Kurt awoke to sunlight shining across his face. He slowly opened his eyes to a poster of Darth Vader staring at him, which was unexpected to say the least. Kurt's eyebrows snapped together in a frown. Surely he was imagining things. He closed his eyes, trying to convince himself it was only a dream and that he was in his old bedroom with his own perfect decorations and Burt making noises downstairs.

It would be so much easier and much less painful if all that had happened had just been a nightmare, one of those weird ones where everything feels so damn real. But when the android opened his eyes again, he was still lying on a couch in an unfamiliar living room, with a creepy Darth Vader poster still staring at him.

Kurt sighed. He pushed away the comforter that was tucked around his chin and tried to stand up, but he felt dizzy and weak. As soon he tried to pull himself up, he was falling back down again. What was he going to do? Call Walter and Penny? That seemed like the best idea; they were probably the ones who had brought him here, wherever this place was. The last memory he had was of a strange coldness taking over his body, turning everything into a confused blur. He vaguely remembered hazel eyes filled with fear and anxiety as someone held him close, giving him warmth. For a second Blaine filled his mind, but Kurt shook his head. No. Blaine wouldn't look at him like that; the eyes were probably Walter's, he concluded. After all, Walter did have hazel eyes. And besides, Blaine probably didn't care about Kurt or what happened to him.

"Hey, you're up!" an unfamiliar male voice said, startling Kurt and causing him to look around. A boy in a wheelchair with light brown hair, huge glasses and a goofy grin on his face approached him, making the android frown again in confusion. Who the hell was this guy?

"D-Do I know you?" Kurt asked, his voice sounding a little husky.

"We haven't been properly introduced yet," the strange boy smiled, raising his right hand towards Kurt. "My name is Artie, also known as A. Abrams, hacker extraordinaire. You, uh, you've probably heard of me since I'm the country's top hacker…" Artie trailed off, a hint of pride detectable in his voice. Kurt raised an eyebrow. He wasn't exactly sure what he might have pictured as the best hacker in the country. Artie looked so young and na�ve, with his perfectly brushed hair and his sweater buttoned up to the last button, as if his mother still dressed him.

Artie sighed. "I was the one who fixed you."

"Oh," Kurt gasped, astonished. Fixed him? He never thought he would hear that he had been fixed like a thing; like a toaster would. A soft sigh escaped his lips and he felt a stinging in his chest. What exactly had he been expecting? To be healed? To be taken to a hospital? He wasn't human. He would never be healed; he would always be fixed or repaired.

"Um, t-thank you, Artie," Kurt said as he finally managed to sit up. It wasn't Artie's fault Kurt was what he was, and having another breakdown wouldn't do any good. So he held back his tears and swallowed the lump in his throat. There wasn't time to be weak.

"Where am I?" Kurt asked, looking around. The place wasn't big, but it was far more organized and much cleaner than Walter's place. There were movie posters everywhere, most of them of sci-fi and classic movies.

"This is my awesome apartment," Artie said smugly, making Kurt chuckle. "C'mon, it is awesome! I mean, look at that! I have a life size Storm Trooper!" He pointed to the huge action figure standing in the corner. "How many people have actual life size Storm Troopers in their living room!?"

Kurt nodded. "I guess you have a point."

"Of course I have a point. Any argument you could have come up with would be invalid due to the fact that I have a six foot tall Storm trooper," Artie laughed. "Anyway, Walter and Penny brought you here yesterday."

"Where are they, Walter and Penny?" Kurt asked as he closed his eyes and massaged his temples, feeling the beginnings of a killer headache coming on.

"They're in the kitchen making coffee. Apparently, Walter has some kind of addiction to caffeine," Artie said, noticing the obvious discomfort in Kurt's facial features. "Your head is killing you, isn't it?"

The android nodded, burying his face in his palms, wondering if that was what a hangover felt like. As though his brain was a sheet of paper being crumpled up and then torn apart into tiny little pieces.

"It's normal after all your system has been through," the hacker explained.

Kurt looked confused. "What you mean?"

Artie bit his lower lip. It was better to call Walter and Penny in for this conversation. Kurt would need familiar faces around him when they told him that not only had someone infected him with a malware, but that person was also involved in his creation.

"I am going to get some painkillers for you," Artie said, knowing that they wouldn't help Kurt's headache but needing an excuse to escape his questions. "And I'll call Walter and Penny so that they can explain what happened, okay?"

