Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Life was great for Axis, his wheel treading on the terrain as he was taking Daisy (his spouse) on a date.

This time he wanted to change it up, all the date locations they had been in had always been in the confines of Steamworks. This time he wanted to show Daisy what was out there because admittedly he didn’t know what was out there either.

Wouldn’t taking your spouse to somewhere new and colorful just be so romantic…?

Well, right now it wasn’t too colorful, everything in front of them was just… desert. He imagined the world outside Steamworks to be a bit more vibrant but it was rather barren.

He felt something tap against his shoulder, Daisy had leaned in and laid their head against him.

Axis’ fans whirr as his body temperature rises. Looking down at his spouse resting their head peacefully on him.

“OH YOU… WE ARE NOT EVEN AT OUR LOCATION YET.”

Axis squeezes their hand, well… what is supposed to resemble a hand, and sets them up so they are no longer leaning on him.

“COME ON. WE HAVE TO FIND A GOOD SPOT.”

Axis looks around the desert, seeing a few establishments here and there but none of them really looked like a date location in his eyes.

There was an oasis… but maybe it’s not the best idea to be near water. Last time Axis took Daisy to a large pool of liquid they fell right into the pink ‘waters’ that surrounded Steamworks. Of course, they were fished out and were left unharmed but this is real water, who knows what damages that would do.

Thud

Axis shakes out his thoughts as he looks down at Daisy who had fallen face first onto the sand.

“OH MY. ARE YOU OKAY, HONEY?”

The robot quickly goes in to aid his spouse, picking them back up and holding them close.

“...”

“OH THANK GOODNESS. YOU HAD ME WORRIED THERE FOR A MOMENT.”

Axis looks up in the direction Daisy had fallen. He blinks, catching view of a fancy red gate.

“THAT GATE LOOKS LIKE IT WOULD LEAD TO SOMEWHERE NICE. IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE TRYING TO TELL ME, HONEY?”

“...”

The robot blushes heavily, waving them off as heart shaped steam escapes the pipe on his head.

“YOU ARE MAKING ME OVERHEAT. KEEP THIS UP AND I MAY SHUT DOWN.”

“...”

Axis shakes his head again, his mind clouded in love and peculiar thoughts.

“R REGARDLESS. YOU LOCATED A POSSIBLY NICE AREA TO HAVE A DATE IN.”

He rolls toward the gate, holding his spouse’s hand tightly to make sure they don’t fall over again.

A beautiful residency lay in front of them, a red painted fence adorned with cat-shaped bells and beyond the fence was a well kept traditional japanese home. Something about the place seemed… vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. It felt like home almost- while yes this place is most likely someone’s home, something about the place just felt… cozy and familiar.

“[ACCESSING MEMORY BANK_]”

“[MEMORY BANK BLOCKED_]”

“HUH.”

“...”

“WHAT? ARE WE TRESPASSING?”

“...”

“I AM NOT SURE. SOMETHING ABOUT THIS PLACE FEELS. IMPORTANT. I NEED TO LOOK AROUND.”

“...”

“I AM OBVIOUSLY NOT ENTERING THE HOUSE. I JUST NEED TO LOOK AT IT… FOR A BIT.”

“...”

“OF COURSE I AM OKAY. THERE IS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT.”

“...”

“LOOK, YOU STAY PUT, OK? I WILL LOOK AROUND FOR AN OPTIMAL DATE SPOT.”

His spouse looks back at him, as unmoving as ever, and yet there was some kind of confronting aura surrounding them. The antennas on the sides of Axis’ head droops, why was he so… uncomfortable right now?

This place… there is something about it, the whole area just induced an uneasy feeling in him after the cozy feelings had come and left.

“...”

“I LOVE YOU TOO.”

He leans into Daisy, giving them a little kiss on their surface… Well, it was supposed to be a kiss, more like he placed his flat face in front of theirs for a few seconds before pulling away.

“GOODBYE. I WILL RETURN SOON.” 

Axis waves goodbye to his spouse. They still sit there, leaning against a fence as they remain unmoving. The robot knows they have issues with moving their body but he likes to think they had waved back at him.

The robot slowly starts to move away looking up at the home in front of him.

Looking at it for too long made his vision all fuzzy. He felt like… he was hearing something.

“Axis… Axis…! What are you doing with her?”

Huh… that kind of sounded like… his creator? Why was he hearing him? If he thought about it harder maybe he’d know why.

“He’s not hurting me I promise! We were just playing!”

Another voice. This one sounded younger, but the robot didn’t know who it belonged to. It seemed vaguely familiar as if you recognized a voice in a tv show but you couldn’t figure out who the voice actor was. At least that’s what Telly-Vis had said once, Axis never really understood all the references they threw at him, he was never trained on pop culture and media.

“He’s still…        Something might….   ng...”

As Axis tries to focus on the memory the world around him starts to go fuzzy, the voices he’s trying to listen into are starting to fade away into radio static.

“….    Dad….”

The robot shakes his head as the voices cutting in and out and the constant sound of static are starting to become too overwhelming for him.

“[PARTIAL DATA RECOVERED FROM MEMORY BANK_].”

“WHAT JUST HAPPENED?”

He glances around at his surroundings, seeming as they were as he regained clarity. No blur or static in sight.

He was so confused. Why was he malfunctioning? He was just fine before, even when he encountered that hatted-human they didn’t harm him in any way so… why was he feeling so weird?

Axis turned his head to the side, seeing a path beyond the home which seemed to have a bit more greenery around it. That place… looks nice, maybe it’d take his mind off his weird malfunction.

The robot’s wheel started to roll again as he headed toward that area, still slightly shaken by whatever had happened but that didn’t matter, right? Everything was going to be fine.

