Chapter Text
Bolts of lightning were crashing down one after another, the only illumination against the inky black skies and heavy rains. Three fantastical looking figures made their way across rooftops while lightning and debris were seemingly being directed towards them, with each of the figures swiftly dodging at every opportunity. The longer the scene played out, the more apparent it was that they were heading toward the epicenter of the storm.
“Dammit! Attacking out in the open like this isn’t his usual M.O.” A figure clad in red cried out towards the group.
“He’s getting desperate. We’ve thwarted his plans at every turn, now he’s lashing out” Yelled out a white cat, effortlessly perched on the shoulder of a figure in a white cape and witch hat “Brilliant White, you know what you have to do”
“I don’t think we’re ready yet…” Brilliant White cautiously replied towards this remark. Whatever it was that needed to be done, it must have been big.
The rain was steadily increasing in intensity, winds hurling large debris effortlessly through the sky.
“There’s no more time! If we don’t end him now, he’ll just keep up with these random attacks! Too many lives are at stake here” The cat shot into her ear.
“We’re with you Brilliant White! We’ll keep you covered while you prepare the sealing spell!” The black cloaked figure beside her shouted out.
As they approached the eye of the storm, the lightning bolts suddenly became steady streams of electricity, desperately trying to catch up to them.
“Barrier!” Brilliant White raised her wand into the air and cast a magical shield around her comrades “If those beams touch you, you’re done for!”
“Watch out!” Several creatures emerged from the shadows as Brilliant White was charging forward, taking full sprint towards her with weapons raised. As soon as Brilliant White caught a glimpse of them in the corner of her eyes, several glimmering arrows had already been launched forth, striking each creature directly through the heart.
“Thanks for the save!” She looked back towards her hooded comrade, who gave her a thumbs up and a wink in response.
“More of them!” The red character called out “I’ll take point! Shimmering Black, keep covering fire on me!” She drew her swords and ran into battle, hacking and slashing through the shadow creatures with ease.
“FOOLS! IF I CAN’T CONTROL THIS WORLD, I’LL JUST DESTROY ALL YOU HOLD DEAR!” The source of the storm revealed itself, an imposing being that appeared to be composed of shadow and smoke, with two glowing yellow eyes.
“Shining Luminosity!” Brilliant White cast a spell that cut away the darkness, weakening their foe and his creatures along with it “Radiant Red, now’s your chance to keep him distracted!” She cast a barrier around herself and began reciting the sealing incantation, causing a magical star to appear underneath her feet. This was a powerful spell that would require every ounce of her concentration and magic.
Radiant Red fought aggressively, keeping this villain on the run and his attention away from Brilliant White. Every shot or move he’d try to make towards her would result in a deflection or slash at his arms. There was no backing down, she had to give this 110%.
Shining Black’s job was to keep all of the goons off of Radiant Red and Brilliant White. With her bow manifesting multiple arrows each shot, she’d knock out the entirety of each wave of shadow creatures the moment they were summoned.
Despite the appearance of their frilly uniforms, they were clearly a group of battle-hardened warriors. They skillfully kept their enemies at bay with ease, buying Brilliant White all of the time she needed to prepare this final spell.
She backed off of the magical star and took aim with her wand, eyes beginning to glow a blinding blue. A portal had opened where the star had been, and a furious whirlwind erupted from her wand, drawing their nemesis into it. Despite all of his might, he was powerless to resist its pull, frantically clawing at the ground as it dragged him away.
As a final act of retaliation, he prepared to fire a lightning bolt at Radiant Red, who had been taken off guard by the blistering light and winds from the spell. Brilliant White knew she had to act fast to save her friend, but with her magic reserves spent, she had to push Radiant Red out of harms way!
“...Brilliant White!?” Radiant Red cried out to her after being pushed away, her body motionless “W-wake up! Brilliant White… V-vivi, please wake up!!!”
