Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Everything was just so empty.
Not, literally his brain was empty, like Peppermint insisted. It was physically empty, this time.
It was generally so easy to brainstorm new moves to an amazing, energetic crowd, or at least to great music, but not today. Chai felt like his own personal stage still had hours to open and he had arrived too early.
With lights so dim his logo was hardly visible and no one but him, he sat on the edge of the stage, confused.
Well, almost no one.

“Where is he…?”

His inner announcer sounded a little different today, maybe a little pissed off. Well, Chai was right there, so who was he looking for?

“Where is he?”

Nope, absolutely not at him. Since when did his mind palace have other crew that warranted getting yelled at?

“WHERE. IS. HE?”

That last one filled the whole space with echoes. Now, Chai was sure that wasn’t normal.
He tried to remember what exactly he was there for, because usually there was something that prompted his surprisingly vivid imagination. But, when nothing came to mind, he finally realized that the whole surreal, nonsensical feeling was really familiar…

“Chai? Please answer, Chai!”

He came to almost instinctively grabbing whatever was in front of him, only to pick up a very startled 808. Last he remembered, he was walking, not lying on top of something metallic and rumbling, with one massive headache.

“Wha…?” He mumbled, more to himself.
“Oh, that was a scary minute or so.” Peppermint spoke through 808, waving her paws around to be put back into his chest, which he complied while looking around. “I heard something really loud through the speakers, and next, 808 sent signals that you were unconscious. Everything okay there?”

Chai sat up and the last few hours came rushing back.
He had a mostly free week, while Roxanne had to cover for Marketing and reorganize his schedule of meetings and panels around some unrelated events. Apparently, him having a whole week off was considered dangerous for other employees, so Peppermint kept him busy with a little side project to explore a lot of areas of Vandelay Island that were abandoned under Kale’s management, just to be sure.
If he couldn’t entertain himself with anything else, might as well have one hell of a jog around the campus. Though, they didn’t even know what today’s sections were for anymore, after a few hours.
It was easier to travel through any unconventional routes than to try and wrestle with broken doors and investigate many a robot left there to run out of batteries, but it did mean that getting lost was extremely easy. And, though he didn’t want to give Peppermint ammo by saying it out loud, he could swear there were spiders in some rooms.
The building he was in was in an even worse state than the usual, with so many (unfortunately scrap guitar-proof) doors rusted beyond movement and no full wireless signal, that he was mostly exploring through the vents while 808 scanned it all, with only an audio feed on Peppermint’s side.
Or was, until a few seconds ago.

“Maybe. Think I took a left at a crossing, and then the floor was just gone…?” He said. Looking at the floor below, he saw a few pieces of what was once a rusted vent. “Oh yeah, it really fell apart. Now I’m in some sort of room…?”
“Gonna need a bit more description, here.” Peppermint said, while he climbed down. 808 stayed on top, scanning the area.
“Looks like one of those rooms inside a roof, I think. Lots of visible pillars... Shame there’s no chests.” He spun around, finally looking at the machine he fell on. “Aside from wires, the only things here are more broken doors, and this machine that broke my fall.”
“That-- that broke your fall.” Peppermint repeated. He could almost hear her squinting from the other end.
“I mean, I only blacked out for a few moments, right?” He didn’t wait for her sigh that replaced a short answer. “It’s got those signal symbols you see on a phone, and it’s working, I think?”
“Like phone signals, huh…?” Peppermint paused for a second, while 808 inspected the large dent on top that was shaped like his head. “Oh, the wireless signal is slightly better now! I think whatever made it stop functioning got fixed on impact. Somehow.”
“Enough to actually see my great progress today?” He asked with a grin.
“Nope, it’s still way too low quality from here. But… If the vents are falling apart, I think that’s pretty good progress for now, actually. Can you see the room’s location code in a sign or something? Last thing we need is blacking out where we can’t find you.”

He shrugged and looked around some more, while 808’s controls were released and she decided to rub herself against his legs as encouragement.
Chai could get lost in the pattern of metal plating and concrete for a while. Even aged and neglected, it felt like a cool post-apocalyptic movie for a second, the kind that gave existential dread but also a lot of explosions.
He was more on the musical side of the arts, but even looking at that, it inspired a very eclectic “Hm”, almost forgetting the objective. 808 noticed, and tapped him on the leg to direct him to the wireless network machine, which did have a sign.

“Uh. No address here, just a bunch of numbers and letters.”
“That’s the room’s location code, Chai.”
“How is anyone supposed to find a room through, uh...” He squinted to see it despite the low light. “Sector 12-C, HR-B2-W7, F11-R115?”
“It’ll be a question for the floor plans.” Peppermint sounded distant, meaning she wasn’t directly on the main microphone. “Macaron, did you get that?”

While (carefully) jumping on the machine to check the situation of the vent, Chai didn’t hear anything, meaning Macaron didn’t answer.

“Uh… Macaron?” Peppermint asked again.

“Oh! Really sorry, you two. I think we still might have building plans from Sector 12-C here, yeah.” He finally answered, 808’s lights changing to green.
“That’s great! Then we can stop for today, Chai, since I can already hear you tempting fate with the other end of the vent.” Peppermint said, annoyance clear in her voice.
“Alright, alright, if you want to be boring about it.” Chai immediately let go of the rusty-but-still-intact continuation of that ventilation shaft, and used a well positioned jump to get back into the stable side instead. 808 wasn’t taking any chances and turned into her orb form, looking around for their route back outside.
“Boring is the goal, unless you want to deal with whatever the old staff left in here. But, Macaron, is everything okay there?”

On Macaron’s end, he had even less information than Peppermint on the little expedition, so it was easy to divide his attention between work and a little side something as well.

“If it concerns you, Miss Peppermint, it’s not nervousness today!” CNMN happily informed them, still close enough to listen in.
“Yeah, nothing of the sort. Roxanne asked me to keep an eye on outside messages that we sent to ex-staff today. Thinking about all those areas that Kale shut down for efficiency’s sake brought up some memories.”
“Ex-staff? The ones that exploded or…?” Chai carefully asked through 808.
“Oh no, before that. I still have everyone’s non-work contacts from way back!” Macaron absentmindedly scrolled through the emails, smiling even if no one could see it. “Heh, and the ex-head of Security is even asking if we implemented the data node system after all. Roxanne wanted to make sure none of them are going through financial trouble, since they didn’t leave in the best of circumstances.”
“Oh yeah, Mom did tell me a bit about it when we were catching up last week…” Peppermint analyzed 808’s scans and figured there wasn’t any danger on the way back, so it was a good enough excuse to chat. “The Head of Security that came before Korsica was… Bauru, was it? What was your old group like, anyway?”

Between checking the results of some tests from programmer units and finding the floor plans, Macaron didn’t mind her curiosity, and took the tablet with him to see how much he could remember. Even if they were on the way to fixing all the damage from the previous management, it was hard to not miss when interoffice communication was like a friend group, and Macaron’s biggest worry on a given day was time available and not neglect.

“Honestly, next to Bauru, Korsica is almost laid back. Even sharing our personal emails was a bit of an argument, he was convinced that a competitor would find a way to use that to breach our network. And the ex-head of Finance, Savoiardi, she’d chew him out off work for spending the budget on cybersecurity but leaving the physical side for last, but it did mean less attention on the rest of us…”
“Well, as long as she couldn’t turn into a cyborg werewolf, that’s an improvement.” Chai added.

So, while the expedition finished up, the three spent the next hour chatting about the old staff. Halfway, messages from two others came through as well, and the team had a laugh that old inside jokes were still remembered well even after they found jobs elsewhere.
Macaron was surprised his two younger friends were entertained by any of that, but maybe it felt a bit like ex-college buddies. Though, not all were good memories.

“I remember a day after a charity event, where we had a little clandestine video call without Roxanne knowing. A bad idea, when Grenadine made a drinking game out of spam emails, but Manjar breaking a terminal was an easy fix at the least… Oh man, Ren.” Macaron caught himself saying that last bit to himself.
“Wait, assuming I’m actually listening to this entirely, you mentioned six other department heads.” Chai noted, pausing to kick a vent that got stuck. It almost hit a CAR-11E on the much-missed outside, but thankfully, only the pavement had minor damage. “Wouldn’t that be seven counting you?”
“Yeah, we had seven major departments! Plus other minor ones like QA, of course. And Grenadine was Head of HR.” Macaron meant to scroll back down on the email list to search for something, but a new message from Treacle, ex-Production, took priority. “They were like the both of you in a way, even. Didn’t think much before acting, difficult to open up, energetic, but a good heart.”
“Do I risk asking which ones match each of us…?” Peppermint asked.
“Were they still employed here, I believe Ser Grenadine would be in need of a lot of guidance!” CNMN replied to Macaron before she took a chance.
“Yeah… I guess they would.”
“Them leaving was hard for you?” Chai asked, taking the others by surprise. Low attention span or not, he never missed a change in a friend’s mood.
“All of them, really.” Macaron allowed himself to be a little less cheerful than the usual. “I stayed around after being demoted, but none of the others tolerated Kale’s “reasoning” or the new protocols.”

Macaron found the terminal and cabinet with old building plans, finally, and kept talking while searching.

“I heard there were some shouting matches. Savoiardi quit on the spot when she found out who replaced her, and the others, well… It’s in the past. Grenadine was gone before the company even changed hands and the HR department didn’t last long without them. The less people employed, the less Vandelay needed Human Resources, and all.”

Right as he guessed, Sector 12 was the department graveyard, more or less. None of the files had been updated in years.

“In fact… We never heard if they got another job, but it was hard enough to just stay afloat at the time.” He finished somberly.
“Well, I do hope they found way better than my brother, they all sound like they deserved more.” Peppermint said, trying to sound supportive. 808’s camera functions were back to full quality, getting her attention. “Are you fine on your own for the rest of the way, Chai?”
“Yeah, I can find my way back just fine! Anything better than rooms full of cobwebs,” He said, suddenly noticing a CAR-11E that looked particularly busy going the opposite way.
“So you wanted to go even deeper, even if there were spiders in there.” Peppermint said.
“I tried to not test that theory.” He responded bluntly, his eyes following the robot while he walked towards the nearest tramway.

The CAR-11E units never were the most graceful doing their… Well… Carrying job, but this one was such the opposite that it looked weird. Even with boxes of food and whatever else, it seemed to know exactly how to traverse the neglected buildings in a straight line and keep it all perfectly stable, sometimes not even looking at the path.
Ah well, maybe it got enough practice to assist whichever units still worked inside. Not Chai’s problem at that moment. Right now, he could only think that Macaron didn’t seem to enjoy going down memory lane too much, and he had the perfect plan to remedy that.
Kinda. Chai had just remembered some things he checked out earlier that day. But there was plenty of time to use this thinking muscles, while taking the long trek back to the hideout.

Chapter Text

The two would be plenty busy with the floor plans, considering Macaron just had to scan dozens of unlabeled parts from Sector 12.
No recent digital version was useful, because Kale wanted to make sure those places were indistinct buildings until they could be repurposed for whatever vile idea in his head. But, Mac could only hope that place wouldn’t stay abandoned for long, with Peppermint’s request done and regular work to focus on.
The day’s main objective was simple: even with Chai’s uncommon strength, it was obvious from battle data that the SCR-UB units could use both stronger head casings, and some AI adjustments so they wouldn’t run in circles when panicked (and into whatever had just caused the critical damage in the first place, like say, Chai’s guitar).
He already missed being more hands-on with tests, now that he finally led the team and didn’t stay at the sidelines, but he trusted the PGR-0101s plenty to present their ideas and ask for help with the many, many problems that had already appeared while researching.
Though, as he and CNMN had to stop a group from getting too entertained watching a prototype SCR-UB slowly but surely carve a hole in the ground from its panicked running, not every problem came from the technical side.

“Sir Macaron, are you sure that the old PGR-0101 team is a good fit for these projects, despite them developing so many anxiety issues working with Zanzo?” CNMN noted. When the two were by themselves, the Psych AI could be surprisingly considerate. Not having one to three people that weren’t too used to his guidance helped, possibly.
“The little guys just need time, CNMN! And these easier assignments will help them to stop expecting the worst eventually.” As long as they had easy assignments, that is…
“You don’t seem exactly certain that it will be enough.”
“Well, when we have to deal with things like this--” Macaron lightly tapped the control panel for the SEN-CO tests, where someone set the poor thing inside at maximum emotional instability, and it shut down entirely. “It’s hard to have faith that we’ll be quick when we redo Project Armstong’s neural link AI without any trace of SPECTRA. While getting sidetracked instead of adjusting units just wastes time, adjusting implants meant for humans is something else entirely.”
“Ah. For once, that would be a situation worth getting heavily worried about.” CNMN drew a nervous expression on himself, for emphasis.

They moved to the next room to supervise, but while at the glass corridors overseeing the lava flow, the answer to that problem was left unsaid: Macaron would have to request hiring human programmers.
The anxiety after working only with robots for years would have to be worked on, but that wasn’t the bigger issue. It’s been decades since Roxanne could call in ex-college acquaintances or trustworthy people from their towns, and even during Kale, the hand-picked department heads weren’t a one-month decision (except for Rekka; it was hard enough finding someone that wouldn’t refuse the position because of QA-1MIL).
They’d need talent scouting, a recruitment process, screening to be sure they weren’t getting more cartoon villains for employees, and the current tiny HR team wasn’t trustworthy for that last bit…
All things he had no idea about, Roxanne and the temporary department heads didn’t either, and the only previously-trained person they could call for help in short notice… Was the only one that wouldn’t answer.

Macaron couldn’t resist anymore, and scrolled through his personal messages to Grenadine’s contact. The newest message was his, today. So was the previous one five months ago. Then a year ago, and so on. The ex-HR head’s last message was far, far back, lacking in their usual personality and doing nothing to explain their disappearance.
Their cataract surgery went well, they got a lift from “K” to return home (Macaron didn’t get why they avoided saying Kale’s name there), and they’d talk more after recovery. No talk ever happened, especially not about Grenadine’s behavior before their medical leave. If complications came up, or the worst happened, they didn’t even have close family that could ever provide closure. Macaron just would never know.
Antenna straightened, CNMN kept the automatic door to the next room open with one arm, and drew a more serious expression on with the other.

“Sir Macaron, we had many discussions about this already. It’s unhealthy to repeatedly message your former coworker, knowing you’ll get no response.” He said.
“The problem is hoping there’ll be one, I know.” Macaron sighed and put the tablet away again. “If Ren doesn’t send a reply, I’ll never find out if they cut contact because of something we told them.”
“The solution is simple. Only Ser Grenadine can make that move, not you.” The Head of R&D finally walked through and CNMN followed. “Is it becoming part of your self-care routine to hear old advice again?”
“Starting to think it is, buddy.” Macaron gave him a thankful tap on the shoulder.

Inside, there was plenty of reason to stop dwelling in that thought. A very well-meaning researcher must’ve been welding various security unit shielding onto SCR-UB heads to figure out the best material for it, but without keeping them in a contained room, the result was floor tiling that resembled abstract art because of their newfound weight.
In fact, one tried to scurry past them and hit the closing doors head on, making a significant dent.

“Providing reassurance to your previous worry, however,” CNMN already swapped out his expression for nervousness again. “The defunct HR department would be very useful right now, indeed.”

Swapping out one group of easily distracted robots for one very easily distracted human wouldn’t be most people’s idea of a good time, but for Macaron, it was nice enough entertainment after work.
Chai had already messaged them before the end of the shift to meet up at the Production Central Garden for a possibly fun activity. The once straight corridor into Production had one of its walls partially torn down, and newly installed street lights created a gate into an area they didn’t have the chance to even see months before.

“And here it is!” Chai paraded around the entrance to display it, after their short walk. “The world’s biggest hedge maze, never seen or traversed by the public thanks to the order of a jerkass CEO…” He put on a dramatic tone. “...Until now.”
“You’re telling me you took a whole detour, just to see if this place got opened?” Peppermint said with an angry gesture, catching Chai by surprise. “Could’ve at least given a heads up instead of getting everyone worried!”
“I-I mean what I said before, I took the same path as ever! I think. I usually zone out.” He waved his hands nervously. When Peppermint didn’t seem convinced, he briefly waved his tablet instead. “There was a company-wide email about it, and I saw it before we went to that abandoned area.”
“There’s no way you took an extra half hour doing the same path…”
“Well, there’s no use arguing about it now.” Korsica interrupted with a hand over Peppermint’s shoulder, making her too nervous to keep talking. “Now that we’re here, what’s the plan?”
“Just look at this! We get to be the first to truly see what this is about!” Chai responded with excitement.

Even with upkeep from O5-KAR and KUT-WAN units, the hedges were massive and ivy covered various corners, and it was a strange bit of chaotic nature in the concrete and metal city they were in. No one could hide their curiosity, and they walked in with no more questioning.

“If there’s no true danger of getting lost when you can just look through the hedges, what kind of entertainment can a maze provide, anyway?” CNMN asked, the only one unfazed by it.
“Well, the previous biggest hedge maze took under an hour and led to a cool little café… Which closed since most people don’t actually complete those.” Macaron mused. “Kale was the kind of guy to get bored easily, so there might be reward in exploring.”
“Ah, that is a much better incentive! I was expecting some sort of lost item that only Mister Chai could use and not us.” CNMN responded, much happier.

Not to mention, having arrived there so early in the night, they had the time to chat and catch up on whatever they missed from each other during work days.
Seeing small plazas with flower patches and tacky-but-elegant statues of various units put everyone’s mood up, and let Macaron relax a little that their conversations didn’t go anywhere unhinged for once. It was like being in a city on the mainland; a dream trip they ran by each other many times, but with the risk that came with overlapping the vacations of several key employees, didn’t seem like it could happen anytime soon.

“Here’s another oddly colored stone on a corner.” Peppermint tapped it with her prosthetic leg to show a strange red rock to everyone else. “Kale absolutely had the correct path marked so he could show off when investors checked this place out.”
“What’s the point of knowing the maze’s exit like that?” Chai asked, doing his signature lean and walking with a calm rhythm.
“I dunno, making yourself look smart?” 808 patted it in an attempt to dislodge it, but it was part of the path. “I have a feeling I wouldn’t like the answer if we could ask, anyway.”
“Well, if that’ll be the boring, exploded CEO route, I’m taking the scenic one instead.” Chai said with the kind of confidence that got him into trouble, but still caught everyone off guard when he just bounced to a random corridor. “Gotta enjoy the little nature we’re getting!” He yelled, before disappearing behind a curve.
“Little nature, he says. If he ever gets the idea to explore the forest around Mount Camellia, that’ll be enjoyment cut short very quickly.” Korsica noted, with a glance at the mountain that towered over the island.
“Mister Chai on a wilderness environment sounds like a recipe for disaster.” CNMN said in support.

The three humans chuckled in response, slowly following the random path he took.

“Goodness, did I ever tell any of you when a VUL-TOR1 got lost in there?” Macaron brought up. “Zanzo wanted to find out if its bird AI kicked in and didn’t send anyone to retrieve it for weeks. My part of the section never heard the full story, but rumor has it that they found it trying to eat a--”

Chai’s high pitched scream, suddenly cut off and muffled, interrupted them. While the others followed the sound with mild curiosity, Macaron couldn’t help but get a little worried – impossibly sturdy as the young man was, his screaming always gave the impression something had happened.
Thankfully, that wasn’t it this time. Chai tripped over a SCR-UB, and though his feet had avoided hard metal-induced-pain, he fell down halfway before getting his head stuck on a hedge. While Korsica and Peppermint sighed and he tried to remove himself from the foliage, though, that wasn’t the only cleaning unit there – in fact, there were five more on the path ahead.

“Hey, little guy!” The immediate fear gone, Macaron went to talk to the SCR-UB instead. “None of you are assigned to the Central Garden, what happened?”
“THIS FLOOR REQUIRES CLEANING.” They adamantly responded. Though, the problem became apparent when Chai finally freed himself, and the unit darted over to vacuum up the leaves and branches. “A CLEAN FLOOR IS A HAPPY FLOOR.”

They looked ahead, and the other SCR-UB units were no different. In fact, the more they desperately tried to catch every single leaf, the more they bumped into the hedges and made more fall down.

“Oh, dear.” Macaron said, exasperated.

Their attempt at exploration soon became an impromptu rescue mission – kick-started by Chai’s music player deciding on something with bongos, inducing groans from everyone including him.
Using the marked path, they had to guide the SCR-UB units to the exits before they got trapped even further inside, in their tireless journey to clean up the entire maze; and if someone were keeping count, it became pointless when some clearly ran back in as soon as they turned around. They even found a couple of CAR-11E units that had become trapped too, either getting their wheels stuck in detritus or scared into corners, by KUT-WAN that were doing their job and now had a bunch of screaming units disrupting their assigned paths.

“I wonder if there was a secondary reason for the hedge maze to be closed to employees.” CNMN noted with the most helpful tone he could use, while his boss carried more units outside for the umpteeth time.
“Well, uh, did anyone see any cool secret parts of the maze on the way, at least?” Chai asked with a little bit of desperation, but none of them even had the time to look.

An O5-KAR, that maintained the fountain at the intended exit, took notice of them leaving with – hopefully – the final group of units, wiping a non-existent tear from their eye.

“Ah, in all my years of working on this garden, I’ve never seen so much activity in a single night.” A CAR-11E rammed into their supplies before darting off into the darkness of the main Production streets, not bothering them in the slightest. “Truly, to think my hard work has paid off, it brings joy to this old unit!”
“Uh, we hardly had time to notice your hard work, actually.” Chai bluntly responded, using his magnetic rod to stop a SCR-UB from making their mission even longer. The O5-KAR’s joy was hardly affected, though.

With the empty area next to the gardens, it was clear that no one else was showing up that night, at least, and they finally had a second to rest by a set of benches.

“And to think we’d finally gotten somewhere adjusting the SCR-UB AI…” Macaron muttered in an annoyed tone. “Back to step one if we need to update their pathing to avoid gardens, too.”
“That was a workout worse than the usual training routine, too.” Korsica checked her tablet, frustrated. “And we’ve been there for almost two hours. All the restaurants are going to be full by now…” She trailed off, but no one picked up on it at first.
“Iiii don’t think I’m good to keep on walking even more.” Peppermint said, slumping over on the bench next to Korsica. “Couldn’t we order something and go back to the Hideout…?”

As she asked though, she noticed that Korsica was staring at her tablet and didn’t even listen, reading a message with a look of confusion.

“Did something happen?” Peppermint asked, leaning a bit to look her in the eye.
“Oh-- Sorry, one second.” Korsica broke out of her confused trance. She turned the Vandesonic sideways to record a message. “Capture and contain any units on the area but don’t make a scene, keep as many parts intact as possible.”
“Wha…?” Chai asked.

The others had all turned their attention to her. Even with her height, several sets of worried eyes on her left her visibly uneasy, but she still explained it:

“Six units suddenly evacuated everyone in the walkways between Production and Security Wing 1, citing maintenance, and closed it off with whatever they had nearby.” Korsica leaned a hand over her chin, trying to think. “There wasn’t any, I was there this morning. They changed their tune when some of my security questioned them, saying a part collapsed, but VUL-TOR1 footage shows it completely intact.”

She suddenly got up, startling everyone as she calculated a path somewhere using the tablet and a good look around.
A SCR-UB once again tried to run back into the hedge, but she stopped it with a baton that was drawn and activated in one quick movement, and they decided to look for an assigned area elsewhere. But as always, when Korsica got focused on work, not even her friends’ scared looks bothered her anymore.

“Something’s off. Sorry to cut the hangout short, guys, but this needs my attention immediately.” She tapped the tablet with her blue nails anxiously, and started to turn around. However, she was stopped by a matching set of recently-painted red nails on her shoulder.
“Well, I’m free for the night, and that sounds like something I can help with.” Peppermint told her, determined.
“Oh, Pepper’s got a point.” Chai also walked towards them. “And if you need any units actually scrapped, you know a guy.”
“If it’s any problem with their AI, I can help too.” Spurred on by his younger friends, Macaron also joined in. “R&D’s to-do list is getting big, but it’s good to be on top of it.”

Korsica’s shoulders relaxed and she opened a small smile. Though eventually Peppermint’s own action made her face redden and she backed off a little, their decision was made, and Macaron was thankful that she acted recklessly. He knew well enough that both he and Korsica still had to get used to having people to help out after so much time working alone for all sorts of ridiculous assignments.

“Alright, let’s get going then.” She said. “I guess we can finally solve a normal company issue together, one that doesn’t actually involve Chai for once.”
“Hey!” He yelled back with a pout, but didn’t continue, just happy to see her in a better mood.

Chapter Text

Her office in Security Wing 2 was chaos, but much less than if she were alone with the less-than-cooperative VA-SER units assigned to her. In fact, during that long night, their duty ended up being refilling and replacing the decaf mugs that got a ton of use.
More reports of odd unit behavior came in while the team waited for the previous ones to be “delivered”. Thankfully, that late, Korsica didn’t have to work extra to keep that investigation hidden – in fact, even Chai came in useful, as he got bored quickly and directing him to the training rooms just outside made noise that could cover up any employee rumors.

Eventually, the most intact SBR-001 was deactivated and plugged into an isolated terminal, in the case of a possible virus attack, but that was only the beginning.
Macaron’s expertise was developing and troubleshooting, not quite hacking and Cybersecurity like Peppermint and Korsica(invading Zanzo’s systems through old backdoors and changing settings around was a party trick in comparison), but the three way discussion continued for hours on end while they investigated the unit.
They even tried to restart the SBR-001 in a barrier to see if it was a regular system glitch, but when they attacked in all directions in a strange desperation to flee, it was for their and the team’s own good to keep it on rest mode and focus on the much more likely malcode.
No one knew what time it was at that rate, but considering Chai had dragged every spare chair together into a makeshift couch for him and 808 to nap on, it had been a while. Finally though, Korsica slammed one final mug on a table and woke them up with the sound; and her switching to water signified they could finally put it together.