"O-okay." Kurt murmured, noticing the way Artie was obviously making an excuse to not explain what had happened to him. The android felt a sudden twinge in his chest and that bad feeling only grew as Artie left the living room. What had happened to him? Could he be dying or something?

Kurt held back tears as dark thoughts filled his mind, like the memory of his dad's lifeless body falling to the ground. Would that be his destiny? And if it was, would Kurt leave anyone behind to cry over losing him?

The boy chewed his lower lip, wiping at the tears burning his eyes before curling up under the comforter again.

God, why couldn't this just be a nightmare?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blaine opened his eyes. His head was killing him and he was in a room that was clearly not his own. The walls were purple with Hole lyrics written in bold letters all over them. He turned his head in confusion until soft pink hair brushed against his cheek. He glanced down and saw Quinn in her gray PJ's staring at him with drowsy eyes.

"Morning," she whispered, her voice smothered by the covers over her as she tried to hide from the cold air.

"Morning," Blaine murmured, yawning. He pushed himself up, running his fingers through his tangled curls as he tried to remember what had happened the night before. "Damn it," he cursed under his breath. What had he done? Did he have a fucking emotional breakdown in front of everybody like some sort of lunatic?

"Ready to go home?" Quinn asked, rubbing her eyes and stretching herself like a cat.

Blaine raised one of his triangular eyebrows and looked at his best friend in surprise. What happened to 'hey, are you okay' or 'what the hell was wrong with you last night?' Were they going to skip right to the 'get out of my house' part? Not even an offer of a cup of coffee or some pancakes?

"Kicking me out already, Fabray?" he asked, placing his hands dramatically above his heart and faking a hurt tone. Well, partially faking, anyway. He really didn't want to go home. "No breakfast or anything?"

"You want eat breakfast here? Really? With my lovely mom?" Quinn scoffed. She could already picture how well that would go. Her mother staring at Blaine accusingly the whole time, as though he were the bad influence that made her perfect little cheerleader turn into a lost grunge girl. Because obviously the years Quinn suffered through the pressure to be perfect, all because her mother had never managed to be perfect, had nothing to do with the fact that she had turned into an angry and self-destructive teen. Her mother would certainly bring Cooper to the conversation, not missing a chance to sigh dramatically about how great he had been. Or she would ramble on about how she loved to put forth 'an example that Blaine and Quinn should follow.'

"How about grabbing coffee from the Lima Bean then?" Blaine suggested, sitting on the edge of the bed and putting his shoes on. Quinn was right; breakfast with Mrs. Fabray wasn't an appealing idea at all. But then on the other hand, going home didn't seem like the greatest option, either. At least not for now. He still needed a little more time to bury his feelings under his ruthless, self-destructive fa�ade so he could regain control over his emotions. So the Lima Bean would suit him just fine.

"Let me guess… I'm the one that will pay for the coffees, right?" Quinn mocked, standing up and opening her closet to look for something to wear.

"Unless the barista is cute and gay, in which case I can pay for our coffees with my body" Blaine mocked in return, earning a sparkling laugh from his best friend.

"Let's pray for a cute barista, then, because I'm totally broke!" she stated, throwing a shirt at her best friend.

Quinn was relived. Blaine seemed better today. She knew he wasn't, actually, that he still was fucked up, but at least he seem to be in control of his emotions again. And at the end of the day, for people like them, that was what mattered. To be in control. Besides, they were fucked up regardless of whether they were screaming or having emotional breaking downs, weren't they? And the reasons why they were so fucked up wasn't even their own faults. So all that was left for them was to try their best to be in control, burying their pain and darkness deep down inside of their chests under the fa�ades and masks they wore daily. And that usually worked for them; hiding, running, escaping their families and problems. It probably wasn't exactly what would be called healthy, but for the most part it prevented incidents such as Blaine's outburst the night before.

"So, are we good?" Quinn asked, finally selecting a red flannel shirt that would look amazing held on by safety pins and worn with a short leather skirt and her torn fishnets.

"In control," Blaine replied as though he had read her mind. Quinn half smiled at that, hoping whatever news waiting for Blaine when he got home didn't ruin it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Penny was already scooping eggs onto plates when Artie entered the kitchen. She glanced over at him, smiling as he slid through the kitchen door.

