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Shivering and teeth chattering, you cursed under your breath as you trudged your way through the Brrrgh’s frozen landscape. Your arms hugged your sides in a desperate attempt to conserve what little body heat you had left. You were hopelessly lost, stuck somewhere in the outskirts of the unfamiliar neighborhood. You were currently surrounded by nothing but snow and trees on all sides.
Earlier that day, you had been assigned to help with tasks in the Brrrgh by the Resistance Rangers. No problem , you initially had thought, you were used to running between neighborhoods and helping out shopkeepers with their Cog-related problems. You had never visited the Brrrgh before, but you figured it wouldn’t be too different from any of the previous tasks you had helped with.
Unfortunately, your first mistake today was how painfully underdressed you were for the weather. You knew the Brrrgh would be cold, but you didn’t realize it would be this cold. The entire neighborhood was practically frozen solid under a blanket of snow and ice. You were already running a bit behind schedule, so you figured it would be best to find and check in with the shopkeeper you were supposed to help before running home and better preparing for the weather.
You had struggled to locate the shop you were looking for, even running into a dead end at one point. As if your day couldn’t get any worse, a large group of Cogs had spotted you. They must have sensed you were easy prey, considering how lost and out-of-place you looked. They quickly targeted you and began chasing you down one of the streets.
In an attempt to escape, you jumped a fence and into some surrounding frozen foliage, disappearing behind a wall of trees. These Cogs were persistent though, and they attempted to follow you and track you down.
You kept running until you could no longer hear their voices behind you.
Once you were certain you had lost them, you took a moment to catch your breath and examine your surroundings. You had no idea where you were… all you could see around you was snow and trees. A little concerning, but something that shouldn’t pose too much of a problem as you could always teleport away and back to the safety of the playground. You reached for your Shticker Book in your pocket, and…
Oh.
Oh no.
You didn’t have it on you. Where was it??? Had you left it at home? Maybe back at the ranger base?
Panic really began to set in at this point. Without your book, you couldn’t teleport, so you were essentially stranded out there, alone. Your day had gone from bad to just about the worst day of your life.
So, here you were, stuck in the middle of frozen, unfamiliar territory, desperately trying to find a way back to the streets. What felt like a few hours of walking through the frigid landscape passed. It was hard to tell time when you were so cold and every step felt like an eternity.
You began to get the sense you were walking in circles after passing by the same frozen tree for a third time.
You sat down in the snow, defeated. You were utterly exhausted and freezing. You could feel tears welling up in your eyes... which quickly froze over. Maybe if you were lucky, another Toon would find you out here…
If you couldn’t find a way back to safety… something told you that your fate would be a lot more serious than simply going sad and being sent back to the playground.
You curled up into a shivering ball to attempt to conserve what little remaining body heat you had left. You closed your eyes and waited for something… anything … to happen.
…As if it were a miracle, it sounded like your prayers were answered. You heard footsteps approaching! You snapped your eyes open and frantically looked around. You were saved!
However, it quickly became apparent these were not the kind of footsteps you were hoping for. They sounded heavy, snapping any branches and sticks that got in their way with ease. Whoever this was had to be much larger than a Toon. You held your breath as you heard the mysterious figure getting closer and closer.
“Who’s there…?” A deep, robotic voice asked you, before the source of the voice appeared from the bushes.
Standing in front of you was a tall - very tall, he absolutely towered over you - Cog.
Oh boy. As if things couldn’t get any worse. “This is it,” you thought. “If the cold doesn’t kill me, he will. I’ll be this guy’s easiest defeat yet.“
“J-j-just m-me,” you replied through chattering teeth.
You had never seen this Cog before. He didn’t look anything like the standard Cogs you were used to seeing on the streets. Was this another one of those regional managers? As he stood staring down at you, you took the opportunity to examine him.
He was a Bossbot, as the metal insignia on his brown pinstripe suit implied. His face resembled a gas mask, and he wore what looked to be a firefighter’s hat. Two bright, yellow pupils peered down at you from behind a large set of goggles, and a glowing orange light emanated from his mouth and sections of his face. A flame burned on top of his hat, but he didn’t seem to be in any pain from it.
You couldn’t help but feel jealous of how insanely warm this Cog probably was. Him standing there practically felt like he was flaunting it at you, taunting your final moments as if it were some kind of cruel joke.
“A-are you going to h-h-hurt me…?” you nervously stammered.
“No,” he replied. “I mean, unless you throw a pie at me first, I suppose. But you don’t look like you will. What are you doing out here?”
“I’m… l-l-lost. I accidentally l-left my S-S-Shticker Book at h-h-home and can’t t-teleport anywhere,” you explained with what little strength you had left.
The Bossbot in front of you thought for another moment, a conflicted look on his face. Despite his intimidating size and appearance, he didn’t seem particularly hostile. He finally breathed out a sigh - the heat from which you could feel drift over your head.
“Listen… I know this is probably going to be very, very unprofessional of me… but I don’t think, in good conscience, I could stand by and watch a Toon freeze to death. Part of our job is to make you Toons sad, not kill you.” He sat on his legs in front of you, getting closer to your eye level. “Could I… help warm you up?” He held out a hand towards you in invitation. “This is uh, strictly professional, of course! Professionally unprofessional. It’s only to keep you alive,” he added, glancing away bashfully.