“I’m up, I’m up!” He yelled, before a group of office chairs rolled away, leaving him partially on the floor. 808 was temporarily kidnapped by the coziest seat, but CNMN stopped the chair before it went too far.
“We’ve been over this plenty, but let’s all make sure we’re on the same page before acting.” Korsica leaned on her main table. “Everything points to a contagious AI attack.”
“And if there are more units compromised already, then it’s spreading.” Peppermint added, worried.
“Uh…” Chai pushed a chair to get closer without putting on the effort. “If it’s AI stuff, is it SPECTRA again?”
“SPECTRA can’t affect regular units, but right now, I don’t know if I prefer that to what we’ve got here.” Korsica replied. “It’s eerily similar in points though.”
“Liiiike… Something else that might turn out to be secret mind control?”
“Mister Chai, after two events with that type of danger, you might be putting your fears over the legitimate evidence.” CNMN answered.

However, after a moment thinking, Korsica gestured so they would come closer instead.

“Actually, CNMN, we might get some better results if we explain to someone that wasn’t paying attention.” She ignored Chai’s eyebrows dropping somewhat. “I’ll hope you’re at least familiar with computer worms, Trojans, the like?”
“Oooh yeah, more than I should. Getting obscure music or stuff without an official album can get dangerous.” He had a pensive look that the others didn’t believe in, but he wasn’t about to share why. Bricking a college computer in his first month there wasn’t a record he was proud of.
“That helps somewhat. This contagious AI acts like them a bit: finds a way to copy itself to a unit, masquerades as a normal file, and opens a backdoor to the one responsible for further instructions. But it’s made to target Vandelay technology specifically, which is where it gets odd.”

Peppermint took the lead and increased the size of the isolated terminal’s display, showing their findings.

“All robots here have their own AI and personality, of course, but also sets of orders and priorities that, uh, in theory…”
She glanced at some VA-SER units arguing over packages at the door, too far for them to hear but certainly heated discussion.
“...They can’t ignore without a good reason. But this AI is made to take advantage of vulnerabilities in them, to hijack those orders and replace them with its own, keeping it very well concealed if you’re not analyzing the data closely. We’d be in trouble if those orders were to attack everyone on sight, but for some reason, this group was only told to close off a big area from entry.”
“If there was any intention to harm, I’d believe we’d be more worried about the robot uprising, anyway.” CNMN commented.
“Wouldn’t you be in it?” Chai asked, confused.
“Why would I?”
“Well, I’m not taking any chances.” Korsica interrupted the tangent. “Whatever the source of this AI wants to do, it’s slowly compromising more and more units. I’ve already sent orders to tighten security on any network traffic, but I’m not too sure that’s the method it’s using.” She scratched her chin. “It’s going too slow for that.”

Macaron took the opportunity to continue with his findings next. He felt the need to act a bit responsible for the vulnerability that allowed all this in the first place, as much as he knew that he had no say in that for years of Zanzo ignoring anything that got in the way of “interesting” ideas.
Even on the Security side, they had to worry about the section’s own urgent repairs over routine analysis, and the developer’s anxiety started to climb up a bit just thinking of how behind they were when it came to the company’s stability.

“And unfortunately, there’s a lot of places that units can interface with all over the campus that could’ve been infected. We’ll have to monitor what the units do for now while my team works on a patch to stop it in its tracks. But there was this extra thing, that this…”

He glanced at the monitor to check something in the files. They could keep calling it the “contagious AI”, but it paid to be specific. There was this term in its metadata that caught his eye…

“This SIREN, if that’s what it calls itself, also does. When it received its orders yesterday and hijacked the SBR-001’s, the orders were labeled as an audio transcription, and one of them was to repeat a song sent with it to confirm the activation; I suppose the backdoor also allows for that.” Chai immediately sat up on the chair, which made the older guy smile. “Since that’s your thing, little guy, is this familiar to you?”

Macaron signaled for Peppermint to play it, and she pressed a button on the terminal to with a shrug. It was clearly a rock song, so while it could’ve been a random way for the perpetrator to confirm their actions, any evidence helped and they had the right person for it.
Chai listened in for a bit, and as soon as the synths kicked in, he snapped a finger in realization – though a foot was already following the beat for a while now, possibly because the music player was quietly going at a similar tempo.

“Yeah, yeah! It’s from an old videogame, maybe a specific remix of it. I remember listening to it recently, maybe I have it in my player? Don’t really know.” Macaron was caught a bit off guard by that last bit, but recalled him mentioning he had a couple hundred songs there. Even if Chai had good memory, that’d be hard to keep track. “Whoever is the person we’re after, great taste in music, terrible taste in games.” He added last with a grimace.

The SBR-001’s hand shook up and down as soon as he said that, the handle of its sheathed sword slamming against the floor.

“T-this SIREN is not programmed to take criticism, is it???” Chai stammered, pushing his chair away from them just to be safe.
“I wouldn’t worry, Chai.” Peppermint checked for SIREN’s response. “It would’ve acted on that way earlier, because while it’s a pretty clever software, it’s not being handled with the same quality. Our saboteur can’t be the same person that designed it.”

Soon enough, SIREN’s orders changed to try getting the unit out of rest mode, but Peppermint shut that down quickly by just deactivating the SBR-001’s limbs again. The group watched for any other response as the song ended, its lyrics somewhat somber.
[I’ll be losing you, before long…], but with no other attempts that got through the terminal’s measures to keep the unit inactive, the culprit truly didn’t seem to have a lot of options to retaliate.
Korsica tried to hide a yawn, and Peppermint continued once no one else had anything to add.

“Well, Macaron works on the patch, and we keep on monitoring the compromised units to find the source of SIREN. Is that really all we can do about this right now…?” She said, a bit frustrated.
“Yeah, wouldn’t it be easier if I just introduced them to some musical robot powers?” Chai added with a smirk, checking the opening on his metallic wrist.
“We don’t have much of an option. If we just destroy every visibly compromised unit, we won’t really follow what this saboteur is doing; worse, they might be expecting us to get the public’s attention by retaliating.” Korsica said in disagreement. “Better to pretend we have no idea and let them give us more information, because I’m not sure the patch will even help for now.”
“Come again?” Macaron said in surprise.
“Your work is amazing, Mac, no need to worry about that.” She replied quickly, realizing her blunt tone. “And I know from the company’s history that older units will line up at any maintenance areas to update as soon as they hear about it. But Post-Kale units…”

They once again looked at the arguing VA-SER group, including some of Korsica’s occupied assistants, exasperated at their coworkers that couldn’t decide whose package belonged to who.

“The humanity processes in their AI learned mistrust a little too well. Gonna take more than a few days to convince them, and if that fails, to force everyone to update ASAP. No offense, guys.”
“None whatsoever, Lady Korsica.” One of the few PGR-0101 units there replied.
“I know a guy two floors down who hasn’t touched a firmware update since last year.” A VA-SER commented with a sigh. “Says it reduces hand-to-eye coordination.”
“But we patched that so long ago… Ah, I get your point.” Macaron replied, passing a hand through his earpiece.
“Standing around and waiting will induce a lot of anxiety, and not just on you, Sir Macaron.” CNMN said. “I recommend focusing on rest, work and leisure before our next rendezvous, as if we didn’t have a crisis on our hands.”
“Easier said than done, CNMN.” Korsica grabbed a communication device to call some security to take the SBR-001 elsewhere. “But I’ll inform Roxanne of what’s happening, keep you all updated. Oh, and before you go...”

Korsica sat back down and pulled up a tab on her personal computer, making sure both Peppermint and Chai could see.

“While we were decoding files, Chai, I checked camera footage. You did take a long side path, even though it was hard to walk through because of a huge fallen down wall. And, uh, used a special on it and everything?” She looked at him, genuinely confused, and was met with the same.
“She said it, not me!” Peppermint accepted her victory, shooting a prideful smirk at her friend.
“Wow, I really need to pay more attention. Missed out on some dope me action!” Chai didn’t seem to be too miffed at losing the argument – more worried about why he was that zoned out, maybe.

Before any of them took the initiative on stating something to keep them all motivated, though, the yelling from the VA-SERs got loud enough for everyone to hear. Something about one of them having taken the wrong box that whole time. Either way, now it got too awkward to say anything to help last the day, especially on poor sleep and apprehension.

Chapter Text

To a guest on the Vandelay campus, things took a while to change. Maybe a more observant person would’ve noticed more internet restrictions, security running about like they had something important to do, and maybe the closed off areas whose guards didn’t seem particularly qualified for, but to the average visitor, they only realized something was odd when the harbor was closed after lunch.
The temporary Finance team would have heads rolling with how much Vandelay’s stocks were about to drop out of rumors and fear, but Korsica had no choice. Over communications, she filled in the team that, though Macaron’s patch was finished quickly in the morning, her fears were correct: plenty of O5-KAR, LU-C1LLE and other old units reported in as early as they could get to a suitable area, but very few of everyone else.
Newer units were reported to be compromised closer and closer to the shipping areas. Better to cause a bit of confusion than to have one of those units cross over to the mainland and cause some real chaos in full view of consumers. The competitors were probably expecting something like that, too.
Still, even from their limited walks around the Hideout to investigate terminals and guide units, Chai and Peppermint could feel the tension in the air. Investors being escorted around looked more afraid of their security than the dangerous machinery on Production, and 808 accidentally flying by a few college freshmen had their guide jump like they were about to be attacked.

“Anything, anything at all on this one?” Chai asked impatiently as 808 finished scanning a Level Up Machine – the kind that Peppermint usually hacked to send him upgrades. It was vulnerable enough, right?
“Nope, it’s clean, Chai.” Peppermint said over communications with a sigh. “Either Security is doing a bang up job – and I mean, they are, it’s Kors and all--” She stammered before getting back into the subject. “– Or, uh, we’re approaching this wrong by looking at machinery that could be sabotaged.”
“Well, you said this SIREN thing isn’t being used by a professional, so maybe just think like, uh… A person who flies by the seat of their pants, deciding an objective as they walk in?”
“You mean like you?”
“I didn’t include being really cool in that description.” He snapped back.
“You do have a point, though. It’s almost the end of the day shift, so maybe we should look into that path you took near the department graveyard – lots of compromised units were reported nearby, and someone might want to hide from the commute rush there.
“Thought you’d never ask!” Chai jumped up and didn’t even wait to decide on a path out of Production, and 808 had to turn back into cat form and cling to his shoulder so she wouldn’t have to fly after him.

Finally, some real action! Putting on a fake cheerful and clueless look, so bystanders wouldn’t ask why the Armstrong Ambassador was walking around was getting torturous. He wanted the real deal where he could be as careless as he liked!
No taking proper paths. Every part of the machinery could be a platform…!
Chai couldn’t ignore the immediate results of his hubris as he failed to Magnet Link to a ramp in a building, and his hand scratched four lines in the concrete on his way down to the floor. For a moment, it looked like their one and only attempt to put curtains in the Hideout before 808 did the cat thing. His arm was gonna take a whole afternoon of sanding…
At least, they were there, on the opposite way he took yesterday. It still didn’t strike any recollection in him, but he had a vague memory of wondering why the walls were so messed up as he walked through the twisting corridor.

“Let’s see…” Peppermint quietly said through the communicator, as 808 turned back into orb form. “This was one of the paths to the Hideout that I have noted down, actually. I think a HG-0G tried to walk through here last week and got stuck on a curve? Whole parts of the wall are unstable from when staff dragged it out.”
“Just look at this place! It tried to walk through here?” Exasperated, Chai extended his arms for emphasis. After a second, he took out the magnetic rod to make his point more clear. “What if Mac or Korsica had to take a shortcut to talk to us? Worse, CNMN would be in some real danger.”
“Halt!”

A figure jumping down from a higher platform stopped Chai and 808 on their tracks. Armor shining in the evening light, a Super ES-101 landed before them and assumed a defensive stance, their gigantic pickaxe planted before them.

“Whoa, one of you golden guys out on the field!” Chai exclaimed in awe when the dust settled. “Never thought I’d see you approved for use out of the Rhythm Tower!”
“Why, it was only a matter of time.” The Super ES-101 replied, the strangely-familiar voice of the Elite units sounding rather silly when it had such an elegant tone. “But enough flattery. No entry permitted past this point.”

Chai gave a knowing look to 808, who nodded out of both her and Peppermint’s will. A compromised unit.

“Aww man, can’t you make an exception?” The Ambassador tried, only slightly bluffing. Those units were a pain to fight in the Tower. “There’s some high profile investigation to be made.”
“No exceptions. It is paramount that no humans are allowed in areas with few escape routes.”

That confused the three of them. Specifically humans?

“Come on big guy, whatever this AI thing is making you think, I’ve gone through here yesterday, and it was fine, apparently!”
“Apparently…?” The Super ES-101 repeated, its lights half-closed in confusion.
“Yup.” Chai bluntly replied, only now noticing how weird that sounded out of context. “So uh, I know there’s no maintenance going on, and I’m a little old for curfew.”
“It matters not.” They activated the pickaxe’s sword form, the glow of the laser edges making its armor glow. “I’m not being misled; I have only been told the consequences, if we fail to do everything in our power to maintain an escape route. If an injury will discourage you, so be it.”
“What’s all this about an escape route?” Peppermint asked, but the robot was already assuming a stance to attack.

In tandem with the sword hitting the ground, Chai’s music player increased volume in response, and the scrap guitar formed as his metal wrist spun into position. Oh, and it was using the same song that they heard back in Security! It certainly knew him too well.

[Everett Bradley & Tomoya Ohtani
“Virtual Reality (Supporting Me Remix)”
Sonic Forces Original Soundtrack: A Hero Will Rise
Wave Master Inc.]

“I guess it can go two ways, big guy! Get ready to spill those SIREN beans once your joints give out.”
“I didn’t think you could do worse than puns.” Peppermint commented, while 808 flew close enough to fully sync with his powers.
“The critique can wait; we can’t smash their defenses with anyone else right now, so get ready!” He replied.

Following the beat that came just after the guitars, the Super ES-101 tried to take advantage of their resilience to swing down and strike Chai with one massive hit, but they were still only as fast as the regular units, and he knew well to dodge and parry the well known followup. As soon as he was far enough, Peppermint teleported in through 808 and used her cannon; hardly enough for the unit’s massive defenses, but it was very useful pressure for Chai to dive in and strike back.
The ground made the scrap parts screech when he connected a string of heavy attacks to push the robot back, trying to start slow and powerful but end fast before a counterattack got the better of him. A dodge and a beat to observe, and he went right back in to hit them even more.
He had relied on Macaron and Korsica for these kinds of units for so long, but right now they had bigger problems, so the key was to be steady and careful. Well, his standard of careful anyway, as the Beat Hit’s beam saved him from an attack to the knees.
It’d take a while to break down the unit’s defenses entirely, and while their little dance continued, he noticed something was off about the song. Not the music player – he could feel the beat in every bone, organic or metal, and the pipes and air conditioning on the adjacent buildings followed the song like a faceless crowd.
But that feeling wasn’t there when he remembered hearing the song last night. If that was the case, then the player didn’t actually shuffle into it recently at all…
The Super ES-101 activated its jets and tackled him, getting Chai out of the train of thought. Hurt like hell, but he’s had much worse. Using the guitar to put himself back upright and noticing the enemy trying to sidestep even Peppermint’s pot shots, he figured that the large unit’s stun gauge couldn’t have much resistance left in it.

“Peppermint, let’s go for it!” He said, dashing to the side to give her space and positioning his scrap guitar behind him to focus.
“Got it!” She responded in person as she teleported back in and used a series of shots to keep the robot distracted, until they were finally sent reeling. Time to finish it.

Chai’s Staccato Launch went through one of the Super ES-101’s leg joints like butter and Peppermint’s last shot overloaded them, and he found himself on the side the elite was protecting. They tried to swing their sword, but without the support, it only made them fall face-first into the metallic floor.

“Nice one, Chai.” Peppermint said, putting away her guns. “Well, there’s why even Zanzo didn’t approve them for field use; the gilded armor is a lot of extra weight after any critical damage. Your turn, 808!” She pat the orb-shaped cat on the head before teleporting out.

The cat let out a meow and flew closer to the unit to try scanning for its SIREN activity. Thankfully, since 808 was made of entirely non-Vandelay technology, she could collect data and stay safe.

[I have breathed in / The disgusting air of darkness, but I never lose out…] The song continued, but slightly quieter as the adrenaline went away.
Staying somewhat far, Chai shook metal chips off of his hair and kept the guitar at hand, passively listening to what Peppermint could find with her computers’ analysis while every other part of that corridor competed for attention.

“Nothing that different from the SBR-001 from yesterday.” She said. “But, with a second set of data, we can be certain of a few things: they absolutely change orders at 6pm, and they’re getting more specific about getting any organic beings out of potential dead-ends on campus.”
“Uh-huh.” Chai responded, noticing how the metal plates on the floor had nasty scraping from that HG-0G’s legs, even breaking up in spots. Zanzo’s inventions sure made a joke of any workplace safety…
“And… Nothing on why they’re all doing this. If it’s someone that can’t issue new orders during work hours, worse, if it’s an employee, what’s the point of automating it during the daytime?”

A rattle from some parts of the Super ES-101 moved Chai’s eyes out of the floor, and it was like time(or was it the tempo?) slowed down from the sudden panic. Though sparking, the hands were clearly positioning themselves to lift the torso, but there was no point to getting up without one of the legs and nothing to hold the sword with. Unless…
The jets.
Just quieter than the song, he could hear the mechanical clank of them getting opened again.
For all of the team’s snickering that Chai was just getting violent satisfaction out of training, it actually did help understand some enemy patterns. And right now, with that specific movement, he could tell exactly that the unit was going to propel itself at 808, and they were too far from each other.

“There’s gotta be a hint in its data. What do they get out of pretending we’ll have to evacuate the campus at some point…?” Peppermint said more to herself, visibly distracted with that conundrum.

[I'll be losing you before long…]

Chai had options to get the robot out of the way, and he had to pick one quick. He couldn’t be sure that the stun gauge didn’t recover already for the parts that were still intact, and if he used Magnet Link to get closer, he would be the one in the receiving end instead.
Was there something faster, something guaranteed…?

“So many options to get into trouble, but so few to get out of it, huh?”

In a blink, Chai was looking instead at his stage, mind palace, whatever he called the image on his brain whenever he focused really hard on an idea of how to proceed. But, after so long not having to do it, even the voice of the announcer surprised him; far less furious than before, at least.
A giant metal plate clattered behind Chai and made him jump, twice when a tumbler shaped like a large enemy fell on the other side. The announcer seemed to hesitate in actually explaining things, which was out of the ordinary, but he had no time to question any of it.

“You’ve been using the Magnet Link to get up close and personal, but what about its momentum...? Can you think of what else to do with something lighter than you?”

That was it! The idea was laid out like commands in a combo list. Spinning his wrist to his back rather than the front, Chai switched the hand holding the guitar and pulled in the plate behind him, and because it was much lighter than a robot or a tram’s grapple points, it was going towards him instead.
But before it gained enough velocity, Chai put his arm above him, then to the front, and turned off the magnet. Like when Rekka hit him with her floor, he threw the entire plate at high speeds at the tumbler, which flew off into the distance. And the crowd loved it just as much as he did!

“Now that’s more like it!” The announcer cheered. “Wonder if you can listen without your lives on the line.”
“Wait, what?!” Chai replied to them. What was that about?

No response, and not enough time in the real world to talk to his imaginary guide. Just as the jets on the Super ES-101 activated, Chai activated his magnet at one of the loose floor plates behind them, and it flew out of the ground. With one swing of the arm and deactivating the magnet at the next beat, it spun like a giant throwing knife above his head, and into the robot.
WHAM! Before they could take off, the plate threw them to a side, and the jets pushed them into the left wall. Thankfully, that impact was enough to snap 808 out of the scan and she floated to Chai’s side, right as the cool-but-murderous unit exploded and took an entire chunk of wall with it. Dust covered the entrance to that corridor as it was blocked by tons of concrete, but they were both safe on the other side.

“That was a close one!” Chai snapped at 808, but more specifically, at Peppermint.
“I got sidetracked trying to find an answer! I’m really sorry, girl.” She replied, and with a chirp in response, 808 turned back into cat form to thank Chai with a head bump. “But that was a new trick of yours, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, I think so! Does mean we’ll have to get out of here the other way, though.”
“There’s a tramway on the faster path waiting for you, then.” Chai made an indistinct displeased noise; Peppermint didn’t pay any mind to it. “Let’s see if there was anything this unit was guarding over here.”

He agreed much more with the second part. At a much faster pace, they looked over the rest of the area, but other than being long, it didn’t have much of interest and the buildings by it had big locked doors on that side. Seems like the path was used for deliveries but didn’t have any as of late.
The only point of interest was near the other exit, a lone charging station for robots. Upon seeing it, Chai’s recollection of the path finally became clear entirely:

“That’s it! I don’t remember why I took this path, but I saw a lot of rubble blocking the spot past this station.”

Both he and 808 inspected the part they were on, and it had concrete blocks on the sides and ruined walls.

“Barrels with batteries are an endangered species on this sector apparently, so I used the charging station, got a nice amount of reverb, and showed a pile of rubble right here -” He turned around and pointed at a spot where the floor had been stripped clean of any covering. “-A nice and well-aimed Overdrive Slash.”
“What.” Peppermint’s voice, loud and right next to his ears, made him step back a bit. “You just went and shoved the charger port on your arm? One extra second and 808 would be showing me a Chai-shaped block of charcoal!”
“Oh yeah, I suppose I was running too fast and she didn’t catch up yesterday. Still, pretty useful thing to have here!”
“Ugh.” She accidentally tapped the mic with a hand being applied to her forehead. “Doesn’t help those stations are super unsafe in other ways; back when I got here it was so easy to steal information using these.”

She paused for a second.

“But, being so close to it, that robot could stay around here day and night fully charged; no need for new orders if they can just do this for as long as necessary, and it’d infect the next ones that came over. Hm… That could help us find out what areas are getting blocked off next.”
“See? It was useful to come here after all.” Chai said with confidence, fist-bumping 808 as they kept going to reach the tramway.

Peppermint had to agree, and so did the rest of the team on the night’s meetup. With no urgent reports from compromised units elsewhere and a hint on how and where to find more, the team just needed to gather all the necessary info and a way to get the Post-Kale units updated, the charging stations cleared of that AI, and finally focus on looking for their enemy hacker.
Whatever their motives were, the units they puppeteered around were now predictable. The team could even afford a day’s rest after some time spent clearing SIREN from a few captured units, it was going so swimmingly!

Was.

The next day, at the Hideout, Chai and Peppermint had their breakfast interrupted by an audio message from Korsica. 808, using more of her cat sense than robotic analytics, seemed even more interested on it than they did.
When they played it, it was like the room temperature dropped to zero. All their work and plans turned upside down with a single bit of emergency news:

“Guys. We have a compromised Project Armstrong subject.”

Chapter Text

The decision to send that message wasn’t taken lightly, but with the morning that Korsica had, there was more than enough evidence for it.
Korsica was escorting the CEO at the new plaza at the center of the atrium, a nice replacement for a certain headless statue, under the guise of helping out in calming down a group of employees.
They had all been called there after a series of requests for leave that all sounded similar, and among them, the temporary Head of Finance. Roxanne’s lean frame and kind face hid nerves of steel at that whole situation, and Korsica was hopeful that she’d find a way through that situation with words before the boss made it even more chaotic.

“Please, Miss Roxanne, e-even if just for a week. I can’t handle another minute in this island.” Mx. Licorice stammered immediately, looking at her joint implants like they were completely alien to them. “I-I don’t feel safe here, and I’m not the only one…”

As carefully as possible, Roxanne directed the dozen employees with requests to sit down at one of the larger tables, knowing that Licorice would lead the group.

“I understand your concern, Mx. Licorice, but please calm down. To grant any of this, I need to understand exactly what’s happening.”
“Right, right.” The temporary Head of Finance gathered the courage to adjust her hearing aid implants instead of focusing on the hands. Though a great worker in such the short amount of time they were there, the lack of composure was why they were a temporary boss. “L-looking anywhere, any moment of quiet, and I can see the island on fire, or sinking under the ocean, or crumbling in an earthquake – o-or all of them! These thoughts started last night, but this morning, they got so vivid it’s like a vision.”
“Needless to say, it’s impossible to get any accounting done when a walk to the cabinets feels like the entire room is burning…” One of her coworkers added, more frustrated than nervous.
“Yes, and we wouldn’t be doing this if we knew it’s stress or something – i-it can’t be the same to several people at once! It’s like… Like a constant urge to escape, to get back to the mainland!”

Roxanne and Korsica glanced at each other in surprise. The former wasn’t around for the meetings, but she had received everything they analyzed through messages.
The behavior was the opposite of the compromised robots but lined up with their intentions. The only relief was that SIREN wasn’t mind controlling them, at least not at that moment; from seeing the temporary Head of Finance occasionally, Korsica was sure that she was acting out of her own volition. But the panic lined up far too well with the data they had gathered…

“And you’re sure that it’s not distress from living in an island on the smaller side these last few months? A week’s leave would not fix that.” Roxanne insisted.
“Sorry, but not until literally yesterday.” A sales representative said. “Been working remote on a way smaller archipelago for years, until these bad boys helped me move!” He smacked his prosthetic legs for emphasis, momentarily forgetting the hard metal and having to shake his hand afterward. “Ow.”

Mx. Licorice nodded, but shuddered looking out into the offices lining up the building walls.

“It’s o-overwhelming. I know it’s unreasonable, I’ve read about the top-of-the-line systems keeping the island stable even with constant construction, the measures to stop erosion around the old-growth forests on the outskirts… But the thought just keeps, coming, back!” She gestured around her head. “If we stay out for a bit, maybe, just maybe, it’ll go away.”

Korsica was studying the conversation for a bit after having sent the message to the rest of the team. The panic if she broke out the hacking news would be even greater, and opening the harbor or even allowing blimps to leave the island’s zone would be a risk if any compromised robots stowed away. Maybe a third option…

“Roxanne, if I may?” She asked, and the CEO nodded. “There’s another possibility. Do you all of you happen to need to interface with any maintenance equipment outside of your home, or, maybe, charging stations?”
“Y-yes, actually!” Licorice rummaged through their bag and found something. “I have a power bank for my earpieces, my implants were modified to hold less batteries because my neck strength isn’t the best. I forget to charge it before work sometimes, so the charging station a few floors down is very useful then. You have a similar mod, don’t you, Mate?”

