Depression
Exacerbation
Alone
D

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He sat at the desk without his friend to accompany him in the lonely room that he now shares with the rest of his remaining roommates, the front of his now repaired neck covered in multiple electrical bandages. Brownie felt...alone. Of course, he was, as nobody was there in the whole room, but he just felt...a different version of alone. Something must have changed in his microprocessor that led to him being more different than he originally was, his affection for TV Woman was lowered not because he now really hates her, but because he felt no interest and motivation from her at all.

Brownie felt empty in this empty alone room and speaking of the word "empty", his stomach was empty since he didn't bother eating breakfast or lunch which is unhealthy, already concerning a couple of the allies present in his building after he avoided such interaction walking back from the medical room to the room he stays in. He stared at the picture of TV Woman which he had always kept in his brown coat, not sensing anything new or good in his body as he did, the print becoming a useless object to him as he suddenly realized. It didn't need to mean anything anymore if he didn't mean anything to TV Woman, feeling his microprocessor spark as he microprocesses the newly made up information, grabbing the portrait and tossing it aside with what little strength he had left.

Brownie then took out the pack of cigarettes he still kept in his coat even after the massacre he caused and placed one of them into his camera-mouth, grabbing out his chrome lighter and lighting up the cigarette on an empty stomach, taking a few drags as he blew out smoke from his camera-mouth. He felt the burn and had the sudden urge to cough but eventually accepted the slight pain, inhaling it all in and just trying to relax with all the bad things that were done to him, trying to remember the last good thing that happened but unable to even do so. The brown cameraman leaned a bit forward in the seat and onto the desk as he tried to think hard, but alas he could not get a good result as he only saw emptiness in his mind, something that's been around the room and inside of him.

This...feels great. It was what Brownie was thinking to himself in this alone and empty room where all he was right now feeling was any type of pain, his expression being quite blank with a slight hint of sadness.

Suddenly, there is a knock on the door by somebody behind it. "Brownie? Are you there?" Brownie replied in silence as he didn't feel like doing so anyway, the room and the other side filled with silence until someone opened the door.

Plunger Cameraman was holding a tray of fresh food that he was going to give to Brownie, some others barely visible behind him but gave a sense of being familiar, their expressions becoming startled when seeing Brownie casually smoke in the room without much thought put into it.

He said his name. "B-Brownie?" Plunger Cameraman had concern in his tone as he knew the brown cameraman was at least a young adult even to smoke, the words that came from his camera-mouth being heard by the two others behind him.

Brownie didn't dare to turn his camera-head to them as he felt he didn't need to see them right now, continuing to ignore the three as he continued to smoke and take drags out of his cigarette. They already knew that he was able to speak since his vocal cords were repaired, but as it appeared, he wasn't in the brightest mood to talk to them or anybody in particular.

Plunger Cameraman sighed as he walked over and placed the tray of food on his dead friend's old bed, walking over to Brownie and placing his palm onto his shoulder which felt surprisingly less warmer than the average cameraman's shoulder. "We...came to check up on you. How are you doing as of now?"

Brownie finally turned to face him, revealing an emotionless and blank expression that could be discerned from 1000 yards away. Plunger Cameraman felt a slight chill down his spine, as this was not the usual Brownie he had seen before, who appeared to be devoid of life, with an empty and lonely soul, covered in darkness. It was unlike his usual personality as if Brownie had left it to decay or lose all its vibrancy until he regained it, only to be left with an uninteresting, lifeless shell.

"Uh...okay then, I'm hoping you're doing alright if you just don't feel like talking." Plunger Cameraman walked to the food tray and grabbed a chocolate brownie from it, returning to Brownie and offering it to him.

"The cafeteria served your favorite snack." He held it in front of him, allowing the cigarette smoke to permeate it, which could potentially spoil the flavor with nicotine.

Brownie decided to take the brown chocolate and appeared as though he was about to take a bite of it, however, he simply placed it on the likely dirty desk despite having an empty stomach that was causing him some discomfort. His allies were perplexed as Brownie typically enjoyed eating chocolat brownies and took great care to ensure their freshness, his new peculiar behavior leaving the brown chocolate seeming unimportant and worthless. Meanwhile, Brownie was emotionless as he casually took a few drags from his cigarette, the Plunger Cameraman sensing that something was terribly amiss with Brownie.

Plunger Cameraman turned to someone whom Brownie presumed to be a medic cameraman. "You said all of his pins were in place, right?"

He provided an authentic response. "Of course I did. I double-checked twice to ensure that nothing was misaligned. He only requires some time to recover from the aftermath of the parasite." The Plunger Cameraman then heaved a sigh and turned towards Brownie, a concerned expression on his camera-face.

"Listen, Brownie, you will be fine, alright? Please ensure that you eat to regain some strength. I'll be leaving now." He walks away from Brownie but almost forgets about someone who wants to visit him.

"Oh, I remember. Someone you were fond of expressed concern for you and wished to pay you a visit." He stated before he walked out of the room through the door where the medic cameraman followed him behind, and whoever wished to see Brownie began making their way towards him.