…
From her charging chair, an orange haired robot suddenly opened her brilliant blue eyes, illuminating the still dark room she resided in. That dream again… so very odd, was it from a cartoon one of the children had shown her at school? No, that wasn’t it…
She took note of her internal clock, it was 5:25 AM, slightly before her scheduled wake time… well, no sense in trying to charge for another five minutes, this was just an opportunity to be extra prepared for the day!
⬤ ⬤ ⬤ ⬤ ⬤
She had just finished cooking a hearty breakfast for two, a bowl of cinnamon oatmeal for Mr. Stephenson, along with bacon, eggs and hash-browns for his son! She wished the younger man would consider a healthier alternative, but he would simply not budge on the matter!
My name is Vivi the Robot! A Sterling Robotic Nanny, or Nandroid for short!
The family cat was staring at her as she set the table. She could not understand why he was so spooked by her… she didn’t think that she was a scary robot… not like those outmodes they taught her about in Nandroid school.
“Pspspsps, Apollo, come here boy!” She pat her apron as she called to him, hoping to make him feel comfortable around her. This had been the same routine every single day, and as always the little white cat just stood and stared.
As she and the cat locked eyes at each other, Mr. Stephenson walked into the kitchen “Good morning Vivi, still having trouble with Apollo, I see?”
“Good morning Mr. Stephenson! No, he’s no trouble at all! I just wish he would warm up to me, is all” She was ever so dejected by Apollo’s constant staring, why did he dislike her?
Mr. Stephenson sat down and picked up the daily newspaper, thumbing through the important headlines “Don’t think he’s ever seen a robot before you came along, he’ll get used to you eventually”
“But sir, it’s already been a year…”
He quickly glanced at her, then stared into the bowl of oatmeal she had made for him “A whole year, huh…”
She was puzzled by his rapid change in mood, so she tried to change the subject “I finished revising the lesson plans for the teachers! There’s a copy for each of them in your briefcase, along with extra notes for children who may need extra care in their classes!”
Snapping out of his daze, he gave her a quick reply while taking a bite out of his oatmeal “Oh, very good Vivi, thank you”
Mr. Stephenson is the owner and director of a prestigious preschool! It’s a great honor to be assisting him! Preparing the minds of these students for a bright future… I wish that I could become a teacher some day… but for now I’ll just have to be the best teaching assistant I can be!
“Are you sure you don’t need me to come along today?” Today was a holiday, which meant no children at school.
“Just some administrative duties, I can manage on my own. Just relax today, you’ve earned it!” He smiled at her and looked at his watch, to which he then quickly finished up his oatmeal and stood up “Just look at the time, I need to be on my way!”
“Okay sir! Drive safe, don’t speed!” She waved him goodbye as he grabbed his briefcase and quickly scarfed down a piece of toast.
“Thanks Vivi, ciao!” She could hear his footsteps quickly pace out of the kitchen through to the front door.
“Hmm, odd that Robert hasn’t woken up yet…” She thought out loud, wondering why Mr. Stephenson’s son hadn’t woken up yet. They were on a very similar schedule.
“Just catching up on sleep a bit, Vivi” As if on queue, Robert walked into the kitchen, stretching his arms and yawning loudly “No classes today”
“You just missed your father, he had to hurry out today”
“Mhmmm” He sat down at the table and took a sip of coffee.
Robert is Mr. Stephenson’s son! He’s a very promising university student, though much to Mr. Stephenson’s displeasure, Robert isn’t following in his educational footsteps. It’s a shame that he doesn’t want to continue his father’s work, but everyone needs to follow their own path…
“Breakfast looks great Vivi!” He enthusiastically told her as he was digging in. He may have been promising, but his table manners still needed improvement.
“Oooh, I wish you’d give something healthier a chance! It’s very important to be proactive with your health! The choices you make while you’re young affect you later in life!” As with any good Nandroid, she was always ready to give a lecture on the importance of healthy habits and good manners “...and on another note, your table manners leave a lot to be desired! You should never speak while you’re chewing your food!”