The most talkative employees spoke up about similar problems – modifications, unexpected battery usage, one that worked on VÄART budget analysis even had to use an ethernet cable on themselves, because the amount of implants they had interfered with wireless signal – and they all at least nodded in agreement. Korsica’s plan was put together so fast, she hoped Roxanne wouldn’t show her confusion.

“Well, that might be it, Mx. Licorice.” She said with a calming smile that ended up a little crooked (wasn’t her usual expression). “We’ve gotten reports that equipment that robots also use is causing interference with the Armstrong neural link, and leading to some concerning mental distress.”
“All this… Interference.” The Head of Finance said, now a little distrustful.

Korsica kept up that expression with a lot of effort. If they found out how she was bold faced lying, she might actually die at the hands of Finance at this rate. But there was no going back now…

“For sure, and it comes with unexpected changes to the system, I suppose. Did you hear about the Ambassador running about Production yesterday, less talkative than usual?” Throwing Chai under the bus wouldn’t make a difference there. The atrium’s destruction, months back, made him pretty infamous on that department. “Kid was worried out of his mind about something, but turns out, his power core created interference with incompatible equipment that he used by accident. Mister Chai didn’t tell me what it was, but maybe…?”

She left that question in the air for them, and it had an effect. The employees whispered among themselves, and then back to the person leading their concerns.

“I suppose he is the best example of non-standard Armstrong implants…” Licorice concluded. “Do you think fixing this will help, Korsica?”
“Worked for him, though R&D’s still working on the equipment end of things, and Security’s helping out since that’s affecting important data. If you give us today, maybe tomorrow, to check if that’s the case for you all, I’m sure there’ll be no need for leave.”
“Really? Oh, thank you so much!” Licorice suddenly grabbed her hands and shook a little too quickly, knocking the metallic palm implants into each other. “Ah, sorry.”
“It’s alright.” Korsica tried to hide a grimace. It was the sensation of putting sandpaper against her gloves, actually. “Do you mind waiting by the first floor while I call Macaron and get everyone ready? Can look into most of you today if we get started soon.”

They nodded profusely, and with many thanks to her and Roxanne, they eventually left. However, finally taking a deep breath, there was more the two needed to talk about.

“That was a clever save.” Roxanne said with a smile.
“Thank you. If we get the SIREN data out of them, assuming that’s the problem that is, that gives us time to round up the compromised units, turn off the charging stations until we fix them as well, then finally look for the person behind all this.”

That seemed to turn the CEO’s relief into concern, and she turned slightly in her seat to face the Head of Security.

“Not the priority I had in mind, actually.”
“W-well…” Korsica stammered with the sudden change. What was she doing wrong? “We can’t let information about rogue unit behavior come out, so the vulnerability comes first… Isn’t it the correct procedure to prioritize detection and mitigation first?”
“Ah, Korsica, you’re thinking of fixing the past problems. Remember, your job is not a list of mistakes that came before you, but the emergencies we have now.”

She had little answer. If she said that she knew, it wouldn’t convince her boss, who was caught up enough to know Security was in shambles by the time Chai and Peppermint showed up. But without knowing every weakness in the company’s systems, what good was it to advance to newer problems?
Much more gently than Licorice, Roxanne put a hand over one of her palm implants. It wasn’t to simply get her attention, but to get her out of self-doubt. Wasn’t much different than what Peppermint did, when she’d get to the Hideout full of after-work venting to do...

“Patching up the holes my son left behind can wait. Korsica, whatever this hacker wants, it’s people’s lives they’re playing with. If the attack becomes public knowledge and competitors see this as a chance to call us weak, let them come. I’ll handle the PR, but I can’t allow my employees and my guests come to harm, rules and procedures be damned.” When Korsica was left speechless, the smile returned. “I know you and the others can get it done, today or tomorrow. But go in with no hesitation.”
“We will, Lady Roxanne. Both helping out those people, and finding who’s using SIREN.”
“I’m sure. Keep an eye on Chai, just in case.”

Peppermint’s mother said it best. One eye on communication, another on the Project Armstrong-using employees, Macaron and Korsica worked to get as much data out of SIREN as they could while Peppermint did what she did best at the Hideout. And Chai… Well, Chai could only wait.

“Can’t you guys find a way to, like, put a hacking mechanic on VÄART so I can fight my way through code? Seen that in a movie once.” He threw out.

It was the last of many crazy ideas that he’d suggest whenever Peppermint took a break from recon. He didn’t want to distract her by practicing guitar, but since he couldn’t go out with 808 to quickly connect to various employee tracking terminals, the impatience was getting the better of him.

“Maybe after a year of development and fighting Finance over the spending, Chai.” She replied, not upset at him, but antsy over the current progress. Before he’d do the Chai thing and propose a way to literally fight the department again, she stayed on their more important subject: “You sure you didn’t have those weird intrusive thoughts of the island getting destroyed?”
“Only if you count SEB-AAA talking my ear off about the state of the company, by the tramway yesterday. But also, I think of a lot of cool escape scenarios all the time, so I’m not really a good point of reference.”
“I’ll take that as a no.” Peppermint answered bluntly.

808 came back and got a ton of pets from both for a great job, but her data didn’t solve their most pressing issue.

“With the network traffic reduced, there isn’t a whole lot any sector can do outside of their own areas that wouldn’t be suspicious, and stiiilll nothing that’s similar to the charging stations.” Peppermint explained to both. “Korsica had her team do checks on guest traffic and also came up empty, so it has to be an employee… But how are they doing this?!”
“Didya check Sector 12-C at any chance?”

That surprised her, especially since when she looked back at him, Chai was busy making a cat toy fly everywhere – and 808 along with it – instead of reading any of her files.

“That’s on the department graveyard. Why the interest?”
“Oh, it’s just… You mentioned intrusive thoughts, so I was thinking of how I didn’t forget that room location code, which is definitely weird for me.”
“Huh.” She furrowed her brow. Wouldn’t hurt to try, and while she was at it, test this so-called memory. “The code on the wireless network equipment? The whole thing?”
“Sector 12-C, HR-B2-W7. Everything but the last bit.” He said, but didn’t sound proud of that achievement. “It’s like I’m hearing myself say that on my head. Couldn’t the current ear-worm be like, a really cool song instead?”

Peppermint checked the blueprint scans on the area, almost forgotten after the attack. Then, something clicked.

“Sector 12-C used to be Vandelay Human Resources! That’s it!” She kept the blueprints on another tab while trying to locate the network machine with the part that Chai couldn’t remember. It was on the top floor, that she remembered.
“Why is that important?” 808 jumped up too much and bit Chai’s metal arm instead of the toy. Better than the alternative.
“We were looking for someone in every normal department, but what if Kale never terminated someone in a defunct one and they’re taking advantage of that?” She found the right room and started bypassing the machine’s defenses to monitor the traffic. The wireless signal was still garbage, but it’d be enough.
“Oh, that sounds just like him.” Chai got up and checked the screens, the movement of the cat toy making 808 follow without him even noticing. “Can’t you just, like, turn it off remotely, though?”
“It wouldn’t stop the current SIREN orders, plus we’d be in the dark again; who knows what other machines might still work in this whole part of the campus…”

The department still received emails, a software update that was several years in the making, and even one of the temporary department heads mistakenly messaging the main terminal… And there it was, audio messages sent from there to other parts of the network, and a lot of requests to see the company database.

“Bingo. Our target’s in the ex-HR building. SEB-AAA and JSF-001 were close by yesterday, weren’t they?”
“I mean, whatever company problems they need to investigate, there’s a ton there.” Chai pet 808 as she finally caught her prey, and brought it up to a clean part of the table.
“Well, their priorities aren’t really solving anything. But being open about wringing non-problems out of huge issues in the company would be suspicious even under Kale, so maybe they still use some accessible part of the building to get and deliver assignments.”
Though the building schematics hadn’t been updated in a long time, they’d help in that regard. When Peppermint prepared everything to decide on all possible paths around it, she found her hands shaking a bit before she put them on the sides of the keyboard. Maybe she was as excited as Chai was to cause some trouble again…

“Ready for some real infiltration?” She said with a smile.
“Oh, I know what that means!” He struck a pose, which 808 somewhat imitated. “Is it time to call the team and mess with one more crazy Vandelay employee?”
“Not yet with that first part.”

As his shoulders dropped, she checked for messages, and he leaned in to look too.

“They can’t just drop the checkups of compromised Armstrong implants. But, we have a bit over one hour until the end of the day shift, and a new set of SIREN orders… I’ll try to call Mac and Korsica as soon as they finish the next person, so they can catch up and we can all meet up inside. Do you think you can hold out with just me until then?”
“Have a little faith in me, Pepper! The only resource you need is this human right here--” Peppermint took advantage of their height difference to shove one of her blasters under his chin. “—I mean yes, yes, I can!”

Using the floor plans, they managed to find an intact entrance into the main HR building. When Peppermint suggested SEB-AAA and JSF-001 only needed it for assignments, she didn’t mean it quite literally, but that was what they got – Chai could simply follow the one corridor that had any working lights and terminals.
Though pristine, it was clear that only SCR-UB units ever used it frequently – as machinery broke down, cabinets fell apart, and vents rusted, only the floor was as clean as it should be. Paper files from years before were still in desks, moth-eaten and yet to be scanned into the digital documentation of the company.

[Qbomb
“Easy Way Out”
HYPERPUNK
Ghost Pixel Records]

The silence was so deafening, that the quiet and moody song in the music player felt loud on his ears. The keyboard synths making folders bounce and cubicles stretch against the low light weren’t an invite for exploration, but a warning.
[Count down the seconds, I need protection …]

“This place is creee-py.” Chai whispered to 808, who stayed very close by even in orb form. “It’s like everyone left overnight.”
“They kind of did, Chai.” Peppermint said through the cat. “According to announcement files, in my brother’s best style, he didn’t tell anyone that they weren’t hiring a new Head even after taking over. He shut the place down when he felt like it, except for the skeleton crew that’s scattered all over the company.”
[Swallowed completely...]

And indeed, the two didn’t find any enemies, though the place still had the usual nightmarish Vandelay office design – maybe Kale had it remodeled in that short window of activity. Cubicles stacked on top of each other, stairs made of pipes with dangerous gaps in between, and nary a soul or Vandelay Arrow™ to indicate where to avoid holes created by unfinished construction.
Fighting in near-darkness at a flat room was one thing, but Chai wasn’t particularly thrilled to climb and jump around in places that he could barely see, and echoed with every step.
[Lost all direction...]
Slowly but surely, he and 808 traversed the death trap of an office, eventually reaching the terminal in the best condition in the top office; in all that darkness, it honestly felt like a series of stage spotlights on them. Though Chai was sure he could handle it, they were wide open for an ambush, but maybe their target was too inexperienced to even try that.
The terminal was as they expected, open to a list of HR investigation assignments, in desperate need of an update in the less-than-desirable network quality. The latest it had was months ago, still displaying the concerns about unsafe Museum displays that almost got the investigation duo killed. SEB-AAA apparently had updated the response as: “No one of importance was destroyed when the biggest one fell. Recommended: use heavy duty machinery to scrape off the HG-0M under it.” and marked it as solved.
[I’m on the edge of...]

“No one by the main terminal, huh? I doubt that.” Keyboard clacking could be heard from 808. “Look alive, Chai, I’ll try to see to where this connects to.”
“I couldn’t look more alive than I do! Next to this place, plenty.” Chai busied himself by sitting on a large office chair and looking around the dimly lit section, as the cat connected to the terminal.
[I’m on the edge of a...]

With that view, he guessed he was sitting somewhere important. In fact, that table was livelier than the rest – still had long-broken digital portraits, dead potted plants, books that didn’t match up the usual company stuff, and a dusty, colorful box.
Absentmindedly, Chai opened it, and found a keychain with the likeness of a few old videogame characters hanging from it, and a printed text saying “Welcome back, congrats on your surgery!” on the bottom.
[Breakdown…]

It got significantly more unnerving than it already was.
[Breakdown…]

“Wow, whoever sat here left it in a real hurry.” He said it loud enough for 808 to pick up. “Who leaves all this stuff behind?”
[Breakdown…]

808’s lights suddenly turned green and she turned around slightly to him.

“Oh, that’s probably Grenadine’s office!” Macaron said, only then realizing the situation. “Ah, sorry, should’ve started with a greeting.”
“We’re free from the impromptu medical shift!” CNMN stated, as 808’s lights shifted to yellow. “Today, I’ve learned Mister Chai’s detachable wrist is the exception, and not the rule.”
“Story for another time. We’ll be there pretty soon.” Korsica interrupted.
“Got it, guys!” Peppermint answered, 808’s lights coming back to cyan. “That’s odd. The data is sent here from a terminal north of you, but the floor plans just show the end of the building…?”
“That’s where we come in.” Chai said getting up in one movement, and 808 turned into cat form to hitch a ride on his shoulder.

Leaving the safety of the ceiling lights, Chai followed the cat’s directions and flashlight eyes through storage cabinets. When the main office was only a distant glow, Chai’s music player started the second verse. He’d need deep breaths and trust on the SCR-UB units to have removed any cobwebs on the way.
Rather than finding the opposite wall to see the area safely, they found a wall of crates and barrels instead, with an opening only big enough for a small robot to pass through. It was hard to tell if any light that came through was machinery, or a far away window, with the tightly-organized arch shape.
[Rundown and breathless…]
Something knocked over a table far away from them, but it was enough for the player to spike in volume, a clear enough warning for him to take out the magnetic rod and use the abundant scrap to get ready for a fight.
However, when it formed, some scrap came from beyond the pile, which shuddered.

“It’s gotta be here. But, uh, Chai, might want to avoid getting squished.” Peppermint said.
“Or, get this, I could show this hacker who they’re dealing with.” He said, putting the guitar into position.
[Can’t see an exit...]
“These must’ve been here for years, and I have nothing to use the gears with. Do you really need to--”

The entire pile exploded with a Quick Beat Hit, sending wood, gears, dust and batteries everywhere. Though no one other than Chai could see it, even 808 had a mischievous kitty smile.

“...Destroy it.” Peppermint finished, hardly surprised. “Well, there goes any chance of a surprise attack.”
[I find the ending...]

However, it did reveal who was making noise before – a CAR-11E scurrying about the place, who jumped with the explosion of furniture ahead of them.

“Well, at least it was just a little robot. Hey there, tiny dude!” Chai called out, hiding the regret as whole barrels and crates were scattered, untouched. Shouldn’t have been so lazy with the attack…!
[In my reflection…]

Instead of replying, the CAR-11E instead sped past Chai, picking up the containers with surprising care. When they piled up a bunch with enough room to move, they talked to themselves:

“Years of perilous delivery, years of almost getting fired, are over! A hole big enough to get to the other side safely! Gotta dispose of the evidence before anyone finds out...”
“Hello to you too…” Chai whined, as they didn’t even register him while it left the room.
“They’re right though; look!” Peppermint said, 808 tugging at his scarf so he’d turn around.

Under a very low light, they discovered that the wall of crates was blocking a hastily-opened section of the wall, not unlike the one that was opened in Production Central Garden. But no effort was made to cover up the concrete and bricks, which led to giant metal doors constructed with just as little care and finish.

“No wonder it wasn’t on the map. Someone made an entire new room.” Chai noted.
[I’m on the edge of...]

A control panel was wedged in a space next to the door, which 808 jumped on to hack. Thanks to the music player, Chai noticed an opening on the door that twitched closed, then slightly ajar; nowhere big enough for him even if he bent the metal, but it had some verification-thingy for a CAR-11E or other small units to open fully and pass through.
Above, some lettering, too rusted to read properly – it had at least one number, though. A bunch of signs to stay out, all around, were far more readable.
Interrupting her work for a second, 808 picked up her creator’s voice.
[I’m on the edge of a…]

“Guys, right on time. You might want to check this out.” Peppermint said from the other end, before 808 could finish and force the door to open.
[Breakdown… Breakdown… Breakdown…]

Light poured in and Chai followed it along with the cat, and when he got used to it, he found himself in a far smaller office, with closed doors leading to other rooms. The song on his music player reached a crescendo, echoing through the room, though not much could be done about it.
The only opening to the outside were very thin windows way near the ceiling, showing lines of the approaching sunset; barely adding a touch of orange to the pristine ceiling lights that bathed the entire place in icy white.

“Good afternoon, and welcome to Vandelay Human Resources. How may I help you?”

Startled by the voice before they could fully look down inspect the rest of the room, Chai noticed someone at the main table. Because of the smaller stature, other than the shimmer of a purple shawl, they were easy to lose in the rest of the chair they sat in, until they suddenly moved an arm to slide a paper in front of them, and a stack of documents away, in one perfect motion.
On the very front of the table, a golden plaque that didn’t list full name and office, but something else. The stranger turned their head towards Chai, lights reflecting on dark lenses that seemed like huge sunglasses from afar.
[Breakdown… Breakdown… Breakdown…]
Nothing in that room was familiar, but once the two got close enough to the main table, something about their view drew a gasp from Macaron, that could be heard even through 808.
In the plaque, they could read...

Subject 1: REN.

Chapter Text

After encountering boss after boss in a lair of an office, that cramped place was unexpected.

“It’s… Grenadine…” Macaron said, as 808 backed up somewhat to stay next to her host.
“We’ve got some time before 6. Getting there soon, Chai.” Peppermint whispered, clearly suggesting him to not try anything crazy. But honestly, there wasn’t much that would surpass that situation.
“I don’t suppose you could help me with a contagious AI thing that you’re obviously involved with, could you?” Chai said, not quite sure how to proceed.

Before, it was very easy to get the murderous intent from the other bosses. But this person just bent their head somewhat, showing gigantic goggles on their face, and purple horizontal lights blinked in them, as if they were a security unit’s eyes.

“I’m sorry. Non-HR matters must not be discussed during work hours. Please come back after the end of the shift.” They said, before turning to face the paper.
“Excuse me?” Chai whined, feeling even more distressed when Grenadine picked up a pen the same way as the paper. “It’s a little too important for work hours. Like, company security at risk important.”
“That is a Security department matter.” They replied with the same weird, call center kind of tone as before.
“Clearly, there’s a Security issue going on here when you’re the only person tied to an attack??” Chai’s attempt to get exasperated got broken up by a stray thought. “Wait, am I technically Security at this moment?”
“Ambassadors are in the Marketing department, Chai, you don’t-- change like that.” Korsica answered, in disbelief.
“Well, whichever one! It’s an interoffice matter!”

Grenadine stopped themselves from writing on the paper, stared at them with the horizontal goggle lights, then changed to a tablet that was also on the desk, pushing things around with both hands.

“An interoffice matter is of great concern. Chai, was it?” With a suddenly much more lively movement, they gestured to behind him. “Please wait until I retrieve your information. I do not have your file, but my department suffered network issues and requires a database update. Your inquiry will be addressed once that is resolved.”
“What department--?!” Chai interrupted himself and followed their gesture, finding a couple of waiting couches. Despite the state of the offices outside, they looked well kept.
“J-just play along for now, Chai. We don’t know what they’re up to.” Peppermint said.

The Ambassador sighed and sat down, and 808 leaned on him to groom herself. At the least, he had been walking around for a while, and that was a moment to look around some more.
The place was nice, even nicer than the other office must’ve looked in its heyday, but Chai was starting to put together the reason. Every shelf decoration, every book, every fake plant was perfectly organized to frame the main table, and terminals on either side were as polished as if just delivered.
But instead of showing character, it was all like a magazine photo, with none of the soul: standard Vandelay Technologies books, those weird abstract shapes and stylized animals that people bought as decoration for some reason, wear and tear hidden with very geometric tablecloth. The only signs that this wasn’t an ad were the other doors with signs of remodeling; it’s almost like they contained a rebellion against that order.
The boss was still clicking away at that tablet. Their enormous brown ponytail, swishing around whenever the shoulders moved, had more movement and life than the rest of their body. Their mostly lighter brown outfit made them look like an extension of the wood tabletop, except for that really shiny purple shawl, closed by a pristine Vandelay pin – older than his, judging by the older version of the logo.

However, as the minutes went on and it got closer and closer to 6pm, Chai lost his patience and checked the books he’s seen just about everywhere, but an idea got into his head.
Getting up and looking around the office clearly didn’t elicit any reaction whatsoever from Grenadine, so why the hell not? He’d conduct his own investigation.
The nice doors were locked and 808 didn’t seem eager to hack them open, but he found some much welcome chaos inside some cupboards. Nothing hacker-y going on (though, his only reference was Peppermint), but there were papers with crude drawings of the videogame characters Chai saw in the keychain before, and a list of groceries that had nothing out of the ordinary. Not finding any notebooks or clues, he spun around a feather duster on his free hand, and decided to push for conversation again.

“Um, I see you really like old games, huh?”
“I’m sorry. Non-HR matters must not be discussed during work hours. Please come back after the end of the shift.” Grenadine repeated, exact same tone as before.
“Alright, alright, work questions only. Why are you in a small room if you’re a department head?”

They got up, but not for him. Walking to a terminal to check something, they took a second to answer.

“It is only part of proper Vandelay HR procedures, Mister Chai.” That form of address, combined with Grenadine’s rhythmic tapping at the keyboard, reminded him more of CNMN than a human. “One cannot make a difference without focusing on effort and efficiency.”
“I dunno, buddy.” Not feeling as intimidated, Chai approached, leaning on his scrap guitar. “This seems like a recipe to go stir crazy. You don’t… Look too good, either?”
“Please do not interfere with my work.” Grenadine just narrowed their lights when noticing the young man on the way. “I can’t keep maximum efficiency if obstructed.”

Chai was getting a little tired of the call center tone, and rather than fully moving away, sighed and stepped out only enough to grab Grenadine by the shoulder to get their attention.

“Look, if you stop this SIREN thing, you can be as efficient as you like. Just--”

Grenadine kept walking, but when dragged by Chai’s hold, their legs froze up and they looked back at him. With that turn and precision in moving only the head, they acted like a really old robot model – older than any Vandelay unit, even – and Chai instinctively let go, creeped out.

“Please do not interfere with my work.” They repeated, before assuming their previous stance and sitting back down on their chair.
“Holy crap… What’s up with this person?!”
“Chai, everything alright in there?” Korsica asked with a tense voice.
“Other than the weird hacker that moves like a doll?? Yeah, perfectly fine!”
“We’ll get to see for ourselves soon – we’re almost there, Macaron.” Peppermint said, slightly muffled on the second part. “But uh, I was tracking some compromised units and, uh…”

On her end, in the darkness of the abandoned offices, they could see dozens, maybe hundreds of eye lights, approaching from the same entrance they took. Maybe she shouldn’t freak Chai out before they all regrouped.

“… Let’s just say I think that door 808 unlocked triggered something.”

Chai and 808 looked at each other, afraid to ask. Maybe talking about that would still be an “HR matter”…

“Uh, we’re in a bit of a hurry here and I think opening your door was a bad idea, when will you “look into that inquiry” again?” He asked, fidgeting at the expectation of his teammates arriving.
“Under the current estimates, if you’ve been hired within the last year… The database will get to you in two weeks.”
“What?!”
“You’re free to wait here or for an email notification.”
“We don’t have that kind of time—!” Chai forgot he was holding the feather duster and pushed it against Grenadine’s head by accident while gesturing. He froze, expecting to see that creepy stare again, but maybe that wasn’t annoying enough.

Finally, Peppermint, Korsica, CNMN and a very nervous Macaron arrived, only sort of surprised to see Chai using the feather duster to play with Grenadine’s loose hair.

“I thought I told you to play along…?” Peppermint said, staring anxiously at the dark room behind them. The robots didn’t follow the entire way, but they had no exit plan.
“Don’t think it’s making a difference.” Chai answered bluntly, still getting no response despite the poking.

As carefully as possible, Macaron walked ahead of the others.

“R-ren! That’s you!” He was nervous beyond belief, but the threat they faced held any rash actions back. “You’re alive! You were here this whole time!”

Grenadine looked up, feather duster now going into a curve of their bangs, but no expression appeared.

“Why, hello, Macaron from R&D. What brings you to Vandelay Human Resources today? The wait time on your last ticket is 2 weeks still.”
“I… Sent that half a year ago?” He said, recalling a message about staff reallocation that he sent in a moment of frustration, but quickly recovered. “No, not that! What happened all these years? W-what’s that on your face…?” Macaron gestured at his own glasses to indicate the goggles.
“I’m sorry. Non-HR matters must not be discussed during work hours. Please come back after the end of the shift.” They said, tone only slightly different than before.
“What…?” Macaron looked confused.
“They say that when I ask anything about SIREN. It’s not just you, buddy.” Chai said reassuringly.

Korsica glanced at the situation, then a digital clock at a shelf. Only a minute left.

“Are they under SPECTRA…?” She approached and gave a good look. They didn’t have any visible implants, but the brooch on their ponytail looked pretty familiar.
“Their eyes aren’t visible, so it’s hard to tell… Though, even Project Armstrong subjects with eye implants don’t look like these, their artificial eyes are way more lifelike.” Peppermint answered.
“The SPECTRA terminal is also completely gone.” CNMN reminded them. “Were they affected, so would be Mister Chai.”
“Come on, buddy, it’s me…”

That pleading from Macaron was heart wrenching for the team. He wasn’t even paying attention to the conversation, unsure of what to do as Grenadine just went back to browsing the database on their tablet.

“Maybe we can drag them out of here, and check at a safer location.” Korsica suggested.
“With all these robots back there?” Peppermint replied, then huffed. “Gonna be one hell of a fight.”
“I mean, I’m down. As long as they don’t spout pre-recorded messages all the way.” Chai said.
“W-we don’t have to do it like that.” Macaron insisted, finally back to the conversation. “Grenadine, couldn’t you come along with us? Please?”

“I’m sorry.” Chai groaned loudly when that triggered Grenadine’s response again. “Non-HR matters---”

Beep-bep-bep-beep!
The clock sounded a quiet alarm at 6pm, and Grenadine cut themselves off. After two alarms, their head dropped suddenly, and they all froze.
Could they have some transformation like Roquefort, a security system, or…
After a few seconds, thankfully, they only spoke, in a tone that was far from scripted.

“In all my years… In this career…”

Their voice slowly rose, and they supported themselves on the table with an arm.

