Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When the six re-entered Otto's mind, they thought they knew what to expect, but it was completely different in the chilling rain. They hadn't been led to the VIP lounge, nor anywhere in the museum. Instead, the Psi-Portal had dumped them just outside of a place that had been forgotten to time.

Otto's old lab, the one in Green Needle Gulch.

"I thought this thing blew up," Bob mumbled. "It was just after the new one was suggested, so he could be closer to the Motherlobe. Too many memories in there, or whatever. I… I wasn't focusing on what he was saying. I was busy with my own issues." Cassie stepped forward.

"...I remember the sound of the explosion. It terrified my bees. It wasn't as bad as someone else's breakdown, though." She glanced at Bob, who avoided her eyes. "...and I was… I was in mostly the same straits. I can't blame you."

Bob sighed deeply, deflating a little, and Helmut patted his back.

"It's okay. We got this, Bobby. All of us together-- we're bound to figure out what's eating at him."

"...Alright, everyone. We're going to need to go at this like a real mission. Which means psychic links, codenames, and focusing on what we're doing." Ford stepped in front of the group, looking them over. "So. Does anyone have suggestions for code names?"

"Feast of the senses?" Helmut suggested, already grinning.

"...Please no," Compton quietly answered. "I don't like the name Tasty."

"Besides, what would you be, honeybear? Everyone knows you're Psi-King. We'd need names that Otto doesn't know if we're in his mind."

"...Alright. Names Otto doesn't know. Hm…"

Ford finally sighed. "How about this. I'll be Ranger. Compton's Activist. Helmut's Performer. Bob, Captain. Lucy, Acrobat, and Cassie--" 

"Previous jobs, I see. I'll be Librarian then."

"Bingo. Are we ready?"

"Psychic link set up."

"Great. Let's go in."

Ford led the others into the cave of a lab, walking deeper than he thought possible as the lights around them grew dimmer, finally flickering to black. 

Then, the floor under them vanished.

They tried to grab onto anything they could, anyone they could, and then, there was nothing else to hold.

Otto found himself in a small room, somewhere he couldn't recognize. He huffed, rubbing his head as he say up, and he looked at the little friend with him in the low light of its back bulbs.

That stupid Good Idea. It stared up at him with those bright eyes, offering him a quiet smile. Its fur was on end from static, so he brushed it down.

"...what are you, little guy?" he mumbled. "Guess I don't have anything I can do but focus on whatever you are." He picked up the idea, looking it over, until he finally found the answer to what it was.

Ask for help, the idea whispered to him. They want to help you. The voices are lying.

He set it back down, and laid back on the floor, wishing he had at least brought a coffee with him. Even though his pockets were laden in psi-pops and dream fluffs, he didn't have a pin that could get him out of there or even light up the room more than his tiny friend was. He was almost useless. Almost .

There was something he could see in the room, at least: a computer, much sleeker than any he had seen. There were screens above him, prepared to show whatever they needed. A mission control center, made just for him. And since he didn't see any doors or windows… 

He approached the desk and set the Good Idea down beside it before putting his fingers to the keys. With his touch, three monitors lit up: Three different locations, full of mental denizens but lacking any sense of real life.

"...Should I wait for the others to show up?" he asked both himself and the good idea. It hopped off the desk and onto his lap. "...Alright, if you're gonna be like that, I'm gonna name you. How about… Sparky."

It didn't react.

"Sparky it is. I'll get you a collar if we get out of here."

It snuggled up to him, and he managed to smile.

"Alright, alright, fine. When we get out of here."

Cassie was the first to wake up, blinking wildly as she tried to re-orient herself. She was in some sort of city, lit by neons and sleek outlines. Blueprint paper lined the streets, and buildings were sometimes made of their own blueprints. She grabbed the figure next to her, hauling it to the side of the road just in time to avoid a rapidly passing car. That was when she looked down at who was in her hands.

Ford Cruller, still mostly out of it.

"...Ranger? Ranger, can you hear me?"

He finally stirred, groaning as he tried to straighten out. "Gah… Set me down, will ya?"

She dropped him, letting him fall on the pavement.

"That works." He stood, brushing himself off as he looked around. "...This is a lot more than I thought it would be. I was thinking he'd be hiding a room or something, not a whole city…"

"It's like the books in my mind. Nothing to it. Let's find the problem and help him through it--"

"Ford? Cassie?" A voice echoed, and a monitor nearby crackled to life. Those his glasses were askew and his hair was an even bigger mess than ever before, it was still clearly Otto on the screen. Cassie blinked.

"...Otto? What the h-ll is going on!" Ford exclaimed. "You got a lot to tell us--"

"I know, alright! I was trying to act like everything was okay, and suddenly it all flew out of control-- I don't know where I am, I'm in some dark computer room with Sparky."

"Who's Sparky?" Cassie asked. Otto held up the idea again, and it hung from his hands like a cat unwilling to let go of its perch on his lap. "...You named it?"

"Of course I did. I'm stuck with this little guy now, I can't just have a nameless idea running around. Even if it's just a name in workshop, it's better than saying "that thing over there with the big claws" or whatever." Otto shrugged as he leaned back. 

"...Fine. What can you do right now, Mentallis?" Ford asked. 

"I can hit buttons and watch you guys on screens. I found the broadcast one for where you are, so I bet there's ones for the other two groups. Apparently, you two are on the red line."

"Other two groups-- who's with Booley?"

"That'd be Helmut. And… yeah, I probably should talk to them. Don't worry, Lucy and the cactus are fine, so far. They're on the blue line. So there's red, green, and blue. RGB." Otto looked down for a moment. "I'm going to connect to the green, then. I don't entirely know what all these buttons do quite yet, but I'll figure it out and see if any of them can help you guys with whatever's going on here. Otto out!" He hit a button, and the monitor they were watching him on died quickly, shutting down before they could say anything.

"...Alright, Ranger, do you have a plan?"

"Honestly, not yet. We don't even know where we are here, Librarian."

"Then let's figure that out first."

Helmut was panicking.

The first thing he was aware of was the fact that his Bobby wasn't there. There was no sign of him anywhere, in fact-- Not even a trace of dirt in the clean city streets. Nothing but him and a couple of mental denizens and--

"Compton?" 

He managed to pull himself out of his panic for long enough to poke Compton's shoulder, startling him into looking at him.

"H-Helmut? But where's Cassie--"

"Bobby's gone too. This isn't good at all--"

"I-- I can try to ask where they are? I don't know, it's all I can think of--"

"Ah, shoot! We forgot the code names! Ford's gonna be on us if he hears that--"

"Are you two okay?!" Otto's voice cut through everything, making both Compton and Helmut jump as they searched for the source. A monitor on a nearby wall waved at them, or rather the person on it did. "Sorry, that was probably loud. Are you okay?"

"I-- I think? Is Cassie--"

"Worried about you, but she's with Ford. And I haven't checked on the other group just yet. Point is, I think you guys are gonna be mostly on your own here. Just you two, and me popping in like this. I'm stuck in a room with that idea from before, but I've got a bunch of buttons that'll likely do something. I've got monitors on all three of the groups, so-- I can probably talk to all of you guys and share information. Unless your link still works? I didn't ask Ford if he got that set up--"

Helmut tried to reach out to Bob, but he couldn't even find a blip on the radar. Nothing but him and Compton. Apparently, his worries were evident on his face, because Otto quickly continued.

"Alright, so I'll be communicating between the groups. I'll tell Cactus you're alive and okay, and Cassie that you're a bit panicky but alright. Point is, I think this place is trying to bring the groups to different places. You're the green line, Cassie and Ford are the red line, and Lucy and Bob are the blue line. So if I say a color, that's the team I mean. On the other hand-- you're gonna be on your own for a bit here. You guys got it?"

"Wait, can you tell Bobby I said that I love him?"

"...Fine. Just this once." Otto sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Don't expect me to say it more than one time."

"You're a lifesaver."

"See you guys in a bit. I'm gonna go talk with the next group and make sure they're alive." 

Otto’s monitor turned off, leaving them in the midst of the space they were in. With the conversation under his belt, Helmut could at least relax enough to really place the area.

A train station. Sort of. It was a bit sleeker than that.

“...Compton? Uh, what are these things? Are those busses?” He pointed to the vehicles pulling in on rails. “They don’t look like trains…”

“Oh. Er… If I remember right, they’re monorails.” Compton pushed his hat up a little. “Otto told me a bit about them a few weeks ago. They’re only just being put in near us, so I haven’t seen one in real life…” He gestured. “I suppose this is the way forwards?”

“Looks like it.” Helmut straightened his hat, shook his head to let his hair fall where it wanted, and confidently walked to the doors as they slid open. “All aboard!” He cheerfully called, and he hopped on, sticking out a hand to catch Compton’s. He helped him over the tiny gap between platform and car, then took a seat on one of the many purple benches. Compton hopped up to sit beside him, and as the monorail started moving, they did their best to stay calm. 

Lucy was doing much better than Bob, at least, but that wasn’t saying much, as he paced back and forth in the blue cell they had ended up in. 

“--And now Helmut’s gone. Great. Just great. The others are all gone, and we’re locked in, and I don’t even know what to do.”

“Remember the code names, Captain.”

“F-ck the code names! I don’t know where my husband is, again . He could be in danger, again . And I could never see him again AGAIN !” Bob flopped to the ground, burying his face in his hands. “We just got here, and now suddenly we’re trapped, I don’t have my smelling salts because Helmut has our shared one, and there’s no way out of this stupid room.” He groaned. “I’m so tired…”

“...This is probably the worst time to interrupt, isn’t it?” a voice asked, breaking through the complaints. Bob looked up and around, but Lucy was quicker in finding a screen with Otto on it. He looked like a mess, certainly, and she could almost see a resemblance in the way that he and Bob looked-- stress made their glasses fall askew over their old faces, with hair (or, well, beard) that couldn’t be tamed. 

“...You look like garbage,” Bob finally muttered. Otto rolled his eyes.

“Says you. Speaking of saying, your husband wants me to tell you the obvious. He loves you. The normal sort of stuff. All that sappy junk." He waved a hand.

"....thanks. It's… I really needed that," Bob admitted. Otto didn't even smile.

"I think I'm starting to figure out the lay of the land here. Is there anything you guys can do where you are?"

"We're locked in whatever place your stupid mind dropped us, Robo-dork," Bob shot back. Otto's form slumped slightly. "...Too mean? I'll cut back."

"Nah. Honesty is good."

"I'm just mad at being away from Helmut. Not at you."

"...Whatever. I have some buttons, so I'll need you guys to be on the lookout for any symbols--"

"There's a triangle next to this door over here," Lucy cut in. "While you boys were arguing, some of us have actually been looking around."

"Triangle. Is it filled in?"

"Nope, just an outline."

Otto scanned whatever was before him, and hit a button. The door slid open, and Bob stumbled to his feet to join Lucy.

Bob blinked. "...Looks like we've got a path onwards. Ladies first?"

"Such a gentleman," Lucy teased him.

"Great. I'll catch up with you two in a bit. Looks like Ford and Cassie are getting a bit ahead. Need me to carry a message to the Lucy-lovers?" Otto chuckled. Lucy smiled at the screen.

"Oh, no need. They know."

"Tell that to those lovebirds, will you?" Otto jabbed a thumb towards Bob as the other man huffed.

"Hey. Sometimes it’s just nice to hear he cares. We had to skip twenty years in there and--"

"Spare me the lecture for now, please. I… I know. I messed up. I should have checked over the brains. I should have realized it was Helmut. I get it. It's obvious. You can yell at me all you want later."

Before Bob could even squeak out an answer, Otto's screens turned off, leaving them with one way open and no other ways to go. Lucy gestured for him to follow, and she created a tiny flame to light their path as they walked along. She could see the confusion in Bob's eyes. At some point, she would ask him what he was thinking. For now, though, they had an exploration to get through.

Or, rather, get into. The idea of a new mission after so long felt exciting. At least now, she had someone on her side.

Ford walked around in circles, humming slightly to try and focus his mind. No matter what he tried to reason, it fell apart with interrupting thoughts and emotions leaking into every pore of the air.

The air was charged with electricity, offering them an easy way of transport if they were willing to steal some of the electric scooters parked along the path. It could be a possibility. Even so, he felt more inclined to not suggest it, especially around Cassie.

“...Any sign of anything, Librarian?”

“Nothing. It’s just us and normal denizens.”

“Suspicious.” Ford cast his eyes around. “I’m gonna talk to ‘em.”

“Stay safe, Ranger.” She reminded him as he walked towards a few of the bots nearby. The trio he found that were still enough to walk to and not bother were all similar, in the way that family members are. All three were designed with larger heads than usual, and they were rather round. Not one had a visible neck, instead sticking together with magnetism and hovering a bit above their bodies. He would have to ask Otto about them when they had the chance, he noted to himself. One jumped at the sight of him.

