Chapter Text
It had been such a long time since they had seen a child. They didn't mean to make such an entrance, it was just that they wanted to make sure no humans had come to hurt them again. It stung somewhere in their coding that the humans that they adored would now come just to hurt them. Didn't they know that every time one of them shut down it hurt enough? The shutting down of one Jerry rippled through the others, and they each had to brave it with a smile on their face.
When they saw a light coming from the tavern, they had to make sure. Had to reassure themselves that no harm was going to come to them from these people. They didn't see them as intruders, no, that word was too harsh to describe them off of the bat. They were simply guests at Pirate Cove. Unwanted maybe, but guests nonetheless. So when they beat the doors in and broke through the windows, they should have guessed the reactions they'd get from the people.
At first, they only noticed the two bigger androids. The woman was shouting questions at them while hiding something and the man was aiming a pistol at them. It was an almost comical scene to the Jerrys. The TR400 easily towered over them and the pistol was so small compared to him. Trying to make themselves not appear as threatening as their entrance, one of them spoke.
"Don't be afraid, we don't want to hurt you."
When their words didn't seem to calm them down, the one who spoke looked behind him at the others. A ripple of emotion flooded through the others and they all shifted uneasily before he turned back to the duo.
"We're just like you. Our name is Jerry. We were working here before the park closed. We didn't mean to frighten you, but sometimes humans come to hurt us so we wanted to see who was there. What are you doing here?"
A little head peeked out from behind the woman and one of the Jerrys noticed her. As the woman spoke, excitement rippled through the crowd and they felt joy spark in them. Finally! A child who came to the park. Apparently, they were looking for shelter from the cold. The speaking Jerry acknowledged the little girl with a smile.
After studying the little girl for a moment, they felt their face fall. She wasn't happy looked, she looked..sad. The others felt it too before an idea spread through all of them. It was perfect! After some convincing, they managed to get the family to come to the carousel. How that machine still worked was a mystery to the Jerrys. Once the little girl was placed on the seahorse, the ride started up.
It looked like she was hesitant at first, but when the ride continued, she warmed up to it. Slowly her mood began to shift and all the Jerrys felt it. Some began to clap and others jumped with joy. One listen when the mother spoke about how it was the first time she saw them smile. Warmth spread through the Jerrys like a wildfire, finally happy with themselves for making a little girl smile for the first time in a while.
Once the ride slowed, the little girl asked for it to go again. Looking at her guardians for permission, the TR400 nodded and the Jerrys started the ride again, noting the small laugh that escaped the child. Some EM400s hugged each other out of pure joy. They finally were able to do what they were quite literally made for.
Finally, the ride stopped and the woman took her off of the carousel with an "Okay Alice, it's time to get some rest" and some protest from the child. The trio smiled at Jerry and made their way back over to the tavern to rest for the night. Alice looked back at the Jerrys before breaking free from the android's hand and running over to them. She wrapped her arms around one of the Jerrys and it shocked them.
It took a minute to process but when it did, they wrapped their arms around her and felt tears prick their green eyes. They hadn't had a hug in years and it felt so relieving. The other Jerrys teared up and hugged Alice when she came over to them, hugging as many as she could, thanking them for the ride and giving them a smile. She didn't know it, but that little action kept them going.
When she was hugged one, she giggled.
"You guys are all so soft and squishy! It's like hugging a pillow."
They laughed and nodded. Ruffling her hair slightly, they kneeled and looked at her.
"Yup! Us Jerrys were made with a special layer of softness just for hugging!"
After she got done hugging, the woman walked over and ushered the child back towards the big man. There was a smile on her face, and looking up at the TR400, they noticed he was smiling as well. She gave one of them a hug and pulled back, a twinkle in her eye.
"Thank you for getting her to smile Jerry. I'm Kara and that is Luther. As you probably know, the little girl is Alice."
This meeting was enough to keep the Jerrys going. They finally found the courage to leave the frozen park and try and live free. Well as free as an android could be with the current revolution that was going on.