He wanted to inform everyone that, during his lunch break, he preferred not to have any visitors while he sat alone in his room, especially considering his current mental state. However, it seemed that he couldn't express his feelings completely. In addition, if he couldn't communicate this to them, he felt powerless to take any action. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted when a warm yet familiar hand was placed on his shoulder, he barely reacted and felt a slight irritation at someone touching him, but once again, he found himself unable to respond.

He couldn't do a thing about the friend he offed, hardly made a ripple with the rest, or that's what was running through Brownie's mind. At the mere mention of his name, his camera-head swung around in mild annoyance. Lo and behold, it was someone he once adored.

She wore a worried expression on her face, a face he didn't want to see in this moment, but her anguish only intensified Brownie's inner misery as he didn't want to witness someone he once loved feeling sad. He simply met her gaze with a long, vacant stare, as if his camera-lenses lacked any life, which further troubled her. It was only a matter of time before she would open up and start to speak to him.

TV Woman stammered slightly, appearing hesitant to engage in conversation. "B...B-Brownie...?" He was completely unaware of her slight fear, not knowing whether he was genuinely irritated by her at that moment, particularly when she unintentionally teleported away from him after he attempted to engage her in conversation, making him consider the possibility that she had never truly liked him all along.

His camera-head sparked with a hint of electricity, causing it to twitch in response to the buzzing noise it emitted. The woman standing before him felt uncertain about her next move and a sense of paranoia crept over her, questioning if she was truly in the wrong. However, she eventually found solace in a single idea that crossed her mind.

In a manner of leaving, Brownie turned his chest towards her and pushed the chair behind him into the desk, but TV Woman delayed his proceeding and spoke out. "...wait." He was confused, tilting his camera-head at her.

She hesitated as she looked down before returning her gaze to him, opening her arms and offering a hug, something he had previously desired but no longer did. If he were his old self, he would have accepted the embrace without hesitation but unfortunately, it seemed that was not the case. He only stared at her with a blank expression, which had a faint trace of irritation or annoyance, making TV Woman worried even more, questioning whether he was truly upset with her or simply did not want to see her at this specific moment.

TV Woman, who was slightly taller than Brownie, eagerly awaited his acceptance of the hug she was willingly offering him. However, he only gazed at her for several seconds before bypassing her and heading towards the bathroom. He closed the door behind him and locked it, leaving her with a concerned expression as she stared at the closed door.

"...does he really hate me now?..." As she made her way towards the bathroom door, sorrow gripped her and her heart sank into her stomach.

She waited a few seconds before speaking. "I'm sorry to bother you, but you aren't doing anything...funny, right?..." She nervously placed her palm on the bathroom door, her concern for Brownie growing as she continued to hope that he wasn't doing anything consequential.

Before her, her answer awaited, causing more butterflies to appear in her stomach, until finally, he answered in a distorted yet understandable voice. "...I'm taking a leak, just leave me alone." He sounded slightly annoyed, which prompted TV Woman who was concerned about him, to simply comply with his request and leave him alone in the room.

After releasing a deep and frightened exhale, she proceeded to speak to him once more before she was going to leave. "Brownie...you know you're worthful to us, correct?" He stayed silent, not responding, but it was evident that he was listening to her outside the bathroom door.

"It's why we're caring...if you were worthless, we wouldn't give a damn about you. Did you ever realize that?" She patiently waited for an answer, placing both of her hands gently against the door while the side of her TV-head rested against it.

Once again, he remained silent, prompting her to speak again. "Just remember what I told you previously, I hope it stops whatever bad things you were thinking of..." She was on the verge of saying something but soon chose not to do so, uncertain of whether he would reciprocate her feelings.

Her throat became gradually sore the seconds she kept holding back and TV Woman took her head off the door. "...I'll be leaving you alone now, if that's what you want..." She sighed and stepped back from the door, waiting for what he had to say while in the room.

Brownie stayed silent, opting not to say a single thing, the atmosphere felt pretty much off. TV Woman could sense the suspense and was concerned for Brownie after that incident, who possibly knows if that changed him into a different person, or was it just a glitch in his brain that was trapping the real him? Questions filled her mind as she mentally sighed and took steady steps out the room, leaving him alone in the bathroom, alone again. Brownie sighed and looked himself in the mirror with himself staring down his own soul, his lifeless dead lenses looking like they could crack any moment without any reason. He gave a glance to the nearby and opened it to reveal one of his old colleague's revolver sitting next to a box of ammo filled speed loaders, the most obvious and recognizable thought coming to his mind.

But, as much as somebody thinks what they're thinking is going to happen, this moment for Brownie is much different for him. If he was going to let this happen to him with intention, he doesn't want this to be pathetic - rather he wants to go down looking good. Reaching his hand over the revolver and grabbing it, he opened the cylinder and saw that it was loaded with 6 bullets, spinning it and closing it back in. He placed the revolver into his pant pocket and took a few speed loaders with him by placing some of them into his brown coat pockets. Then, Brownie closed the cabinet and sighed again, knowing that this is going to be tough for him to do all alone.