger burned in her chest. "I told him to talk to you all! I told him he should tell you everything, and he said he would respect that."
Alexia's laser sharp gaze turned to her. "Prove me wrong, then. Prove that you have a mind of your own. If you want to tell us, if you think we need to know, then you should do so. Regardless of what Proteus might want."
"I don't want to anger him either," Ellie whispered. "He's done so much for me."
It was more than just that, though. They didn't understand the connection that had bloomed between them. Seeing him dragged away from her, it didn't make her want to trust these people.
It made her angry.
So angry that she wanted to lie to them. She wanted to go along with Proteus's plan and allow the humans to return Above without realizing there were creatures already there. Not to tell them that most of the facilities were ruins, and to let them find out on their own that the scientists who had been left there were experimenting on more than just animals, but people too.
But deep down, that wasn't who Ellie was. She wasn't the person who could allow innocent people to walk into the unknown without giving them all the protection she could.
She was a good person. She would do the right thing, even if it made her angry to give these people the truth when they had done nothing to earn it.