"Artie! I'm making us breakfast!" she announced with a wave of the spoon in her hand. Walter glanced at him and mumbled something close to 'morning' as he moved towards the coffee machine. It seemed Penny hadn't been lying when she said Walter couldn't function without caffeine.

"Guys, Kurt is up!" Artie announced, making Water almost let go of the coffee pot handle in surprise.

"Wait… what?" Walter gasped.

"Oh, my God, Kurt's up! Hurry, Walter, let's go talk to him!" Penny squealed, her eyes shining with excitement as she let go of her spoon, grabbing her partner's cup of black coffee out of his hands and tugging him towards the living room by his arm. "And hugs! Let's hug him, too, Walter!"

"Wait! Wait! Penny!" Walter protested, grabbing her left arm and stopping her. "Calm down, okay?"

"But Walter, Kurt's awake-" she whined.

"I know, I know, and believe me, I'm excited about it, too," he explained. "But what are we going to say to him?"

Penny frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Kurt is going to want to know what happened to him. We have to think about what we are going to tell him." Walter stated.

"Why don't we just tell him the truth?" Artie suggested.

"I don't think that is a good idea," Walter said, his expression tight. "He's already been through a lot in the past three days."

"But Walter, someone tried to kill him! There's someone after him! He needs to know!" Penny argued.

"Does he?" Walter shrugged. "He has already been through so much, and we are almost positive his dad was murdered. Do you really think he doesn't know that there are people after him?"

"But he has the right to know," Artie said.

"I am not saying we're never going to tell him the truth. But I don't think telling him right now that someone that helped build him also infected him with a malware will do him any good. Do you guys understand the ramifications of what this person did to him? His memories were changed. He doesn't even remember when this person infected him. How do you think this is going to make him feel? Knowing that his memories can be manipulated like that?" Walter questioned them.

"He will begin to doubt every memory he has," Penny murmured softly, finally understanding what Walter was trying to say.

"But most of his memories aren't real. If what you guys told me was true, and Burt really made Kurt believe he was human, he certainly implanted fake memories into Kurt's central of processing. Because he is a robot, he didn't have a childhood or anything like that," said Artie.

"Oh yeah? And are you willing to say that to Kurt, that most of his memories are probably fake? That most of what he thinks he remembers about his past is just part of programming? A program that can be so easily manipulated that he doesn't even remember the person who tried to kill him?"

"I didn't think about that." Artie murmured thoughtfully "But eventually he will find out all that."

"I know, I am just saying that we don't need to tell him now. C'mon guys, up until three days ago, he thought he was a normal boy."

"I still don't feel comfortable lying to him," Penny said indecisively, chewing her lower lip.

Walter placed his hand on the girl's shoulder. "Penny, Kurt still believes in his humanity, we can see that in his eyes! Even knowing he is a robot, he still sees himself as a boy. I just don't want to see him losing that. Not until we can try to prevent it."

"So, what are you suggesting? That we make up a story, saying he had some sort of a defect or something like that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and obviously still not fond of the idea.

"Exactly!"

"But what if he asks about his memories? One day he will begin to question that," Artie snorted.

"Well, when Kurt questions us about that, we will tell him the truth; that we suspect the memories of his early years were implanted in him, that they aren't real. We just don't need to bring the subject up now, while he is still mourning his dad's death."

"I think you're right," Penny murmured.

"Yes, Kurt will question that when he feels ready to hear the answers, when he needs them."

"Fine," Artie sighed. "Let's go talk to him then."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Penny!" Kurt greeted as soon as the girl entered the living room. She ran towards him, wrapping him in a tight embrace.

"Kuuurt!" she squealed. "It's so good to see you awake!" She was obviousy relieved. Kurt was fine, he was there, safe and conscious in her arms.

"Penny! Penny, I need to breathe!" he laughed into her shoulder.

"Hey, kid," Walter smiled, arms crossed, a warm expression in his features. "It's good to see you better."

"Yes! It's good to see you awake!" Penny said before grabbing his face in her hands. "But you're sure you're okay, right? Are you in any pain or feeling cold?" she said in a rush, her brown eyes filled with concern. Kurt couldn't help but smile at that. Someone did care, after all. If something happened to him, he would leave behind people that would remember and miss him. That made him feel like less of a thing and more of a boy; it made him feel human again.