“I never thought I’d have to say… WILL YOU GET THAT OFF MY HEAD?!” They turned to Chai to scream, and he backed off with the feather duster like he was held at gunpoint. Grenadine sat back down on the chair. “Didn’t expect to be set free to an audience…”

As the team stared at that sudden display of emotion in surprise, the boss fished out wired earbuds from their shirt’s pocket and put one in while making a quick movement on the smaller tablet on that pocket; noise came out of it, but too quiet to distinguish.

“There, I can focus on music and not on stress.” Their horizontal lights were centered in one person. “You sure took your time, Macaron.”
“H-huh?” The engineer took a second to adjust to the new dynamic. “Ren, we… We didn’t even know you were alive! W-what happened all these years? Why did SIREN lead us straight to you…?”

That last question prompted a grimace out of Grenadine. As Chai moved to stay closer to his friends, the boss seemed to hesitate at first, but then answered.

“Something that wouldn’t have happened if anyone listened to me.” They hissed. “But you’ve come all this way, haven’t you, Macaron? Might as well explain the worst first.”

They reached out and took off their brooch, pulling their shawl out and on the table. As used to mechanical implants as the team was, it was hard to not gasp.
Their shirt was much more low cut than it seemed at first, tying to a fake collar through strings. In the exposed skin, there was a series of thin machinery over skin implants, a bit like Roxanne’s neck prosthetic, but far cruder and more numerous. On the shoulders, the implants had the blue glow of barrier generators, and when Grenadine turned to a side, they could see it went into their spine at the back of the neck.

“’Course S1REN activity originates here… It’s coming from me.” They turned back to them. “All so you’d get out of the island already.”
“So it was you…!” Korsica said sternly, taking a step forward with one baton already drawn.
“Don’t allow them to get any closer.” Grenadine said, not to her, but to their pocket tablet.

The creaking and clanging of machines outside alerted them that the compromised robots were all moving again, but nothing was visible from the doorway – yet.

“They’re not gonna attack as long as you hear me out, and, don’t try anything.” Grenadine said, eyes on Korsica until she pointed the baton down.

They took out the tiny tablet and put it under their mouth like a microphone.

“Broadcast current song, 30dB.” Grenadine ordered, and the various small speakers around the room started playing something from a soundtrack in low volume. “Funny how even tiny Vandelay equipment still has technology to transcribe audio for commands. Maybe I could’ve wiretapped Kale and avoided all this…”
“Avoided what…?” Peppermint asked.
“Oh, you know… The head of Human Resources gets the worst cases of workplace harassment and suspicions of company sabotage, because they’re close enough with other bosses to do something about it. So… What do you do when the CEO’s son is the problem?”
“Uh… Same as the rest, but keep it hidden?” Chai suggested, picking up 808 so she could keep looking around from a better height.

Grenadine blinked. They seemed about to say something to such an answer, but analyzing the others’ rolling eyes, they changed their mind.

“Not to mention someone who is better at manipulation than working…” Peppermint added instead.
“And when you think you have the answer, it’s only the beginning.” Grenadine didn’t seem to put it together, but understood the sentiment. “I was ready to present a case to Roxanne that she couldn’t ignore, and that’s when Kale struck.”
“But… You two were always hanging out, you even canceled dinners to go out for drinks…” Macaron said, but with a tone that clearly questioned his own statement.
“His specialty is making you think he cares.” Grenadine put their full weight on the back of the chair, making it creak. “But when I knew he didn’t… Same week as a scheduled surgery.”

They passed their fingers through the gaps in the skin implants, taking a second.

“If you’re here and alive, you know how he became CEO.”
“The extremely questionable notion of turning his own mother into a living puppet, yes.” CNMN said.
“Well, he couldn’t just sneak in a mind control AI right away and risk her getting injured, or worse, resisting it.” Grenadine gripped the chair arms with their hands. “He needed a guinea pig, someone with no family to ask questions… Maybe someone who was a threat, and about to go on medical leave.”
“And that was you…” Korsica concluded.
“I couldn’t turn down a lift to the company hospital, but my eyesight was so bad I also couldn’t run away when he took me somewhere else entirely.” Their lights turned off, showing only the dark lenses. “When I came to… I was that Zanzo’s first prototype for mind control technology. And to Kale, a boss that never, ever, would leave their job.”
“I… Had no idea… None of us did…” Macaron replied. Not referring to the team, but to the former bosses.

With the deal to not approach, the team had a second to focus on their oldest member. He was feeling his hands’ opposite implants, happy to see their old coworker but confused at the whole situation, and even CNMN didn’t have anything to say just yet, focusing on a supportive hand on his shoulder.
Chai and Peppermint, remembering what he said about Grenadine, looked back at them, but it truly did not feel like the youthful, reckless person they were told about. If they still had any of that, it was shoved down deep inside, with the intent to treat Macaron as basically a stranger.

“But if you’re talking to us right now, did it even work? Couldn’t you just walk out now that the door’s open?” Korsica asked, focusing on the facts.
“We wouldn’t be talking if this thing didn’t prevent me from leaving. Kale loved to visit to mock me with that fact, and tell me of plans I couldn’t stop. At least, until he got bored, left this building to rot and I just had my delivery robot to talk to.”

The CAR-11E that was wandering about the office, perhaps? Peppermint made a mental note, but didn’t risk going into a tangent.

“From observation alone, this S1REN system seems more elaborate than SPECTRA, but only for a limited period. Truly befitting of minds focused on short-term goals.” CNMN said.
“But when it’s past the shift, you control parts of it... Because you found a way to spread S1REN and hijack normal units?” Peppermint asked, trying to connect the dots with the data they’ve found.

Their eyes turned back on, and they nodded. At the same time, they heard metal against metal of other units agreeing outside, a reminder of the threat behind them.

“It prevents me from telling details, but turns out, when copied to another equipment or unit, it has that secondary backdoor function – my terminals were good tests.” They gestured to the screens behind them, but then put their hands together, almost squeezing the fingers. “And I just counted the days for the damn internet to return, so I could stick it in Kale’s tin chassis and get him to expose all his venom by himself…”
“Too bad we got to him first, huh?” Chai boasted, having left the feather duster on a shelf and focusing on his trusty guitar instead.
“Too. Bad.”

Hate dripped from the words when they repeated it, and they squeezed their hands together even tighter. Didn’t take Chai’s empathy for all of them to tell how desperate Grenadine was for revenge, far over what would be healthy for an employee harmed by an asshole of a CEO – they would know.

“But if the subject of your problems has been dealt with, wouldn’t that be enough for you?” CNMN asked, drawing raised eyebrows on himself.
“Dealt with? Dealt with?!” Grenadine got up from the chair and it rolled away. “He has thousands of creations and plans hidden all over the campus! AI software, robots under premade orders, viruses, he’s had years to stick that in every sector as backup!” They stared at the group decisively. “So, if I can’t destroy him, I’ll just destroy his legacy… Every. Inch. Of this company.”

The group stepped back at that threat, except for Macaron, who stayed exactly where he was.

“Wait… You can’t be serious, Ren…!”
“Don’t you “Ren” me!” They roared over their table. “You, Roxanne, everyone had their chance to prevent this, and you ignored me!” They snapped fingers, and following a blinking light from one of their implants, a few robots stepped out of the shadows, though not attacking. “I’m fixing this oversight, even if I personally smash every chip and equipment on this island!”
“And you’re gonna threaten everyone else for it?” Korsica scoffed, drawing her other baton to keep both sides covered. “What leadership behavior…”
“I think I’m leading a temporary team quite well, actually! Every unit got here so quickly to see you out of Vandelay Island, and soon, every other human and robot that can’t help me. Why, it was an order so simple… Even Mister Chai followed it for once.”

The room fell into silence, other than the quiet song through the speakers – and then, muffled but in hearing range, Chai’s music player shuffling in a stress response.
All eyes turned to him, but panic and confusion were so mixed he couldn’t even verbalize his own surprise.

“Explain yourself!” Peppermint demanded, also positioning herself for a fight.
“I need music to focus on S1REN after the shift’s end, but before that, it takes strong emotion to ignore the commands, only for a few minutes. When the internet returned, whoo boy, I had plenty of it, and a Vandelay implant full of vulnerabilities in the signal’s reach.”

Grenadine had a small grin at their hesitation – not happy, only satisfied. Chai looked at his own arm, as if expecting it to suddenly react to that information.

“SIREN can’t hijack human minds, no one else has my implants, but constant suggestions work sometimes. Repeating portents of doom only worked on more…” They narrowed their eyelights, trying to look for the right word. “Attentive people, but using a charging station, lifesaving advice, coordinates to a specific building… That got through you.”

Chai could barely hear the gasps of surprise from his friends.
Or the music player rising in volume.
It was like cotton got stuffed in his ears all the way to his mind.
He wasn’t just spacing out before, he had given control to some pissed-off person trying to destroy the company! And not just once, little thoughts on his head could’ve been Grenadine all that time. How many of his actions were his own will since hitting that network machine…?
If it were SPECTRA, “none” was a good bet, but like this? Did he set up further traps for his friends on a “whim” and had no idea? Undid their work behind their backs? He was the first compromised one. Plugging his arm into anything was all it took.

CNMN made a quick gesture to Peppermint and Korsica from behind Macaron, instead of saying aloud that Chai was out of it.

“What are you planning to do with him, then?!” As Korsica said it, 808 jumped down and hissed at Grenadine, taking Chai out of that anxious cycle.
“Now? Uh, nothing.” The smile disappeared, and they stood upright. “Just making sure you all heed the warning. Get out of this island so it can be purged like Vandelay Technologies deserves, before I make you leave.”
“T-the Grenadine I know would never destroy their favorite company!” Macaron stuttered, but the words had no effect on their target.
“Being betrayed by your favorite company does change a non-binary person’s opinion.” They gestured with fingers and the robots stepped closer. “They’ll escort you to the harbor. Don’t try to fight it.”
“Oh, I think we do want to fight it!” Korsica said, throwing her batons to the side in a prepared stance.
“You’re not burning decades of lifesaving technology down!” Peppermint defiantly stepped in front of Chai, and drew her guns.
“And I don’t appreciate you impersonating my inner voice and stage, either!” Chai added, standing on the tip of his shoes to speak over her.

There was a slight pause in the exchange of threats; even putting the situation together, the team had briefly forgotten how Chai “interfaces” with himself at times. Grenadine held out their small tablet, but didn’t turn to it.

“Impersonating what…? How did you even get hired, kid?” They asked, incredulous.
“Long story. And you’re about to find out why!” Chai ignored his own fears and held the guitar in fighting position.
“Against those weird musical robot powers? 80 dB.”

They ordered the speakers, who started a really loud, fast paced song. Grenadine continued, as purple light filled their goggles like flashlights, speaking in sync with the lyrics that kicked in.

[Hideki Naganuma
“Bomber Barbara”
Sonic Rush: Original Groove Rush
Wave Master Inc.]
“Y'know, I’m feeling hounded, and dare I say, surrounded!”

Every robot outside prepared to fight, and the group saw the nearest SBR-001s draw their swords.
Peppermint tried to interrupt the confrontation entirely by aiming a shot at Grenadine’s tablet, and 808 jumped up to follow up with her claws. But S1REN’s barrier generator activated immediately around the boss, only slightly cracked because of the electricity and bouncing the cat away since she hadn’t been charged with reverb. It’d take another volley to destroy it, maybe two, and they’d have to focus on the more aggressive opponents first.

“CNMN, buddy, you might want to hide.” Macaron said as he caught 808 in the air.
“A good suggestion! Mister Chai, don’t let those thoughts stop your fighting.” He answered. “It would be bad for our life expectancy in the next hour!” He added while dragging a couch against a terminal as a shield. Confused, Grenadine made no attempt to stop him.

Giving an impulse for 808 to enter orb form and sync up with Chai’s powers completely, Macaron started with the attack first, not giving the robot swarm a second of initiative with a punch that tore through several by the entrance.
A BA-BOO that dodged and tried to enter the room was stopped just as quickly with a swing of Korsica’s staff, then torn to pieces with a horizontal slash from Chai’s guitar.

“This won’t do at all. Flying units take priority!” Grenadine commanded through S1REN, and the robots that were about to charge ducked so a pair of VUL-TOR1 and some AIR-1N could pass through and ready an attack.

Having two to focus on, Peppermint had to divide her attention to keep them from flying out of reach, and gestured her heads towards the smaller robots so the others would focus on them first. Chai took initiative to take them out of the air… Only for them to easily dodge out of the way and try to throw bombs at him, which Korsica batted out of the air and into the dark office beyond.

“It’s not the best time for you to lose rhythm!” She said, interrupted by one of the VUL-TOR1’s claws trying to pull her baton away.
“I’m not…!” When he missed yet another attack, he was incredulous, and shook his head to focus. “Ack, I was following the speakers instead!”

He didn’t even notice at first, but the music player’s volume could only go so high. That song – from yet another game of varying quality, Chai was noticing a pattern – was loud and overwhelming, and the room’s clean walls were echoing it even more.
Above that racket and the metal noise of his enemies, he had to follow the beat of his own drum, pun entirely intended, or he’d get easily sidetracked.

Even with that temporary setback, the team cooperated attacks to pin down the units before Chai could destroy them with his strength. There was no need to set up a Jam Combo when the four of them, plus 808’s sharp little claws, were already together!
They finally managed to hold off the flying units, giving Peppermint enough time to aim at their backs again; but their opponent was also taking advantage of the very short break. The ES-101 that were approaching made way for something large in the middle of the entrance, ready for an attack, so she only had a second to fire at the boss.
Not even flinching when the electric rounds cracked the barrier further, Grenadine sent a new order, different than the others:

“BRUT-1L claws coming in from the left!”

Were they… Giving advice? But when a roaring SHIN BRUT-1L dashed towards them, its claws clearly spun into deadly buzzsaws with full intent to run at them from the right, and the group dodged to strike back… Except for Chai, who suddenly smashed his guitar on the left, hitting nothing but the flooring.
That moment of surprise was enough for the SHIN BRUT-1L to pass by them without a scratch, using its slender body to position themselves in front of the office table.

“Chai!” Macaron called out.
“I-I wasn’t even looking either way, the arm just moved on its own!” He yelled, pulling himself up, his right arm still stuck in a swinging position.
“Didn’t think that’d work!” Grenadine clicked their tongue. “Please surrender, or be it through the music or S1REN, you’re going a round, a round, a round!” To everyone’s horror, as they said it, the arm’s wrist joint spun wildly, almost clocking Chai with his own guitar. They moved their attention back to the tablet and said: “Full pressure!”

Rather than slowly entering the unfinished room and office to fight them in small numbers, the units charged in with large groups, using their robotic adjustments to strike without hitting each other or the walls. The team didn’t have such a thing, however, as Korsica hit the door trying to blow them away and now had to rely on the separated batons.
Every robot pushed was replaced by another, even with Macaron’s punches once again throwing several miles away. The more they had to back away from a volley of sword strikes and lasers, the less space they had, and Peppermint’s cannon could only stun them for a few moments, never enough to attack the SHIN BRUT-1L on their way. They had one option left, but…

“Chai, you’ve got enough reverb for basically any special, give ‘em hell!” Peppermint yelled when 808 gestured that information before helping him with more Beat Hits.

However, though Chai regained control of the arm, there was a clear hesitation after every strike, something that was costing them even more space. They heard a revving sound from the swarm, which meant one of two robots they absolutely didn’t want to deal with at that moment.

“Any special, Chai!” She insisted, and he grit his teeth while parrying and finishing off a WA-ES-2.
“But… What if I…” He finally replied, looking at his own arm. At any moment, Grenadine could redirect it, and in that kind of space and next to his friends…
“Now! Make way!” The Head of HR yelled to the robots, making the choice for him.

Pushing everyone away and crushing a few that didn’t jump out in time, an ARM-D11 rolled through and almost ran over the group. When Macaron tried to counter, the SHIN BRUT-1L finally made a move, holding his arms in place and forcing him and Korsica to focus their attention on them instead.
The beast robot stopped short of them, preparing to change direction slightly and keep rolling. Just a few beats, always predictable, and it’d fall on its back helplessly if stopped in any way. Peppermint couldn’t pierce the armor, but could very well distract it for a special to leave it even more wide open.
Easy pickings.
Chai just had to parry it.
And, of course…

“It’s a nice time to try your new move, isn’t it?” Grenadine yelled over the music player, their own song, and the ARM-D11 that scraped against the ground with a shrill noise.
“No!” Chai yelled, but with all that cacophony, it was enough distraction that the arm lost control again.

There wasn’t any metal to pick up and throw at the enemy. In fact, even if there was anything but a wooden shelf behind him, it’d be two beats too slow.
The rolling ball of metal accelerated, unimpeded.
CRASH!
The only thing to drown out all the noise was the ARM-D11 destroying the wall behind them, exposing it to the outside, and even that didn’t stop its advance.

“Chai!” The team yelled.

As the robot threw him through the wall and out of the building, they heard him screaming, until it got muffled by something that sounded like metal containers breaking. Even if the room was only somewhere on the third or fourth floor, that couldn’t have been good.

“Alright, screw this!” Korsica yelled, smashing the SHIN BRUT-1L on the jaw to distract it instead of damaging its armor. “There’s not enough space to fight, we’ve gotta go!”

No time to argue. Using that moment, she ducked under the large robot and ran towards the opening on the wall, and Peppermint followed, picking up a yowling 808 on the way. With a devastated look at Grenadine, who was scrambling to order the robots to remove their crushed brethren and advance, Macaron ran after them and jumped out of the building as well.
When their units were too slow to follow and the SHIN BRUT-1L got confused about pursuing or protecting their charge, Grenadine walked around the table and ran to the wall hole alone.

“No, don’t let them escape-- Argh!” Right at the edge, their body suddenly seized up, and the song from the speakers cut off.

The three landed in a safe part of a stack of containers, overlooking the holes that Chai and the ARM-D11 made – the latter, overshooting so much that it avoided crushing its target and fell way further – and checking that there was enough space to go inside and smash some open to escape through the corridors between the Sector 12-C buildings.
They briefly looked up to see if any other units were coming through, but instead, only saw Grenadine trying to reach a hand out of the hole. They shuddered involuntarily, their S1REN implants were glowing blue, and their eye lights were flickering like a malfunction.

“No, no, so close to them, to the outside…!” Gasping for air, they stepped back, and the implants returned to normal.

Seeing that they weren’t followed, Korsica, Peppermint and Macaron entered the wreckage, disappearing from sight. However, they did forget someone…
As Grenadine breathed heavily and regained control of their body, CNMN suddenly moved out of cover, getting their attention.

“Oh dear. That didn’t go as planned.” CNMN said, worried expression already on.
“I-if you’re… Going to fight as well, then…” Grenadine reached out for their tablet, but CNMN raised his hands to stop them.
“Ah. Alas, Sir Macaron has yet to equip me with any fighting skills or weaponry.” Looking over the hole, he paused for a second. “Unless you’d rather a different confrontation, seeing as you’re clearly hiding a lot of regret under your mental anguish and isolation-derived assumptions.”

Grenadine blinked and relaxed their shoulders, but still looked at him angrily and gestured towards the hole.

“J-just go. Before I sic them on you anyway.”
“Ah, resisting through aggression! I know when I’m beat.” CNMN said, drawing a sweat drop. “Maybe another time!”

Soon after saying that, CNMN did his usual dive bomb through the wall, somehow falling perfectly into the hole in the containers. Grenadine already had too much on their mind to process that, and with a long glance at the night sky, walked away.

Chapter Text

Minor injury or not, if Chai’s sturdiness had found its match, the team dreaded to think what that attack would’ve done to any of the others.
A lesser known successful invention from Macaron to help with robot misuse injuries, the Vandelay Ice Packs, came in quite handy. With its ergonomic design, quick setup, and other parts of the press pitch that he’d long forgotten from a decade before, only rest was needed to work its magic. But, with a sprained leg and a lot of cuts and bruises, that meant Chai was out of the fight for a while, and the team had to make the difficult decision to retreat.
As the night continued, the campus went dead silent.
Restaurants closed, machines turned off; worse than even a holiday, and no sign of life except compromised units running about and an intermittent PSA:

“Vandelay employees and guests, this is the Head of Security. We have detected a hacker attack across multiple sections of the island, and due to the large number of compromised units, we are sorry to inform that the campus is now on lockdown.”

A pause was left in the recording.

“To ensure your safety, every maintenance equipment and charging station has been turned off and network usage is limited until the issue is resolved. If any robotic employees are at low battery, please find a suitable location to be turned back on later. For guests and human employees, please do not leave the residential district under any circumstances, and do not utilize any unsupervised equipment outside of apartment buildings. We apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your patience while we continue our investigation.”

Rather than inside the hideout, Korsica heard the recording from the corridor right by the entrance. It had been repeated many times already, but from the slightly open door, the others couldn’t bring themselves to tell her that it didn’t need any revisions for the time being.
808 was working overtime to give everyone attention and warm laps, but even that barely helped the somber mood. There was no intention to give up, and yet, the team had a lot to think about before their next move.
They had their target mere meters away, and lost – and from monitoring the compromised robots, the swarm was now permanently stationed at the HR building. No wonder that it was affecting Korsica the most, having failed in her first serious breach since the company returned to normal, even if through no fault of her own.
Thanks to CNMN’s insistence, at least, Chai’s problems were mostly physical at that moment. He was building up a rare anger at the Head of HR for putting them all in that situation, after much reassurance that he had no way of knowing he was infected with S1REN all that time. Removing it was out of the question for now, too, as Grenadine put in a repeating “suggestion” for his power core to get exponentially faster should anything get plugged in the arm’s port.

“...Thus, even if the loss of control is really distressing, be sure that we don’t think of you as a liability, Mister Chai.” CNMN finished his pep talk while sitting at the couch’s arm.
“That doesn’t make it suck any less!” Chai winced when his gesturing moved the left leg a bit too much. “I could be sabotaging everyone and not even know it! Maybe even wasting your time on purpose!”
“Well, not for the last thirty minutes, Mister Chai. If the day’s shift began, Ser Grenadine can no longer update orders.”
“That just means I wasted everyone’s entire night!”

A call request sound from one of Peppermint’s computers interrupted their discussion. Recognizing that it was from her mother, she accepted it, and the others moved closer to see the screen.

“Ah, good to see you’re all together.” Roxanne started. “Well, except one...”
“Kors is just outside, Mom. We’ll fill her later if she can’t listen in.” Peppermint replied, looking worried at the door.
“I suppose this is hard enough for her; I’m the one that insisted on pursuing the hacker right away. Well, if our Ambassador is fine…”
She left that sentence in the air, and nodded once Chai gave a halfhearted wave from his spot on the far-away couch.
“...Then we can go straight to the subject. Everyone’s in a bit of a panic at the residential district, but by reporting after you removed S1REN from the other Armstrong tech-using employees, we have a bit of time before the lockdown gets every journalist on the world interested. But, with the identity of the culprit… It’s complicated, isn’t it?”

They nodded. No one had intention of complying with the threats to leave the island unless there was no other choice, but they were still dealing with an employee with a lot of information on the company, if outdated.

“I couldn’t get through Grenadine.” Macaron said through cupped hands, before letting them rest on his knees. “It was their thing to make plans and only ask later if anyone agrees with it, but this is something else.”
“They were around since our Solutions days as well; you know from experience that the position encourages a bit of misguided confidence.” Roxanne replied. “But… Korsica’s report mentioned they felt betrayed by us, not just Kale. It’s already a failing of mine to not know entirely why, but it’s hard to remember much with everything that happened around that time. Do you know the details, Macaron?”

He nodded, giving a second for the others to turn to him; especially since Chai had to do some precise movements to sit painlessly.

“They told me plenty. I guess I know the full context now with Peppermint around, but when Kale was put into the company, Grenadine hid their suspicions because you never brought up any family, let alone that they’d need a job here. They were on Kale’s coattails even before rumors that he was using his position and personality to do very little, and talking with off-company individuals like he’d own the place.”
“To think that my Head of HR had it figured out before we did… But I didn’t even ask my son why his previous job had gone south, I gave him a position with no questions. At that time, I just wanted to have him around…”

It was left unsaid, but Roxanne was likely referring to the rift in her family that made Peppermint leave. She wasn’t looking at the monitor either, petting 808 instead, and Macaron decided to continue before they lost track.

“Still… After a few months, Grenadine changed their tune. Said that they got through to Kale, started hanging out with him more than with us…” He knew he couldn’t hide the slight jealousy on his tone, and just kept going. “As far as we knew, there was nothing to worry about anymore, if they were out drinking cocktails and not bothering other employees.”
“I’m gonna guess that didn’t last.” Chai suggested.
“If something changed, we didn’t find out until the last meeting before Grenadine went on leave. They stopped everything to insist to us to be careful around Kale, that he’d get his just desserts when they came back. Completely out of the blue, you know?”

Macaron pushed a box out of the way to sit more comfortably.

“We were all so surprised, that when Savoiardi suggested that Grenadine was just scared of the cataract surgery and wanted to leave no loose ends, it sounded plausible. They didn’t bring it up again, everyone left the subject for another time, and we told them good luck. It was the last possibility in our minds when they didn’t come back after their month was up, let alone when you suddenly brought up health issues, Roxanne.”
“When, in fact they had come back even earlier, and my son was sending messages on their behalf just like he’d do to me soon after…” She grimaced. “Well, what do you all suppose we do now?”
“You all know what I’m gonna say.” Chai replied, leaning back.
“We can’t fight an army like Chai wants to, so we need to lure the units elsewhere.” Peppermint suggested. “But they’ll know, and I’m not sure you’d want to take the risk, Mac…”

All eyes were on him, hoping he wouldn’t insist on a pacifist option; even after the whole situation with Kale, it was still the easiest answer for Macaron.
But with that talk, something else was on his mind. Truly, Grenadine had just changed the whole situation in one meeting, even if the bosses didn’t take them seriously. There really was no way to have expected everything else as a result, no matter what his coworker thought.