“M-mr. Cruller? Is that you? You’re not supposed to be here!” It pulled out a clipboard from a bag, scanning every line. “It-- Our schedules say that you should be on the Blue line, in the factory-- Oh, no, this is a nightmare--”

“Speaking of. Have you seen any nightmares around?” He knelt to meet it face-to-face. “Seems like Otto’s dealin’ with a lot of ‘em.”

“...” The little robot looked up at him, then at Cassie, then at its friends. Finally, it got up from where it was resting, rolling on a little wheel. “...I’m not supposed to talk about those, sir… There’s… New management. She says we’re not supposed to say anything about nightmares, especially if you or the others show up, and especially not if Mr. Mentallis is around--”

“Too bad, I’m here and I’m listening, sooo… Break the rules a bit, buddy?” Otto’s voice interrupted from a screen nearby. He was petting that Good Idea of his still, using it as a source of relaxation-- Not that Ford blamed him much, after the stress he seemed to be under before. The little robot that stood before Ford, though, looked terrified at the sight of him.

“M-M-Mister-- Mr. Mentallis! I-- I-- I’m really sorry, sir, but I don’t have the authorization to tell you!”  

“Disappointed but not surprised,” Otto mumbled. 

“I was about t’ ask the guy something, Otto. Relax a bit.”

“Bit hard to do that, Cruller, but sure, I’ll say I’m relaxing.” 

“I-- How can I help you, Mr. Cruller?”

“Easy. We’re trying to help out Otto. What’s the problem around here?”

The little robot blinked owlishly, making Ford wonder why it had been given eyelids in the first place. Even so, it smiled at him, adjusted its little bag, and tucked its clipboard away.

“You’re willing to help us? That’s incredible! I’ll show you what I can, sir! Come with me, Mr. Cruller and Miss O’Pia!” 

It started to roll off, and Ford glanced at the monitor before looking to Cassie. She had already started to follow, chatting with the little thing as she would with Compton. Ford turned back to the monitor.

“...Otto? Don’t forget, we’re here to help you. You don’t have to do it all alone.”

Otto didn’t reply before it winked out, leaving Ford staring at a blank screen. He sighed, and turned on his heel, teleporting a little bit away to find the others in the group. It took him a moment, but at least he managed it without getting stuck in a tree or the like again.

Compton moved his feet slightly as the monorail pulled into a station, and he looked up at Helmut.

“...Do you think it’s time to get off?”

Helmut sighed and stood. “...Guess so. We can’t just ride this thing forever.” He extended a hand to Compton, who took it, and they walked off the train together. 

They were supports for the rest of the team, not people who knew what to do on their own anymore. Helmut was still recovering from being a brain in a jar for years; Compton was still recovering from being abandoned for so long. They knew it likely looked a little bit weird, but they still held hands, making their way off the monorail and out of the station, finding themselves on a walkway.

They stood above most of the city, looking down on a world of green and red and blue, all spilling together like ink. They were only kept away from the edge by a thin metal and glass railing. Compton couldn’t help but stare a bit, awe creeping into his voice when he did manage to speak, clinging to the railing. 

“Oh my.”

Helmut leaned over the railing, looking around as his hair fluttered in the wind. “I totally agree, Comps. This place… Woah. It’s… It’s a symphony. Violins and cellos, definitely. More electronic violins, though… And that bit over there, all the lights--” He threw his hands out, gesturing beyond the area, his figments fanning out around him-- “Tastes like mint, or-- It’s spicy, but in a good way. The kind where you just breathe out and savor it. And that part with the red-- It’s sirens and screaming, something that’s not good-- Rotting away already, like… Bad produce! Yeah, really bad… peaches. I think. It’s got that nasty feeling to it. And the rest is-- It’s like-- And the whole thing-- It’s so--” Helmut balled up his hands, trying to find the words, and finally fell back, shutting his eyes and breathing. “...Alright. We got this. I got this. Not gonna get overstimulated this time.” He opened his eyes again, smiling. “We good.”

“...Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. I just… Don’t usually see things that are so… Happening? Busy? Where there’s so much going on. Like a crowd. It’s all so much going on and I get swept up in it if I don’t slow down.” He chuckled awkwardly. “You get me, right?”

Compton nodded. “Overstimulation.”

“Yeah, that!”

“...Do you see anything that looks like we could get closer to it? I think that the red is likely where F-- Er… Ranger and… Librarian? That’s where they are.”

“So that means that the blue bit would be where my Bobby is.”

“Codenames, Helmut.”

“...Captain and… Actress? No, that’s not it… Acrobat. Like Raz.” Helmut nodded, looking around a bit more. “...Green. Otto said we were on the green line, right? So… Maybe if we keep looking for a problem on the green line, then we can figure out what’s going on…”

“That would work.”

Compton let go of the railing, and let Helmut take his hand again, the two of them walking away from the station just in time to come across something just as big as the problems they feared were happening to the others: A large mob of robotic citizens, contrary to the tiny amount that had been on the monorail before. Compton’s heart leaped into his throat, pounding hard with terror at the sight of the crowd.

“Oh, shoot me in the face, I am not handling a crowd right now,” Helmut muttered. Compton searched nearby, finding a small alleyway they could use to avoid it. He pulled Helmut towards it, ending up with Helmut almost pulling him towards it instead, and they both tried to hide from the mob.

It wasn’t far enough away to completely avoid making eye contact with one of them, though. A robot with long, flowing fabric draped around it and a big bow that fell over its camera-like eyes ran to them, pushing the bow out of its face with a mitten-like hand. 

“Helmut? Compton? It’s really you? Oh my god, this is incredible-- We really need help right now.”

Helmut glanced at Compton, then the machine that stood before them. It was about the same height as Lizzie, Compton reckoned -- Not short, but not tall either. Just… a height. 

“I-- Yes? Is there something we can do to help?” Compton stammered.

“Actually, yes! New management says we gotta keep working hard to make the right emotion, but… Well, all the workers figured out that it just hurts our real boss, so they’re on strike. I need help to take this to the management and stick it in their faces that we’re on Otto’s side here! Please!” 

It took a hand from each of them, looking between them with hope in its eyes. 

“...Please?”

“I… I think we can do this. Helmut?”

“...Yeah. Let’s go stick it to the man.”

Bob was not having a good day.

It started with being woken up early by Ford, only to get to Otto’s trouble being shoved away from them so hard that even he could feel the repression in the air, and now he was stuck in some building that felt stuffier than one of Truman’s suits with only Lucy to keep him company. Not that he was complaining about being with her, she was likely the best part of everything going on.

“Bob?”

“I’m coming. Just… Gimme a minute.” He panted as he leaned on a wall, shutting his eyes. “You… You move so fast… It’s hard to keep up.”

“Oh. Well, I could slow down if you asked.”

“Would you actually do it?”

“Depends. Maybe.”

“Please. I… I’m gonna pass out if we keep it up at this rate.” Bob managed to catch his breath, stumbling after her. “...Any new things in the hallway ahead, speedster?”

“Nope. Still more doors and hallways.”

“Fantastic. Maybe at some point, we’ll find a place to sit. Or… Any point at all to this.”

“Now, now. There’s bound to be a point to it. Has Otto ever made anything that doesn’t have a point?”

“Yes.”

“...Has he done it recently?”

“Alright, fine, no…” Bob sighed. “I’m just tired, that’s all.”

“I know you are. But if we don’t find a way out of here, then we won’t be able to reach the others.”

Bob’s heart sank at the thought. He adjusted his glasses, and took her by the shoulder.

“We’re not letting that happen.”

“That’s what I thought.” Lucy smiled, and they set off side-by-side. After a moment, a monitor on the wall lit up. Bob wouldn’t admit it was almost comforting to see Otto after what felt like hours stuck in hallways and rooms without end.

Otto waved as they slowed down to face him. “Hey. I’m back. Apparently, there’s actually something happening here. Ford’s supposed to be here. And according to some of the robots in this head of mine, there’s new management. Meaning…” 

“Something’s gotten in,” Bob supplied for him. Otto sighed, digging a hand into his hair.

“...Seems so. But… If Ford’s supposed to be here… Wait. What if he didn’t mean your Ford-- Have you two seen any signs of any machines? Robots, automatons, all that jazz?”

“No,” Lucy answered simply. “Not one bit of life.”

“Hm. Well, if you see a bot that looks like Ford, ignore whatever it says. It’s broken and nonfunctional and definitely has nothing to do with anything.”

There was a beat of silence.

“...Fine. It likely is broken, but it’s gonna be… Wrong about you guys for a while. So watch your steps with those things. Things got a bit messy under the surface. I’ll try to find something that can help you--”

“Pardon me!” A voice interrupted, and a mechanical person of no distinct gender walked out, looking at the two on the floor and then the monitor. “Mr. Mentallis, what are you doing?”

“Being trapped in a room with a Good Idea. And you are?”

“I’m the one who’s keeping things working in this place-- The factories have been running poorly ever since the attacks. Apparently, there’s no need for the blue line anymore?” It adjusted its clockwork arms, ticking with every passing second. Gears caught on gears, and it managed to pull on its goggles from around its neck onto its eyes, and it walked past Bob and Lucy to face Otto face-to-face.

“I-- Listen, I’m not trying to shut down anything here--”

“The new management certainly is. Either these two are here to fix that issue, or I shall ask them to leave.”

“...Attacks?” Bob managed to ask.

“Nightmares. Doubts. Enablers.” It didn’t even face them. “Are they here to fix the production line?”

“You could ask us. We’ll help,” Lucy answered. Otto managed a small smile.

“...I can’t tell them what to do.”

“Fine then. I’ll show them what to do.”

“That’s actually great. Thanks. Big help.”

Otto’s voice wasn’t sure of what he was saying, but Bob didn’t mention it as the clockwork person led them away. All he could do was give Otto a tiny smile before hurrying off to catch up.

Chapter Text

Lucy kept close as their unperturbed guide led them along. Its every step was calculated, and it expertly walked around the stranger parts of the facility-- Machines that made bottles, or dropping flowers dotted around, or even the odd oil stains everywhere. There was no sign of anyone there other than them. Curious.

"Where is everyone?" Bob asked, breaking the almost-silence. The robot halted, turning to face the two of them. 

"...You two know nothing of what happened here, do you?"

"Well, I don't even know who you are or what you're supposed to represent. You look like something Otto wouldn't build."

The machine huffed as it crossed its arms over overalls and brass. A tiny puff of steam exited its head.

"I am Win-0-Grad. You may call me Win-0. I am the overseer of this production facility, as well as its maintenance, manager, and errand-runner. As of late, this facility has been quietly shut down without my approval. I suspect it has something to do with the recent change in management."

"You said you're the manager--"

"Of this facility. There are things larger than that."

Lucy hummed slightly, tapping her cheek with a finger as she thought. "But if it's Otto's mind, wouldn't he have the final say?"

"...You would think. But there are some things that have… Let's say, rewired it." Win-0 turned again. "Without this facility, your friend cannot handle one of the three primary feelings. Therefore, if all three are incorrectly running…"

"Then he can't control his emotions?" Lucy finished.

"...in a way."

“Is that supposed to be dripping?” Bob asked, pointing. The other two turned, looking where he pointed.

Oil seeped out of a pipe, leaking onto the floor. Already, a puddle had begun to form, and it trickled down the hall along a crack.

“Blasts. Must’ve gotten worse. Let’s hurry.”

Win-0 guided them through the hallway, following alongside the steady stream of oil in the cracks in the floors that turned from mostly tiles to metal paneling. The clanging of footsteps did nothing but intensify in volume, deafening all other sounds. Lucy could tell that there was a shift in the atmosphere, and she turned to look at Bob.

Are you okay? I know the noise is loud and unsettling if that's the issue.

He barely moved, rubbing his ear on his shoulder and unsure running the other with his hand. His jaw was tightly clenched, but he still nodded, forcing a tight grin.

"Is there an issue?" Win-0 stopped to ask them, letting the noise subside for just a second. She could feel him relaxing, though he was trying to keep that reaction hidden.

"No. It's nothing," Bob managed.

"Then there should be no trouble in following me. Keep pace, Mr. Zanotto. The worst is yet to come." Win-0's words clearly didn't fill Bob with confidence. He stared at the bot as it continued on its way, resuming the loud clanging sound. Though he was clearly uncomfortable with the noise, he continued on, doing his best to keep up. Before long, Lucy noticed his hands covering his ears, the extra distance he placed between himself and Win-0, the same things she had seen Augie and her grandchildren do when they were overwhelmed by the noise. 

You don’t have to lie.

Her hand traced his back gently, guiding him along, letting him relax into her touch. Bob clearly needed that rest. It was the least she could do to help.

"...Problem located," Win-0 stated flatly. It stopped walking, holding out an arm to stop Bob from walking too far. Lucy paused, looking at the situation before them.

An ocean of oil, still dripping. It moved like water, it felt like water in her mind's eye. She moved instinctively, letting the movement flow with her.

