#navi ai x painter

[unckiescott]

Everyone SLEEPING on these 2

Rainbow Road would be a crazy ship name

[starlitiris]

“Lilacs” - Painter x Reader (Part 2)

Part 1

beginning notes: no warnings this time, just a continuation of part one with a happy ending. happy halloween everyone!

word count: ~4k

~ 🪻 ~

Sebastian sat with Painter for hours. It took the AI a while to calm down, and even once he did, he didn’t want to be alone for a while. Sebastian didn’t want him to be alone, either.

Painter asked Sebastian to take your body somewhere you wouldn’t be desecrated or disturbed.

There weren’t a whole lot of places like that in the blacksite, but Sebastian knew a spot. He told Painter what the spot was, and asked if he was okay with it. Painter said it was fine. So, Sebastian lifted you with the utmost care, told Painter he would meet with him in his room when he was done, and left.

There’s an area in the oxygen gardens that Sebastian knows the navi-path will never lead any EXR-P to. It’s closed off, untouched by all the chaos of the lockdown. He takes you there.

You’re gently placed down in front of one of the trees, leaning back against it as the trunk kindly holds your weight to keep you sitting up. Sebastian places your hands in your lap.

He stares at you somberly for a moment.

“... I’m sorry.”

He leaves to meet back up with his grieving friend.

Sebastian and Painter reunite in Painter’s room. Sebastian stays for a few more hours. Most of the time he’s there is spent in silence, but he tries to be a little comforting. He’s not great at the whole comforting people thing, but he tries. Painter needs it.

Eventually, Painter tells Sebastian he can go. He asks Painter if he’s sure, and when he says yes, he leaves – but not before telling his friend that he’s always available to come by.

What a day. What a long, painful, exhausting day. Sebastian rubbed the side of his head, feeling a headache coming on as he wandered the blacksite’s halls. Having spent so much time with Painter, he had a lot of scavenging and file reading to catch up on. Not that he really minded – he was happy to be there for his friend. But he did have a lot of work ahead of him. The mere thought of it only spurred his headache on more.

Killing his own best friend. Sebastian had been through a lot, but he couldn’t imagine how awful that would feel. The shock, the sadness, the guilt… it must be torture. Hell, it was torture for Sebastian and he didn’t even know you, let alone kill you.

Sebastian wouldn’t have expected this in a million years. Neither would Painter. I mean, how could they have? You and Painter’s creator were such amazing people. Painter can’t imagine what might have landed you to end up here. He was more certain than anything that you being showing up was an impossibility. But you were here. You are here. They both never would have expected this. They never would have expected you to arrive on that submarine. They wouldn’t have expected you to die before they knew you were in the blacksite. They wouldn’t have expected your own best friend to be the thing that killed you.

And Sebastian certainly wasn’t expecting to be approached by a mysterious benefactor after the fact. A man, dressed in all green that would bring him into a dark room where you would be sat in front of him. Alive.

“... Oh… Hello,” he starts, rather awkwardly.

The green guy – apparently named “Mr. Lopee” – told Sebastian that he was going to keep reviving an expendable to witness if they could see this thing through. He told Sebastian how to go about showing you documents pertaining to your death, and told him to sell you things for any kroner you may be given. But what are the chances that the chosen expendable would be you? Of all people? He had no idea what to say to you. You don’t know that he knows you and Painter know each other- you don’t even know that Painter is the one that killed you! Should he tell you? No, no. Of course not. What if he tells you and you hate Painter because of it? He doesn’t want to be the one to break that news, if it’s ever broken to you.

You’re staring at him, confused. Dammit, what does he say?! Should he just say what Mr. Lopee told him to say and nothing more? He doesn’t want to say anything that’ll confuse you more than you already will be. He doesn’t want to have a part in screwing up your relationship with Painter, either. Dammit, dammit!

Okay. Alright. He knows what to do. He’ll just act like he doesn’t know anything. That’s the best option, right? I mean, even if he wanted to tell you everything he knows, he has no idea how he would say it.

This is the best he can do for now. He’ll act like he doesn’t know.

“You died,” he continues, keeping his composure despite his minor internal panic. “Whaaat a shame. We’ve already met, which I find veeery impressive, considering it's your first time down here.”

All you can see before you is three glowing blue eyes. You had no idea who the thing in front of you was, but after hearing him speak some more, it clicked. This is that Sebastian guy, right? It sounds like him. The eyes make sense now, too.

“Aaanyway,” Sebastian starts up again. “ Since those iiidiots up there didn’t feel like telling you about which exact dangers you’d face down here, I’ve been asked to fill that role. Whenever you die, you'll be brought here, and I’ll show you a document detailing what caused your oh so early demise.”