“Is that realization I see in your face, Sir Macaron?” CNMN said cheerfully, hands behind his back.
“You’ve got it, CNMN. Acting guilty confirmed suspicions they created by themselves.” Macaron shook his head. “Grenadine feels too betrayed to listen to me. We need to stop them; and if they’re not afraid of hurting us, then we need to answer the same way.”
“Then, all that’s left is--Yes, I’ll be there in a moment.” Roxanne was interrupted by something off camera. She put on a rather plastic smile, but not for them. “I’ll have to cut this short, it was a mistake to stay in the residential district with everyone else. Please, please be careful.”
“Leave it to us, Lady Roxanne.” Chai said, hiding the immediate pain when a bruise on his arm made contact with the couch’s wood.
“We’ll be in touch, mom.” Peppermint said, in a slightly better mood.

Roxanne nodded and the call ended, but there was something to account for – and not just Chai doubling over.

“Don’t leave me alone with that boss, I swear…” He whispered through gritted teeth.

Peppermint gestured to 808 and she went through the cat flap on the door, then came back with a sad meow. Korsica was still busy sending messages to all available Security personnel, and didn’t hear a thing.

“...I’m gonna talk to her.” Peppermint said, getting up already.
“That’s not gonna work, and you know it.” Chai replied, breathing in to get back into the previous position. His friend turned towards him, surprised.
“Chai, I know you’re pissed, but that’s not…” She started, but he interrupted her by waving the robot arm.
“Don’t underestimate me yet, just momentarily mad at the situation.” He gestured to the door while continuing. “Reassurance doesn’t work with Kors. To her it sounds like she has to live up to it, but her confidence is on the floor, Pepper. If you want to get to her heart, go in with a plan that she can add to.”
“Oh, come on, Chai!” She closed her fists when her face reddened at that last bit, but had to give a trembling smile back. “I hate it when you’re right.”

He stuck out his tongue, and she laughed to herself while she walked around the open door and closed it slightly behind her. Then, to Macaron and CNMN, he sighed.

“Though I guess those plans can’t include me, now…” He said wistfully.
“Oh, cheer up, little guy!” Macaron said, looking away from a map of the island in one of the screens. “I don’t think throwing you at the problem was going to work forever. You’ll be back on your feet before 6pm, I’m sure!”
“Yeah, but if I can’t battle without fighting with my own arm…” He clanged it with his flesh fingers; it still needed polishing. “What am I even going to do?”
“Well, you can… Work together with us, same as always!”
“Though, I believe Sir Macaron means putting yourself less in the forefront, this time.” CNMN said. “Maybe a bit more like me!”
“I-I wouldn’t go that far.” Macaron added quickly. “In fact, thanks to you, I’ve been thinking of something else.”
“Thanks to me…?” Chai said, looking over his shoulder to face him.
“Yup! As long as enough units have leftover battery…” He started, scratching his beard.

Before he finished his sentence, Korsica threw the door open, her face reddened but determined, and they ended up speaking together.

“… I think we’ve got a plan!”

She froze when she noticed, hand still over the handle. Peppermint walked up, confused.

“U-uh. You first, Mac.” Korsica said sheepishly.

Roxanne being at the residential district instead of the tower wasn’t a mistake, actually. She still needed to find a moment where her presence wasn’t requested constantly to reassure guests and insist that no, there was no robot uprising about to break out, but the opportunity appeared eventually.
Though the Post-Kale units were mistrustful, they were very susceptible to bribery, and that added up to an order from her that they wouldn’t ignore:

“Though we’re all locked down here, a suggestion from one of our treasured employees might be just what we needed while we wait for Security to finish their job.” She said over intercom, chuckling at Macaron’s notes. “Apparently, the world record for the most robots inside a maze was set by a competitor last year, and we haven’t challenged it even with Production Central Garden’s lovely hedge maze!”

She coughed to put on a more professional tone, as it would be used for the PSAs.

“We have a few SP-55 that have no problems with recording the formal reopening of the hedge maze. All robotic employees that report there today will be granted an additional day off, no exceptions, once this issue is resolved. However, you must all be there until 8pm to account for units that can’t traverse the island as quickly, then we’ll tally everyone.” Finally, she put on her most optimistic tone to end the speech. “This is not an obligation, but a reward, for helping ease the minds of our guests here at the Vandelay Campus.”

As other people in the small administration rooms chatted among themselves at that announcement, Roxanne shook her head. Something like this wouldn’t happen even by a miracle during her son’s reign, that she could tell even in isolation from the rest of the company for so long.
Momentarily, that broke though her delight at her employees’ plan.

She never got through to Kale, and now, well, it was more than too late. With Macaron’s story, it was even more painful for her to realize that trying to appease him was exactly what tore them apart further. Something that, most likely, she would have done even if told about his behavior by Grenadine, as the last attempt of delivering a reality check to one of her children had gone very, very south.
There was one benefit to the baby steps of treating work and family with equal respect, though – Roxanne still knew very well how to put on a good face as something else needed her attention once again.
There would be time to make sure that Peppermint would have the attention and love she deserved, and with the revelation that Kale had so many leftover plans, plenty of work for all of them. But, his abusive practices were now bringing an element of surprise that their opponent might not expect…

Macaron’s plan had tight timing, but if it worked, Grenadine wouldn’t see it coming.
With the promise of a day off, any unit that wasn’t running out of battery would give their all to make it in time, and being the world’s biggest hedge maze, there’d be plenty of space – and plenty of SCR-UB units causing a mess and keeping anyone from getting bored and leaving.
The only units to ignore such a reward would either be in rest mode, or compromised. In a few hours, they’d be able to track every one of them just by monitoring which units were moving outside of the maze at all, and find out whatever Grenadine was planning before they made it known!
It was much more complicated than Korsica’s plan, which she put into action with Peppermint’s help, after making sure all the modded Project Armstrong subjects were feeling better. In fact, they barely shared the details other than a specific unit they wanted to look for and capture, but if it was out of concern for them getting away, or an excuse for them to go do something alone, Chai was woefully not informed of.

“Hm… Couldn’t you make sure your current song has the same beat as whatever Grenadine throws at us?” Macaron suggested while taking note of vulnerable areas of the campus, mostly to have something to do while they waited.
“Oh, I wish.” Chai grimaced. “I know it looks like I pick from my music player, but absolutely not. Like…” He looked slightly down, as if he could see through his shirt. “Dude, I’d really love something along the lines of Rose Falcon right about now, it’s been in my head all day!”

As it finished the current song, rather than shuffling to that artist, however, it instead shuffled to Fatboy Slim’s The Rockafeller Skank. As the synths kicked in, Chai stared at Macaron and CNMN with a different kind of pain.

“Yeah. Doesn’t work.”

Macaron sighed and rubbed under his glasses, but only at their own situation. Though the plans would help a ton, they’d need to be a little lucky if they came to a confrontation again.
Sometime later, the two women returned to the hideout, and Korsica uncharacteristically made a beeline to her usual couch to lay on and rub her temples.
Chai got up slightly to gesture to Peppermint without saying anything aloud, but when she just responded with a thumbs down and a head shake, he slid back into his previous position, frustrated. Macaron could make a few guesses as to their soundless conversation, but had too much on his mind to bother with it at the moment.

“If any other units decide they want to talk instead of a fight, please count me out for the time being.” Korsica ranted from her spot. “I never thought I’d say dealing with people is easier than certain robots.”
“Buuut… We’ve got both traps set up.” Peppermint tried to add a positive side to it, kneeling to scratch a rather energetic 808. When she had enough and decided to parade around the room for someone else to pet her, Peppermint turned to Macaron to ask: “So, what’s next, Mac?”
“Just like we have two ways to corner them, we’ll need to guarantee they’ll fall for it.” Macaron leaned in with a smile, barely able to contain his excitement. “CNMN, did you find that outfit?”

CNMN’s head poked out of his lair of costumes, making Chai’s spare jackets fall out all over the place. However, his expression was very determined.

“Despite Lady Korsica’s best efforts to hide it, yes!”
“Nice! So here’s the plan: while we stop compromised units from turning equipment back on, CNMN will give us an extra hour to find out how the units want to destroy the campus; because we’re going to let Grenadine act early.”
“Ooooh, I’m starting to get your idea.” Korsica said, looking much better while she leaned over her couch to see everyone else clearly.
“Iiiii don’t.” Chai said bluntly, massaging his knee. He could already move it, but needed a bit more time. “What do we gain by letting that jerk – no offense, Mac – do what they want?”
“It’s just as I said before, Chai.” Macaron pulled a tablet, setting it up to track the movement of various units around the campus. “Grenadine is pretty reckless. And, well, having such a first impression of us, they’re about to regret acting first and thinking later.”

Chai’s eyes widened and he lifted a hand up to his chin, which for everyone’s relief, meant he got it for once.

Chapter Text

They signed document after document and typed away in between sheets of paper, starting the endless task of approving forms to be digitized. All stolen, of course; that warehouse was far from anything resembling Vandelay HR, but apparently, the tests required the real deal.

Every nerve in their body wanted to drop the pen, throw away the tablet, and break the metal fingers that moved their head around like a prize animal… But it would never turn into an action.

“See? The update was perfect; no convulsions since last week, and starts at the exact time we set up.” Zanzo, still using a prototype version of his arm prosthetics, was practically jittering with delight as he moved Grenadine’s head to various uncomfortable angles. “You could even poke their eyelights and they’d keep working like nothing’s wrong!”

“And what about extending the time it’ll be active?” Someone right in front of them said, with a despondent tone that betrayed any attempt at responding with authority. Kale.

“S1REN checks the list of commands at all times, that’s why it consumes so much energy.” Zanzo didn’t bother letting go of their head, even though it was facing the ceiling. “Since the final implant uses the algorithm I’ve been cooking up instead, oooh, it’ll run 24/7 if it needs to!”

“And S1REN’s secondary functions, should anything go wrong?”

“Never went anywhere, but believe me, they won’t be needed.”

“Now that’s much better.” Thanks to Kale’s massive height, Grenadine could see a hint of blonde bangs from the corner of their goggles, as he walked forward. “Do you hear that, Ren? You were useful to your boss in more ways than one, without opening your yap.” He scoffed. “Mother even leaves her implant’s control panel at her office; I can install the AI at any time.”

“Gonna need a new name, though. S1REN is already patented.” Zanzo finally let go to position his elbows against his torso; it let him gesture more easily. “I’ve even made a list of suggestions! You see, there’s this show--”

“Can it. That’s for later.” Mercifully, one time Grenadine actually wanted to hear that out of their captor.

Kale leaned towards the table and now the head of HR could see him fully. They tried to gather any knowledge of mental fortitude, or anything of use from their brief psychology subjects back in college, mentally yell everything they wanted to do at themselves.

Get up.

Get up. He’s within reach.

He’s still planning his body replacement. He’s still fully human. Throw a punch.

Break his face. Push the table. Run. Do anything. Do anything.

If that changed anything in their expression, they didn’t know, only that no movement came aside from signing and tapping away just like before. All that brief moment seemed to do was widen Kale’s cruel grin even more.

“I think we should set Ren up with a meeting with the CEO, before she steps down. Maybe even have a couple of drinks!” He suggested, straightening up again. “Would they even be aware?”

“If they are, it doesn’t matter to the AI!” The scientist replied, then immediately went on a tangent. “I wonder if we could transfer both of their consciousnesses to terminals while S1REN and the new one work? It’s like, a real, literal, out of body experience! Oh, you could even apply this to...”

“Okay, I regret asking. Let’s go before the guards change.” Kale talked over him while he prattled on, rolling his eyes and turning around to leave the warehouse. A few steps in, he looked back and gestured, even more annoyed. “Zanzo, do you want to avoid security on your way out or not? You know you’re not even hired yet.”

“Ah, my apologies!” Zanzo replied, preferring to write it down as he left with Kale.

The HR boss has seen it time and again. The metal door slammed shut, and they were left alone once again. Writing, tapping, writing, tapping, nothing but working against their mind’s will. Next time, they had to, they had to--

Grenadine’s forehead hit the tablet they were holding up, and it clattered on the table. With that ultimate form of autopilot, they could only entertain themselves watching robots come and go or with memories, rarely the good ones.

Noticing they were shuddering, though, they immediately looked at their clock; still 5pm, and no one else at the office.

Something scared them really well out of S1REN’s grasp…

“...For refusing to comply with Security and injuring other employees, we have the building surrounded. You have ten minutes to deactivate your defenses and allow us entry, or we will be forced to fight our way in.”

That voice belonged to the red haired lady from before…? Putting their thoughts together, Grenadine realized they were listening to an announcement from a megaphone or a similar device. Groggily, they left their table to look through the hole in their office, trying to find the source of the sound. At least, one benefit from their plan was having the much missed view of the sky!

On the ground however, they saw that the pile of containers had been partially blown aside and their compromised units had made a circle to protect that entrance… And on the opposite side, a significant amount of robots that weren’t under their control, led by a red figure. A few WA-ES-2’s swords were still smoldering, showing how they opened a line of sight to the office, and quickly, the reason for their scare was apparent.

“I repeat; you have ten minutes!” The figure’s megaphone blared. All units around them already had attacking formations ready to advance.

Grenadine never fully expected them to have listened to the warnings, and now, one of the possible outcomes was before them.

But, though it certainly looked like it from that distance, the siege wasn’t actually being led by the Head of Security.

“I swear, dude, Lady Korsica looks taller today.” An SBR-001 told someone nearby.

“For the love of… If you haven’t figured that out by now, I’m not saying anything.” A fellow security unity ranted.

“Do we actually go in after ten minutes, Sir?” Another asked their temporary leader, to cut off that conversation, quietly.

“Quite the opposite!”

CNMN, disguised as Korsica, said without turning his head around, to pretend he was speaking into the megaphone and not just playing a recording.

“You can fire once to get their attention and then, well, run away at will!” He resisted pulling a marker with his free hand. “I’m confident we can’t be followed.”

The others looked at each other, surprised with such a strange order. But Korsica had personally entrusted CNMN with them (or was it the other way around…?), so they had no intention of going against it.

“Oh. That’s not actually Lady Korsica, is it?” The first unit finally realized.

Too far to listen to any of that, and backing away immediately, Grenadine’s thoughts raced.

They only had a few minutes, well less than that limit, before they lost control again. There was no way to actively fight off that invasion, and though the robots could hold their ground, the commands for their units to defend the building would lead to a lot of losses, that they couldn’t afford now that the charging stations were turned off.

Startling them even more, the auxiliary door beeped and then opened.

“Ser Grenadine, I’m sorry, but--!” CAR-11E #086 came through the small door, panicking just like their newer brethren instead of their usual composure. “Oh, you’re up! T-the entire place is surrounded! What do we do?!”

“I-I don’t have time to stop it!” They yelled back, pulling up their tablet and scrolling through the list of what S1REN was currently connected to. “The VA-SER units managed to break into a workshop while I was out, good. Nearest SP-55, I need one of you here. Another at the coordinates registered yesterday. Both of you connected for video feed.”

The eyelights flickered, filling Grenadine with even more panic at how little time they had left. Maybe enough fear to last a little longer…

“Everyone else not protecting the building, follow the second SP-55.”

“S-ser! You don’t have to do this! There’s still time to…” #086 didn’t want to continue when Grenadine looked at them with desperation.

Grenadine almost pitied the little guy’s pleading – misnomer of a nickname aside, considering they were almost face-to-face. Years of service, so many they were incompatible with S1REN due to really old firmware, meant that the robot’s AI had long surpassed fear of firing (after avoiding replacement for so long, somehow) and wasn’t as prone to panicking.

That pleading wasn’t out of a priority to protect their boss, but genuine concern, because that office could become a grave. But, when it came down to it, #086 could leave at any time and even hide inside cargo, and Grenadine couldn’t. Only one option existed to them.

“No, I can’t waste this chance. Starting the final stages of the plan, now.”

With an audio recording after another, they could feel their own hands’ control slip away once they finished sending the most essential orders. Just enough time to put the tablet back in a pocket… And then, once more, stuck in their own mind, as they turned on their own feet and wordlessly walked back to their table.

------

They fell hook, line, and sinker – though despite the island location, no one in the team had the time or interest in fishing.

While Chai recovered, with a welcomed warm 808 on his lap, the rest used the unit tracking to keep an eye out on anything that moved away from the hedge maze and had a busy day. While the compromised units’ efforts were mostly to turn charging stations back on and diverting power to workshops with large groups, they could be ambushed and captured quickly there, until their orders changed as expected when CNMN acted as decoy at the department graveyard.

Suddenly, the robots’ focus was entirely on stealing weapons from maintenance stations, and even trying to set up alternate network systems – a lot to do in less than an hour and indicative of a much bigger plan.

Indeed, sometime before the end of the work shift in a normal day, they saw all compromised units away from Sector 12-C suddenly start moving to one spot, and it was time for the team to regroup and prepare for anything that came next.

The robots didn’t seem to care about being followed, but the group was still careful, especially since Chai had just started to run around again. An ARM-D11’s laser made short work of a locked door to the underground and the (smaller) swarm poured in, gathering at a L.I.F.T. station and having all their attention focused on its terminal.

“Wow, if there’s ever a zombie outbreak, do you think it’s gonna be this easy?” He whispered, sneaking through the station’s signs with the others. 808 covered for his unavailable arms, striking a thinking pose.

“Do I even ask how you got to that question?” Peppermint used a free hand to squeeze the bridge of her nose. “Zombies can smell people unlike robots, for starters.”

“Not quite. It never made out of prototyping, but…” Macaron started, finding their little argument really entertaining.

“Stay focused, you three.” Korsica interrupted them as they stopped at the edge of the station, behind some benches.

She gestured to the clock on the other end. In the time it took for the units to gather there, it was already 6pm. Soon, they could hear a very quiet bit of music from somewhere.

An SP-55 hovered nearby while a TEC-78 accessed an emergency panel in the terminal, forcibly turning it on. With a press of a button, they called for a L.I.F.T., and the group that could fit in the station arranged itself while it arrived, still facing the terminal while the maintenance unit typed in a destination.

“Okay… Okay.” Grenadine’s voice could be heard through the SP-55; they most likely wanted to see the process by themselves through video feed. “I think the units here scared away the security. Don’t know. No time to check. Did you finish the upgrades on our main unit…?”

There was shuffling in the corridor, making an opening to a way different type of wheeled unit than they were used to – a heavily armored SEN-CO, with a new purple paintjob, a horned helmet that didn’t fit any existing units, and a couple of their umbrella barrier generators were strapped to their back, looking more like a knight than a guard.

Hardly efficient and their weight imbalance made them wobble at times, but just from the fact they weren’t zooming around like their blue friends, the upgrade clearly had a singular purpose.

“Perfect, the SEN-TAUR’s done, they’ll stop any leftover defenses. Alright. All units, to Security Wing 1. As many L.I.F.T.s as it takes. Only need one to copy S1REN to a major terminal, then…”

The SP-55 turned around to their transportation, and Grenadine’s voice faded. While they were sharing their plans aloud, the team made themselves comfortable on the newly installed seating.

“Dope, so we’re all going to the same station!” Chai said, with the cheekiest grin on his face. “Hope there’s enough space for all of us.”

Chapter Text

Without Grenadine in person, the robots had no commands to protect anyone, and just walked in like nothing had changed. The SP-55 still had some sense left though, turning to the group, then the team, incredulously.

This time, Peppermint didn’t give them time to prepare defenses.

“Now, 808!” She yelled before Grenadine could grab their tablet.

The robot cat turned back into her regular form on top of the L.I.F.T. terminal, startling the TEC-78 as she aimed right on top of the button to activate the transport. Before any hands could reach out to her, she transformed back into orb form, and flew to the team’s side as the whole platform rose and released its brakes.

“How…?!” Grenadine yelled through the SP-55

“I mean, didn’t you pay attention to Korsica’s PSA that kept other robots away from yours? Or was it just background noise to you-- Ow.” Chai’s attempt at a pun was interrupted by a baton poking his sore ribs, with Korsica not even turning to him as she got up.

“Either way, ignoring my warnings, and invading my department?” She opened the baton’s stun devices as the bridge to the station closed. “I don’t know what you were expecting, honestly.”

“Expecting you all to listen, maybe.” The flying robot positioned itself on a railing; with no fighting capabilities, they had no reason to attack Grenadine’s mouthpiece. “But it matters not. You’re about to be on a moving metal slab full of units listening to S1REN’s every order, and there’s even more coming.”

“You can still stop this, Grenadine.” Macaron said without facing the screen, getting up. “You know I don’t like escalating things, but we’ve got the space to fight if we must.”

“Not when I’m this close.” Grenadine gestured, and the SEN-TAUR jumped from the station and into the L.I.F.T. just as its engines started. “You’ve really changed, Macaron. So much for making the world better; now you’re trying to stop that from happening.”

“Close to what, anyway? Add some urgency to this fight, buddy!” Chai mocked.

The team rolled their eyes, but somehow, that got to the head of HR, and they heard them groaning even through the video call.

Though the tunnel echoed with auxiliary platforms arriving, they were off before they got to the station, slowly but surely picking up speed. Not a sensation Chai would ever get used to, but if it meant getting on Grenadine’s nerves, he’d accept the trade.

“I’m not here to add theatrics, or whatever you all do now to have people like him on staff.” They hissed, and Chai only returned with a fake pout. “One data node, just one, and there’s access to every terminal on the island that needs surveillance data. I couldn’t quite breach any of the elevators going further underground…”

They didn’t continue, but Macaron put it together. The team was startled at how suddenly… Angry, he looked. Not the sudden flash of rage from his grievances with Zanzo, a very different type of indignation.

“The island stability system…? You wouldn’t lay a finger on that bugger! My life’s work!” He replied, his tone much louder than usual. Grenadine seemed surprised to hear Mac upset, but kept their composure.

“You were always sharing how little it took, for Mount Camellia to blow without the system’s measures; R&D’s tunnels all under it, after all.”

“We’d have about… Five hours to evacuate if turned off.” Macaron replied like he was recalling something.

“And it’d be hard to activate the backups if, say, the lava containment failed with it, and the entire place was the first to melt. Keeps you up at night, so much that Smidge units prioritize earth tremor warnings.”

The two stared at each other, and the rest of the team hesitated in interfering. You could cut the tension with a knife. That was an old conversation, that got twisted into something much darker.

“The eruption would get the department graveyard first. And S1REN doesn’t let you leave.” Macaron stated, matter-of-factly.

“I’ve spent most of my life solving the company’s worst issues... I can do it one more time.”

Despite the attempt to reply with confidence, their voice was clearly trembling.

“I heard plenty.” Korsica said, interrupting that turn on the negotiation. “For our sake and yours, these these units aren’t getting to Wing 1.”

“You’re free to try, unlike me.”

Grenadine clicked their tongue, and the SEN-TAUR put down an umbrella, activating a barrier big enough for itself and the SP-55.

“I’ve got just the thing for that, and plenty of space, this time!” Peppermint said, getting up and drawing a blaster; then gesturing a hand towards Chai. “C’mon, Chai, anyone that makes Mac this upset needs their ass kicked.”

“Hear, hear!” He replied with newfound energy, taking her hand to get out of the short seats. He felt good enough to jump around as usual, but after all the recent fights, it paid to be careful.

Macaron seemed a bit more relaxed as they got closer to attack together, while Grenadine was nervous while sending the order to their robots. It didn’t feel right to only have one side with that support, but the situation was too urgent to linger on that.

As they drew swords, activated claws and more, Chai noticed the music player had gotten into the mood. It kicked in with a song from the game franchise that had come up so much, these last few days. Was it actually trying to match their opponent? If so, a very welcome gesture.

[Crush 40

“What I’m Made Of...”

Complete Trinity: Sonic Heroes Original Soundtrax

Wave Master Inc.]

The bombastic guitar matched the robots preparing to strike, rising in volume with a few SES-103 that stepped forward.

The danger was well known – be careful not to fall off the transport, don’t get blindsided fighting on only one of its sides, and forcing the brakes would end badly for literally everyone. They shouldn’t get comfortable with their current opponents, either, because there would be more coming using the auxiliary L.I.F.T.s and anything else at Grenadine’s disposal.

As Chai stepped forward to give them a world of hurt, though, a gesture from Macaron reminded him of their previous discussion.

“C’mon, little guy – no need to shield us all this time. We’ll coordinate!” He said, eyeing the shields on the first units.

With an agreement solely through expression, Chai let him take the first move once again, preparing for an opening instead of fighting recklessly. As the first SES-103 activated their jets to tackle them, Macaron responded in kind, sending them back at double the speed.

[I don’t care what you're thinkin', as you turn to me

'Cause what I have in my two hands

Is enough to set me free]

The impact sent others reeling back – plenty of time to avoid the shields. With a nod, Chai and Korsica picked the nearest two, aiming strikes perfectly to smash them into each other.

The first one had lost its Z-shielding, but had plenty of fight in them – and it was Peppermint’s turn to aim the cannon at a spot they deliberately avoided. The massive electric blast stunned all of them at once, and once Macaron made short work of the remaining shields, one gesture gave the team plenty of time to dispatch the elite infantry without resistance.

The path between the team and their opponents was already covered in broken metal, and the SBR-001s right behind didn’t seem to get shaken by first impressions. Raising his scrap guitar to his back and pointing at the ceiling, Chai gestured his head towards Korsica, who used a cyclone to keep the units exactly in the line of fire of his next attack.

[Is it me, you say, you're looking for…]

Using the increasing pile of scrap, Chai charged up a Gain Tornado and struck everything in front of him, and the basic units were sent flying into the rails. The first wave was going well, if his friends’ cheers were of any indication! Only one problem left to account for…

“Don’t just charge in, match their strategy!”

The last ones standing were a pair of KEM-0N0s, looking for their next prey. Chai was used to the beast robots’ speed, but not the others. In fact, none of them are the kind of people to like pets on the bigger side…

But focusing on the task, he saw them both circling the platform; they weren’t going to tackle, but strike with the back paws’ knives. A ranged attack to give their boss a very good view of the team.

[Let me show you who I am and what I'm here for, here for…]

“Gonna need someone to keep that knight in shining armor busy!” He yelled out, preparing to parry.

“We’ve got it!” Peppermint replied, using her prosthetic’s strength to propel herself into one end of the L.I.F.T. quickly.

One, two, three, and so on; Chai winced when the recoil from pushing the dozen or so knives back was a bit much on the knees, but he could keep his full focus on it while Peppermint destroyed the barrier and forced the SEN-TAUR to replace them.