It was deeper than it looked. Much deeper. Even as she tried to pull the oil to the side to reveal a pathway, she only found more and more oil all the way down. She stared at the impossible amount.

"...We can't walk through that…" she murmured.

"Certainly not. There is another path, but it would add at least ten minutes to our walk. And it could also be covered in this oil as well." Win-0 knelt (Another clang on the metal floors, another heavy flinch on Bob's part that he tried to disguise with a quiet clearing of his throat) beside the stuff. It removed a small plastic bottle from the tool bag on its hip, and scooped up a bit. "Future quality testing may be required, if things are functioning this poorly. Let us continue to the--"

"How about we don't? There's another option here." Bob moved closer, and he set a hand on the wall. At his touch, a thick coating of bark began to form despite Win-0's complaints. Within seconds, he had a handy sheet of the stuff, which he took off with some effort and muttering to it. A proper raft, of a sort.

“And I can use the oil to push it across.”

“There is one problem,” Win-0 stated. “...How are we all going to fit? This is too small for all three of us.”

“Easy.” Lucy walked to Bob. “Can I carry you?”

“What-- I mean, sure, but--”

She picked him up, holding him on her back as she stood on the raft. He clung on tightly as Win-0 joined them aboard, and the raft sank a little bit before Lucy closed her eyes.

Sense the tides. Push the waves the way you want to go.

Before long, they were flying across the lake of oil with speed unmatched by any person. 

For once, things were going right.

Helmut honestly wasn't entirely sure where their guide was taking them, but he wasn't about to admit that. A few bugs skittered past them in the alleyway between buildings, and Compton slowed to listen a moment before carrying on. Helmut almost wanted to pick him up and carry him to keep the pace, but he didn't. He knew better-- Compton was sensitive to most senses, after all. Something Helmut definitely admired in him.

“You doing okay?” he asked softly. Compton nodded, holding tightly to the hand Helmut extended to him. 

“Oh, hey-- I should introduce myself!” Their guide grinned as it turned. “I’m Lovelace. I’m supposed to be helping out in the bottling factory right now, but… Well, I think it’s better to feel all of it sometimes! Even if it can hurt, it’s better to actually feel it all!” Lovelace zipped around them, electricity sparking from her metallic hair as she pushed up her bow once more. “Oh, and by the way-- I’m so excited to meet you two! According to the busybodies in charge, you two are probably the most helpful two I could have with me.”

“...Us?” Compton asked, raising an eyebrow. “B-But--”

“Shh, shh-shh-shh! We don’t have time for being down on ourselves, Mr. Menagerie!” Lovelace shushed him. “You guys really are the best two we could have here! We got a lot of… Bugs in the machines. I guess Cassie could be a good person to have on our side too, but honestly, I like you guys best, soooo… I like having you around!”

“But-- Cassie--” Compton tried. Once more, Lovelace spoke over him.

“No worries!”

“Can you--” Helmut started.

“Let’s goooo!” Lovelace tried to hurry them along, but both of them stayed still, staring at her. “...Am I being too much again?”

“Yeah,” both answered in sync. As per usual, a nearby screen lit up, showing Otto.

“Hey, you two-- Er, three. Seems like you and the reds both got guides, huh? Hello there.”

“Mr. Mentallis! Hey, it’s so good to see you! Can I get you to sign a petition? I mean, I haven’t made the petition yet, but--”

“Please slow down.”

“Okey dokey artichokey!” Lovelace chirped, and she smiled, finally stopping her zipping around. The other three all let out a sigh of relief. 

“You said that, uh… Ford and Cassie had a guide?”

“Yep. Little guy. Real cute fella, if I had to be honest. Might try to make a replica of him in real life when I’m out of here. Or just visit it more often, who knows. Point is, looks like they’ve got a robot with them too--”

“Oh, that’s so neat!” Lovelace squealed. “I’d love to meet them.”

“I… Okay, maybe someday, but there’s something else I need to say. I’m trying to find a way to reach Bob and Lucy, but apparently they’re just… Out of range or something. I can’t see where they are.”

Helmut’s heart stopped at the thought of his husband in trouble. He could barely think past that-- How was he doing, how was he holding up, was he in danger, was he okay? The thing that pulled him back to reality wasn’t the voices around him, nor the sights-- It was Compton’s hand in his, holding tight, a grounding force in the world. 

“Take a breath in… And out.”

Helmut did as directed. Every breath helped just a little. Compton himself was a big help, and he finally found himself able to breathe right again.

“...Can I hug you?” he finally asked. Compton nodded, and Helmut picked him up, holding him tight to his chest. Compton finally teleported out after a couple of seconds, still smiling slightly as he brushed out his clothes. Otto cleared his throat.

“...I’m sure they’re okay. Last time I saw them, there was someone else with them too. Apparently they’re on track to find what’s really going on here. Though… Their guide was pretty… How do I say it…”

“A lot like Bobby,” Helmut jokingly suggested.

“Yeah, pretty much. Abrasive, no-nonsense, one-track-mind, but I’d trust ‘em.” Otto managed a smile for just a second. “Don’t get yourselves hurt. Everything around here seems… Wrong. Like something’s going to explode the instant I look away.”

“Mr. Mentallis, I actually have something to ask of you! There’s a back entrance to the factory we’ll need to get into, but I’m not entirely sure where it is. It should be a big half-circle sort of thing-- With some extra length. But the back entrance… I heard about it from some of the others on the strike but no one told me where it’s at!” Lovelace was sparking with electricity, clearly rushing to burn off some energy. “If you can find the schematics for it that would help so much and--”

“Alright, alright, I’ll see if I can find it.” Otto interrupted, and he put the Good Idea on his head like a hat. “Sparky and I have some things to look for anyways. So keep an eye out for any weirdness you see around here, okay-- I’m not sure who this ‘new management’ everyone keeps mentioning is, but there’s… likely going to be some issues with the bots. Since Lucy and Bob have the one of Ford coming up-- Oh, god, no.” He stopped, his jaw dropping slightly. “...I hope I’m wrong. Bob’s gonna kill me if I’m right. Not to mention Ford-- And then there’s you two--” 

“Slow down, slow down!” Helmut exclaimed. “What are you talking about? What do you mean?”

“I think that I might’ve just stumbled across why you lot got split up in the groups you’re in. And if I’m right, then… Well, let’s just say nightmares are the least of my problems.” His fingers danced across the keyboard. “Found that back entrance, by the way. Looks like it’s on the corner. If you come across the structure from the flat side, then it’ll be on the right. The front one is the part on the apex of the arc, correct?”

“Yep!”

“Fantastic. I’ll try to get it open for you if I can. Looks like there’s another lock on the inside though--”

“I know how to get through that one, Mr. Mentallis! Don’t you worry at all!” Lovelace interrupted, and she started her quick maneuvers once more. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

She was already hurrying away by the time Helmut and Compton had their mouths open to respond. Helmut raised a hand with a single finger up, but he gave up on his statement before it even started.

“...Good luck, you guys. I… I’m going to go tell Ford what I think it is.”

“But--” Compton tried. Otto was already gone. Both men stood in silence for a moment before Lovelace returned, shimmering with excitement. 

“Are you guys coming or not?”

“Give us a minute,” Helmut suggested as Compton squatted down, entering a conversation with some of the nearby fauna-- Gnats and butterflies, it seemed. His face twisted in confusion with every passing second.

“...They’re static. The butterflies are… They’ve got something to say. I can’t…” Compton mumbled, trying to think through it all. “...They’re saying something. The static is really loud, though. Deafeningly so if I try to focus on the butterflies.”

“Oh, the bugs!” Lovelace sighed, settling down a bit. “Yeah, they’ve been around a while. They tend to make it harder to make out the messages a lot of the time, but they’ve been getting worse as of late. Maybe sometime we’ll de-bug, but right now, I think we need to take care of the worst problems. I’ll try to translate the data butterflies later, though, if you want?”

Compton finally stood, and he nodded, taking hold of Helmut’s hand once more.

“...Alright. Let’s go, then.”

Ford wasn’t sure what to expect from their tiny guide, but he wasn’t the type to admit it. Especially as the little guy wheeled along before them, spinning around to try to show them everything and help them keep up. He looked to Cassie with confusion in his eyes, but she didn’t match the gaze.

“...I-is something wrong, Mr. Cruller?” It finally asked, voice quiet and tinny as ever. 

“Why should we trust you?” he finally asked. “You don’t seem like you’re really telling us everything. You’re already leading us without telling us anything about what’s happening. If I didn’t trust Otto, I wouldn’t trust you at all.”

“Ranger--” Cassie hissed at him. Their guide frowned, but didn’t argue.

“I-- I’m sorry, sir. I wish I could talk more, but it’s-- It’s not all safe here.”

Just what he already knew. He could tell it was dangerous. What he needed was answers about why.

“I’ll tell you as soon as I can!” It adjusted its little bag. “If that’s okay with you…”

“It’s perfectly alright,” Cassie answered before Ford could. “Please forgive my friend’s conduct. He’s…” She looked at him pointedly. “...Figuring out how to properly act.”

Rude.

“It’s been a long time since he’s met a mental denizen he didn’t create himself.”

That was true, not that he wanted to admit it.

“It’s okay! I’m used to it anyways.” 

“I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot.” Cassie knelt to face him properly. “Do you have a name?”

“Oh! I do, actually-- My name is Turing! Specifically, Turing number 0770. But if you’d prefer, then just Turing works just fine!”

“I’m Cassie, and this is Ford. It’s good to meet you, Turing.” She smiled brightly, like she would for Compton when he was in an anxious state. That seemed to put Turing at ease, at least.

“As long as we don’t get another lecture on how Alan Turing was an underappreciated genius, I’ll call you that too.”

“Hey!” Otto’s voice interjected. “I’ll have you know that Alan Turing absolutely was a great man, and--”

“I know, you’ve told me a hundred times before. He was a gay computer scientist and one of your first crushes. I know, Otto.”

“Wh-- I did not have a crush on Alan Turing--”

“You told me a dozen times I looked like him. As a compliment.”

“Without that mustache, you did! I am not going to lie and say that you didn’t!”

Cassie couldn’t help but snicker at their banter, even though Otto was blushing red as one of Bob’s tomatoes. Ford managed a laugh at that as well.

“...Your crush on Alan Turing is none of my business. Is that really all you came here to tell us about, or was it that you missed me?”

“I-- Right, actual mission! Forgot that was happening. The thing is, I might’ve figured out something big, but I’m not one-hundred-percent on it yet. I’ll need to talk it out with you, since you’re sort of my talking-guy.”

“...Thanks.”

“No, I mean that in a good way! Like… A rubber duck.”

“This analogy is getting worse.”

“I mean you’re the guy I go to and talk to for hours until I work out the issues in my plans-- Even if you’re asleep it’s still better to talk to you than to no one. Besides, maybe I do miss your face every now and then. What of it?”

Ford couldn’t help but smile. 

“...Can I talk to you alone, Ford? Or… Might not be a good idea, since you two should likely keep in the same place. I-- Listen, we need somewhere private-- Little guy, you there--”

“Hi!” Turing waved.

“That’s Turing,” Cassie explained.

“OH!” Otto hit his forehead with the heel of his hand, accidentally hitting Sparky off. “That’s why you brought up-- You know, that makes a lot more sense now. I thought it was just you guys talking about me.”

“...Eh, mostly not about you. And when it is, it's mostly worry.” Ford shrugged.

“Great. That’s not terrifying at all to think about,” Otto muttered before continuing. “Point is, uh-- Turing, can you take these two somewhere private? I think that if we do this in public, Ford’s gonna blow up.”

“And that’s not terrifying either, Mentallis.”

“Would you rather I just told you here?”

“...Fine.” 

Turing took Cassie’s hand with one of its own, guiding her along. Otto’s monitors winked out, a new one lighting up whenever they passed by it. It was Otto’s own way of keeping pace as he casually pet the little pet on his lap, apologizing for knocking it off before.

The door closed behind them, leaving the three in a conference room not unlike the one by the Grand Head’s Office. It was only lacking the large window overlooking the Nerve Center, as well as the windows that opened up to the office. Here, it was mostly drywall and plaster, a classic room from every stock office scene in any movie. The screen in the room lit up, and Otto did his best to fix his hair as the others waited, staring at him.

Ford was the one to break the silence. “...What’s so important that you can’t say it in pu--” As soon as he got that far, Otto jumped to respond, flailing to get himself into a presentable position.

“I think that you’re going to have to go up against bots of the others. But not just any others-- If Lucy’s stuck in the blue line, and the bot of you is there, then there’s a good chance that you’re going to be--”

“Maligula,” Ford murmured, staring at the screen. From there, he couldn’t find the words, letting the others talk for him.

“Right on, gold star, all of that. Point is, it-- It likely will be an awful time. And I’m sorry.”

“...Mr. Mentallis--” Turing started, and he rolled up to the screen.

