SkyNani: Who is the Enigma?

They dragged Nani away. He didn't look back.
Sky wasn't sure if it was because he couldn't—or because he wouldn't.

Moments later, Sky was brought into Dave's control room.

Monitors buzzed with static and biometric data. The largest screen showed Nani—
Strapped down to a medical bed. His eyes closed, chest rising and falling in uneven rhythm. A ghost of himself.

Dave didn't look away from the screen when Sky walked in.

"Miserably failed," he muttered.

Sky's fists clenched at his sides. "You said I could calm him."

Dave turned, expression cold. "You were supposed to make him compliant. All you did was stir the emotional pot."

"He's not a machine!" Sky snapped. "He's—he's a person. Can't you give him a few days? Let him return to the university—see his friends, breathe some air that doesn't reek of antiseptic. I swear, if you let him live a little—he'll cooperate."

Dave gave a bitter chuckle and finally faced Sky fully.

"Didn't you hear him?" he said quietly. "He'd rather die."

Sky's mouth opened—but no words came. Dave stepped closer.

"Letting him outside... that was their mistake. You give someone like him a taste of life, of freedom—and they'll never submit again. He's tasted what it feels like to belong to himself. And now he'll fight to the bone to get it back."

He turned back toward the screen.

"Let him scream. Let him kick. What can he do now?" Dave murmured.

On the screen, Nani lay strapped down, head turned to the side, tears drying on his cheeks.

Dave's jaw tightened.

"If I can't see him in action, if I can't harness what he was built for..." he whispered, then suddenly shouted, "Then what's the damn point?!"

He shoved the table in front of him aside, monitors shaking.

"This is all useless!" Dave yelled, pacing. "I invested years into perfecting him—and now all I see is wasted potential strapped to a bed!"

Sky stared at him in disgust.

"You don't even see him, do you?" he said softly.

Dave turned toward him again.

"You call him a weapon. A tool. An investment. But not once—not once have you called him by his name."

There was silence.

Only the hum of machinery. The static from the screen.

Dave's eyes darkened.

"Names are for people. And Sky, I don't build people. I build legends."

Sky's heart ached. He could still hear Nani's voice, faint and broken, echoing in his mind:

"They should've let me go..."

"Please..." he said, stepping forward. "Please, Dave. Just listen. Let him go back—for a few days. Back to university. I swear—I swear I'll make sure he cooperates. He just wants to feel human again."

Dave didn't turn. "You think this is about feelings?"

"Yes—" Sky's voice cracked. "I think this is about feelings. Nani is not like you and me. He is not cruel. He is the kindest and nicest. He is human. You need to treat him like one."

Dave finally turned, face unreadable. "What's the guarantee that he won't try to run away? ...that he won't kill himself?"

"Then give him something to live for!" Sky snapped, stepping closer. "If you keep him like this, he'll break. You'll lose him completely. And if he runs away- you can always find him."

"You don't understand," Dave growled. "I can't afford to lose him."

"You won't. I will take responsibility. He will be right there."

Dave studied Sky for a long moment. And then, like he was indulging a child:

"You've got one chance."

—

They led Sky to Nani.

He sat on the edge of a bed, his arms now free, his wrists still red from the binds. His eyes were swollen. Shoulders hunched.

He didn't look up when the door opened.

"Nani..." Sky said gently.

No answer.

Sky walked in slowly, the door locking behind him.

"I convinced them," he said. "They'll let you go back. To university. But under one condition."

Still no answer. Nani just kept staring at the floor.

Sky swallowed and sat across from him.

"You'll have to... cooperate. With the tests. After. But they'll let you live outside again. For now."

Finally, Nani's voice—barely a whisper: "Is that supposed to make me feel grateful?"

"No," Sky said quickly. "I'm not asking you to be grateful. I'm asking you to survive."

Nani looked up at him then, his eyes hollow but glinting. "I promised myself, Sky. That I'd never let them use me again."

"then," Sky whispered. "break it. But please—just this once more... let me protect what's left of you."

Nani let out a hollow laugh. "What's left?"

Sky moved closer, hands trembling. "You. Your fire. Your stubbornness. That part of you that still wants to live. That part of you that still dreams. You can play football again. You can go to the bars. You can do whatever you want."

Nani looked away.

"You can't dream here," Sky said. "Not with wires in your veins and straps on your wrists."

"They'll take them off," Sky said, desperate now. "I'll stay with you. I'll make sure they follow through. Just... just go back, Nani. Let yourself live a little again."

"Just so they can drag me back later?" Nani muttered.

Sky reached for his hand. Nani didn't pull away.

"I know it's not fair," Sky whispered. "It's not. But it's something. It's not freedom—but it's breath. Laughter. Your friends. Dew."

"Will you come too?" Nani asked, voice quiet, childlike.

Sky nodded, eyes wet. "Every day. I'll be right there."

Nani looked at their hands, then at Sky. "And when they take me back...?"

Sky choked. "Then we'll have to come. But we will be...Together. Maybe one day, we will fight them off. I need you alive to fight."

Silence.

Then finally, Sky leaned into him—head resting on Nani's shoulder.

Sky's arms wrapped around him tightly, afraid he'd vanish again.

"I'll go back," Nani whispered. "But not for them. For me."

Sky nodded. "For you."

A long pause.

Then Nani added, quietly, "If they break their promise—I want you to help me disappear."

Sky pulled him in tighter.

"I will," he swore. "I'll burn this place down before I lose you again."