[Try to reach inside of me!]

“I thought you kitties had claws, but mine’s got way sharper ones!” He taunted while giving 808 a good pet, even in orb form. That got the KEM-0N0 real mad, and as they hissed and moved to melee, he knew it was time to step back. “Mac, Kors, your turn!”

While the two stopped close-range electric rounds and slashes, Grenadine was trying to keep track of his movements, probably attempting to take advantage of S1REN. Too bad for them, the KEM-0N0s were dashing all around and obscuring their vision, and with a challenge like that, the song’s chorus was loud to match.

[Try to drain my energy!]

“The speakers are so loud already, but nothing…” They ranted at themselves while Peppermint gave the SEN-TAUR a real workout. “Tire them out while reinforcements arrive!”

The next units had better arrive fast, because one of the beast robots was already smashed in two with a good punch. Grenadine cursed under their breath.

[Let me show you just what I'm made of!]

Korsica put the last one into rage mode by whaling away with her staff, and followed Chai’s lead when its desperation attack started. He started throwing the first laser blast against a wall, then they continued with the next four as if it was rehearsed. His thing was playing solo most of the time, but he was starting to like this coordinated attack strategy!

[Simple curiosity! Try to take a bite of me!]

She let him finish it off as usual. With one dash right through its power core, the KEM-0N0 exploded, not long before they heard the auxiliary platforms announcing their next challengers.

[Let me show you just what I'm made of now!]

The new wave consisted of BA-B00 and both types of tank units, all able to take quite a beating, and a VUL-REV that flew in by itself.

“If we keep moving, Grenadine has no chance of focusing on Chai!” Korsica noted. “Let’s keep it up for this next group, everyone!”

One of the BA-B00 units charged up its electricity while jumping in, pushing Peppermint away from the barriers through its shock wave alone. As the others joined the fight, though, there was no way for her to get through them without getting hit by their shocking slams.

Thinking quickly, Chai used his new move on a large shard of Z-Shielding and threw it at the closest enemy to her, giving Korsica time to dive in and pull her away, while spinning her staff with the other hand.

While she left Peppermint with Chai and went right back in to distract them before they could activate their barriers, he gave one look at his friend while she regained her footing, and his eyebrows dropped.

“Pepper, keep it together, you’re blushing.” He said as quietly as possible under the echo of the tunnel.

“R-really?!” She whispered back, trying to shake her hands and head subtly when he nodded.

“Me and 808 will give you a second. You’ve been waiting for your turn, haven’t you, girl?” He replied, fist-bumping their robotic cat as she left orb form and got ready.

Macaron finished using that opening to destroy the HG-0G’s shielding, and as Korsica finished putting away the fire jets from the VUL-REV, it was time. They had plenty of reverb for this!

“Let’s go 808, steal the show!”

Born for it, as all cats were, she jumped near the units and gave them the ol’ razzle dazzle. Adorably licking her beans and scratching her head while on two paws, dropping on the ground and rolling around as if waiting for pets (not really, though), trying to catch her own tail before getting up and looking like a ball with limbs sticking out at random. Even the normally vicious bird unit was entranced!

To finish it off, syncing up entirely with Chai’s timing, she gave a long, well-earned stretch and yawn, and the enemies were done for. Under “awws” and cooing that seemed unbelievable to come from such aggressive units, they forgot entirely about the fight.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, your cat is adorable, that much is true.” Grenadine said with a nod, but unaffected. From that distance, they probably couldn’t see 808 too well.

“Oooh, big stretch!” The SEN-TAUR said to themselves, however, leaning on an umbrella to take a better look. The SP-55 faced them in a quick motion, their boss aghast.

“Come on, you can’t--” They tapped their tablet once, but then quickly, with a worse expression. “...You’re telling me this locked up the commands.”

[Is it me (is it me?), you say (you say?), you're looking for]

“They’re all yours, Macaron!” Chai yelled, as 808 returned to his shoulder for a rewarding pet, and jumped back into orb form.

[Let me show you who I am and what I have in store, in store...]

“You’re all well past your stop!” Macaron said in response, letting his arm implants’ pistons pull back entirely.

Following the song’s transition to the chorus, he hopped as close as possible to one of the BA-B00 units and punched slightly towards the ground. Though even one of Chai’s swings would’ve just damaged the robot’s knees, Macaron’s punch at full strength tore their waist joint to bits – and with a follow-up uppercut that pulled him forward, the others were thrown upwards by the sheer force, left to gravity’s mercy as they fell back into the rails rather than the platform.

[Try to reach inside of me!]

Only the VUL-REV left, and now Chai and Peppermint could take over. While she changed a blaster into shotgun mode to make sure it wouldn’t fly back up, Chai dashed just close enough to let 808 skewer it with her claws.

[Try to drain my energy!]

Then, as it finally had room to breathe and try to throw its jets around to attack both at the same time, Chai threw his guitar onto the ground and stomped on it, and the shock wave threw the VUL-REV close enough for Peppermint to aim almost point blank at the head.

[Let me show you just what I'm made of!]

As it exploded into bits, a few VUL-TOR1 caught up with the L.I.F.T. through the air, but having just dealt with their stronger form, there was little hope for the newcomers. They roared and dove in anyway with claws, but this time, the team had space to throw them down to the platform and fight to their heart’s content.

[Simple curiosity! Try to take a bite of me!]

Their boss was focused on their tablet, not even noticing they were about to lose their entire wave. Korsica took full advantage of their new environment – as the bird units were thrown around, she masterfully created cyclones to throw even further up, and they exploded by crashing against the ceiling after a few attempts.

[Let me show you just what I'm made of now!]

“Come ooon…” Grenadine whispered, not realizing their mic still picked it up. “What’s this about the rail yard? My best unit here just realized cats exist--” They shot a glare at the SEN-TAUR, still entranced. “Reroute power to the yard, and get everyone prepared to board if you must!”

“I think we can officially say we’re doing much better this time!” Chai boasted, resting the guitar over his shoulder.

“I won’t be so sure until we’re out of this L.I.F.T….” Macaron said, the initial rush of battle being replaced by his more usual nervousness.

The SEN-TAUR finally snapped out of the trance, and fumbled with its umbrellas back into their quiver. And with the screech of metal, their reinforcements arrived – an ever resilient Super ES-101, and a group of units equipped with fire, barely wasting a second to jump in and join the battle.

[You can take another life-long try,]

If Grenadine’s orders were any indication, they’d have a break after this. However, they’d have to work for it, as the SEN-TAUR positioned themselves back to protect the SP-55, but stayed on its own barrier this time, clearly to join the battle.

[You can take another try!]

“Me and Peppermint can take care of the rest--” Korsica directed. “—But the faster we get rid of the barrier generators, the better!”

Nodding as the song’s guitar solo started in full force, Macaron and Chai went straight through the bigger group together, engaging with the SEN-TAUR right as Peppermint shot through their barrier to open it up for attack.

Though a BL-1Z5 tried to attack from behind, Korsica launched a typhoon attack at them, making them flail and crash into the seats – took them long enough to get damaged in the battle. Moving into the other enemies, she kept steady hands to blow out the flames whenever anything got close to Peppermint, as she shot with precision and occasionally had to kick a bit of distance between everyone.

Though, maybe steady by the rest of her friends’ standards. The occasional shakiness barely affected her attacks, but it was still hardly inefficient, like she was distracted while keeping an eye on her younger friend’s movements to make sure she’d be absolutely safe. Maybe… No, absolutely a thought that could wait, as she had to disengage the staff and throw an SBR-CUR that threatened to explode out of the platform.

Meanwhile, the SEN-TAUR proved its upgrades, and Macaron was almost tempted to lose focus and pay attention to the ways their AI adjusted to new strategies. To attack, it accelerated and used its weight and an umbrella to tackle the two like a jousting knight, but before Chai could counter, it spun on its wheels just like its normal counterparts to redirect his guitar out of the way, then opened the umbrella to reactivate barriers for everyone including itself. Despite all the problems with their unstable emotions, there was potential there!

Or maybe… Grenadine was covering for a lot of it. That thought put Mac right back into the fight, and when Peppermint jumped to fire everywhere and destroy the barriers once again, he didn’t hesitate, damaging its armor with punches and using the back of his implants to stop the wheels from pushing him back.

The extra resilience allowed the SEN-TAUR to jump out of the danger, and they skirmished with Chai’s guitar after he dashed after them, replacing the umbrella with quick movements even when the scrap metal proved stronger and destroyed one. As Chai and 808 finished off with a Harmonic Beam, they dove out of the way just in time, only to be met with a punch from Macaron that forced it back and once again into a barrier.

“Don’t overdo it-- I think I’ve got him.” Grenadine announced, and Chai and Macaron cursed fighting so near the screen.

But, as the Head of HR lifted their tablet to sabotage Chai’s arm in some way, they suddenly stopped, and so did the SEN-TAUR. The mic barely picked it up, but the two noticed that while trying to use S1REN, Grenadine was actually hearing Chai’s music player through their device, mouth half-open and their goggles obscuring any emotion.

“That song…” Their hesitation was the cue to get away.

Macaron activated a gravity well, forcing the SEN-TAUR to stay in between them even if he took a few scratches from their horns, and Chai mumbled a surprised thanks before using the Magnet Link to stay mobile.

[Try to reach inside of me!]

“Need help with the cleanup, Kors?” He said, vaulting over the Super ES-101 to confuse their attacks.

“Got them all lined up and ready!” She answered, with the same ferocious smile he had.

[Try to drain my energy!]

She used a gust that disoriented the unit, and Chai followed up with a series of attack to finish up with an Echo Splash. The wave of scrap broke its guard and also lifted up the other enemies, and the team was free to continue the onslaught on the air.

[Let me show you just what I'm made of!]

“No!” Grenadine said, realizing their lapse in judgment.

Korsica broke the Super ES-101’s power core with well aimed baton, Peppermint shot one of the GNR-FL0 until they were shrapnel themselves, and Chai smashed the remaining SBR-CUR with barely a hit in the air; the two women had made short work of them, alright!

[Simple curiosity! Try to take a bite of me!]

The BL-1Z5 started a desperation attack before even being hit, terrified. But none of the stances in the world could stop the team’s attacks in response, blocking all of their punches and throwing them off the platform unceremoniously. Only one robotic nuisance left!

[Let me show you just what I'm made of now…]

“They’re moving again!” Macaron warned as his gravity well ran out.

“And they’re gonna regret it!” Peppermint announced.

She had time to even spin a blaster in the air before destroying the SEN-TAUR’s barrier with one hit.

[Try to reach inside of me (Let me show you what I'm made of...)]

“You can hold on, SEN-TAUR, don’t stop with the barriers!” Grenadine yelled.

But before they could place down another, Korsica had jumped to their side and stabbed with the full staff, missing their torso but destroying the quiver. They were surrounded, and out of defenses!

[Try to take my energy (Let me show you what I'm made of...)]

Macaron and Chai knew exactly how to break the last of the knight’s resistance. Chai dashed out of the way to let Mac start, and together, they attacked with a Double Bass Drop, and even the SEN-TAUR realized the end of the song would come with a final double-hit, raising their flimsy arms up.

[Let me show you just – what – I'm – made – of!]

Though not fully destroyed, the unit was thrown into the L.I.F.T.’s storage compartment, smashing the trapdoor and getting stuck there. With its weapons scattered about and most of its armor gone, there was no threat for as long as its wheels sadly spun in the air, looking for footing.

With a deep breath and momentarily exhausted, the team turned to the only compromised unit that survived, giving a second to see if more reinforcements arrived – but none did. So, it was just them and Grenadine once more. And the SP-55, who was too intimidated to add much to the matter anyway.

“There.” Macaron said, cleaning off chips from his wrists. “You couldn’t stop us at all.”

“A few minutes of a breather, sure – but I’ve got so many more units coming straight after you!” Grenadine hissed. “Every time, just every time, someone’s always trying to stand in the way of a perfectly good plan!”

“For someone that hates Kale a ton, you sure talk a lot like him sometimes.” Chai added nonchalantly, 808 nodding in agreement.

“Well--?! His plans worked almost perfectly, didn’t they?!” Grenadine was full on ranting now, but if they kept on talking, they wouldn’t coordinate their swarm, at least. “I-I was just so sure that I was getting all the intel right under his nose as we hang out, that all the little slip-ups he’d make were more evidence to the files… But nobody listened to me!”

“Wait, wait—Getting intel?” Macaron asked, surprised.

“I wasn’t about to be buddies with someone like that!” They replied, exasperated. “I wanted to understand his side, motivations, change his mind, not really become a friend, but…! He had time to get his claws all over the company then, and then even more after, because no one took my warning seriously!”

A hand slammed over the table shook the SP-55 on the other end, making the recording bend somewhat. They reached out a shaking hand, almost as if trying to literally grasp the situation.

“A-and you all! You all know this, and yet you still fight for the actual compromised element, the company itself!”

“Well, until you came along, we were actually running after Kale’s problems just fine.” Korsica scoffed, leaning on both batons together. “Mostly fine.” She corrected, quietly.

“And Vandelay helped out so many people, even before getting to this size!” Peppermint added, gesturing around her. “It’s taking a lot of work, but it wouldn’t be right to discard all that when we know we can do so much better.”

“Plus, it’s not even the whole company…” Everyone’s eyes were on Chai, expecting him to say something outrageous, but he confidently gestured to keep talking. “I’ve got this. You’re not gonna erase what’s outside the island. How do you think I got here in the first place, getting a cool robot arm, a job, real friends...?” He trailed off with a smile at the end, looking to a side.

Macaron didn’t add anything, still looking ahead at the screen. In fact… He didn’t have to say a thing. Whatever the Head of R&D had to say about what made Vandelay Technologies worth restoring to form, Grenadine knew.

The years working together to make a worthy legacy. Supporting Roxanne’s vision and her efforts to solve the energy crisis, disasters around the world, and anything other good deeds that it led to. And where the company faltered, their pride in knowing they’d be able to fix it if the departments worked together, against all odds and clashing opinions. And outside of work, supporting as many people as they could, making friends, avoiding loneliness in that isolated island of theirs.

But, putting a lot of effort into not letting it show, Mac was afraid of the response. That was true to him still, but to Grenadine, it was many years behind. In fact, he could almost guess what was about to hear, and anxiety climbed up knowing how it’d hurt.

“A romantic ideal. In a world where there’s no greed to ruin it, that’d last, maybe. But are friendship speeches going to stop new sabotage, a new takeover?” They pushed their goggles back and leaned both arms on the table. “Say you and your friends can’t stop the next problem in the company, just waiting to strike, Macaron. Are you going to take responsibility if you fail?”

There it was.

He sighed. What was going to hurt more was not that, but the reply he’d have to give.

If he gave it a second, he’s sure Korsica would have a list, Peppermint would get angry, Chai would… Something. But Macaron had his answer ever since he realized how Grenadine saw the situation.

“I’ll take it better than you have, right now.”

“What?!” Grenadine yelled, in a mix of confusion and anger.

“W-wait, Macaron, are you sure…?” Korsica started, concerned, but he stopped her with a gesture.

“It’s alright. Let me continue with another question then, Grenadine.” Macaron made sure to spell it out slowly and professionally, the exact opposite of many cheerful meetings. “Say we let you do this. You turn the island into molten rock, every bit of research not stored overseas lost, people without jobs and homes overnight, decades’ worth of refined metals buried. But… That’s a lot of land suddenly freed up.”

He pauses, making sure he’s being heard. To the others, it’s unbelievable how Mac sounds when he’s not at least somewhat supportive of something, or trying to see the good side. It’s a disappointed tone that could break anyone’s spirit.

“It’s not going to take long before the next leading tech company buys it, and uses this all up for their own ambitions – and just like that, back to square one. If your sacrifice just starts it over, Grenadine, how would you feel?”

“I--- We don’t know if that’d happen.” The Head of HR stammers, moving their hands back to themselves.

“We don’t, that’s true. And you’ve been suffering too much there to care.” 808 decides to move shoulders, wondering if she could support Mac instead by sitting on his. “But, you love to make plans with the whole results laid out, regardless of others. Would you truly be happy, to destroy so much, just to fulfill your duty, when we could just stop all this and help you instead?”

Macaron’s voice echoes on the tunnel, against the wailing of the rails and the wind. As the others wait for a response and he pets 808 absentmindedly, Grenadine, for once, doesn’t seem to have an attempt at the last word. Lights turned off, they only faced their own hands.

It hurt, it really hurt to be this harsh to one of his oldest friends in the company. He’d keep on fighting if that still wasn’t enough, but he hoped that this would break through that wall put up between them – a move Grenadine would have to make alone, as CNMN described.

The tunnel echoed with the sound of other wheels, indicating more trouble was coming.

“It was worth a shot.” He said, sadness in his voice. “I don’t think I’ve changed one bit, trying to help even there’s no hope, unlike what you--”

“H-huh? What?” Grenadine’s goggles lit up like flashlights, when they put together what Macaron was saying. They tapped away at their tablet. “I-I’m still out of auxiliary L.I.F.T.s! The units are all stuck at the rail yard?”

“Wait, you’re not sending more dudes after us?” Chai asked loudly.

“No????” Grenadine replied, just as exasperated. (Now, they actually sounded somewhat alike.)

They tried to see what was coming up, and the SP-55 spun around for Grenadine to see. Eventually, they could see the shape was far bigger than platforms – and very red.

As soon as it became clear, Korsica and Chai stepped back instinctively. If it weren’t for their respective pacemaker-like implants, they might’ve skipped a heartbeat.

The CH-AS1R, the one robot they couldn’t fight, let alone defeat, was slowly gaining speed and catching up to the L.I.F.T.

“W-Wait, if you’re not controlling it, then…” Peppermint started, but a booming, semi-synthesized voice overtook any questioning from them.

“About time power was restored to the rail yard. I was almost wondering if I’d miss out on S1REN’s debut.”

A despondent tone, that betrayed any attempt at responding with authority. A voice that would never leave their memory. The single worst AI that could be possibly controlling CH-AS1R at that moment.

Just as Grenadine said, Kale had time to get his claws all over the company.

Chapter Text

Peppermint and Macaron just realized that their two other friends were closer to the incapacitated SEN-TAUR than to the railing, out of sheer fear. 808 immediately jumped down after them with a meow, trying to get them to focus on anything else before the incoming confrontation. And not unlike them, Grenadine was very still and almost disappearing into their seat.

Peppermint’s thoughts raced fast. They didn’t have time to analyze the CH-AS1R’s data during all that mess, so it just stayed in the rail yard’s storage – she should’ve known it was only on rest mode.

At least, its wireless capabilities were turned off just like with anything else waiting for that examination, so SPECTRA’s AI was stuck inside, only able to run the brain backup of its owner. Right now, cold comfort.

“Of course, you show up at the worst time, Kale!” She roared, letting anger speak over old frustrations. “What’s left of you, anyway.”

“And whose fault is that?” The AI replica bit back, his voice getting louder the closer he got. “But I wouldn’t call it the worst, especially since Ren put you losers to work in the meanwhile!”

The CH-AS1R crashed against the L.I.F.T.’s back shielding, making its wheels howl and drawing screams of surprise. With a nod at Peppermint, Macaron and she put themselves between their other friends and the giant robot, while it had to readjust its speed.

“Oh, they’ve been giving us more trouble than you lately!” Chai said. The lack of “clever” threats or boasting on his tone spoke volumes – Kale was one thing, but the robot was putting his nerves in a place he wasn’t too used to.

“As they should. And really, I do have to commend you, Ren!” The CH-AS1R’s claws opened in a grand gesture. “Out of the loop and powerless, even a pencil pusher like you had the brains to use S1REN for its intended purpose, while I couldn’t get to it myself.”

“W-What?!” Grenadine’s confidence was long gone in that reply.

“I might’ve not expected a bunch of losers to be the cause, or the physical body problem, but it was always possible that someone would want to take the company from me. It just made sense to keep a vulnerability on every unit produced here, just in case I wasn’t at the top of Vandelay Technologies like I deserve anymore. And that means a backdoor to control them regardless of orders, if that’s not obvious to you.”

The claws closed back again, scraping of metal against metal grating on their ears. Since Kale was taking his time to explain things to Grenadine in his usual condescending manner, Macaron took the time to quietly make sure the others were alright.

“I-It’s going to be fine, guys.” He whispered, slightly facing Chai and Korsica. “There’s no element of surprise this time, we just need to look for an opening.”

“Oh, I am-- more than fine.” Chai sort of shout-whispered, his pitch higher than usual. “It-it’s just…”

“Same place and position, I guess…?” Korsica interrupted, trying to focus on deep breaths.

“Not even close.” Peppermint said. “You’ve got us this time, and we’ve done way worse. I’m sure we can have this thing figured out in no time.”

Korsica gave her a crooked smile in response, nodding in agreement and already looking somewhat calmer. Peppermint wasn’t usually in this position, but she had to pick up a little from Chai after all this time.

Still, it was full of Z-Shields and barriers that prevented a more underhanded strategy, and they still had to worry about their first foe...

“B-But… I was forgotten in there…” Grenadine looked between their tablet and CH-AS1R.

“Well, I was gonna rip it out of you eventually, but it’s hard when an upstart kid smashes your flesh counterpart.” Even with its shielding, the AI still tried to mimic the original Kale’s movements, clumsily gesturing with hands close to the face. “Whatever, really, won’t change a thing. In the end, I’m glad we’re finally on the same page, Ren!”

“Glad…?” Their voice disappeared halfway through, and they held their small tablet with both hands, as if afraid it’d fall.

“Truly, if we can’t run the company, then it’s gotta go. Someone could always activate another copy of myself later, there’s plenty of units out there.” The team gasped. “A shame we can’t share a Shirley Temple and have a proper celebration, but-- I’ll take what I can get. And I can get this.”

The CH-AS1R released its back tentacles and they started drawing in energy. Now this was bad, really bad, and it was running just far enough from the platform to be out of reach. Grenadine didn’t have any more questions, or any response whatsoever. The SP-55 was turned to the side, but was right at the edge, away from the laser’s main target.

“Last time I could only get Chai and Korsica, but, we can try this again with the whole band, can’t we?” It was like Kale’s words were coated with poison. “Call it an encore.”

The robot’s engines were roaring with the power being charged up, and there was no more boasting. They had precious little time. They thought they heard Grenadine whisper something, but whatever it was, too quiet to reach them.

“The laser took out the whole thing last time, didn’t it?!” Peppermint whispered to Macaron, looking at their options, and he nodded while doing the same.

“There’s no point in getting out of the L.I.F.T. when it fires, we’ll just get flung into that thing’s wheels. We’ll have to face it head on…”

Thinking fast, he took out his Barrier Wall equipment, and it opened in one quick motion in front of them; at the same time, Peppermint brought in her cannon at its fully equipped state, and teetered with its sudden weight change. But, they looked at each other with very little confidence.

She’d try to redirect the hands’ combined laser at the last second – no point in shooting out just one. The barrier would protect them from the shock wave. And yet… That’d be one chance, once second of opportunity, and the laser’s power could be simply so strong that the explosion would injure them all the same.

808, though her back still stood up in fear, stayed defiantly, as if protecting their horrified friends. That could all be fighting the inevitable… But they had to try.

“Chai, find a place to use your magnet--” Peppermint started.

“We’re not doing this again, Peppermint! I’m not leaving any of you behind!” He yelled, gripping the neck of his guitar enough to bend the scrap. Was he going to try parrying it?!

They had their options, and all very unlikely. If they just survived the laser, maybe they could--

A shrill roar echoed through the corridor, but the CH-AS1R’s tentacles lifted up to aim just perfectly, unbothered.

However, that was its mistake – a VUL-TOR1, in drill form, flew right next to it, then changed directions and connected with both arms on its final dive towards the wall. With its explosion, the entire machinery behind the tentacles sparked and creaked, and they fired wildly – a much weaker laser, but still carving holes all around the tunnel before readjusting into their actual target.

That was their chance! Peppermint fired just as they tried to face the L.I.F.T. again, and the shock made them drop. With the recoil, the CH-AS1R lost speed, and momentarily fell behind on the tunnel until it was once again a featureless red spot.

The last of their fire bounced harmlessly off the Barrier Wall, and finally having a chance to breathe, the team realized they survived the attack.

“What in the…?” Korsica said while letting go of her breath, her changing tone reflecting utter confusion.

“How dare he.” Grenadine said quietly, then their eyelights turned on completely. “HOW DARE HE?!” They repeated with a scream.

The SP-55 flew past them, then positioned itself to face the threat that would return soon enough, seeing the whole battlefield from the front. With surprising willpower, the SEN-TAUR finally caught an umbrella with their hands and wedged it in the trapdoor, freeing itself at the expense of more armor. But, neither was preparing to fight them…!

“Grenadine, what are you…” Macaron asked, surprised at that change.

“I’m NEVER agreeing with him!” They replied, smacking fists on their table. “Mac, he’s not the real deal – but I think an AI copy will suffice.”

The team realized the situation, and Macaron was beaming hearing his nickname instead of formal address once more. Kale might’ve thought that his captive wanted to destroy the company first, but they heard the original objective the previous day. It was to ruin him, instead, and now Grenadine had that chance!

The CH-AS1R recovered its momentum, and the shape was getting visible again.

“Mister Chai!” Grenadine shouted, grasping their tablet with both hands. “I’m about to ask for more than I deserve, but still – a little revenge is in order!”

“Your order is absolutely up!” Chai answered, pumped, but then stopped. “...Ask what?”

“I’ve been messing with your implant through S1REN, but last fight, I noticed I get information from your player, too.” The SEN-TAUR suddenly drove next to Chai, and waited. “If you just let me access it one more time, I can broadcast the next song you’ll use, and we can fight together!”

“And you’re not going to hijack my arm?”

“I’ve been trying my own plans for too long – you know about smashing his face in better than me, kid!”

Grenadine might not know that, but they were handing Chai a license to go all out, and he more than took it. They nodded at each other, and the rest of the team also prepared to fight.

“Is that it, huh, Ren? Same choice that ruined you before, then?!”

Their Kale-controlled foe approached, and suddenly held out his hands to scrape the walls of the tunnel in an open threat – he was pissed! When he took them off, the destroyed spots were coated with fire, as were the tips of the claws.