“I can’t see you, Turing.”

Cassie picked the small bot up, setting him on the table. Turing tipped his tiny hat to her, and he rolled to the screen, pulling on the strap of his bag to fix how it sat once more. 

“Mr. Mentallis, you-- You shouldn’t blame yourself, sir! It’s not your fault that this happened in the first place!” Turing exclaimed. “Y-you’re trying to make things better, sir!”

“...Turing, buddy, I hate to tell you but that’s entirely wrong--”

“No, sir! I’m sorry, sir, but I-- I know who’s causing this, and it isn’t you, and it isn’t the others here! I’m not supposed to tell anyone, but I-- I don’t want to hide things from you. I… I think if I say too much then it’ll just cause the new management to know that someone told you and that would set off the alarms and-- But, uh, I can tell you that much. It… it isn’t your fault, sir.” Turing finally looked down. “...I’m sorry. I don’t… I don’t like yelling. I don’t mean to be so loud…”

“...Don’t be sorry.” Otto pushed the hair out of his face, smiling. “...It’s good to hear it from someone who knows, at least.”

“Do you have a plan?” Cassie asked. Otto drew in a breath, and he looked away.

“Welllll….”

“Taking that as a no.”

“...Yeah, no, I don’t have a plan. Sorry.” Otto sighed.

“That’s fine. I think Ford’s still trying to process from earlier.

“Ah, blue screen of death, my detested. Cruller-- Ford-- how do we get him out of this… Cassie, can you push him?”

She looked at Otto, then nudged Ford. Finally, he snapped out of his daze.

“What--”

“I’ll explain on the way. Shall we get going to fix the problem?”

“Ah. Right.” Ford managed a small laugh. “Let’s do this.”

Cassie and Turing left first, leaving Ford and Otto alone for a second.

“...I know. It’s bad.”

“Otto, that’s not the problem. The problem is that we can’t figure out where you are.” Ford looked at the screen. “...I want to make sure you’re safe.”

“I’m…” Otto started, but he looked down at the Good Idea in his lap. “...Honestly, I’m pretty worried. Mostly for you guys. I know things have gotten pretty awful around this place. And I don’t want you guys in trouble. More than anything. Can you take care of yourself, Ford?”

“Of course I can. Can you?”

Otto nodded, and Ford smiled a bit.

“...Alright. Make sure you do that. I’m gonna catch up with Cassie.”

Otto waved before the screen powered off, leaving Ford for a second before he too vanished, reappearing a fraction of a second later nearby Cassie and Turing.

“Took you long enough,” she joked.

“Says you. Let’s go.”

Otto sighed as the two still-lit screens dimmed. He couldn’t do much from where he was. He was exhausted already-- barely even keeping his eyes open as it was.

The others were headed into danger. Danger he had caused, in some ways--

Stop it. Turing said it wasn’t my fault.

The darkness around him felt claustrophobic. Too tight to think. He held Sparky close, hoping that it could help him.

Not even that was a comfort.

“I just want things to go back to how they were, Sparky,” he muttered. “Is that too much to ask? I just… I don’t want this.”

It was pressing in around him. He clung even tighter to his little friend, screwing his eyes shut.

“What would the others do--”

Don’t think about the others they hate you you’re the worst person they know--

“If that’s true, then why would they still be here? I-- I don’t… I don’t think that. Why am I still thinking that? It’s not true.” Otto uncurled from his perch on his chair, and he held onto Sparky like a child holding a stuffed animal as they crept out of bed. “...I don’t think that. Hm… Intrusive thoughts? But I didn’t have those before--”

Sparky wiggled in his arms, and he looked down. 

“...Yeah. I know. Tell the others. But… They’re dealing with their own issues…”

A long pause, as it stuck out its tongue. 

“... They’re trying to help me .”

The words felt like a weight off his shoulders, and he sat back down.

“...Then I should help them help me too.”

All Sparky did was roll over on his lap when he finally did let go, but it felt like a win nonetheless. 

Chapter Text

Compton wasn’t entirely sure why they had gotten stuck with a guide that always seemed to be hurrying them along, but he wasn’t entirely sure he liked that fact very much. In fact, on the contrary: He was entirely sure he did not like that about Lovelace. Though she was bright and friendly, he wasn’t able to keep up with her without feeling overwhelmed in an instant.

At least he had Helmut on his side there, as they reached a doorway with a sensor next to it. The light had already turned green, and the tiny heart emblem in the center of the sensor blinked at them when they got closer.

“Looks like Mr. Mentallis got to the door! Oh, this is so exciting-- I’ve never really had a chance to break the rules before! Well, the rules before were actually rather nice-- Everyone was working where they actually were supposed to before the new management came in. Then they decided we all needed to do this and that and the other thing-- They even wanted to make a full new line! Everyone was so upset about that-- But a lot of us didn’t want to fight because Mr. Mentallis left this place running smoothly the last time he was here, so we all want to be what he can rely on--”

“Can you slow down?” Helmut interrupted. Compton nodded, and Lovelace stopped, finally doing as she was asked.

“Oh. Okay. Sorry, Mr. Fullbear. It’s just so exciting--”

“I know. But we need to relax a little so we don’t get overwhelmed, right?” Helmut smiled at her, and she nodded back. 

“....Okay.”

Compton took a breath, steadying himself before talking. “...What do you mean by another line?”

“Well-- The three lines are to properly handle three things! We’re supposed to be managing love, anger, and sadness-- All three can be really dangerous, after all.”

“How can love be dangerous?” Helmut asked. There was a moment of quiet as Lovelace leaned in.

“... You should know that better than anyone else.”

“What? I don’t--”

“Anyways! Let’s head on in!” She grinned as she pulled back, excitedly pulling at the handles to the backdoor. It flew open with the force, sending her fluttering back, her clothes ruffling with the movement. She giggled a bit, and swished inside like she was floating on a breeze. Compton looked at Helmut.

“...What do you think she meant by… me?” Helmut asked, not even looking at him. “...Did I do something wrong?”

“I… I don’t know, He-- Ah.. Performer. We should go, though. I don’t know if we’ll get another chance to see in here.”

“Yeah. I’m with you. Let’s do this.” Helmut pushed up his hat, and followed after Lovelace, Compton scampering after him as well. There was a long tiled hallway, but it quickly opened up to a small stage with plenty of instruments. Helmut’s eyes lit up at the sight. Compton teleported further into the room, looking over the instruments and the music stands that sat before each one.

“...Oh my.”

“What’s the song? Do you know it?”

“I-- I don’t think so.” Compton took a sheet from the stand, teleporting back over as Lovelace zipped to behind them. Helmut stared at it, blinking.

“...Yeah, that’s too new for me to know.”

“Oh! I know this one! It’s a great song. One of Mr. Mentallis’s favorites, actually.” She picked it up, putting it back in place. “You two really would like it-- Well, maybe, maybe not. Music is really subjective! But this is a place for things that usually make Mr. Mentallis pretty happy-- The good memories! Even if love can be a bit dangerous, it’s also got some of the best parts of life too. But--”

“It’d still be nice to hear it at some point.”

“Yeah!” Lovelace did a little twirl as she returned to them. “Anyways, the next lock is the one Mr. Mentallis mentioned, but it’s a little bit weird-- This one is based on sound! And, well, since you two already noticed the music--”

“We need to play the song?”

“Yep!” she nodded, excitedly. “I just worry about where you’ll find enough people to do it-- I’d be happy to help out with that if you wanted? I can play the electric guitar!”

“...Because you’re literally electricity?” Compton pointed out. Lovelace laughed a little.

“Yep!”

Helmut hummed, tapping against his cheek as he walked around. “Alright. So we need people to play this…”

“I, ah. I might have an idea.” Compton walked away from the group, sitting on the ground. He waited a moment or two, and a few mice-- More like computer mice than actual mice, with cursors for ears and cords for tails-- scurried along, rushing towards him after a moment. Then, a few more. Finally, he had what could only be described as a congregation of mice sitting around him, looking up at him alertly. He spoke to them in a hushed tone, explaining his plan, and a few scurried towards the chairs, followed by more. They scurried up each other’s backs to reach the chairs, lining the chairs. Helmut grinned as he took the spot of the conductor, picking up a thin stick. 

“You ready, Com-- Uh, Activist?”

“Whenever you are, Performer.”

He adjusted his hat, and raised the stick, tapping a few times as he looked at the music. The mice drifted to glance at Compton, and Compton reminded them to keep their attention on Helmut as they blinked their LED eyes. There was a moment of quiet, and finally, Helmut started the song, tapping out a beat. Relatively quick, but clear. The mice on every instrument prepared, each detaching their ears (Though Compton squeaked, a few nearby assured him it was completely natural and didn’t hurt) and fastening their cursors to the instruments, clicking into hands instead of tiny arrows. Helmut pointed to the synthesizer, and the mice on the machine clicked out a few keys with their cursors. He gathered the rest of the band, and pushed his hands down for the beat as music filled the air. Guitars, keyboards, the synthesizer, a dozen mice on the drums just sweeping their tails across the skins to make a soft, sweeping sound.

Helmut shut his eyes, gesturing to each part as they came in, the mice doing their best to play. Lovelace zipped through the place, picking up an extra guitar and playing with them, her excitement clear in her eyes and grin. Even Compton couldn’t help but sway a bit, tapping his foot. 

The music picked up, and Helmut took the music sheets off a music stand with no instrument nearby, and he extended them to Compton, who stared.

“I-- I don’t know how to sing, Helmut--”

“So? I’m here for you, and there’s no one else here to judge. We’ve got this. You and me, together. You up for it?”

Finally, Compton nodded, and he accepted the papers, holding them in hand. He swallowed back his nerves, and teleported over to Helmut, looking on at the same music sheet. There was a moment of quiet, before they did their best.

Otto blinked as the sound of music filled the air. “...What’s going on?” he asked, softly. Sparky let off a couple sparks as it rolled over on the desk, the lightbulbs moving around on its back. He picked Sparky up, and looked at it, coming up with an idea.

“Can I borrow one of your bulbs, Sparky?”

It stuck out its tongue, but didn’t say yes or no. He set it down, and set a hand out for it to decide on its own, focusing instead on the three screens.

Two were blank, only basic colors. Only green and blue on those screens. The red one was the only one that let him even see something-- Cassie and Ford.

He almost wanted to talk to them. Almost. As he hovered his other hand over the button, he sighed, shaking his head, leaving it alone. His other hand felt a bit heavier, and he turned, noticing that Sparky had detached a bulb, nudging it at him. He smiled, and he scratched its head. 

“...You’re the best, little guy. You wanna come with me? I’m gonna put this to good use, promise.”

He let Sparky move at its own pace as it scurried onto his hands. He set it on his head, taking the bulb in hand, and he sapped energy from the air, siphoning it into the bulb as electricity. It lit up, a soft glow overtaking the room.

“Ta-da! We’re a flashlight now, buddy!” He cheered. Sparky didn’t react, but Otto still felt like he had done something.

There was still that music. Still that wonderful sound.

Oh, he knew that song. It had been a while, but he still remembered playing it in his lab, humming along, catching only the vaguest of words as he dabbled with devices more than actually listening. 

It felt like home. Though he couldn’t hear the words that well still, a wave of nostalgia clouded his thoughts.

The machinery. The warmth of his old lab in the gulch when he ran that tiny stove into the ground for a cup of cocoa. The smell of oil in the air. The breeze that rushed from the gears as he managed to work devices that weren’t supposed to exist. The taste of old cocoa that had gone cold hours ago. And that sound… Music.

People singing along.

For as much as he poked fun at Helmut and Bob for their taste in music, he always enjoyed the impromptu karaoke sessions in his lab when he played a song anyone else knew. 

“ Turn your back on mother nature, everybody wants to rule the world ,” he mumble-sang, tapping along to the beat of the synthesizer. A smile alighted his face, making the lightbulb shine brighter. Sparky held on tighter, and he finally illuminated the room he was in.

Other than the screens on the desk, the room was mostly plain and undecorated. The walls were purple, and the room had no doors or windows to enter through. It was rather small, as well-- Barely larger than the Heptadome’s main room. It wasn’t claustrophobic, but it still felt cold and clinically blank. The floor was tiled with cracking mosaic, and the ceiling-- Well, that was out of sight, even when he raised the bulb and Sparky into the air as far as he could. Not even telekinesis could extend it far enough, though his telekinesis was relatively weak-- It was used to just grabbing a tool here or a heavy bit of metal there. 

He sighed, and returned to the desk, having discovered little. Even though, the music was a welcome change. He shut his eyes to better hear as he sat Sparky and the bulb back on his desk again.

“...That’s Helmut’s voice, but… What’s the other part?”

Otto paused, listening even harder. Something deep, but… Familiar. It wasn’t Bob’s gravelly sound, but…

“ Compton ?”

He couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Compton singing. At least somewhere, those two were safe, and they were happy.