“Wait,” you interrupt. “I’m… dead?”

“... No. You died. Past-tense. Now you’re not dead. Congratulations,” he informs you dryly.

“I… how?” This was all very confusing. How are you even alive again? None of this is making any sense.

“Well, if you were paying any attention to anything I had just said, you would know that I was just about to show you. May I continue?” He asks, his tone reeking of condescension.

“Uh… yeah. Sure. Sorry.”

Sebastian hums, then continues. He explains to you that a mysterious someone wouldn’t let him show you everything in the documents all at once, but the more times you die to something, the more he’ll be able to show you. You don’t understand why you can’t just know everything in a file upon your first death to whatever’s in it, but you suppose having any information is better than none.

“Alright. Let me find what caused your…” you hear Sebastian shuffling around what you assume to be files. “Ahhh. Here we go.”

He slides an open document over to you on a table that you hadn’t noticed was there until now.

“Internal Defense System…” you read aloud. “... Oh. I remember now.”

Sebastian’s fidgets uncomfortably. You sound angry. You look angry.

He’s definitely not telling you that Painter hijacked the turret system.

Once you finish reading the file, you huff and slide it back towards Sebastian.

“I hate this place,” you mutter.

“You and me both, friend. All set to go back into the fray?” He asks.

You sigh. “I guess I don’t have a choice.”

“That’s the spirit! Oh, and one more thing before I forget…” Sebastian closes the document and retrieves it from the table.

He informs you that he’s (been forced to) set up a system for you to purchase any items he’s scavenged, all from the submarine you arrive in. You tell him you’ll keep that in mind, and in the blink of an eye, you’re suddenly back in said submarine.

You feel the sub come to a halt and watch the back open for you to exit. Just like the first time you arrived. Only this time, you were alone. You wonder if all your former teammates got to come back, too, or… if it was only you that got revived. You decide you don’t want to think about that too much. You’re already having a hard enough time processing that you’re alive again.

You remember dying. You remember the feeling of getting pelted with bullets before everything went dark. You remember it hurting.

You exit the submarine and retrieve the keycard to the first door while you recollect your untimely – though, temporary – demise. You had barely survived all the dangers you faced before you were shot down. You’re grateful to have another chance at survival, or however many chances you were apparently going to be given, but how the hell were you going to accomplish anything here? This place is awful. Danger quite literally lurks around every corner. You’re certain you’ve only scratched the surface of what dangers here could, and likely would, kill you.

This sucks. A lot.

Though not exactly pleased with your current circumstances, you continue onward anyway. Having unlocked door 1, you take a deep breath, and take your first step back into hell.

Just like last time, the first handful of rooms are uneventful. You make sure to pick up any loose assets you find as the man on the intercom told you. Knowing now that Sebastian would give you items if you had enough data on you was motivation to collect as well.

It isn’t until door 10 that the lights begin to flicker.

“Not again…” you groan, looking for a locker you can hop into.

You hide in time for the familiar and very loud creature to rush past without noticing you. You have no idea what it is, and you quite frankly hope you never have to find out. You survived your first encounter with it purely by chance. You had been off in a side room, helping your team find a keycard for the next door when it came through and blew out the lights.

Speaking of the lights being blown out… you really wish you had a flashlight on you. You exit the locker, unable to see shit. Thankfully, you remember where the next door was and are able to make it there without bumping into anything.

And so your journey continues. You move forward, using what you learned on your first run to keep yourself alive.

As you progress, you become uncomfortably aware of how quiet it is. And, by proxy, aware of how alone you are. It’s unsettling and really makes you wish you had another EXR-P with you.

The silence is giving you too much room to think. The very real and pretty much guaranteed possibility of death makes you anxious. Even though you’re pretty sure you’ll come back anyway, it’s still an unpleasant thought that’s hard to come to terms with. You don’t want to die again. What if you get stuck in an endless loop of death and revival forever?? Is that even possible? It very well could be. Getting the crystal you were sent here for doesn’t feel like an achievable endeavor at this point.

You release a heavy sigh. How did you get here? Where did everything in your life go so wrong?

A bit of a stupid question, really. Stupid, because you know exactly where everything began to spiral.

The day you lost your two closest friends. That’s when everything fell apart.

They were taken from you. One of them died. Correction, actually – one of them was murdered. Details around his death were never released to the public, but you knew. You knew. Somebody, or a group of somebodies, took him away and did god knows what to him. It was the same people that took Painter away from you. You don’t know all the details. You likely never will. But you wish you could. Painter could be dead now too for all you know. Or those people could be using him for whatever they wanted. If that were the case, you’re certain they would never let your friend see the light of day again. Why would they? They killed a man over an AI program. There’s no reason they would hold any compassion for Painter.