"I'm fine Penny, really," Kurt said, nodding as Penny looked at him doubtfully

"Really? You aren't lying to me, right? Because I am a Federal agent and I know how to tell when people are lying to me!" she hissed, trying to copy Walter's badass expression. But it became apparent that expression worked a lot better for her partner once Kurt began to giggle.

"Alright, I admit, my head is hurting a little." That was a lie; it wasn't hurting just a little. "But I am fine, I promise! Artie said it was normal to feel a headache."

Penny turned around "Is it really normal, Artie?" she asked, her arms still wrapped around Kurt as her mamma bear side was working in full mode.

"Yes Penny, it is normal," Artie sighed. "Now let go of Kurt, you are suffocating him."

"I am not!" she pouted "I am giving him tender love and care! Tell them, Kurtie! Tell them I'm not suffocating you!" Penny demanded, not letting go of him.

"You aren't," Kurt laughed. "But please don't call me Kurtie again."

"Alright, alright, I admit, Kurtie is a little too much," Penny chuckled, letting go of him and sitting beside him. "And don't feel bad if Walter is just staring at you over there, not hugging you like he should, believe me, he wants to," she whispered to Kurt as she looked at Walter playfully. "He's just too concerned about his grumpy reputation."

"Penny!" Walter blushed. "I-I'm happy you're better kid, don't listen to her."

"See? Deep down, he really is a sweetheart," Penny whispered dramatically, making Artie and Kurt laugh "As soft and sweet as a marshmallow."

"Y-you just didn't call me that," Walter said, gasping in mock outrage.

"She did," Artie laughed. "As sweet as a marshmallow," he repeated gleefully, receiving a dirty look from Walter.

"Alright, alright, now that we have established the fact Walter is actually a sweetie under his grumpy fa�ade," Kurt teased. "Can you guys explain to me what happened? So I had some sort of episode or something like that?" he asked.

"Y-yes," Artie lied. "You had a defect in your programming that caused your system to stop functioning properly." What he was saying wasn't a complete lie. Kurt did have a flaw in his programming, a bug that allowed malware to infect him and work in his system. Artie was just omitting the fact that this flaw had been left in his system purposely by whoever had programmed him.

"Oh," Kurt murmured, absorbing that information "S-so, I was like, sick?"

"Yes, and Artie fixed you," Walter explained, hoping that Kurt would not ask any other questions. "He's the best hacker in the country, and he was truly amazing at fixing you last night."

"Thank you, Artie. I don't know why you helped me, but I am really grateful for what you did," Kurt said.

"You don't know why I helped you?" Artie gasped. "Kurt! You are a scientific miracle! You're amazing!" he said, grinning. "I know you are probably feeling bad after all that happened, but trust me, you being what you are only makes you more amazing. It doesn't make you any less human."

Kurt let a humorless laugh escape through his lips. "You just said that I had a flaw in my programming, Artie," he sighed. "Humans don't have programming."

"Hey! Don't talk about yourself like that; it's not a heartbeat or a DNA code that makes you human!" Artie said.

"Isn't it?" Kurt scoffed.

"No! Of course not! Look, there are many people out there, with heartbeats, genetic codes and all of that stuff, but none of them demonstrate the tiniest bit of humanity towards others. So in my opinion, there are a lot more things that define humanity than these biological indicators. There is something more, something that isn't solid or palpable-"

"So what are you saying? That I have a soul or something like that?" Kurt scoffed again, interrupting Artie's explanation.

"Are you capable of loving, Kurt Hummel? Have you ever loved someone?" Artie asked with a stern expression on his face.

Kurt nodded, biting his lower lip as tears ran down his face. Yes, he had already loved. He had loved his dad and he still did, even after discovering that Burt had lied to him. He still loved and missed his dad the most. Burt's kindness, his laugh and even his epically failed attempts at baking, he missed them all.

"Things, objects, aren't capable of loving," Artie murmured as he approached the android. "So if you are capable of love, Kurt, you are not a thing."

Kurt still seemed reluctant, and that drove Artie mad. He didn't even know Kurt very well, but God, anyone that looked at him at that moment, as he struggled with himself, could see that Kurt wasn't a soulless thing. After all, Kurt was dealing with one of the most human questions. He was trying to figure out who he was and where he belonged. Artie needed to do something.

"One of my best friends," Artie began, his voice thick, "the one that helped me to become independent, who taught me how to be a man... H-he was a machine, Kurt, a domestic model."

Kurt looked up at him, confused. "Really?" he murmured in disbelief. So there were others like him? He wasn't the only one?