“...We’re gonna be okay,” he told Sparky as he plugged the lightbulb into its back. “I know it. For sure.”

Lucy stared at the door before them, her mind rushing at a million miles an hour.

They had finally reached a spot that Win-0 claimed was a problem. And yet, as she looked at the sign on the door… 

“Win-0? Why does it say ‘Mail’ on the door?”

“Ah. That is correct. This room was used to transport mail across the city. However, there is an error inside. Because of this error, I have not been able to fix it.”

“Why not?”

“The bugs infected the door as well. Though I can create a command to open the door, I lack the required… Abilities… to rectify the issues. I require a computer to enter the command to begin with. As well as continuing to fight the bugs to keep this door open. Which means…”

“You’re not going to follow us,” Bob finished. “...Alright. Fine. Lucy, we’re going to be okay.” He was more or less talking to himself, and he turned to the door, taking a deep breath as Win-0 approached a nearby console. Lucy walked to Bob’s side, gently taking his hand. She knew it wasn’t okay. He had a way of speaking that made it clear-- His fear always bled through in trying to convince himself. 

The door creaked open, and they hurried through before it could close again. The instant they got through, the door slammed on them, leaving them in pitch darkness. It took a moment longer before a light blinked on. Then another, at the same level. Finally, the whole room was illuminated, as if it was spotlit from above. A heavy shadow loomed over them, a figure cast in copper. Purple ensnared the body, cutting off the green clothes from seeing the light. Lucy stepped forward, staring up at it.

“Lucy--” Bob tried to warn her. She wasn’t listening.

“...put this there… This goes here… This can be shredded…”

She started at it-- Him -- Whichever. It didn't matter. She knew that scruffy metal mustache, that off-kilter smile on the metallic face that didn’t look their eyes. She knew that voice, she knew it far too well.

" Crully ?" she softly asked. 

The machine rumbled slightly as it turned to face her, and it brought its face down to see her head-on. The eyes were wrong-- They weren't their usual dark shade, instead glowing yellow.

That was wrong. His eyes were dark, never bright. Even when he did glow slightly, it was always green. Not this caution-tape yellow.

They dripped thick black oil, leaking onto the floor, flowing down the hallway. Towards the lake that they had crossed before. Lucy couldn’t help but stare at him as he tilted his metal head.

"...You aren't supposed to be here. This place isn't meant for you." 

That voice was his, yes, but it wasn’t at the same time. Lucy couldn’t identify what was wrong, but it was… wrong. Echoing where it shouldn’t.

He extended a claw-like hand, wrapping it around her. She didn't have the words to say. The fight had left her at the sight of him-- Her Crully, her beloved, ensnared in purple wires and smog. 

A quiet "Clunk" broke her concentration, followed by a loud "CLANG!" and a thud. The robot let go of her, whirling around to see what had caused it.

Bob had fallen over, yes, but he still had that fire in his eyes as he stumbled back to his feet-- One of which now only had a sock without a shoe to match.

"Get the h-ll away from my friend, you skivvy chucklehead."

“...What are you doing here… This isn’t your division, agent Mentallis.”

“Yeah, well, it’s me, not Otto, so I don’t care about my ‘division.’ I’m not going to let you hurt her. Not at all.” Bob pointed, and plants burst through the floor, ensnaring the machine’s many arms. Lucy stumbled back, shaking, but she still pushed her hand up, throwing the oil back into the machine.

The Ford machine threw down its hands, slamming into the floor, leaving the room shaking and cracking through it all. Bob stumbled, but the plants remained firm. Lucy slammed a wave of oil into the machine, throwing it all into the machinery. Both of them rocked with the heavy motion. 

Fordbot wasn’t as staggered, though, and it quickly recovered, using its extra arms to grab at them. Bob pushed Lucy up on a large flower, and Lucy returned the gesture with a wave of oil keeping him out of the way. 

“Good idea, Bob!

“Aw, thanks, Lu. And ideas how we can take this thing down?”

“I-- I don’t know.”

“Fantastic, just like normal then. I’ll hold it down, you aim for the eyes?”

“On it!” She threw the water down, and hopped off the flower, making a small levitation trampoline to reach the floor safely. Bob, on the other hand, barely managed to stumble across the ground, wincing with the sore landing. 

Before he could catch his balance, though, the fake Ford slammed its hands down once more, creating a heavy shockwave that threw the duo off once more. Lucy quickly caught her balance, and she made a small hand to keep Bob on his feet.

“Careful--” he started.

“I don’t think he’s trying to hurt us-- He’d hit us by now if he was!”

Bob’s plants finally restrained the four arms, and he held his hand up, shutting his eyes to better focus his energy on the plants. “Hurry, Lucy--”

She gathered a spear of black ice, and threw it forwards, aiming for the eyes--

The noise was deafening when it connected. Screeching, not from Ford but from some unearthly thing that was controlling him. The arms flailed, trying to clear the ice from its eyes as it ripped through the roots and vines that held it back. Bob ran to her, shaking with the effort he had been putting in. Finally, the machine stopped, powering down as the light drained from its eyes and the purple smog evaporated. The ice spear melted, leaving a thick stream of oil dripping down that face, and Lucy stared up at it as the machine remained still.

“...Looks like rain,” Bob quietly stated. She turned to him, close to yelling, but she could see the look in his eyes that said it wasn’t meant as a rude comment at all. “I-- I mean, since you work with water, and you look like you’re going to cry, so-- You know what, how about we just forget I said anything. Do you want a hug?”

She grabbed him before he had even finished, holding her friend close. It felt so much easier to just breathe in the earthy scent he gave off, that rough skin with that soft hug she had grown to enjoy so much on the nights when they couldn’t help but remember the losses they had suffered alone. This time, it was her who cried. She couldn’t hold it back.

“Is that what he was like…?”

“Sort of, yeah. He was so focused on his roles that he didn’t even know who we were. Even Otto couldn’t get through to him back then. Still went to him for haircuts. I stopped getting haircuts at all because of it.”

“...Remind me to tell Crully I love him?”

“Of course. I’ll help where I can, Lu. Right now, just… Go ahead and get it out.”

“Okay, this is really sweet and all, but anyways--” A familiar voice interrupted their hug. Lucy dragged herself back, glancing around for the monitor, only to find one on the wall behind where Ford had been. He was gone-- then again, the floor had opened up too. Perhaps he had simply descended, like on an elevator? “It’s great to see you guys again. Feels like it’s been forever since I’ve had a visual on you two. Did you do something to fix the cameras? Or was it--”

“We just had a rough fight against Ford. Or…”

“Oh. Ohhh. Yeah. I… Should I go? That’s likely not going to reflect well on me--”

“No. It’s fine. Gives me a big question, though--”

“Huh?”

“...You missed Ford when he was shattered, didn’t you?”

The trio sat in silence for a moment as Otto tried to understand the question and find an answer. His mouth moved without sound for a moment, until finally he shut it, swallowing back whatever doubt he had before trying again.

“...Yes. I did.”

“You never talked about it.”

“...nope.”

“That’s all. I just wanted to be clear about that.”

Otto didn’t reply, just gave a half smile as Lucy cleared her throat, making sure the tears were gone before she finally spoke again.

“We should keep going. I think we’ve taken care of the issue here, but… There’s bound to be something else.”

“...Can you tell me what to expect for the others? I’d like to warn Ford and Cassie, since I’ve still got visual on them--”

“What about Helmut and Compton?” Bob interrupted. Otto shook his head.

“Nothing there. They went into a warehouse, and now there’s nothing on the screen. Same as when you two went through some of the doors here.”

“Urgh…”

“Just tell me about what happened. I’ll carry the message.”

Ford wasn’t exactly excited about the path they were on, and he glanced at the nearby robots going about their day. At least most of them seemed to be just going about things naturally. Turing stopped along the way, reaching into his bag and taking things out, setting them in mailboxes.

“...Delivering the mail, huh?”

“Yes, sir!” Turing gave a little salute. “I’m doing my part to keep things running!”

“Doing a good job of it.” Ford couldn’t help but give the small bot a little smile, which was enough to make the little thing speed up, rolling around them in excited circles. “Woah, woah, slow down.”

“Sorry, Mr. Cruller, sir-- I just haven’t been told that before.”

“...Well, you’re doing good.” He let Turing roll off, jogging to keep up with the bot and Cassie.

“Someone’s had a change of heart, haven’t we, Ranger?” she joked, giving him a gentle nudge. “What’s gotten into you?”

“...I like mail.”

There was a long pause as Cassie waited for more. Ford just shrugged. She finally giggled, shaking her head. “That’s all?”

“Maybe he grew on me a bit with that speech to Otto.”

“Alright, I’ll accept that one.” She smiled as she walked along, still a few feet ahead of him by the length of her strides. “Do you ever wonder what this represents?”

Ford blinked. “What do you mean by that?”

“Minds tend to have symbolism. Mine is a library for the order and the books. There’s references to bees, stories, stormy seas. The parts of me that want to stay in the past and the parts of me that want to push it all away all had their place. So why…?”

“...Machinery. Malfunctioning. Things Otto knows well. The machines are… How he visualizes things. And it’s easier to categorize things into different places. The red, green, and blue-- same thing as folders. Different places with different meanings, yeah? So… What trios do we know.”

“Brains, brawn, and beauty… Past, present, and future… Veni, vidi, vici… Lights, camera, action… There’s quite a few. The rule of three is common in literature, especially. So it could be a simple point about how threes make us comfortable.”

“Maybe it’s about how he, Lucy, and I started this group? We were working on our own for a while there…”

“Then we’re on the line for you and Lucy is on hers-- Why wouldn’t he be on his? Why wouldn’t we be focusing on that?”

“Point taken. Devil’s advocate?”

“Your turn or mine?”

“Yours.”

Cassie cleared her throat, and she straightened her posture before she started with her new role. “It could mean nothing at all. It could just be a simple trio of things for the sake of being trios.”

“It’s Otto . He’s not the type for something to be useless-- Any useless part, any extra code, it all gets taken off. It wouldn’t be like that for no reason.”

“Then there could have been other parts that got removed.”

“RGB. He said that before. Has something to do with the colors of light, doesn’t it? Means a lot to him, so.”

“Point to you, Ranger. But next time, you get that role.”

“Then you’ll have to remember it’s my turn, or I’ll pass it off to you again.”

A throat nearby cleared, and they turned around, finding a screen and their friend waving them down. “Hate to interrupt the… I don’t even know what to call this, analysis? What the heck, guys? I leave for some amount of time-- Anyways. Where are you guys? I’ve still got a visual on you, and I just got the one on the Blue line back--”

“We’re walking through the shopping district, sir! We’re almost to the closest error!” Turing interrupted, saluting for Otto. 

“Oh. So… You’re gonna be out of contact too, I bet. I’ve got some information from Bob and Lucy.”

“Good or bad?” Ford asked. Otto awkwardly tried to laugh.

“Uh… Let’s just say it’s info. And you’re going to want to hear it even though you’ll hate it.”

“So kind of bad. Got it.” Ford nodded. Otto sighed, and he held Sparky closer.

“So. The machine of Ford, according to them, seems to look a lot like the one in your head, Ford. So… It might be based on what I saw in your minds too. A bit… Corrupted. By your own issues. And nightmares. I would try to make a joke, but I don’t actually have one right now, so moving on-- You’re going to have to work together and aim for whatever weak spot it’s got. Ford-- The machine, not you-- had the eyes. They said it was pretty obvious. Sounds like we’re playing by those rules.”

“...How much did you see of everyone’s minds from that camera?”

“Enough to know a few little bits of what could be to come. Cassie and the Librarian, Lucy and Maligula, Compton and the judges-- That one was rough to see, trust me, and Ford-- You’re not gonna want to look at that. Helmut, I’ve got no idea what it could leech ideas from. And… Bob’s… Eh, you probably don’t want to hear about that.”

“If you’re going to talk, then you can talk about it, you know.”

“Well. There was this giant moth and a bunch of plants. You wouldn’t believe how annoying that moth was though-- Raz looked like he wanted to punch it a few times in there-- And the darn thing sounded like--”

“Sounded?”

“...Right. I… might’ve gotten a tiny bit of audio. While looking around the pictures. It’s… retrocognition. A little bit of memory from objects, I suppose. I don’t use it much, just enough to get the details, and--”

A hologram flickered to life beside them-- A small memory of an island with a pile of rocks, a small wall with a few light bulbs, and a figure-- It was so small, hard to see, so Ford leaned in closer, closer--

“Don’t look at that! That’s not-- I’m not--” Otto sputtered. “I’m not talking about it!”

“...Otto, where is this from?” Ford crossed his arms as he turned to face the monitor on the wall. 

“Nowhere!” 

Cassie hummed a bit. “It’s a bit too… natural for you. And we know our minds well enough… Compton, Helmut, Lucy, or Bob.”

“I-- I don’t--”

“And I’ve seen Compton’s mind. There’s no water in sight.”