… You miss him. You want him back more than anything. He’s just as much a person as you are. As his creator was. You would talk to him all the time, about anything and everything. You helped to teach him a lot about what it meant to be alive, and to feel.

Painter could feel. He was a person. A person that you had fallen in love with. You used to be embarrassed to admit it to yourself, but now? If you could just see him again, one last time… you desperately wanted him to know. You want him to know that he is loved.

You shake your head. “Ugh! Shut up, shut up,” you scold yourself. Dwelling on the past and what could have been won’t help you through this. Focussing on the lights and sounds around you, however, will.

You’re on door 26 now. You’d hardly noticed you made it this far already. You’ve gotten pretty lucky up to this point, you figure, now also realizing you haven’t stumbled upon any false doors this whole time. On top of that, you passed a room with turrets in it earlier, but the turrets weren’t activated. Good for you! A few less things for you to worry about. You know you may have to worry about them again in the future, but for now, you’re just grateful for the temporary mercy.

Oh, this is new. Door 28 has two doors and needs to be opened with a purple keycard, as opposed to a blue one. Odd. You unlock the door with a mixture of curiosity and uneasiness. Beyond the two doors is another ordinary looking room with another ordinary, unlocked door. You continue through said door, and are met with a NOT ordinary, very very large airlock door.

“Uhh…” how do they expect you to open this? Did you somehow go the wrong way?

You take a few steps forward and jolt when you hear the airlock start to open on its own.

“Oookay…”

You continue.

This area is very different from what you’re used to. The hallways are massive, there’s forklifts in random places, and a lot of side rooms. There’s also spots where the walls and windows to what you assume are containment cells are smashed and scattered across the floor. It is, to say the very least, not comforting.

The chaos and unfamiliarity of this area leaves you a little more on edge. You would very much like to leave this section as soon as possible.

Having this revelation, you try not to take your time navigating through. Though, having all the lights off in hallways with three branching paths is certainly not helping. Nor are dark octopus-like figures that dwell in the shadows, or the large screaming creatures that rush through the halls. You really, really hate it here.

Eventually, you find a room that looks a lot different from the handful you had just passed through. The start and end of the room still had airlocks, but this time there were a few stairs that led down to a platform occupied with large servers. Through two of the servers, you could see a normal door. You wondered if it was locked. As much as you wanted to leave this area, you couldn’t help but be a little curious. Hopefully your sudden intrigue won’t get you killed. Again.

Cautiously, you wander over to the stairs and take them down, one by one. You make your way around the machinery. You walk up to the door. And with a deep, nervous breath, you open it.

The room was pretty underwhelming. Just some lockers, more machinery, and a computer that was locked behind a fence for some reason. At least it looked safe in here.

You train your eyes on the aforementioned computer. The screen is off, and it looks like the exact same model as your old friend. What a cruel coincidence.

You step into the room. As much as you would like to believe that this computer was him, you knew it was-

“Go away.”

You freeze.

Were… were you hearing things? You had to be, right? There’s no way this was him.

But what if it was…?

“... Painter?” You take your chances and ask.

There’s a long pause.

“... What?”

The screen is still off, but god, it sounds just like him. You can’t be imagining things.

“Painter, is that you…?” You ask again.

The screen finally turns on.

It’s him.

Holy shit, it’s him.

“What…” He stares at you in disbelief. “Y/N?”

You smile and run to the fence, tears already threatening to pour from your eyes. “Painter!! Oh my god, you’re here!!”

“You’re alive?” He asks, not believing what he’s seeing but desperately wanting to.

You hook your hands onto the fence. “Yeah, I’m alive! I’m here!”

“But- how?! How are you alive?!”

“I don’t know, but I… wait, what do you mean?” You question, not understanding why he sounds so disbelieving. Sure, this place is dangerous – you’re certain he knows that as well as you do by now. But shouldn’t he be… happy? Right now, he just looks confused and upset.

“You were dead! I saw you! How are you here?!” The quiver in his voice makes it sound as if he’s on the verge of tears. You’ve never seen him so distraught before.

“You saw me…?” Your heart aches when you ask. The thought of him seeing you dead and not knowing you would come back… “How did you see me? You’re stuck in here, aren’t you?”

“I saw through the cameras! You were dead! I don’t understand…”

“I don’t really understand any of this either. All I know is that one second I was dead on the floor, and the next, I was in a dark room with that Sebastian guy, and-”

“You saw Sebastian? After you came back??” He seems shocked, and maybe even a little more confused than before.

“Uh, yeah. I did. Told me how I died and everything.”

“He… he told you…?” He frowns deeply.

“Yeah. He did.” You frown as well. It hurts to see him so upset.