“For once, it’s my choice, jackass!” Grenadine replied as loud as their recording could capture.

“Alright, now, I’ve been waiting for a chance to do this…!” Korsica finally shook off her fear now that the biggest threat was gone, and set up her staff.

“Sure, then, sure!” Kale yelled. “When I’m done here, you’ll rot with the rest of the trash!”

The music player took the cue, and as it started, so did Grenadine’s speakers. When close enough, the team minus 808 could usually hear Chai’s music in a muffled and quiet form, but now, it was clear for everyone.

[Hiroyuki Sawano feat. Benjamin & mpi

Inferno

PROMARE Original Soundtrack

Aniplex]

The lyrics kicked in immediately, and as the CH-AS1R approached, Grenadine had time to take them in, with awe.

[Trails of fire, you always knew

They would carry me home,

They'd lead me to you]

“It’s been a while since I heard something new.” They said, and the SEN-TAUR suddenly mimicked Chai’s movements, but mirrored, just like 808 when synced up. She looked at both, unsure of the best way to display her metronome, but eventually entered orb form and found a nice spot to sync up between them.

“Get used to it, buddy, because you’re about to do something new!” Chai boasted.

[Trails of fire, you always knew

They would carry me home,

They'd lead me to you]

“Just… please go hit things with your guitar.” Grenadine requested, trying to focus on the song.

The giant robot loomed over them, met with no fear this time. Any attempt from Kale to do the first strike was interrupted.

Macaron punched a hand back up as it tried to coat the floor with fire, Korsica put out the other, and Peppermint shot at the barrier’s power core, short-circuiting it temporarily. What an opening act – one that Chai and the SEN-TAUR could use to dash into with no interruptions.

[Though you can't see the sun,

A new day has begun

And I fall out of bed - to a siren call]

The CH-AS1R caught up to their strategy and moved away while restoring its barrier – but not before Chai managed a heavy hit on the power core and the SEN-TAUR followed with a stab from their umbrella. Sparks filled the back of the platform as they broke the casing, but it was gonna take a lot more to attack it directly.

Their massive foe countered with the back of their arm, and the SEN-TAUR activated its own barriers in time to stop its impact. It still packed a punch as the wheeled unit was pushed back, but they seemed to be satisfied enough to have kept the humans intact.

[In the frame on the wall, see you in fire

You guys are smiling at me - and you inspire]

“Not enough power left to keep the barrier generator on, huh…” Grenadine reported while the umbrella flickered and turned off.

“Then it’s about timing, little buddy!” Macaron answered.

“And you’ve got an expert on it!” Chai followed, even if the others didn’t fully agree.

Their strategy was interrupted as the platform shook and screeched while lifted from the rails. Even with just one hand, the robot had the strength to push it up for as long as it kept the same speed.

[Not good enough if I just let them get away,

Not satisfied until I'm making them pay!]

Grenadine took the team’s advice to heart, and followed the beat to reactivate the barrier at the moment the CH-AS1R used the free arm to try and sweep them off, but they were still at an angle.

“Do you really think you have a chance, when it takes so little to get rid of you?” The Kale AI taunted.

“If you were that easy, you’d have done it the first time!” Korsica replied, calculating how to get the arm away from its grip. “Mac, the Z-Shielding on its elbow!”

“Got it!”

[I'm a fool for adventure, you know?

Inside my heart, feeling the – inferno!]

Using his leg implants, Macaron could temporarily fight against the incline, with a running start that could rival Chai’s dash. Leaping before the end of the platform, he put his strength as he came back down, to crack the barrier with one decisive punch!

Though only externally damaged, the impact alone pushed it back into the rails, and the team once again had the advantage. They had the choice of the arms, the main barrier, and a whole lot of fire produced from the fingertips, but after all that fighting, no words were needed to pick each.

[Barely catching my breath!

Lay my eyes on the crest!

Gonna square up to all of the heat that is left!]

The CH-AS1R roared and turned its free hand to its palm, using fire straight from one of its secondary power cores to coat the entire front of the platform in flames. While Korsica could put them out quickly to let everyone get closer, it was a distraction for it to slam the whole hand down, making the platform shake violently and disrupt their balance, but thankfully no one was near the edges.

As a side effect, it dislodged its other hand, that had gotten stuck under the machinery. Chai expected a little more finesse from the robot that almost got them killed, honestly.

[So I carry the torch, to inferno, inferno!

It's out of the park, and I'm smiling again!]

“Oh, it’s on now!” Grenadine taunted, noticing their video screen was cracked when it came back down.

At Chai’s advance, the Head of HR made the SEN-TAUR follow at the same pace after the hand that was still splayed in front of them. With a heavy slam, he made sure it wouldn’t get back up easily, and then both took turns breaking parts and smashing holes into the back before the Kale AI finally ordered it to shake them off.

Seeing the SEN-TAUR so effortlessly stab holes into metal (kinda like the SEN-CO attempted so many times with him…), he started to form that thing that he learned not to say aloud, lest Peppermint try to do something about it – an idea. But for now, it was time to tag out.

[Here we go!

I know, I know, I know, I know,

I - Will be here for you

Wherever you go!]

All that damage was making their enemy rightfully pissed, and it went with an aggressive approach, trying to punch the two head on as fast as it removed the other hand. However, Macaron was already on his way to stop it, because that was exactly the kind of wrong move they wanted: stopping the shield-less arm on its tracks, and now they could do way more damage than just a hand!

Under the weight of staff strikes, electric rounds, and two blunt objects, it almost bent at the middle before being pulled away from Macaron’s grasp, and its flamethrower was more than offline at that rate. One less thing to worry about, though the list was still quite big for the engineer.

[Yeah, I know - I know, I know, I know, I know,

I - Will be here for you

Wherever you go!

Yeah, I know -]

Wasn’t a spotless plan in the last moments – the other hand was quite functional despite the damage, and Chai was on the receiving end of a fiery blast. Thankfully, he was just as impervious to fire even after his injuries, and he only managed to run to the front end of the L.I.F.T. before managing to put it out.

“All good!” He yelled from his spot at the team, making sure the scarf didn’t get singed. Grenadine, right next to him, was aghast.

“I think I need to be more worried about my end than any of you…” They murmured, spinning the SEN-TAUR’s swivels to make sure they weren’t broken from the strain.

[Say I don't understand

But I don't give a damn

Even told me that I wouldn't reach the top]

The CH-AS1R took that distraction to finally reactivate its laser hands at the back, but only managed to fire a small beam before it sputtered from its damaged components. Regardless, Chai was quick to parry it before it hit the SP-55, reflecting the blast into one of the light fixtures.

“Ugh. There’s really no reaching low enough for you, and there you go protecting screens, Chai.” The Kale AI hissed, having to stop to check the giant unit’s components.

“And? Can’t let them miss out on the view!” He bit back with a shrug.

“Aren’t I the cause, though…?” Grenadine replied, somewhat confused.

“Come on, buddy, haven’t you realized it yet?” Macaron looked back at the screen, with a determined smile.

[But I follow my grandfathers' journey

I know I can be the man that I should be!]

Grenadine looked around, as if looking for something, and didn’t respond – if it was confusion or avoiding the answer, hard to tell. At least, nothing the Kale AI picked up on, swearing something as it gave up reactivating a flamethrower and moved on to positioning its tentacles for a somewhat functional use.

“We’re here to help people, stumbling or… Burning along the way…” Macaron slowed down when he noticed Chai had yet to put out the fire on his guitar. “...But we want to try to make it right, no matter what!”

[I down a coffee, grab my axe and then - I'm out

I got a rage inside that's making me shout]

The Head of HR looked at them for a second, their mouth opening then closing, but no aggression in their gestures. Maybe it finally got through to them.

Their talk was interrupted by the sudden jolt of the platform, followed by a scoff of satisfaction from the Kale AI. One of the wheels was damaged and smoking, and though the brakes didn’t activate, they had slowed down considerably.

[I get high on the fighting, you know?

Inside my heart, feeling the – inferno!]

“You losers couldn’t even pay attention to the damage the CH-AS1R did below. To be expected, I guess, though I could’ve used that a little earlier…” Their opponent said.

Immediately, he followed up with laser blasts – smaller but still dangerous. Macaron immediately stayed between the group and their foe, and reactivated the Barrier Wall to stop most of them.

[Barely catching my breath!

Lay my eyes on the crest!

Gonna square up to all of the heat that is left!]

“If it starts straining the other wheels, we’re not gonna be any faster than a bicycle!” Peppermint said, assessing the damage.

“Is that better or worse than a full break?!” Chai asked, putting all his strength to parry a laser back to sender, temporarily disrupting one of the hands, and then taking a second to breathe.

[So I carry the torch, to inferno, inferno!

It's out of the park, and I'm smiling again!]

“Depends. Do you prefer getting run over, or shredded by the rails?!” She replied, exasperated, then put one of her blasters into shotgun mode. “What matters is that we need to finish this, fast!”

He got the hint quickly. Running to the back of the L.I.F.T. with the SEN-TAUR, he looked for a break between shots as they bounced off the Barrier Wall. Just as it was at a critical level of damage, Chai found a window to meet with the massive robot as it also approached enough to fight close-range.

[Here we go!

I know, I know, I know, I know,

I - Will be here for you

Wherever you go]

Putting its hands together, it tried to smash the back of the platform and damage the wheels even further, but they bounced off the purple robot’s barrier just as Chai went behind them and slashed the cores exposed on their palms.

A bad idea to stand between a rock and a hard place? Certainly, as the CH-AS1R redirected energy from its own barrier to shock him out of sorts in the way of the fists. But he wasn’t fighting alone, and the SEN-TAUR stabbed upwards with the umbrella, drilling into one of the hands’ cores. Quickly, they ducked without it to grab Chai and dash away before any retaliation.

[Yeah, I know - I know, I know, I know, I know,

I - Will be here for you

Wherever you go!

Yeah, I know -]

The core exploded, and with it, the shield-less hand was completely useless. With a roar, the CH-AS1R tried to grab the SEN-TAUR with the remaining one, but its unit type’s speed was unmatched even with armor and a passenger.

“Now this is a good use for these!” Chai beamed, grabbing the back of the unit as it let go so he could balance on the back wheel.

As the robot made a long turn to stay out of trouble, the others tagged in with the Barrier Wall’s deactivation. Korsica’s batons connected with the deactivated arm while still in the air so it would be thrown off the platform, disrupting the CH-AS1R’s aim as the sudden weight shift threw it to a side.

[Trails of fire, you always knew

They would carry me home,

They'd lead me to you]

Macaron’s target was the other arm, destroying its Z-shields too and blocking the laser fire with its shards. Though Peppermint kept the pressure, the Kale AI was now aware of its central vulnerability, and twisted its body fully to let the shots hit less important parts of the barriers, regenerating them quickly with the central core.

She was going to need help if they wanted to settle it, and now that Chai was on top of a cool bike that wanted to destroy the giant robot as much as he did, the idea was too good to resist.

[Trails of fire, you always knew

They would carry me home,

They'd lead me to you]

“Grenadine!” The wheels stopped on a dime when he called. “I know you’ve been on a solo act recently and is just getting used to a duet, but how about--”

“Just tell me what to do, and you’ll get it.” Grenadine interrupted, more concerned with the urgency of the situation.

[All my life, been searching for

The place I lost, it's what I adore]

It was hard to get any definitive expression as they looked to the rest of the battle, but even if you’d never get an explanation as to why, Chai could get a vibe of concern even from the cracked screen. The previous talk did hit the spot, they were worried about Macaron after all!

And there was plenty of reason for it. Though it only hit a shoulder implant and left small dents, the CH-AS1R managed to shoot through the scrap now that both tentacles were making precise adjustments. Leaving its functional arm well above the group, it had devious options – attack their more vulnerable friends, or smash the other wheel and slow them down even more.

[And all my life, been hoping for

A happy life for me!]

“We’re not giving Kale a second of peace to retaliate! Let’s ride!” Chai shouted with gusto.

Grenadine gave their first genuine smile since they met.

“Well, you heard him!” He ordered SEN-TAUR through the tablet.

[Barely catching my breath!

Lay my eyes on the crest!

Gonna square up to all of the heat that is left!]

With a call from him, the others moved away so both could dash in much faster than Chai on his own. Just as they got too close to the CH-AS1R, the SEN-TAUR sped up, and used a piece of scrap as a ramp so both could strike at the head. While not a secondary weak point as they hoped, it was still a surprising hit, and the CH-AS1R’s pistons were almost strained trying to keep it upright before pulling the body back down.

“Here’s a distraction just for you, Peppermint!” Chai yelled out, while landing with surprising precision back on their new robot partner.

[So I carry the torch, to inferno, inferno!

It's out of the park, and I'm smiling again!]

“Hope you don’t mind me sharing!” She replied with a mischievous smile, firing unimpeded at the barrier.

As it shattered, their foe regained its composure to sweep through the platform, but both Macaron and Korsica stopped the arm halfway by striking the exposed machinery and forcing it into the floor. With the outstretched arm, Peppermint just switched targets, keeping it there by overloading the secondary core.

The other back wheel creaked horribly with the sudden weight; it wouldn’t last much longer either. But if they kept it up, that wouldn’t be anything to worry about!

[Here we go!

I know, I know, I know, I know, I -

Will be here for you

Wherever you go!]

The main core was fully exposed. Chai led in with powerful swings of the scrap guitar, and the SEN-TAUR used his pauses to stab with a new umbrella like a lancer. Their next hit definitely put the CH-AS1R on the ropes, as the guitar got stuck inside and the floor was covered in sparks as the LEDs faltered.

The barrier reformed, signaling their moment to back off. Deconstructing and reattaching the guitar as he jumped back in, Chai and the SEN-TAUR moved away from the electric field, but he had another idea. Two in a row, could work out…?

[Yeah, I know - I know, I know, I know, I know,

I - Will be here for you

Wherever you go!

Yeah, I know -]

“If we get up on that arm, that’s one less thing the jerk can use against us!” He directed the SEN-TAUR, hoping Grenadine caught the message.

“I hope the base SEN-CO AI is prepared for aerial maneuvers!” That was a yes!

The CH-AS1R finally managed to retaliate by putting it all on the hand’s flamethrower, forcing everyone to back off and stay away with the laser’s cover fire. But the SEN-TAUR went in anyway before the fire fully covered the path, and Chai’s options were many once they started going up the arm, even as it lifted up.

[Trails of fire, you always knew

They would carry me home,

They'd lead me to you!]

Flames licked the wheels but they were at a perfect position. Chai leaned out just enough to not remove the robot’s balance and stabbed the arm with the guitar’s sharp headstock, dragging through like a saw. With enough reverb to borrow from him, 808 turned back into cat form to join in when they reached the shoulder, and with the SEN-TAUR’s umbrella, her fully charged claws were close enough to the face to make a hole that’d never get fixed.

“Get them OFF!” The Kale AI screamed, running out of options.

[Trails of fire, you always knew

They would carry me home,

They'd lead me to you!]

If the robot was programmed with any pain sensors (why???), it sure felt that, because it wildly struggled, throwing them off and with Chai just barely catching the cat before slamming back-first into the floor. Pointlessly, since she just looked around to make sure he wasn’t hurt, and turned into orb form again.

“You should leave landing on all feet to her!” Peppermint said, using Korsica’s gust to get close enough with the cannon.

He didn’t have anything but indistinct pain noises to retort with, and with the SEN-TAUR doing another turn to catch him, that was an acceptable loss.

[Trails of fire, you always knew

They would carry me home,

They'd lead me to you!]

She shot at the barrier, leaving the barely-hanging-on core a sitting duck. With jittery movements, the CH-AS1R weakly tried to block it with an arm, but Macaron just pushed it away like it weighted nothing. Even its laser barrage was barely a concern, as a gust from Korsica even at that distance made them miss their targets for a while.

That was their chance. Feeling the sheer electricity of the room like the song reaching its highest point, Chai dragged the much more guitar-like guitar along the ground, and the SEN-TAUR followed with its umbrella on the other side. Lifting the orange-hot metals as they sped up towards the target, both pointed the weapons straight ahead like jousting, ever closer...

[Trails of fire, you always knew

They would carry me home,

They'd lead me to you!]

With a stab that reverberated through the L.I.F.T., they tore through the power core, the umbrella escaping the SEN-TAUR’s grasp – with the whole arm – and shooting off the other end of the giant robot. The lasers immediately faltered and the tentacles fell to the sides, and with the impact, the CH-AS1R balancing was lost entirely and it bent towards them – thankfully too slow to fall on the platform, but enough to get its hand stuck on the railing as it lost speed, like it held on for dear life.

Everyone kept weapons at the ready expecting another trick from Kale, but that seemed to be it for that robot. The hole where its power core was didn’t look like it’d keep the whole machine stable for much longer.

“That’s the last time I let Zanzo decide where the power cores go... If he’s even alive at this point.” The AI ranted, with the same tone as before but growing quieter as the robot ran out of power. “Next unit, next time, it’s not just gonna be you losers or Ren...!” He stopped himself and sighed. Maybe the AI had a bit more control on his emotions than the original. “… Third time’s the charm, I guess.”

The CH-AS1R had its final system failure, and the sudden loss of shoulder movement made its hand finally fall off the platform. With the SP-55 moving closer to watch, the group saw the unit befall the same fate as Korsica’s old personal L.I.F.T., face shredded into chips along the rails before it overloaded and exploded.

The shock wave made the L.I.F.T. jolt and suddenly pick up a bit of speed. Hardly the same as its pristine state, but maybe that pushed a component of the back wheels into place once more.

“We… Did it?!” Korsica said, her voice cracking with disbelief.

“Of course we did! I told you we’d have it figured out!” Macaron said – after a really deep breath of relief.

“With some minutes to spare before the destination, too…” Peppermint said, tracking the location signs on the tunnel.

“And not just we as in the team – this guest artist here too!” Chai said, laying perpendicular on the SEN-TAUR’s back to tap on its chassis. Only then, he noticed the robot’s left arm had been entirely torn off from their advance, far more than what a simple joint replacement could fix. “Uh. I heard of a good project that helps out with that--”

Not appreciating the joke, the SEN-TAUR bent their wheels sideways, making him fall on the ground with a yelp. Everyone else chuckled at that briefly, and 808 turned into cat form to give him congratulatory baps on the forehead.

Well… Almost everyone. As the laughs were drowned out by the tunnel’s wind and Chai sat on the floor, exhausted, they noticed their problem wasn’t quite fixed. And, Grenadine had yet to say anything.

Chapter Text

The SP-55 seemed almost hesitant to turn to them, before Macaron took the initiative.

“Hey, Grenadine, we did it! Without your help, not sure he’d have survived that…!” He said, tapping the screen in support, as if it was the actual person.

What he saw on the screen was far from satisfaction or relief, though. Grenadine’s head was bent so low, their goggles had fallen off, and their purple LEDs cast a grim light on the table. It was a small mercy that they still had tear ducts despite the eye replacement, because so quietly that the mic almost didn’t pick it up, they were sobbing.

“Oh, Ren, it’s going to be alright...” Macaron called out, voice slightly lowered.

“S-Still a tool.” Grenadine stuttered, not talking directly to him. “All t-these years, all t-this time, I was s-still a tool to him… Never free...”

“If it helps, I don’t think Kale saw people as anything but, without a good reason.” Peppermint said, leaning on the railing to face the screen too. “Well, sees, now that we know there’s more copies.” She seemed about to say more, but just crossed her arms and let it go.

The department head breathed in deep to speak more coherently, but didn’t look much better, and didn’t want to face the SP-55 on their end.

“But it’s my job… To prevent anyone from doing that to the company.” They elbowed a bigger tablet away from their spot, not noticing it push a bunch of paper into the floor. “I-instead, I could’ve been causing more sabotage all this time and not even know… With the internet on earlier, would I even get anywhere he didn’t want me to…?”

“Huh, narrative parallels.” Chai said to himself quietly, but a clang of a baton on the floor warned him wasn’t low enough.

“There’s a time and a place, Chai.” Korsica whispered only to him, somehow understanding exactly what he meant.

He nervously nodded while picking up 808 for pets, while she sheathed her weapons and also moved near the screen.

“You might need some catching up to do, but you’re not the only person who got too caught up in doing a good job.” She told Grenadine, leaning in the railing close to Peppermint, but with a much less relaxed stance. “At least, he didn’t immediately try to kill you for finding out.”

“And I think we can all tell you gave your all on this effort of yours.” Macaron continued. “But if you ask me, this plan of yours is still really misplaced.”

“I need to… N-no, if I don’t do this, what’s the point of…?” Grenadine started and stopped their own reply, then took another breath to control their sobbing, unable to think of anything.

With a screech far more welcome than the previous metal cacophony they had to hear, the brakes activated. With precision, the L.I.F.T. lowered itself and slowed down to align with the large Wing 1 station, that started to become visible.

Unsure of where Grenadine stood on the current situation, the team had a second to take a much needed breather while it arrived. Only Korsica had to make frequent trips to that area, so silently, they watched the station where things started to click into place months ago.

Chai’s nostalgia was seconds long at the most though, and relieved to be finally out of the metal death trap he was subjected to thrice, he barely waited for the bridge to join before jumping out, then tripping because of his sore knee, recovering his balance after a moment.

“Oh, amazing, static floor, I never thought I’d miss you--!” However, he froze up in an upright position as soon as he looked up. “L-Lady Roxanne?!”

The group followed his surprise by all going to the platform’s edge. Indeed, waiting at one of the sets of benches, there was the CEO, and she wasn’t alone – aside from a group of WA-ES-2 for security nearby, she got up with CNMN, and was accompanied by a CAR-11E that didn’t seem to know where to go in that group.

“Oh, to see you all safe is a sight for sore eyes!” She said, making sure the CAR-11E was close by while she walked forward.

“Mom? How did you get here before us?” Peppermint said, smiling as she got into the station but somewhat confused. Without her noticing, Grenadine was about to say something, but listening to her made them suddenly even more hesitant to speak up.

With a light chuckle, Roxanne briefly showed her tablet, showing its custom design while they all got down. The SP-55 didn’t receive any orders, but it and the SEN-TAUR also followed carefully.

“My clearance level can ignore even the biggest level of lockdown; no hacking involved, a bit more boring than your methods. But, we wouldn’t know where to go if someone didn’t help out first.”

“During the tactical retreat masterfully planned by Lady Korsica, we were followed by a unit who didn’t attempt to destroy any of us!” CNMN cheerfully turned to the CAR-11E next to them. “You seem eager to talk, #086, so it would be best for you to do it now.”

“Ah, yes. I hope you don’t hate me for this…” They wheeled towards the group. “I’m so sorry, Ser Grenadine, but I told them everything!”

That seemed to have broken their boss out of their thoughtful moment. Though, that was replaced by sheer surprise, and they ended up forgetting to put their goggles back on while looking ahead.

“M-my priorities were clear: deliver what is needed for you to perform at optimal speeds, and make sure you’re alive daily.” The unit continued. “But this situation has forced me to make a choice, and I decided to guarantee you’d be alive!”

“086, you…” Grenadine started, but the robot wasn’t done yet.

“And Ser Grenadine, office guidelines don’t prevent me from saying that your orders would not bring you what you truly want! So, I beg of you, don’t go through with this!”

“That’s… An abridged form of what we’ve been hoping they’d get, yeah.” Chai noted, nodding at the little guy’s statement.

Without their goggles, Grenadine’s eyelights were easy to follow. The table seemed to get their interest, their tiny tablet for a moment, then the office around them… But finally, they sighed, and got comfortable on their chair.

“I’m not sure I can go through with this, now.” They said, legitimately frustrated.

“I mean, you could always, dunno…” Despite Peppermint’s wordless protests, Chai kept on talking anyway. “Take over my arm, force us to do it at the threat of special attack?”

“Nah, that wouldn’t work either.” Korsica said, with a confidence that got everyone’s attention. Arms over her head, she walked closer to Roxanne, then turned back around with one foot. “But you’re not going to try, are you?”

Though curious, Grenadine understood the implicit threat. They hesitated for a second, then opened a small smile.

With a long blink, they brought their small tablet up.

“Between following one of my stupid plans or disappointing my best employee…? All units. You’re released from S1REN orders. Proceed with… Whatever you were supposed to be doing.”

For a brief moment, it was as if Chai stopped hearing a song that he didn’t realize was playing – maybe it was, much, much lower than his player, but there was no way to know and the sensation soon passed. But the units were affected differently – the SP-55’s propellers almost stopped for a second and it struggled to hover through its own power, and the SEN-TAUR’s head shook as their giant sideways lights blinked.

With a few grunts, the latter gave an annoyed tap on the missing half of their torso – Chai heard them loud and clear in the L.I.F.T., but maybe their normal behavior didn’t include speaking much. However, they didn’t leave, and instead gave a look at their temporary boss, then just leaned their wheels on a sign to inspect the damage.

“I-If you could stay connected for a few more minutes, though, I’d truly appreciate it. A real request, this time.” Grenadine told the SP-55 on their end, and they seemed to comply. Their attention was immediately drawn to Korsica changing her pose and her satisfied smile. “Alright, this time, I’m not trying anything. Why the confidence?”

“Well… I wasn’t sure we’d be able to deal with you, or that you didn’t have a trick to get in while we fought your units.” She started to explain, only to be immediately interrupted.

“Two for two, Kors?” Chai whined. “You really need to have more faith in me.”

“I’ll think about it. Either way, if taking you down didn’t work, and Mac couldn’t talk it out, me and Peppermint had Plan C.” She checked on her tablet just to be sure. “We took a page from your book, and overrode the orders of two units to go past your guards.”

“Oh, that’s quite interesting! But Ser Grenadine’s units were ready to attack before even identifying us, how come these slipped through?” CNMN asked.

“Well, that’s because they’re not strange to them.” Peppermint said, tapping their screen for emphasis before sitting down at a bench. “So, if we failed, we’d send the order for them to hit you with whatever blunt object they could find, hard.”

Mouth agape and eyelights fully open, Grenadine was trying really hard to put it together, which only made Korsica even more amused.

“Alright, guys, crisis averted.” She ordered on her tablet, just like they did to their compromised units. “Go back to regular orders.”