“This isn’t--”

Ford tutted, and he tapped his arm. “And I was in Lucy’s. No islands there.”

“You guys--”

“Helmut or Bob, Otto?”

He looked between them, clearly flustered, and he huffed, hiding his face with the Good Idea. “...Bob.”

Ford took a breath. “So. Have the two of you talked about this?”

He nearly choked on a laugh as he set Sparky down on his lap, looking at them again after a minute. “Are you kidding me? I’d rather eat my shoe than tell him I saw some of that stuff! And--”

“Then we’re going in. And you, mister, are going to actually talk about your issues. Got it?”

“What are you, my dad?” Otto exclaimed. “Geez. I… I’m trying, guys. I really am. But things like that-- They can wait. Right?” 

There was a moment of quiet, and then Turing returned to their side. 

“Oh! Hi, Mr. Mentallis, sir! Is everything okay?”

“It’s not. But that’s normal at this point.” Otto shrugged, and he settled back in his chair. “...I’ll try to talk to him. Don’t get yourselves killed.”

Turing raised a simple hand, waving at him, but Otto didn’t even seem to notice as his monitors blinked off. Turing sighed, then rolled along again, leading the duo to a door. 

“...This the place?”

“Yep! I’ll get the door!”

He set his hand on the doorknob, then pulled a small emblem out of his bag, putting it against the door. It slid open after a moment, revealing a bunch of doubts and regrets.

“...Well, it looks like we might have trouble,” Cassie mumbled. 

“It does look like that. I take left, you take right?”

“On it.”

Chapter Text

Ford took in the enemies for just a second, and Turing clung to the back of his leg, trying to hide his face in his thigh. Ten doubts. Ten regrets. He could take it. Next to him, he could see Cassie creating her archetypes-- all three at the same time, scrawled out in the air as if they were typewriter paper from her latest novel. The quartet appeared before long, looking to Cassie before they noticed the enemies nearby.

“Certainly quite the situation, Psychonaut,” Teacher Cassie said simply.

“Distraction?” Counterfeiter Cassie asked. There was a nod, and the quartet fanned out to distract what they could.

Ford teleported around the lot of them, setting off psi-blasts where he could. Every move was a burst of energy that took the tiny robot on his leg with him, leaving him mostly unable to actually walk. Teleportation was easier anyways. 

“Behind you!” Cassie called out. Ford ducked below a regret throwing its weight, slamming into one of the doubts, exploding it into parts. The archetypes danced around the group-- Librarian and Counterfeiter kept the doubts spinning, while Teacher and Writer worked on the regrets. Cassie and Ford, working together, burned through the doubts, but the regrets were the bigger issue: With every one they shot down, it felt like two more spawned in.

“We might need to find where they’re from!” Ford exclaimed, and Turing finally let go of his leg, giving Ford the chance to teleport to Cassie, grab her out of the fray, and teleport back out. 

“Thanks, Ranger!” she called, running off already. He teleported to keep up, the little robot trailing close behind them. 

“So, where’s the source--” he muttered. “Librarian?”

“Looking for it now--” She shot back, and glanced around, pointing. “There-- They’re coming from there!” 

The trio took off, aiming for the source. Footsteps echoed in the hallway as they dodged around attacks. Eventually, the quartet of archetypes followed close behind as well, folding into paper bees on their way to better soar through the air. They came to a hole in the wall, where regrets trickled out over time. On the floor, discarded nearby, was a device.

The hyper-hyglaciator.

Ford picked it up, aiming the device at the hole in the wall. Cassie kept the regrets back, making a shield around it to keep them all in there. In the meantime, the archetypes fought the stragglers back to their source, pushing the few who were trying to fight back with Counterfeiter’s guidance. The device took its time to warm up-- Or, rather, freeze up. He braced his knees for the explosion of ice, and finally, it came.

The ice spread over the hole in the wall, and Cassie released her shield, relaxing a bit as she managed a breath. The archetypes looked at her.

“...Is that all?” Librarian asked, adjusting her glasses. Cassie nodded.

“For now, at least.”

“Well, then-- I’ll be off. There’s certainly a lot to write home about here!” Writer poofed into paper scraps, returning to Cassie’s subconscious with a bad pun, as always. Though Counterfeiter rolled her eyes, she followed suit, then Teacher. Librarian stayed around, though, unwilling to vanish again.

“Is everything alright?”

“...The regrets are around that machine. Do you think that will hold them back for long?”

“Long enough for us to continue looking for the problem.”

Librarian scoffed at that. Turing rolled up to her, and he took her hand.

“...Um, Miss? I… I think that… I think that it’s going to be okay. Even if they do get out, they wouldn’t be near us. Besides, I trust Mr. Mentallis!”

She looked at him, and knelt down, facing him on his eye-level. “...Hmph. Alright. But if things go wrong, then I’ll be making sure that it gets fixed. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am!” He gave a salute with his free hand before she disappeared like the others, leaving paper on the floor before that too faded. Cassie smiled, and patted Turing’s metal head.

“Nicely done, everyone.”

“Thanks, Librarian. You did good too,” Ford replied. Cassie straightened her dress before continuing down the hallway. 

“Oh, and Turing, don’t worry about her. The Librarian can be such a Debbie Downer. I suppose she could be called…” She couldn’t hold back a tiny laugh. “A paperweight?”

Turing blinked up at her, pausing as he tried to process the joke. “...I don’t get it.”

“I… Ah, well. That happens too.” 

Ford managed a little laugh as he jogged to keep up, barely keeping pace with Cassie’s long strides. Even though it was small, he could tell they were making some progress there.

We have to be, right?

Turing still trailed behind the duo, his little motor not enough to really help him on his way. Ford finally picked him up, teleporting to be a bit ahead of Cassie.

“Oh. Was I walking too fast?”

“Yep.”

“Ah.” She smiled apologetically. “I was caught up in thought again… Sorry about that.” Cassie took a moment to take one of Turing’s claw-hands once Ford set him back down.

“...Mind if I ask what about?”

“I don’t mind. I was just thinking about that hole back there. It seems… Odd. A hole in the wall… Almost like something rammed through the wall. As if something isn’t supposed to be here.”

He hummed a bit, nodding. “I could take another look.”

“It’s fine, Ranger. I’m just trying to piece together what this means. It could be something unrelated, but there’s a chance it isn’t… Usually they would appear from the same spaces as censors. Unless…” She tapped her cheek. “It could be Otto…”

“I’d rather not consider that he’s trying to attack us.”

“Of course not. That would be out of the question.” Cassie waved a hand. “I was only thinking aloud. I will tell you, though… Something is definitely strange.”

He couldn’t deny that, at least.

Helmut nearly skipped as he walked, ready for whatever was coming up next. In fact, he was almost excited about it! The song was still stuck in his head, and he played a little air guitar every now and then as he let Compton take his time catching up. 

“...Wait. I… I know where we are.” Lovelace stopped mid-air, her usual darting from place to place replaced with an eerie stillness. “...Oh no.”

“What’s wrong?”

“...the next part isn’t any sort of fun. Maybe we should come back to that room later, or something? I mean, I know I can’t go in there.” She pointed with a mitten-like hand to a door nearby.

“...Is there a specific reason? Programming, or--” Before Compton could finish, Lovelace cut him off.

“No, I mean, I could, but… He doesn’t like visitors there, so I should probably stay outside, and if I go in I could be deactivated… Eep. Yeah, no. I… I can’t.”

“He? Who’s he?” Helmut asked. Lovelace looked at him, then away, shaking slightly. “...Please tell me.”

“...Mr. Zanotto.”

Even though Lovelace seemed to deflate with the statement, Helmut’s face lit up just the same.

“Bobby’s in there?!”

“W-well--” she tried, but Helmut was already running to the door. Compton looked at her, quiet as he raised his eyebrows sympathetically.

“...Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear… Compton?” She settled to the floor, reaching his eye-level. “...Can you… can you please help him? I… I can’t do it. I can’t. I just can’t.”

“Of course. I… I’ll try my best.” He tipped his hat before teleporting to right beside Helmut just before the door could close.

“Bobby?!” Helmut called out, louder than usual. The room was dim, only lit by a dim orange light. The sound of soft jazzy music echoed, just too softly to hear the words. A large shadow hung over the space they could walk on, though it was hard to really see much of anything.

“...He-- Er, Performer-- I-- I don’t think that this is going to be your--”

“Yeh, an’ it’ll be… It’ll take more’n’ a few t’... Ta…” a heavy voice slurred. 

Helmut looked up, the joy slowly falling as he realized what the shape was. He created a small light in his hand, throwing it into the air and letting it explode, a firework of sparkling candlelight and the scent of sandalwood. The machinery before them was clearly identifiable as a humanoid shape, even if it was just the upper half, leaning heavily towards them as it swished a bottle in hand. It glanced at them for just a second, then rested the bottle on the floor next to them with a deafeningly loud sound. Even if it wasn’t a hard hit, it was still a heavy motion. 

“...Please… Tell me this isn’t…” Helmut breathed. “...Tell me this isn’t what he was like?”

“I-I’m sorry, Helmut.”

Compton took his hand, holding tight. It wasn’t any comfort to him. 

“This can’t be real. This can’t be…” Helmut managed, just in time for the machine to look at them, slowly turning its head. 

“...what’re you lookin’ at… Don’t… Don’t look a’ me like that…” 

“Bobby--” Helmut started, but he gave up quickly, turning to Compton. “What do we do?”

“I-- I don’t-- I don’t know,” Compton stammered. “We should-- We should do something, though--”

“Alright. Okay. Um. Let’s see here. First things first. Big issues. I’ll go for the bottle, you look for anything that looks weird with this.”

“Other than the giant robot?”

“Yeah. Other than the giant--” Helmut had to duck to the side to avoid the bottle coming towards them, letting out a loud yelp. “Alright, problem! Problem found! We have a big f-cking problem!” 

“You-- Cursing--?” Compton managed to sputter out, his shoulders tensing as he teleported to be once more beside Helmut. 

“Why is that surprising!? Wait, was that just around Bobby--” He paused, shutting his eyes to think better just in time for Compton to grab him, teleporting the two of them together. “Yeah, that was just around Bobby--”

“C-Can we please focus so we don’t die?!”

“Yeah! Right!” Helmut pulled on his hat, and he charged towards the danger, like always. “Bobby! Over here!” 

“Shtupid… shtupid f-ckin’... drunk thingy…” the machine slurred as it took another long swig, trying to bat away Helmut with a hand. Helmut used his levitation to dodge just in time, aiming a psi-blast up at the bottle.

“Watch out, Comps!” he called, and he fired, hitting the glass. Unfortunately, it only made a small crack. “Darn it!”

“I-- I’ll--” Compton looked around, trying to find anything he could use, but there were no animals to talk to, nothing he could hide behind. Helmut kept trying to fire away, but it only made tiny cracks appear, never enough to break through. The machine was moving quicker as its anger increased.

“Gah!” Helmut grunted as he was hit, skidding across the floor. Even though he was still on his feet, he clearly was injured, holding his side for a moment before straightening up, preparing to run right back in. Compton’s breath hitched in his throat as the machine raised a hand, preparing to bring it down on Helmut--

He finally ran towards him, not caring when his own hat fell off. Compton raised his hand, shutting his eyes, and turned away.

The sound of shattering glass was loud, but it wasn’t followed by the crash of metal on the floor like he expected. 

“Woah, that’s a lot of moths,” Helmut’s voice broke the silence first. Compton blinked, and turned to find him standing nearby, the arm that was just coming towards him still moving slowly towards where Helmut had been the last time he checked. 

“What--”

“Talk later, try not to die now?” Helmut suggested, pointing to the shattered bottle in the machine’s hand. Though it was moving slowly, trapped in a colorless shimmer, the moths-- butterflies? Whichever-- that poured out from the now open space were plentiful, and a purple mist seeped through the floor beneath it, spiraling downwards as if it were circling a drain. 

“Do you think that did it?” Helmut asked. Compton shook his head.

“I think-- I think there’s something else.”

He scurried to pick up his hat, keeping an eye on the machine. It looked mostly like Bob, just with metal instead of skin and hair. The one difference he could see was the thing around his neck: A heart-shaped locket.

“Helmut, try hitting the locket!” Compton called out, and Helmut nodded, charging in for a third time. This time, he created his own platforms, materializing sound waves for just long enough to push him upwards and towards the chest of the machine.

Three steps away. Two. One.

Helmut used his psi-punch, throwing the final blow, only to be thrown back across the room with the explosion. Compton caught him with telekinesis, setting him gently on the floor once more as the machine shut down before their eyes. 

Both men were still trembling with the effort, but it finally sank in what they had done as the floor beneath the machine opened up, slowly lowering it down. 

“...I… Oh, god, Bobby…” Helmut managed, his eyes welling up with tears. “That… That was horrible. I can’t imagine… He was that hurt…?”