You thought for a moment, in disbelief at the robot in front of you. This was unlike anything a Cog had done for you in the past. Weren’t these guys meant to be your sworn enemies?
After weighing your options, you decided to give in and cautiously held out a freezing, shivering hand to take hold of his. Not that you had many options to weigh in the first place, as it was either trusting this strange Cog or certain death.
The tall Bossbot then pulled you against him and into his lap.
Just as you expected, this guy was warm. Like REALLY warm. He felt like a campfire, but one that fully enveloped your body in a warm comforting embrace. You could practically feel the ice melting off you as you sat in his lap. His strong arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you against his broad chest. Hot air wafted from the slots on his face and warmed the top of your head.
“How’s that…?” he asked. “Are you feeling better?”
“…….Y-yeah,” you stammered, struggling to find words after your near-death experience. “……Much better… thank you….”
The Cog smiled. “Of course. I’m so glad I found you while I was doing my usual rounds! You weren’t looking so uh, hot. Literally and metaphorically.” He chuckled.
You pressed yourself further against him, attempting to shield yourself from the cold and absorb as much of his warmth as possible. Heat radiated from chest, and judging from the glow emanating from inside his mouth and face, you suspected he must have some kind of furnace mechanism inside him.
“My coworkers don’t always appreciate how hot I make the rooms I’m in, heh... But being a walking oven has its uses,” he continued.
“Y-yeah… I bet...” you agreed, still struggling to find words.
Being so close to this Cog was actually… really relaxing. It felt as though the comforting heat coming from him was melting all your stress away. You never thought the words “Cog” and “relaxing” would go together, but in this case, they did. You also never thought the best hug you’ve ever received would come from a Cog of all people.
“So, you said you were lost? I know this place like the back of my hand. I can take you to the playground entrance if you want,” the Bossbot offered.
“Yes please…” you replied. You couldn’t believe how kind he was being.
“Understood. Let’s get you out of here.”
The Cog stood up, carefully holding you in his arms. He then began walking back the way he came, carrying you with ease.
You could feel your eyelids getting heavy. You were utterly exhausted after your experience earlier, and the overwhelming warmth coming from this Cog was very quickly lulling you to sleep.
The last thing you remember is him carrying you through the frozen forest before everything blacked out.
———
“Psst… h-hey.” A familiar robotic voice roused you awake. “Sorry…. this is as far as I can go.”
You opened your eyes. Standing before you was a familiar sight - the tunnel to the Brrrgh playground, with “Playground” written on a giant sign right above the entrance. The Bossbot was still holding you in his arms.
“I brought you to the entrance. I can’t go in, so I’ll have to drop you off here," he explained.
He gently set you down on the ground. You recoiled a little at the piercing cold, immediately missing his warmth.
You looked up at him. Now that you weren’t distracted by potentially dying, you couldn’t help but notice how…. charming he was. Unlike most Cogs, something about him just gave off an air of friendliness. His goggles were actually kind of goofy and endearing, and behind them, his large, expressive eyes had a look of kindness in them that you don’t think you had ever seen in a Cog prior.
He was a Cog, sure, your enemy - and one you had just met less than an hour ago - but for some reason, as absolutely insane as it was to think… you almost felt a sense of safety around him.
“Thank you… you really saved me back there.” You then realized you didn’t even know his name. “Could I get your name? Jeez, you did all this for me and I still don’t even know your name.”
“Flint,” he smiled. “My Suit name is Firestarter, so you’ll hear me called that a lot - but my real name’s Flint Bonpyre.”
“Nice to meet you, Flint.” You told him your name too, and he repeated it to himself to commit it to memory.
“It’s nice to meet you too. I’ve been assigned as the Cog’s street manager here at the Brrrgh. So I’ll likely be seeing you around again… um, assuming the cold hasn’t scared you off yet.” Flint chuckled.
You laughed too. “Nah, I’ll still be around, I’m a tough Toon. I’ve been assigned tasks in this area, so…” you trailed off. “ Crud , my tasks!! Oh no, the Resistance Rangers are probably worried sick about me! I’m so sorry Flint, I have to go and explain everything!”
“Oh - right, of course!” Flint agreed. “Um, but hey, before you go… if you see me wandering the streets, say hi!” He gave you a shy smile. “Just uh, preferably on my off hours, I’m not really supposed to talk to Toons.” He added.
You felt a small pang of sadness at that. Right . Your sworn enemy.
“I understand. I’m not supposed to talk to Cogs either… er, at least, not in a friendly way,” you frowned. “But I’ll definitely keep an eye out for you. I’m glad we met, Flint. Thank you for everything - I quite literally owe you my life.”
“Ah jeez, it was nothing.” He smiled bashfully and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll see you around.”
You waved Flint goodbye, and he waved back, the shy smile still on his face.
As you hurried through the tunnel to the playground, the thought of your new friend lingered in your mind. You never thought you would make friends with a Cog until today.
You hoped you would see Flint again soon.