“Haha, not a chance on the food, Viv, I love my bacon and eggs too much” He swallowed down another spoonful of eggs “but I think I could work on the manners”
“You can start by practicing them here at home!” She stood with her arms crossed. He gave her a thumbs up and slowly chewed his food, not speaking until he was finished. He also sat up completely straight and removed his elbows from the table, just to really play up the “practicing good table manners” angle.
I must admit, his teasing really got on my nerves sometimes! It’s unfortunate that he didn’t have a Nandroid like me to teach him proper etiquette as a boy!
“Hmph, well that’s a start at least” She knew he was playing around, but even playing with the idea meant that he could potentially change his habits.
“Anyway, thanks for breakfast! I’m gonna run!” He wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up, getting ready to head towards the front door.
“Wait, where are you going!?” She had just realized that with him being gone, she’d be alone for the day. It was a rare occurrence, and it always resulted in Apollo following her at a distance and staring.
“Off to the library, I wanna catch up on some research!” She had to hand it to him, he was always serious when it came to studying.
“Will you be out for long?”
“Not sure, I have a lot of material to note down”
“I see… well, have a good day Robert. Stay safe out there” She was bummed at the news, she didn’t want to be alone with that judging cat all day.
“Thanks Viv, catch ya later!” He grabbed his keys and walked off. Within seconds she heard the front door open and shut, and with that, she was alone.
She sighed and slumped her shoulders, try to decide on something to spend her newfound free time on.
Well, I suppose I could finally get around to cleaning the spare bedroom… Mr. Stephenson doesn’t really want me to go in there, but it’s the only place in the house that I haven’t gotten to dust and vacuum!
⬤ ⬤ ⬤ ⬤ ⬤
Mr. Stephenson typically took her along during administrative days, so she had changed into her teaching outfit when she awoke from her charge cycle today. She didn’t very much like the standard issue Nandroid uniform, it felt… off, like she didn’t belong in it. She just couldn’t shake the feeling, that from the moment she was given her teaching uniform… it felt right.
It was a silly thought of course, she was a Nandroid, all Nandroids wore that uniform… and if she was going to be doing some cleaning, she really should change back into it. Then again, nobody was going to be home for quite some time…
She quickly abandoned the thought and made her way upstairs with the vacuum and duster. She took a glance behind her as she walked towards the door and hadn’t noticed Apollo yet. Oh, what luck, he must have been asleep! Those hopes were dashed as soon as she turned the knob, however, as he quickly dashed to her location from wherever he was in the house previously.
Oh brother, this crazy cat…
“Shoo Apollo, shoo! Let me work here!” She tried waving the duster at him to get him to leave, but he wouldn’t go away. Oddly, he did the exact opposite, he slowly approached her, only to then run right into the room “H-hey, get out of there! I’m trying to clean and I don’t need you making more work for me!”
Something about this room felt… familiar. It felt like she had been here before.
After quickly scanning the room, she caught Apollo in the corner of her eye. Normally he’d be staring at her right about now, but strangely he was pawing at the closet door, like he wanted to go inside.
“Oh, now you want something from me?” He took a quick glance at her, briefly locking eyes, then looked back towards the door “Well, if I open this door for you, will be behave yourself while I clean the room?” He stood up on his hind legs and waved his paws in agreement… she had no idea he could do that… and did he just understand what she was saying… very strange cat…
As soon as she opened the closet door, she was hit by a bright white flash of light… w-what was happening!? It was blinding, even covering her eyes with her arms didn’t stop the intensity. She found herself on her knees, the light being too much for her to handle.
“APOLLO, WHAT IS THIS!?” She cried out to the cat… what did he do to her!? She suddenly lost all feeling, and crashed to the floor.
The whole situation was done within moments, the shining embrace finally receding. When it was over, her systems rebooted and she opened her eyes. Apollo stood over her excitedly, smiling and gently jumping.
“Brilliant White, it really is you!” The cat spoke to her… w-what was this?