“It’s better now. We… We can’t change the past, Helmut.”

Compton stood by his side, holding his hand until Helmut had the energy to sit up, still rubbing his side from where he had been hit before.

A monitor nearby powered up, and Otto’s face appeared for just a second, looking around the place. 

“Otto--” Helmut started. 

“I have to go,” Otto immediately interrupted, and the monitor clicked off before Helmut or Compton could get a word in otherwise, leaving the pair to try to comprehend what they had just been through on their own.

Bob kept an eye on Lucy, giving her time to sit by the floor's opening. He couldn't blame her for feeling how she did-- after all, he remembered how broken he had felt when Helmut had fallen to his death. 

It wasn't something he could interrupt for her. Grief was hard to handle, even if it was confusing. He stood back instead.

A bit of mail came through the chutes, landing in the proper locations. After a moment of quiet, a figure shimmered into being.

A hologram, yes, but nonetheless, it wore the same crooked smile, scruffy mustache, and dark hair that Ford once had. Lucy looked up at him, and she smiled.

"Crully?"

"Lucy!" It flickered out before reappearing next to her. The two quickly started talking, and Bob zoned out, turning to the door. Maybe he could tell Win-0 that they had won. Perhaps Win-0 was coming through eventually anyways.

"Uh, hey, Bob--" a familiar voice interrupted him. It took a moment to find the monitor, but he recognized the look on Otto's face in a heartbeat.

"I know that face. It's the "Time for another conversation neither of us wants to have that'll end up in us arguing" face."

"What? My face says all that?"

"No, but I remember last time it came out was that intervention years ago. I'll avoid it turning into an argument. What is it?"

"I…" Otto removed his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. "...I used retrocognition on the photographs of everyone's minds for a bit more context of how it all looked and I saw something I shouldn't have."

"Alright, and? Why tell me? It's probably from Lucy or Ford, so tell Fo--"

"It wasn't them. Bob, I'm talking about the islands."

His throat felt dry as his mind drifted. The islands. The three figures there. He hadn't spoken much to them since the sea had grown so intense, but he still remembered them much too well.

"..I'm sorry, Bob. I… I was thinking about it a lot. I was a massive jerk to you."

"I was just as bad--"

"Let me finish. Please. I… I was awful. You were mourning, and I just made it all worse. I don't blame you."

"You're allowed to be mad about it."

"I'm not mad at you for it." There was a moment of quiet. "...It's like this: imagine a… a piece of paper you're trying to write on. And someone else keeps dripping watercolors all over it to make it look nice, but they're making the paper harder to write on. That's what it's like. I was just making it worse when I was trying to fix things. That's why I want to apologize."

"...do you know why those three were there? The real reason, I mean."

"What do you mean?"

"Lili, Truman, and you. I… I know they were just my own issues now. But back then, they… they were…" Bob has to swallow back the knot in his throat, unable to meet Otto's eyes. "...They were me telling myself that the last few people who could care, wouldn't."

"Then why not Compton?"

"I'd already lashed out at him. I'd already told myself a million times over that-- that I'd f-cked up that relationship so badly that he'd hate me." Bob sighed. “...it’s not that I thought you hated me. It’s not that I hate you either. I… I wanted to push everyone away. For safety. For… Their safety. Not mine.”

Bob looked over at Lucy as she spoke, animatedly, with the hologram. He managed a little smile at the pair, though it was fleeting.

“...Is that really a good idea?”

“No. But give her time. She went through a pretty rough fight. I’ll check up on her later.”

They were quiet for a moment, and Bob finally looked back at Otto, managing that half-smile of his once more. Otto cleared his throat. “You’re probably thinking about Helmut! So, uh, updates there. I just got back in contact with him a little bit ago, and he is… Uh.” Otto’s face fell. “...Right. Not coping.”

“What?”

“He… well… I got through for a second, then there was… I saw what was behind him and Compton.” Otto looked at him, pointedly pursing his lips.

“...You don’t mean--”

“There was a lot of broken glass.”

“F-ck,” Bob muttered.

“I’m just guessing. But… It could be that. 

“Otto, who else in our group has anything to do with glass.”

“...Yeah. I, uh… I just didn’t want to face him about it all yet. Not my conversation to have, and… It’s hard to talk honestly about so much of this stuff.”

"You're doing well enough with me."

"Because you're you, Cactus. You're… you're someone I know will stick around even if I mess it up.” Otto looked to Sparky, then back at Bob. "... I'll talk to Helmut when I can. You… Take care."

"Make sure you remind him that I'm okay."

"Yep. On it." Otto's monitor went dark, once more leaving Bob with no one to talk to. Finally, he approached the door they had come from, finding an access panel he had previously ignored.

"Thinkerprint registered: Robert Zanotto. Access granted."

He blinked, trying to find where the voice had come from as the doors slid open. Win-0 nodded as it entered.

"I see the two of you took care of the malfunctioning machinery."

"There was a pretty big Ford robot."

"Precisely. Usually, it would be much more… natural. Though each machine has its quirks to prepare for their purposes." It turned, facing Lucy and the hologram. Even so, it didn't stop them.

"Is that a good thing for her to do?"

"Certainly. Though Mr. Cruller creates illusions in the outside world, here they typically manifest as holograms. I'm certain that she's aware that it's only that. However, holding onto memories of how someone was may be detrimental to the present."

"...I understood most of those words, and then you put them together." Bob shrugged. "Lost me around calling Ford 'Mr. Cruller' or so."

Win-0 huffed as it walked off. "Forget it. Let us grab her and continue onwards." It approached Lucy despite Bob's protests. "Miss Mux? Are you prepared to continue?"

"Bit rude, aren't you?" The hologram shot back. Lucy couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Crully, it's alright. I should go."

"Understood." The hologram blinked out before reappearing by the mail slots, changed into a little mail clerk outfit to match. He still levitated and used telekinesis the same way as always, filing the letters and packages in the right places for their destination. Lucy watched for a second before turning to Bob and Win-0.

"...He'll be alright."

It was only mostly just a statement. Even as the trio left through a second door Bob hadn't really seen before, he knew better than anyone what Lucy's words had been hiding: Fear that she was wrong.

He didn't let her see that he felt the same way.

Otto buried his head in his hands, trying to find the right way to express everything. He knew he should talk to Helmut, but at the same time, the mere suggestion felt like it would be a recipe for disaster. He didn’t want this. He didn’t want any of this. The others were in danger, and he couldn’t do anything other than watch and try to handle the fallout. 

He should’ve fixed it before. He should’ve done a lot of things. He couldn’t change any of it now, though.

Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid. Your fault they’re stuck here. You should’ve been better. You should’ve done so much more. They’re all going to end up hurt like Lucy and Helmut are now all because you didn’t fix your sh-t. Good job, Mentallis, you’re a failure. You’re the biggest failure in the Psychonauts.

He felt a force on his elbow, and turned to see Sparky nudging him with its usual smile. He picked up the little thing, staring into its eyes, trying to see if there were any thoughts in its little head.

“..I don’t get it. I don’t get any of this. I don’t…” He sighed, and held Sparky close, like he was holding a cat in his arms. “I want to help. Why can’t I do something to help them?” he asked it, softly. “What am I supposed to do? Just sit here with you? Fantastic. It’s so much fun to just sit here. I love this. Great. I’m probably the most useless person in my own mind, and-- Ow, what the h-ll!?” Sparky zapped him a bit, and its usual smile stopped as it looked at him with two big sad eyes. “...Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s just intrusive thoughts. I get it. But… Doesn’t mean I don’t think that stuff anyway.”

He set Sparky down, and Sparky settled by the keyboard buttons, looking at him still, as if expecting him to do something.

In a way, he knew what it wanted him to do. Even if he didn’t feel ready to, he knew he had to talk to Helmut and Compton eventually. 

“...Alright. Fine. I’ll do it.”

Chapter Text

Otto's hand hovered over the large green button in the center of the console, but he kept faltering before actually doing anything about it. Every time he got close to actually pressing the button to go talk to Helmut and Compton, he couldn't help but feel like even trying would be too much.

I can't just talk to them about that-- what if things go badly-- What if I mess up and make things worse and--

"Otto? Everything okay, man?" A familiar voice interrupted him. He extracted his fingers from his hair, glancing around until he finally found the culprit: Sparky, sitting on the button he had been too scared to press. Helmut and Compton looked at him from their monitor, and Otto cleared his throat, straightening his back and smiling.

"Yyyyep! Everything is looking fine on my end!"

"...You know, I like to think I'm pretty good at picking up on the lying stuff," Helmut crossed his arms. "And that was the most obvious lie ever."

"Eh, still not half as bad as some of the other ones I remember," he mumbled. Like all of Bob's awful excuses to avoid stuff. What was that one-- "I need to go water my fish--" Did he even own a fish back then?!

"What the heck was that back there?" Helmut asked, gesturing to empty air. "There was a massive-- I dunno, some sort of thing? Of Bobby-- it was all oil texture and nylon sounds, and the whole thing was so…" Helmut trailed off, shuddering. Compton patted his back gently.

"...I don't know what those things are for real. All I know is that they're supposed to be… they were supposed to be more accurate. Instead Lucy and Bob had to handle a glitch in the Ford one, and you two had… that." Otto sighed. “...I don’t even know. I wish I did. But right now, I’m… I’m sorry. I should be better at this.” 

“Hey. I… I’m not mad at you, man.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Compton added. “Whatever’s happening, I… I don’t blame you.”

“I don’t see why not. This whole mess is going on, and now you’re both in trouble--” Otto buried his head in his hands. “...You guys are always so nice to me. I don’t… I don’t get it.” 

“Hey. Otto, look at me.” Helmut’s voice said. Sparky pushed at his arms, making him look at the others. “...You’re not the one to blame here. Okay? You’re one of our friends. And we care about you. You’d do the same for us if it was one of us in this situation, right?”

“...I don’t think it could be anyone else like this, Helmut.”

“I’m trying to say that if any of the rest of us were in trouble, you’d try to help us. Right? Like, the minute you knew I was still alive, you started making a brain ball thing for me. And when-- And when you saw Compton having trouble back in the Gulch, you were the one who came up with the isolation thing, right?”

“W-well--” Otto struggled to find the right words. 

“And,” Compton piped up, “When Cassie arrived in the gulch the first time, you helped make the beehives. You’ve helped all of us. It’s about time we help you too.”

“...I don’t get you guys. But… thanks. Nice to hear that you’re not mad at me either.”

There was a moment of awkward silence as the door opened to let some machines in, who began to sweep up the shards of glass that scattered about the floor. The only sound was the whirring of gears as they slowly pushed the glass to the hole at the end of the floor, where Otto assumed Bob had been before. It was quiet, as all three avoided that subject as long as they could. Helmut was the first to speak again.

“...Is Bobby okay?” 

“Oh. Right. Yeah. I was just talking to him actually. I… I finally got answers about something that was bothering me there. He’s doing okay. He wanted me to tell you that he’s okay. Lucy’s alright. I’ve not seen Ford or Cassie in a bit, but… So far, so good. Don’t… Don’t get into too much trouble without me.”

“Oh, c’mon, Otto. You know us. Trouble sorta follows us around, and then mugs us in a back alley. We’re not looking for it.”

“I know. That’s what scares me.”

Cassie looked at the door when they finally approached.

“...Is this the one?” she asked. 

“Guess so,” Ford commented as Turing tried to jump to reach the scanner beside the door. Cassie finally picked him up, helping him get high enough to do so. It beeped when he was nearby, and the door slid open.

“Here we are..!” Turing tried to remain cheerful, but his voice was clearly worried. It bled through his words, into even his body language. “...I-- I should… I should stay outside… My programming requires it.”

“Aw. I was just starting to get used to ya.” Ford patted Turing’s head. “...We’ll come getcha afterwards, alright? I’ll get ya past this place.”

“I-- It’s okay, Mr. Cruller. Thank you, though.” Turing pointed to the open door. “You should hurry! It won’t stay open long--” 

Cassie set Turing down and headed in, pulling Ford along after her. He stumbled along, barely keeping up with her long strides, but he looked around as the room flickered to life.

The walls formed rapidly, wires lunging across the area surrounding them to enclose the whole place in a dome, leaving them with a large metal thing. It wasn’t as large as they worried, but as it rattled to life, they both stared. Cassie was the one to speak first.

“...I don’t think that’s Lucy, Ranger.”

“I don’t think so either,” he managed as it turned to face them, moving its entire body. Cassie grabbed his shoulder tighter, causing Ford to wince, but the machine stared back at them, two bright eyes just as scared as theirs meeting theirs, darting between them, back and forth.

“O-oh no. Oh no,” a quiet voice breathed. “Oh no oh no oh no--”

Though she could hear Compton’s voice in that tone, Cassie knew there was something else there. Something wrong .

“We’re just here to--” Cassie started, letting go of Ford to step closer, and a nearby lamp exploded before she could finish. The machine turned and ran away. There was nothing they could do but chase after it.