The noise of falling pipes was caught by Grenadine’s microphone, and their SP-55 turned around to the source instinctively. To the others’ surprise, SEB-AAA and JSF-001 left the hiding place between the doors to the HR office and the half-finished walls, the former throwing away a broken cabinet before assuming their usual thoughtful stance and walking away.

“That’s how close to the event horizon we got.” They heard SEB-AAA say with displeasure. “If only we took a step on our own, we’d be able to make a change that this company would never deny.”

“WE WERE ALMOST ACCOMPLICES IN AN ASSAULT.” JSF-001 duly noted.

“Maybe the threat alone would’ve caused some waves. Instead, we’re looking at a body of shallow water, same as it ever was…” The taller robot’s rant got quieter as they moved away.

The office SP-55 turned back to Grenadine, whose expression was priceless.

“I’m not keeping units around out of pity, ever again.” They said, through hands cupped over their mouth. “You all... Were never in any danger.”

“Well, there was the CH-AS1R, but it was out of your hands, buddy.” Macaron reassured.

“There was the… What?!” Roxanne asked, concerned.

“Ah, we assumed the explosion earlier was something related to Chai.” CNMN added, drawing a worried expression.

“Well, you were right!” He said with pride. “Kinda. We can talk about it later.”

“T-that means we can get to the last issue!” #086 interrupted the tangent. “If Ser Grenadine won’t continue their attempt to melt the campus, shouldn’t we attempt to rescue them… Please?”

“I mean… Should you?”

The group looked back at their former opponent. Once again avoiding their sight, the Head of HR just spun their small tablet over the table, not caring if the earplugs were wrapping up in it. The other arm rested on the back of their head as they leaned on the chair; a half-familiar sight to them.

“Why not, Ren?” Macaron asked.

“Come on, dude… I led a hacking incident in the company, stole equipment. Threatened other employees, repeatedly. Opened you wide for a rogue unit.” They paused, but still didn’t look ahead. “I deserve whatever punishment you all have in the procedures nowadays… Hell, maybe keeping me here will save you on Security resources.”

Macaron sighed, and was about to disagree, but Roxanne put an arm over his (kind of) to take over the conversation.

“Grenadine, despite all the changes forced on you… I see you still beat yourself up over things out of your control, just like old times.” She said, calmly.

“Only you to see it like that, Lady Roxanne…” Grenadine replied, with a tone that indicated that wasn’t the first time they heard it.

“Well, I don’t see any difference from when your parents passed away, or the rough times moving to the island. You have made mistakes, and very worrying ones, but I only need to take one look at you to see you’ve suffered far more than enough for them.”

She got close enough to the screen, that it would be about the distance of their table; almost as if talking to them at the office, in person. After a second, they finally looked back at her.

“A-are you sure? Even after failing Human Resources?”

“Oh, Grenadine, you tried to take down my son before he caused any harm, almost blind – your error was only not looking for help at a better time. What came after, well… We’ve got quite a long list already. What’s a couple more things to investigate?”

“Oh, um, ah--” They coughed and looked around again, briefly eyeing their terminals. “It’s, hm, quite more than a couple.”

“Then, we need all the help we can get.” Roxanne replied with a knowing smile. “So, if it’s too hard and awkward to take Macaron’s offer of help, like it usually is, what about a strong suggestion from your boss?”

Even out of the loop, the others noticed that had an immediate effect on the older employees – any interjection would just make the discomfort bigger. Chai tried to speak up out of concern, but 808 made a tactical distraction with a cute little meow, that got his attention.

“Y-you’ve got the wrong idea, it’s not hard, or awkward, or--!” Grenadine looked at Macaron, but their embarrassment took over, and they interrupted themselves and looked back. “Yes.”

---------

Every prototype has a major flaw or inefficiency to work out in the final product, and S1REN was no different.

That barrier generator was draining energy after years of wear and tear, and the neural connection system had a glaring oversight, Zanzo’s usual – with its function of secrecy and defense of a very short person, there wasn’t much accounting for the simple fact any big robot could pick them up, barrier and all, and just drag them out of the office like a giant ball.

“N-no need to wait for me to say anything. Ready when you are.” Grenadine clarified, eyes closed (well, LEDs shutters closed).

“Sorry for putting you through this, little buddy.” Macaron said, trying to keep it together.

If it wasn’t necessary to take notes on the implant’s performance, he wouldn’t want to be watching any of that procedure, either. Thankfully, CAR-11E #086 was a good enough guide.

Grenadine held on as long as possible as soon as they left the office, hands getting bruised from being closed too tightly, but eventually S1REN kicked in, and they struggled. And struggled harder, and hyperventilated, and couldn’t even get a word out for them to keep going regardless. Macaron was the one about to faint first at that rate, but he held strong for his friend.

It did no favors to #086’s artificial nerves either, to see their boss thrash against the BA-B00 that barely felt a tug on their arms, until S1REN ran itself out of power and knocked them unconscious. But the little delivery robot led the way around the labyrinthine department without hesitation, especially if it finally meant the Head of HR’s freedom.

Unfortunately, there was much more to tug on Macaron’s poor nerves. An old implant like that needed a replacement for them to get anywhere on the neural link, and it was going to take plenty of work to make sure it would be just as compatible with his friend’s body as S1REN, with none of the drawbacks.

But, in the end, Macaron was an engineer and not part of the medical team. He and Peppermint had experience with implants for most of the body – and if Korsica ran around the last few months with minimal adjustments, no self-doubt was disproving that – but messing with someone’s spine was even more delicate.

The best he could do was be utterly, absolutely sure that the replacement would work. That was going to be some time in R&D and away from the results of the crisis for a while, but he trusted the team well enough with the rest.

And, indeed, the rest of the team had it covered!

First thing on the list: Their fight on the L.I.F.T. wasn’t as concealed as they thought. At some point in the mildly-interesting tallying up of robots in the hedge maze, suspiciously localized earth tremors might’ve caused some panic. Korsica had a lot of calls and PSAs to make before she could even send the order to end the lockdown.

Which led to the second part of the process: Chai’s little unplanned vacation ended early, because Roxanne would need more than the usual professional and clean press release to take care of those in the residential district. If public relations terminology didn’t cut it, somehow, a younger employee that was way too excited about the day’s events would do the trick.

(Also, he and 808 could get to said district faster than anyone, now that the L.I.F.T. tunnels were blocked, again.)

And so, the rumors spread quickly. The CEO’s statements about resolving the hacking issue were only a piece of the news; people truly in the know heard about someone in Marketing, who saw Security taking care of the problem up close – totally someone who didn’t participate through the whole process, or did a huge part of the work, or possibly had minor burns to show for it.

Why, the Armstrong Ambassador was just assisting as a witness, when they discovered that the hacker had kidnapped someone from the company to get in! Their renowned Cybersecurity could only do so much against an employee’s real information, after all.

It was a very dangerous rescue attempt, but thanks to the brave Korsica and her team’s efforts, the compromised robots were stopped with only minor collateral damage, and the employee rescued. Truly, normalcy could return to Vandelay Technologies, and no one had to work overtime to update the charging station firmware all over the island, not at all.

“Why did the hacker use charging stations if they already had a way in? Sounds kind of careless.” Mx. Licorice pestered Chai about it a few days later, finding him hanging out on the Vandelay Tower atrium.

“Dunno, Korsica had a long explanation about it, I was too caught up on the cool robot battle to be honest.” He answered with a spin of his robot wrist, and with an annoyed huff, she shook her head and went back to her commute.

Peppermint gave him an earful the day before, when his previous explanation was that the hacker surely wanted to go higher up on the hierarchy by luring a Project Armstrong user. He had to admit he got too caught up on the siren analogy while weaving the tale – it was cool, but maybe too cool.

Still, Korsica kept her reputation without much of a PR disaster, Vandelay Island was still seen as safe, and Grenadine wasn’t going to have unwanted eyes on them, net win.

At least, if anyone found contradictions, it was harder to believe the truth that the hacker was the employee than Chai’s tall tales. In fact, everyone who knew better was now gathering on a terrace that overlooked the atrium’s plaza, even if he was still exhausted from the previous days and could use hibernating on his apartment for the rest of the week.

“Easy there, buddy, your extremities are still getting adjusted to the new system.” Macaron said while guiding the much much smaller coworker to a few seats. More than while next to Peppermint, it was rather comical to see the mountain of the Head of R&D helping someone he could hold up with one hand.

“And please, you must stay hydrated to properly recover, Ser Grenadine!” CAR-11E #086 insisted, setting down a tray with water and drinks on a table they dragged out to the terrace.

“Goodness, my post-surgery fears came back to bite me. I’m fiiiiine!” Grenadine sat down rolling their eyes, but had a genuine smirk towards the two of them. “And, ‘course, stayed mostly fine all these years because of you.”

Though they wanted to say more, someone else walked in, and Grenadine gave a very nervous laugh, adjusting their new outfit and the shawl that was now tied around the waist.

“It was worth making some time in my schedule to be sure you were all right, then.” Roxanne said, just arriving through the elevator. “And, to ask why I was getting HR related emails while you were supposed to recover these last few days…?”

“Huh, so it’s not just me.” Korsica commented from her spot overlooking the terrace, getting a chuckle out of Peppermint.

“That is two instances of not properly respecting one’s free time, then!” CNMN said, exasperated.

“Weeellll…” Grenadine thought about how to best put it. “My email access got restored, and while the medical staff was great, it was hard to resist some recent applications that no one had answered.” They fidgeted with their goggles. “So if you hear about a Cocoa, Cider, Frappe oorrrrr an Araucana, that’s from me.”

“Ren…” Macaron said, barely surprised, and Roxanne slightly shook her head.

“It was only a few hours! I was way more focused on another way to say thanks… Miss Peppermint?”

She let go of her apple juice to nod and gesture at 808, who seemed to be excited for something to happen ever since they all arrived there. Proudly, she had her lights change to purple.

“She only needs your voice command, and it’s good to go.” She said.

“Alright. That’s your cue, SEN-TAUR!”

With a bombastic entrance, the modified robot teleported in through 808 and dashed across the terrace to get to them, braking in an overly dramatic circle that surprised all of them. Their armor had been remade into something much lighter, and they had a new arm with a colorful paint job, which #086 got close to admire.

“Ah, yes, it’s still looking good and exactly to Ser Grenadine’s tastes!” They said while poking the arm, getting an indistinct grunt from the SEN-TAUR.

“Something about the way S1REN made a SEN-CO unit act so content got me really curious.” Peppermint explained. “I was going to wait until you were free, Mac, but there was enough time to give some much needed adjustments to this one while analyzing their AI.”

“And, after talking with her about your cat’s systems, it felt like a solution to both keep SEN-TAUR out of storage, and a much needed apology to Mister Chai.” Grenadine continued.

After a couple seconds processing it, Chai was awestruck, as the wheeled unit spun around a much more durable umbrella lance.

“Wait, so I can call in a cool ride? At any time???” He was beside himself with the possibilities.

“And, like, they can fight too--” Grenadine said, immediately interrupted.

“Not gonna lie, I wasn’t even thinking about the arm hijacking thing anymore, gave me a cool story to tell – but apology more than accepted, buddy!”

Just barely sidestepping the CAR-11E, Chai looked around the robot’s new design like it was a giant toy making various noises; though thankfully being an object of admiration didn’t seem to bother the knight-like unit.

“It’s weird; they cooperate with what Grenadine messages them even without S1REN, rather than fighting and setting up barriers wildly.” Peppermint said, watching the SEN-TAUR hand over the umbrella to Chai and barely looking as he checked the sturdier handle. “Could be a place to start adjusting the AI without having to lose their personality!”

“And not just Mister Chai, it’s a way of making it up for you all… Especially since this is far from over.”

The mood dropped a little, after all, even after studying the remains of the CH-AS1R, they had yet to find other units that had a copy of SPECTRA and its AI. But, not too much, as Korsica turned around to finally give an energy drink the time of day.

“With extra help, that’s hardly going to stop us.” She said with determination. While opening it with one hand, she checked some messages. “Speaking of which, there is some rogue AIR-1N behavior just outside the tower – deactivating S1REN might’ve messed up their orders, seen that happen a few times already. We should probably check that out in a bit…”

“No need for that!” Chai shouted, getting into the back of the SEN-TAUR with one hop. “With this kind of speed, I bet I can figure that out in no time, right now.”

Everyone gave a careful approval, and Peppermint shrugged at 808, who ran up to her host and turned into orb form. As the SEN-TAUR rode to an area without a railing that was used for transportation, Chai kept on talking:

“Oooohhh, I should ask for someone to record this! Any musician riding up on a cool bike on stage is already so dope, and now I get to do it?? Please tell me this guy has some sort of camera!” Even with the robot’s wheel already on the very edge, Chai was balancing on it like he was on flat ground.

“I doubt it, kid.” Grenadine answered, waving at the SEN-TAUR when they exchanged looks. “Maybe make sure you can actually make an entrance first?”

“Nonono, I’ve got it already! We’re gonna find an open window, do a really cool landing, maybe say something like...”

The SEN-TAUR lost their patience, and found a close spot below them to start hopping down through cubicles. With no warning, it sped off the edge.

“...Did someone call for a rockstaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--”

Whatever miracle kept Chai on the robot while it disappeared off the edge was clearly unplanned, as they heard him screaming all the way down. 808 rolled her eyes, and followed at her own pace.

With a hearty laugh, Roxanne finally sat down close to them. Having one more of her old friends on that strange group made her more comfortable in a way she couldn’t quite put into words, especially after the mess that happened.

“To think last week we were months into picking up the pieces, but now, you’ve all solved a whole crisis with barely any outside assistance.” She said. “I truly can’t understate how grateful I am to have you all on my team, and, that you’re all happy enough here to defend it like your own home.”

“I suppose, after all these years, they’re one and the same, Roxanne.” Macaron replied with a smile.

“And it goes without saying, that we want it to spread the good that it did to us.” Korsica added.

“Still… The only reason any of this happened in the first place is because I couldn’t properly separate both. There’s a company, and also a place to belong, and they don’t have to be always together.”

“And we can thank that guy for learning that, I think.” Grenadine leaned back and pointed at the now-empty edge of the terrace. “Even if you hadn’t hired him, Roxanne, I think even I’d have done it, regardless.”

“Weren’t you questioning how he was even here before, though?” Peppermint questioned.

Grenadine finished nursing a metal cup of water before replying, grimacing a little at the taste. They’d gotten too used to drinking from the same mug, and didn’t realize what that’d result in when freed.

“You can’t just hire ultra competent people and expect professionalism to carry you everywhere. Gotta have someone who’s more adaptable and eclectic than specialized sometimes, you know?”

“Heh, I can be electric and eclectic.” Chai replied through Peppermint’s communicator, somehow recovered from the fall already. That got a half-hidden groan from Peppermint, who wasn’t about to get aggressive in front of her mother.

“Hearing that from the best person I know at Human Resources makes this even better.” Roxanne looked around and raised her voice before continuing. “And Mister Chai, since you’re listening in; could you can pick up something I ordered at the cafeteria once you’re done? We’ve got a lot to catch up on now with Ser Grenadine, and it’ll be faster than the delivery.”

“You’ve got it! I just need to find…” They heard a crash through the communicator. The group hoped it’d be faster than the delivery, at least.

Chapter Text

They weren’t fully discharged, but having clearance to walk around the tower with their new implants, Grenadine decided to go a little off script again.

Everyone had a good late afternoon chat at the terrace until their new and old buddies were each called back to work, and they were still exhausted during recovery, but… They had to know, and it took waking up really early the next day.

Even without serving breakfast, the Vandelay Tower cafeteria was open at the crack of dawn, though empty. But even in a weirdly quiet eating area, just the warmth that the gigantic windows allowed in was a sensation that Grenadine wouldn’t trade for the world.

No illumination from artificial lights at that hour, no stale air from old air conditioning, and a version of that song from Mister Chai’s playlist set at low volume, but enough to set the mood… What some would have no opinion on or even find lukewarm, was now perfection for them.

With careful steps (their toes and knees still unexpectedly seized up at times), the now ex-Head of HR sat down with some pink lemonade they managed to get from the less-than-cooperative VA-SER attending at that hour, wondering if they’d get to watch the sun rise by themselves.

They knew that wasn’t happening, especially when Grenadine saw Macaron sit on the nearest chair with the grace and care of a surgeon. But… They weren’t complaining.

“I gotta know how you guessed I’d do this, Mac.” Grenadine said, not looking entirely in his direction.

“You were in an awful hurry yesterday, Ren… Not to mention all those forwarded emails about potential programmers at such an early hour. Just wanted to make sure it wasn’t anything risky.” Macaron answered, still rubbing his eyes under the glasses.

“Well, sorry for bothering your break day, even though I’m sure you’d be working on side projects anyway.”

“Guilty as charged!” Macaron said with a chuckle.

The two shook their heads at their own bad habits, and silence fell back in again. Grenadine took a long sip of lemonade to avoid saying anything, only to wince from the taste of powdered juice.

“Ack, I miss the old restaurant at the Tower more than ever.” They said, swallowing heavily. “But I guess half the drinks there would be off limits for me… I don’t think I’m touching a Shirley Temple again for as long as I live.”

“You’ve got years of new stuff to catch up on, buddy!” Mac took the time to review some notes on his tiny notebook, working up the courage to push the main question when the opportunity appeared. “The residential district is full of new places, and Peppermint and Chai are obsessed with this ‘bubble tea’ thing that opened there. I’m sure we could show you around later.”

“Already have plenty of news to process – like, Mister Chai said there’s a new modern Sonic game that’s good, great even? Wild. But... Don’t…” Grenadine bit their lip, but continued anyway. “...Don’t feel obligated to.”

Macaron was getting back into navigating his old coworker’s tone, and that one was once again quite familiar. They looked tinier than usual on their seat, looking at their cup, hands tapping at the metal as if anxious for the response. That went beyond a dour mood, that he remembered well.

“I never feel forced to help a friend, Ren.”

“I’m sure of it, but… Dude, we said some pretty nasty stuff to each other. If it looks like I’m an entirely different person now, it’s okay to not forgive me just because it’d be nice.”

“Entirely different person?”

He laughed at that sentence, which confused Grenadine entirely. Hardworking SCR-UB units nearby paused out of concern, but seeing who it was, they continued their work with relief.

“Little buddy, come on. This is exactly like when your old folks passed.”

“I-It is???” They asked themselves. Then, after a second, they cup clanked against the table as they leaned on it pathetically. “...Oh, wow, you might be right. Has been a while, though.”

“Even then. You drowned yourself in work because you didn’t have a reason to leave anymore, any arguments you’d get into made you super apologetic, and it took Bauru locking up your access so you’d get some sleep. Sounds familiar?”

Their initial response was a low groan, which only made Mac laugh more. With barely an effort to reach their arm across the table, he gave his friend a supportive tap on the shoulder.

“Can’t believe I had to learn this lesson twice, at the ripe age of 45…” Grenadine put themselves upright again on the seat. “It’s gonna stick this time, though. No more putting my worth on my work effort, and no department head responsibilities for me anymore.”

“Huh… So you’re quitting?” Macaron rested his hand on the table. “I suppose that’s fair, it’s just…”

“Kind of.” Grenadine interrupted their coworker’s question. “I gave it some thought at the medical ward. I think I quite like this system that Roxanne’s… Daughter, has??? Sorry, it’s still hard to process.”

“Oh, it took some time with Peppermint, especially after all our time talking online. You’ll get used to it.”

“Still. Freelancing and consulting, no static office or a schedule, and I still get to talk to my good friends if I’m around? She told me about it while we were working on SEN-TAUR’s adjustments, and it might just work…” Their free hand tangled their stray hair, absentmindedly. “I get to stick to Savoiardi too! Remember when she said it’d take Roxanne firing me to try anything new? Tiny validation when she’s probably glad I disappeared, but, eh…”

“Actually… I’ve been keeping in touch.” Macaron pulled up his tablet to demonstrate. “She wanted to know all the details, and even went after contact emails to find any excuse to drop by!”

Without even noticing their clumsiness, Grenadine almost stumbled over the table to look, incredulous, and adjusted their goggles to be sure. The two were always arguing, but now, seeing that mutual importance amused Macaron to no end.

“No way…”

“Not just her – Bauru and Treacle wanted to make sure you were well, and even Manjar told me to say hello for him… And hardly much else, as usual.”

“They’ve all moved on but still remember me…? Dude. And here I was being so focused on being the perfect HR officer, and messing up horribly.” Grenadine sat back down, hands intertwined.

“No one had it against you just because of that last meeting. In fact, we thought it was the other way around, so really, they’re all happy that it ended well eventually, as am I.”

“Well, I’m all for seeing you happy-- Um, sorry for interrupting.” When Mac looked back at them, Grenadine took a swig of the lemonade and looked away suddenly, until his anxiety at the silence made him continue.

“So, don’t worry about it! Even with everything that’s changed, we can build up to better times – just like we said on the L.I.F.T., and not just when it comes to the company.”

“Huh…”

Running out of pink lemonade, Grenadine just looked ahead, with a slight smile. Content, staring on while the early morning fog cleared. Macaron finally had an opening to ask.

“Alright… What are we here for, then?”

“Just a tiny bit before 6am. I was sedated before so, this is the first morning that I can actually check.”

“Come on, Ren, you were just fine yesterday, no trace of S1REN!” Macaron feigned feeling hurt, though it wasn’t all entirely pretend. “There’s not even enough components left in the implants to run an alarm system, let alone the AI.”

“Oh, I trust you well enough, you worrywart.” They replied, with a bit more comfort in being facetious. “I’m not afraid of having control taken again… It’s the principle of the thing.”

The two watched the clock above the cafeteria, almost as if they had an important appointment instead of just watching the window.

“Being free from all that, even if #086 kept me safe and sane. Not feeling like the time existed aside from me, as I repeated work endlessly. Truly able to do all the stupid decisions I love.” They clarified.

“Oh…” Macaron replied.

Mac shot a glance at Grenadine’s smile, a real one. He didn’t think their decisions were always bad or reckless, but… He got what they meant.

They stayed quiet as the time approached.

Getting a little antsy, the small ex-Head of HR leaned back on the table, their elbow sliding away until it stopped at Macaron’s hand. If they intended for it or not, that was gone in the expectation of what they were watching.

5:57. The sunlight was already reaching the upper windows; weak light at that hour, but a difference nonetheless.

5:58. Macaron thought he heard someone nearby, but didn’t want to break the ice at that moment. Hopefully they weren’t about to get interrupted.

5:59. Grenadine took a deep breath, and then...

6am. No difference in their movements. Nothing at all changed. They could let go of their shoulders fully, lean back into the chair, and know that they stay that way for as long as they wanted to.

“Macaron, I can’t thank you, Roxanne and your friends enough.” Grenadine said, their voice reflecting the enormous metaphorical weight taken off their back.

“And I thank you for not losing hope, and becoming like Kale and his buddies.” Macaron replied.

“That would’ve ended quite gruesomely, in fact!”

The two jumped at CNMN, who had stopped just behind them, speaking out of the blue. While Grenadine just had to find their footing again, Macaron needed a second to let the adrenaline pass, taking heavy breaths and holding his chest.

“Ah, my apologies, Sir Macaron! I wanted to make sure your meeting didn’t have any major obstacles.” CNMN drew on an apologetic expression.

“Oh, oh no, it’s, it’s fine, CNMN.” Macaron said between breaths, internally frustrated that he didn’t pay enough attention to the sound before.

“But, from what I can see, it’s gone quite well! I suppose that counseling I mentioned won’t be that urgent, Ser Grenadine.” CNMN changed their expression to concern, when Grenadine looked back and nodded. “However, I also have to relay something Roxanne forgot about yesterday. Once you’re discharged, it’ll be necessary to gather your strength, to resolve some things at Vandelay Legal.”

The lights around the tables flickered, not getting the three’s attention, but scaring a newer VA-SER model that was sitting a few chairs off.

“Huh, that still works.” Grenadine said.

“I don’t think we had to mention them in a while.” Macaron duly noted. “Yeah, I guess that meeting will be needed eventually.”

“Great. Amazing.” Grenadine had their chin on both hands as they bent forward. “Mr. Oolong’s still leading it?”

“Mr. Oolong’s still leading it.” Macaron repeated in affirmation. “Kale wouldn’t dare touch him, so he just gave him a ton of overseas assignments while he made changes to company contracts unopposed. But, after all these years, you’ve probably been declared legally dead, not to mention all these years of forced work…”

“Is that an eighth department head we should be worried about, by chance?” CNMN asked.

“Not at all. Mr. Oolong is such a nice fellow; we didn’t have to see him before, since he’s on the opposite top of the tower!” Macaron clarified, then lightly pointed at his friend. “But guess who aaaalways had a complicated inquiry for him.”

“I diiiid.” Grenadine said with a sigh. “Not any amount of overdue salary can pay for the headache.”

“Over reparations alone, the legal department will be busy with your case for a while, I think!” CNMN unhelpfully added.

“Come on, he’s not that bad, Ren.” Macaron said with a smile. “When I last adjusted his implants, we had such a nice chat!”

“Never heard of an engineer with more of a bleeding heart, Mac.” Grenadine’s head bent towards him. “You didn’t give Mr. Oolong an attack mode just because he asked nicely, did you?”

After a pause and an exchange of stares, both gave a hearty laugh, and CNMN just looked on. While he understood their old friendship well from Macaron’s stories for years, laughing along would probably be what Mister Chai would classify as “super awkward”.

Leaving the professional distancing entirely, Grenadine dragged the chair closer to him, already checking on their tablet if the cafeteria offered anything edible for breakfast.

“Maybe tell him that to lower his guard, haha!” Macaron finally replied. “What your plan did you have in mind, if you were able to submit a case about Kale, anyway?”

Grenadine gave him a look that was easy to translate even through the goggles.

“Didn’t have one.”

Macaron shook his head, but with a big smile. Then, he gave Grenadine’s shoulders a light shake with one arm, not wanting to possibly damage the implants with a hug, but still trying to communicate how happy he was with this.

From wistfully recounting tales of the company and his friends before Kale, to getting most of it back in a week. He couldn’t have even dreamed of such before, and even more Grenadine being just as cheerful while being jostled around the chair. Mess or no mess of assignments, things were truly looking up.

“Glad to have you back, Ren.”