EXT. LOW ROOFTOP NEAR RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX – NIGHT
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwAX9uGCuU
[Three tired silhouettes drop onto a lower rooftop. Not quite home yet, but close. The concrete cube jungle where Jason’s cozy “apartment” waits is visible in the near distance, bathed in sleepy neon and soft glows from scattered windows.]
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2NomeKyOCw
JASON (grinning tiredly)
“There she is. Home sweet–wait, why is it glowing purple tonight? That’s not–”
(squints)
“Ah. Probably someone overclocked their heating core again.”
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTO83nOyEf
SD-A (suddenly pointing)
“Hey! What’s that thing?”
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1zrElemu5
[They all turn. At the edge of the rooftop, hidden half behind a collapsed ventilation pipe, stands a vending machine. Rusted, humming gently, and flickering with a soft red glow. It’s clearly older than any of them, but still functioning… somehow.]
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO81TymawUe
[On its glass panel, in faded but still legible text, are the words:]
“Alcohol & Stuff – For bots who’ve had enough.”
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL0tUFkM7up
JASON (slow turn to A)
“Why do you notice the cursed objects first?”
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcg7auEV0Sj
SD-K (flatly)
“We’re changing the plan again. Of course we are. Who needs structure or logic?”
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9aYv6l8T37
JASON (ignores him, already walking over)
“I’ve literally never tasted anything that wasn’t machine oil. Or battery acid. This might be a character development moment.”
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8oGuSFTJF0
[The machine flickers again. A series of suspiciously bright-colored bottles sit inside, labels like “Buzz.exe,” “RUM-ware,” “GinUnit 7,” and something simply titled “Screaming Protocol.”]
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3h7fXk8Mi
SD-A (leaning close)
“This one says it simulates your processor being in love. That sounds nice.”
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8q83KU5nYm
SD-K
“That sounds like malware with branding.”
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26AWdqG2T9
[Jason jams a few credits into the slot. The machine whirs violently, then spits out three dusty, glowing glass bottles. One immediately steams.]
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrWWJUZEXjz
JASON (holding it like it might explode)
“…This is the worst decision I’ve made all day. And I got carried through the air by a murder drone.”
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2XjlTdRlJ
[They each grab a bottle, inspecting the weirdly alive liquids.]
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHdf0Z3Ayc
SD-A (cheerfully)
“Cheers?”
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6VsSuH1uWH
SD-K
“Prayers.”
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdu5K6LhnZ
[They clink glass gently and take sips. Jason makes a weird face as his HUD briefly crashes and restarts. K swallows and goes silent. A blinks rapidly, his eyes turning temporarily pink.]
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJmm0eWHaC
JASON (smacking his lips)
“…Okay. That tasted like rusted freedom and mild corruption. I don’t hate it.”
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrabI4mNCHx
[The three of them continue walking, Jason using his grappling hook to descend while muttering angrily about “never flying again.” They land silently in the alley behind their complex.]
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSlO68TkrwD
[From a distance, just three normal citizens walking home after some late-night... retail exploration. Grocery bags swinging. Bottles clinking. No murder. No chases. No drama.]
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVISyHvj22y
SD-A (contently)
“I like walking. It feels less… hostile.”
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZp8bNVTVj
SD-K (still holding his bottle)
“I’m gonna reverse-engineer this drink and file it under war crimes.”
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwqEbwoVZoD
JASON
“You’ll do that after we finish the other two we bought.”
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlymwkNb6rh
[They vanish into the glowing maze of the concrete cube apartments, nothing more than shadows and laughs in the quiet night.]
ns216.73.216.111da2