“Ranger-- You go for eleven o’clock. I’ll take one o’clock.”

“On it!” Ford nodded, and they both took off running, aiming for a pincer maneuver. Around them, the walls moved quicker, pulsing with every second. Cassie focused, summoning in her archetypes once more as Ford worked on teleporting ahead to cut the Compton robot (Comp-u-ton? She’d have to workshop it before she wrote down anything about this experience, but it would work for now--) off before it could escape from them. 

“What’s the situa-- Oh my god, Booley!” Writer exclaimed, jumping into action. Librarian only sighed, shaking her head.

“We need to analyze the situation--”

“There’s no time to analyze it, Bookie! Get in there!” Counterfeiter pushed Librarian forwards before folding herself up to buzz ahead. Teacher stuck nearby the physical Cassie, keeping an eye on things.

“Each of us should go to one of the corners-- You and Ranger can take care of him from the front and back,” Teacher finally suggested. “I’ll tell the others that plan, if you’re up for it.”

Cassie nodded. Her heart was racing, faster than she knew was possible. When was the last time she had run so much? Was it when Maligula was back? Was it before the twenty years without purpose? She couldn’t even recall. As the archetypes took their positions, Ford popped into existence in front of Comp-u-ton, causing him to fall back, right towards Cassie. His hat, still fabric, fell off, revealing what was underneath.

Instead of shiny metal skin, there was an exposed brain-- Or, rather, exposed circuitry , corrupted and smoldering. She took aim, and shoved all of her energy towards it, blasting the circuitry with enough paper to form dozens of dictionaries at the speed of a freight train. Both of them stumbled back, and Comp-u-ton fell to the ground, crashing, smoking. As they watched, the lights in those eyes flickered out to nothingness, leaving the duo in the strange room.

Finally, Cassie could breathe enough to truly look around. 

She glanced up, examining the ceiling as it fell around them. Fabric and felt, not rubber and wires like she had expected. It looked like… Compton’s usual suit.

“We won,” Ford managed to say. Cassie could only nod.

"Hey! Good to see you both alive." Otto's voice echoed as a screen came into view behind the tattered walls. "And, well. Um. You know. I talked to Bob about the thing. And I talked to Helmut about an unrelated but equally important thing. I think I'm doing at least a little better at the talking to people part now. You two look like you just ran a marathon."

"Y… yeah. Say that." Ford rubbed his forehead. "...Sure."

"Too tired to even make fun of me? Wow, must've wiped you… out… It wasn't Lucy, was it."

Cassie nodded, and straightened up, cracking her back. "It… Booley. My word… it's been so long…"

"Oh. Um. Right. Then… I think there's going to be more. I know that's not good to say, but I need more time to figure out where I am and how to get out of here. Next goal is to work with as much as I can get. Take care. Don't die. I'll talk later."

Before either could really speak, Otto was gone once more, leaving them in a quiet room, only given sound by the machines that whirred to life to try to remove the rubble. Around the pieces, creatures scurried out-- Small mice, with wire tails and strange ears. 

Maybe for once, things would get better.

The group on the blue line hadn't made it very far. It had taken quite a while to find Bob's shoe, though they had tracked it down and started walking. Even so, they stopped by the first map they could find-- More like blueprints than a map.

“So. Where are we supposed to go?” Lucy asked, looking at the map on the wall. "We left the mail room… I believe we're here…"

"There are two options. Both will be in approximately the same direction." Win-0 stepped forward, pointing to the map. "Take the back exit and locate the central issue outside… or taking the longer route to the front exit, though it could lead to another fight."

"So we should take the back exit," Bob suggested.

"...I would prefer the opposite," Win-0 muttered as they put their goggles on. "Nevertheless, the paths are nearby each other. All we need is to take the nearest elevator to the upper floor."

Bob gave a noncommittal noise. "How can an exit be on an upper floor?"

"The facility is underground."

"Sure. Then let's find that elevator and get out of here."

Win-0 huffed and walked off, their footsteps heavy on the tile floors, leaving the other two to follow close behind. Lucy held tight to Bob's hand, pulling him along as Bob did his best to ignore the worst of the footstep sounds. They reached a large hole in the wall, but there was no sign of an elevator nor the parts required. Win-0 stared, the gears in its head turning. "...Hm."

"Let me guess-- This is where it should be." Bob pulled off his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose.

"Precisely. We could find another route--"

"Or, hear me out, we get in there and I can show you another way up." Bob put his glasses on, then stretched a bit before walking to the open doorway, stepping into the ground inside before extending a hand to each of the other two. Lucy took it, while Win-0 stepped in on their own. As Bob held onto her hand, the ground trembled, before a few large vines burst through the floor, one to carry each of them. Win-0 crossed their arms and rummaged through their tool bag along the way, while Lucy wiggled out of the grasp she was in and began to swing slightly, treating it as a trapeze. Bob held on tight to his own, but let go of Lucy's hand to let her do her own thing.

"I didn't think you had it in you, Bob!"

"Hah, finding out a lot about myself recently. Finally started using those abilities for something other than drinking." He grinned. "You're none too shabby yourself-- that the circus stuff for you?"

"It certainly is." She smiled back. "It takes quite a lot of patience to handle all the children."

"I bet. Plenty of strength too."

"Oh, yes." She settled down on a coil of the vine, letting it carry her up. "As strong as these, for sure."

"Well, gotta owe a bit of that to Otto, actually. When we got Helmut back in his body, he suggested that he do some physical therapy. 'course, since he and I were already talking about me doing something like that anyways, we both asked if I could join. Got both of us set up on that pretty well. I… probably should thank him for it when I can. Never really remembered to." Bob sighed. "... Still. It got things back to normal enough. Made it a lot easier to keep that routine too. All thanks to him suggesting that Helmut do that."

There was a moment of quiet as they both tried to respond. Win-0 finally cleared their throat.

“Perhaps you should tell him that instead of talking about him.”

“...What?”

“He seems to believe you despised him. Just the same as you did for him.”

Bob lowered his head, looking at the vines below them, and he sighed. “...yeah. I… I’ll try. It just seems like he’s always got better things to do than to talk to me anymore.”

“He’s like that to all of us, Bobby.”

“I know! I know. But it doesn’t make things easier.” He huffed. “He’s so hard to talk to… I know we should, but… I gotta make an appointment just to see the guy anymore. As much as I love the guy, it’s… He’s on a different island from me. There’s an ocean between us anymore. All of us. I… I know Helmut and I talked about trying to go out bowling with Compton, but we’ve not done it. All of us are… It’s like all of us are divided. And…” Bob shook his head, and adjusted his glasses. “...I don’t know. Everyone’s acting off since…” He trailed off.

“...Since when Crully was abducted. He was talking about his fears and that being related to what happened…”

“Wait. Even before that-- Helmut and I were on a mission and something like that happened there, too.”

“And then Otto and Compton! There must be something to it-- Someone targeting all seven of us…”

“...And Compton seemed alright. Otto didn’t talk to us at all about what was going on-- He’s been acting off since--”

“So if they’re all connected--”

“Someone’s using Otto’s worst fears against him!” Both Bob and Lucy exclaimed, their eyes wide.

“Oh, man-- We should tell the others. Figure out what he’s really so afraid of-- What did he say he was scared of? At that stupid, uh-- The thing.”

“The s'mores thing? Failure. That’s all he said. Crully tried to ask him more about it but he didn’t tell me what he said--”

“Wait, Ford went after him?”

“Yes.”

“...So he thought that Otto wasn’t being completely honest. Which means we don’t know what he’s afraid of at all. F-ck.” Bob sighed. “...We’ll have to ask him.”

Lucy nodded, and they finally arrived just beneath a metal floor. The elevator. 

“...F-ck me. I’m about at my limit, here, Lu…” Bob grumbled. She looked up, sizing up the floor, and knocked on it for a moment before she slid down the vine a bit, using it as a trapeze once more. She lowered one hand, drawing her old water snakes up the vines as they raced towards them. With a few hits, the elevator floor cracked under the pressure, and with a firm kick from Lucy, it broke, giving them an opening to break through with all three of them pushing against it. They helped Win-0 in first, and it helped the two of them in response.

“...Let’s go find a monitor. Otto’s got a lot to talk about.

“What about me? You can’t just say that and not tell me what’s going on, Cactus!”

Compton walked to the door, and with the help of the new mischief of mice that dared to rush to his aid, he pulled it open. Lovelace darted inside the instant she could, hugging him tight to her chest and picking him up for just a moment before rushing over to Helmut, zipping around him.

“You did it! I was so scared that you would be in trouble!” She cheerfully exclaimed. “I mean, I hoped you guys could do it but I was so scared that you’d be hurt or worse and--”

“I-- uh. Yeah. We’re…” Helmut’s hand fell to his side, but he smiled nonetheless. “We’re okay. Right, Comps?”

He nodded, even though he was still worried about his friend. Not like he could stop Helmut from doing… whatever he would do. And knowing Helmut, it was better to keep close.

“That’s great! We’re going to be in the open again really soon-- It’s nice to get back outside. Besides, we’re helping around here! Fixing this place will be a snap with your help!” She darted around, unable to stop in her excitement. Helmut got up slowly, making sure he was really okay. Compton looked at him, giving him a worried glance.

“I-- It’ll be fine. I’m sure of it. Just gotta get through this bit first, y’know?” Helmut smiled brightly, and he started walking.

“...That’s the wrong way, Mr. Fullbear,” Lovelace finally told him. “We’re going this way.” She pointed to a different door, with a button (a circle) next to it. The trio made it to the correct door, and Compton hit the button. The door slid open smoothly before scraping at the last moment. They walked through, and it tried to close behind them-- Apparently, something in the tracks was keeping it open.

“...That’s okay! It’ll be okay soon enough, anyways. We should get out of here though-- Management won’t be happy that we’re fixing things!” Lovelace took their hands, pulling both along as quickly as they could keep up. Compton teleported forwards, leaving Helmut and Lovelace to follow behind him. 

Lovelace let go of Helmut to throw the front doors open, revealing a crowd of different-shaped machines of all kinds, clinging to protest signs and watching the door.

“We’re going to fix this! I promise it’ll be okay!” Lovelace joyfully said, darting around the crowd like a bolt of electricity. She had a familiar air to her, a familiar smile.

One that Compton recognized to have a fraction of panic right behind it.

It was a smile he had seen a hundred times, every time the Psychic Six had been asked to speak to the press, when Compton could barely find the words to say. That smile had gotten more frequent once Bob, Cassie, and Ford were gone-- a showman’s smile.

As they got through the denizens that crowded the front door, Compton looked closer at Lovelace, taking in how she really acted. She darted from place to place, trying to help out with everything she could, and she refused to slow down for even a second. She had that smile, that same almost hyperactive need to keep moving.

Finally, they had a moment to rest, and he grabbed her hand, stopping her in her tracks as she looked down at Compton.

“What’s up? Something wrong?”

“...Do you need a hug?”

She stared at him, looking around before dropping to the ground in front of him, sitting down. For just a second, her movement stopped.

“...Yes. Please.”

Compton stepped forward, and put his arms around her shoulders, pushing his face into her shoulder. Lovelace nearly melted in his arms, too light to really feel. Helmut jogged over to them, finally escaping the crowd himself to see the two of them. 

“Room for another?”

“Always.”

Helmut swept both up in his arms, holding both close to his chest. As Bob would say, it was a famous Full bear hug. Exactly what they needed right then. 

“...Thank you. Both of you guys. I… I really did need that.” Lovelace’s voice was quiet, and they zipped out of the tight hold, returning to the usual floating around them. 

“Where are we going?” Compton asked as he teleported out of the hug himself, straightening his coat and hat. 

“We’re actually going to one of the lookout spots-- You know that place nearby the monorail station? There’s another one of them, right by the blue line. You can look right down in there-- And usually they can see you too! It’s a great spot to go if you’re trying to make friends from a different line, because then you can take the elevator down or they can take it up--”

“The blue line?” Helmut asked, his eyes lighting up again. “That-- That’s where Bobby is! We can see if he’s okay!”

“Are you guys coming, then? We’ve got places to see-- Besides, there should be another factory right by there. If I’m right, then that’ll be the last one we need to liberate before we can go to the big wigs and show them who’s boss. ‘Course, you’d need help from the others too-- We need all three lines working right again to really get to the center of the city…” Lovelace looked away for a moment, then looked to the other two. “But they’re probably doing well with the others there to help! We should go look and see if we can find the guys on that line. You two in?”

Compton looked between the others. With the thought of Bob on his mind, Helmut barely seemed to notice the pain in his side. Lovelace looked genuinely excited to show them around.

“I’d be okay with that.” 

“Then let’s go! Lead the way, Lovelace!” Helmut cheered, and the trio took off for their destination.

Even if they were hurt, or unsure how to feel, they could still find a way to rest. After what they had been through, they needed it.