"Yes! I am not saying that you are human just because you look like one, Kurt, because C-3PO didn't look human. He was built after the anti-humanizations laws. He wasn't fleshy or soft like you. He was cold, faceless, and gray. H-he was this huge robot that walked around making funny noises and that needed to be recharged at the end of the day!" Artie chuckled, eyes filling with tears as he remembered his friend. "But even without having a face to show expressions or a voice to say kind words, C-3PO still managed to demonstrate more kindness and caring towards me than any other person I have ever met. He was a true friend, because unlike other people, C-3PO didn't give me pity or sympathy. No! That piece of metal gave me strength! Support! He forced me to dress alone, to clean my own room. He didn't have eyes, Kurt, but he still managed to see me, the true me, not the boy that couldn't walk. So open your eyes, those huge blue eyes your dad gave you, and see what everyone else in this room sees when we look at you."

"W-what?" Kurt murmured in a small voice. "What do you guys see when you look at me?"

"A boy," Walter said, forcing the words to come out of his throat.

"My favorite boy," Penny smiled, tears streaming down her face. She pulled Kurt into another hug and the android immediately clutched at her. He needed comfort and warmth. All that Artie had said to him was echoing inside of his head, triggering all these confusing emotions inside of him. But Artie was right. Was it really a genetic code that made someone human? A heartbeat? How many people with all that revealed themselves instead as true monsters? Wouldn't it be the ability to love, then? Of being kind and compassionate? Shouldn't that be what defines humanity? Because Kurt was capable of love, and even after all he had been through, he also was capable of feeling loved and cared for. He needed it.

Screw all that biological crap! Kurt Hummel was human, and a fabulous one!

"Thanks, you guys are amazing," he said softly, disengaging himself from Penny's arms. Everyone was teary eyed, including Walter.

"Oh my God!" the boy gasped, noticing the normally stoic man wiping tears from his eyes. "Are you crying, Walter?" he asked, chuckling.

"Don't judge me, that scene was very fucking moving," Walter scoffed, looking away.

"See?" Penny chuckled "Sweet as a marshmallow," she whispered in Kurt's ear, making him laugh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

In a not-so-distant part of Lima, the sound of high heels echoed through the darkness that filled the Hummel's residence.

The bright yellow barrier tape saying CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS that had been taped to the front door remained intact as the female trespasser revealed herself to be careful and flexible enough to sneak into the house without ripping it.

She looked around Burt's living room, sighing heavily. The place was practically empty; other than some picture frames still hanging on the walls, everything else seemed to have been packed. Yellow adhesives with numbers were also glued all over the place, pointing to possible evidence.

"Dammit," she grunted, pressing her lips into a thin line. She didn't know what to do. Her plan might have worked, but she didn't know how to be 100% sure and that wasn't a risk that she was up to, not after all she had been through. Damn.

She took her cell phone from her black jacket, being forced to type a number that she had once promised herself she wouldn't ever call again.

"What the hell do you want? You know you can't call me. I already told you, I am out! I am not part of the-"

"We have a problem," the woman breathed, interrupting her ex-coworker's rushed words as she pushed Burt's lab door open.

"W-what happened?" the voice on the phone spoke seconds later, obviously worried.

"Burt is dead," the woman said, massaging her temples as she heard the person on the other side of the line gasp. She walked around the place, glaring at those familiar walls and benches until her eyes fixated themselves on the white outlines on the floor, indicating where Burt's body had been found. Shivers ran down her spine. The woman's mind drifted away for a second, to the past, remembering how all of it had started. They all used to be four brilliant minds, and now two of them were gone, leaving behind white outlines and crime scenes.

"And the Metempsychosis Project? "the voice on the other side of the line inquired, bringing the woman back from her thoughts.

"Missing," she answered dryly, leaving the lab and entering the living room again.

"What are we going to do now?"

"We are going to destroy all evidence than can connect us to the project," the woman answered, without even a second of hesitation.

"W-what you mean, we destroy all the evidence?"

"Exactly what you understood, dear," the woman murmured, sending shivers down the spine of the person on the other side of the line. "We are going destroy all of the evidence." she assured the person, fixing her brown eyes on one of the picture frames hanging on the wall.

The next morning, none of the FDTC agents who were packing up the evidence noticed that there was a picture of a certain pale and blue eyed boy missing from one of the picture frames.

TBC...