“... I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Y/N. You must hate me now, don’t you…?”

Your eyes widen again at the last thing he said. “Hate you?? No! Why the hell would I hate you, Painter? You’re my best friend! What do you have to be sorry for?”

“It’s my fault! I wasn’t paying attention, and I didn’t realize it was you in time! I could’ve if I hadn’t waited till after! I’m so sorry…”

“Woah, woah, what are you talking about? It’s not your fault I died. And hell, if I had gotten past those turrets, something else probably would’ve killed me anyway. It’s not your fault…”

“... Oh…” Painter has a realization. Of what, you aren’t sure. “He didn’t tell you…”

“What…? Tell me what?” Your concern is only growing the further this goes on.

Painter pauses. “... It was me, Y/N. I activated the turrets.” His painted face morphs into a look of pure guilt. “I killed you.”

You stare, furrowing your brows as you try to understand.

While he watches you piece things together in your head, Painter braces himself for you to yell at him. To scream at him and call him a murderer. There was no way you could forgive him for what he did to you, or to all the other people he’s hurt and killed. You may be alive again, but that wouldn’t stop him from losing you.

“... It’s okay.”

His drawn eyes widen. “... What…?”

“It’s okay. I forgive you,” you reassure him.

“But… How?! I killed you! I…”

“You said you didn’t know it was me, right? I believe you. I know you would never hurt me on purpose,” you rest your forehead gently on the fence, giving Painter a warm smile. “It’s okay. I could never hate you.”

There’s a moment of quiet that falls between you two before Painter bursts into a tearless sob. It breaks your heart to see him like this, but at least there’s a bittersweetness to his crying. He knows now that his favorite person forgives him for doing something unforgivable. To say he’s relieved would be an understatement.

You sit with him for a while as he weeps. When he starts to calm down, you muster the courage to speak again – to tell him something that you’ve wanted to say for a long time.

“Hey… Painter?”

His attention is turned to you again. “Yeah…?”

“I don’t know if now is the best time… but I wanna tell you something. Before something bad happens, and I lose the chance to again.”

His crying comes to a stop as he nervously waits to hear what you have to say. “Okay…”

You bite your lip, a wave of anxiety crashing over you all of a sudden.

You have to say it. Now is your chance.

“... I love you,” you confess, barely above a whisper. “I’m in love with you. And I know you probably don’t feel the same way… but that’s okay. I just… needed you to know. I love you. And I don’t ever want to lose you again.”

He’s quiet, staring at you with an unreadable expression. You wish you could tell what he’s thinking. Every second he doesn’t say something feels like a dagger to your heart.

“... I love you, too,” he says finally, a loving smile painting his screen.

You slowly smile again, feeling shocked, hopeful and excited. “You do…?”

“Yes!” He shouts through laughter. “I always have. I never thought you would reciprocate, given that I’m just an AI, but… oh, I’m so happy! You’re okay! You’re alive, and you love me!”

You laugh, tears of joy rolling down your cheeks. You haven’t felt this happy in a long time.

“Oh, Y/N! Wanna see something?” He asks you eagerly.

“Huh? Yeah, sure,” you wipe away some of your tears as Painter pulls up a beautiful drawing.

A drawing of you. Standing in that gorgeous field of purple you used to love, arms outstretched to take in the wind, the sun, and the smell of lilacs surrounding you everywhere.

“Oh, Painter…”

“I paint you all the time. Whenever I get the chance to, at least…” he admits. “I thought about you everyday, out in that field. You looked so happy back then. I missed being there with you, more than anything…” he finished, hints of nostalgia and sadness lacing his words.

You smile sadly. “I missed it, too.”

He puts the artwork away to return a smile again.

You stayed for a long as you felt you could without getting in trouble. You were able to catch up on a lot while you were there, though. Painter told you about what happened to his creator, what Urbanshade made him do after they contained him, and his relationship with Sebastian. You told him what you’d been up to since he’d been taken, and how you ended up as an expendable.

And then you had to go. But before you did, you promised that you would find him again.

And he promised that he would never hurt you again.

You smile, and wave goodbye as you exit his room.

He was sad to see you go, but he knew he would be seeing you again. And that made him happy.

He was so happy he could see you again. You weren’t surrounded in purple lilacs anymore, but you were still just as beautiful.

He’d always had you as the centerpiece of his paintings for a reason, afterall.

~ 🪻 ~

ending notes: i wrote a happy ending for once be proud <3 /j also please please please tell me if you spot a typo so i can fix it SOBS

[sebastiansvertebrae]

Yesssssss them I love them I love them so much everybody should stop sleeping on them

Everyone SLEEPING on these 2

Rainbow Road would be a crazy ship name