When he had turned the corner his vision had been blessed with a wonderful view, flora blossoming along the road as the sky was a beautiful purplish hue. What had caught Axis’ attention the most however, was some kind of block in the middle of it all, the sky’s light reflecting off the surface of it.

As the robot had approached the structure, he had stopped to observe it more closely.

Wait… this was a gravestone. A memorial. Axis blinked as he looked down, suddenly feeling as if he had crossed a boundary.

He shook his head, antennas clinking against the lightbulb atop his head as he read the text etched onto the structure.

But as he did that, it felt as if the whole world sat still.

“CHUJIN KETSUKANE. THE BEST OF US.”

…

CHUJIN.

CHUJIN KETSUKANE.

CHUJIN KETSUKANE, HIS CREATOR.

His name etched into a memorial stone.

…

No.

No, that’s not right.

That would mean he was…

“FALLEN. DOWN.”

The robot felt his chassis tremble as he had analyzed the text on the tombstone in hopes that he was just malfunctioning again.

“CHUJIN KETSUKANE.”

“…”

“NO…”

Axis shakes his head, more vigorously as ever, trying to wrap his head around the devastating information he had just interpreted.

There was no way his creator had just died like that, right? He would have been told about this, the other robots would have been told about this. It would’ve said in his database that he was deceased.

Why didn’t he know?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why didn’t he know?

“Yeah, I’ll tell him.” That tall lady’s voice had echoed in his head.

She was his wife, right? He had asked her to say that he had missed him. She said she would tell him.

Was that just a lie? 

Axis didn’t know what to do, what were you supposed to do when someone close to you had died? How was he supposed to react? He felt so much yet he didn’t know how to express it. Was he supposed to?

His hands ball into fists, shaking as he couldn’t keep his composure.

What is he supposed to do?

What is he supposed to do???

Grieve?

…

Cry…?

…

Crying, yes. That’s something people do when they’re sad, right? When they’re distraught? When they’re overwhelmed with emotion?

You cry when you lose someone, right?

…

But robots cannot cry, can they?

They are not built with that function. He can’t grieve the loss of his creator properly because he cannot cry. 

Pathetic. Really.

The robot clutches his head with his hands, holding on so tightly he might damage his own body.

Come on.

Come on.

Cry .

Do it.

He feels pressure start to build up in his head, as if it’s going to spontaneously combust, his head hurts so much, and physical damage wasn’t even being dealt to him.

He couldn’t take it, he leaned against the ground in front of his creator’s grave, repeatedly bashing his head onto the stone floor below him.

He was frustrated.

He was lost.

He was sad.

He felt hurt .

He kept hitting his head, trying to let out his frustrations, he couldn’t- he couldn’t-

CRACK

…!

Drip… drop…

Two pink little droplets fell and splattered onto the ground in front of him. The vision in his left eye resembled that of… broken glass.

Axis looked up at the grave in front of him, seeing his own face in its reflection.

He raised a hand to touch his left eye. Pink coolant had stained his glove. He looked down at the ground and noticed a small puddle had formed below him. His eye was leaking slowly like a blood wound, dribbling down his face and splashing onto the ground.

“I-I DID IT…”

“I’M… I AM CRYING.”

“…”

“WHY DOES THIS FEEL. SO BAD?”

Crying was supposed to make you feel better, right? It’s supposed to release all of those pent up emotions, right?

So why does he still feel awful…?

“I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.”

“I DO NOT UNDERSTAND???”

He dropped his head in his hands, trying to comprehend the emotions that were going through him. Why did grieving feel so bad? Why did crying feel so bad?

“Axis…?”

The robot jumped at the familiar voice, turning back to see that tall lady from Steamworks again.

“How did…” The tall lady cuts herself off, now fully accessing the situation. He found out… didn’t he?

“YOU DID NOT TELL ME.”

“I… I’m sorry you had to find out this way.” The fox looks down, brows furrowed.

“YOU NEVER TOLD HIM THAT I MISSED HIM.”

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t tell you. You looked… so happy then.” She rubs the side of her arm nervously as she stands there staring at the robot breaking down.

“HE WILL NEVER KNOW HOW MUCH I MISS HIM.” Axis looks back at his creator’s memorial, looking at his reflection again.

In the tombstone’s reflection he can see the tall lady approaching, laying a hand on his shoulder and gripping it tightly.

“I know.”

Axis looks back at her, fully turning around to face his creator’s spouse. The fox woman grimaces as she sees his damaged eye.

“…please stay right here. I need to get something.”

She steps away for a moment, disappearing into the distance. The robot looked down at the ground, his vision still fractured and broken. He places a hand over his broken eye, trying to stop the ‘tears’ from escaping.

Axis’ antennae perk up slightly as he hears footsteps approach him again. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to look at that tall lady again. He felt so conflicted.

“Axis, there’s someone who wants to see you.”

The robot tilts his head up, catching view of his spouse with a forget me not flower lodged into their ‘hand.’ The tall lady holds them up, making sure his spouse doesn’t topple over.

“HONEY.” The robot shouted, well… would’ve shouted if he had the exclamation point character.

As if attracted by some sort of magnetic pull, Axis immediately wraps his spouse in a tight hug, forcing the tall lady to let go of them so she doesn’t get caught in the hug as well.

“OH. YOU WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO SEE ME LIKE THIS.”

Axis holds them tighter, as if they would disappear as soon as he let go. He nuzzled his face into his spouse, desperate for any kind of comfort.

“…”

“I AM... NOT ALRIGHT. BUT YOU ARE MAKING ME BETTER.”

“…”

“NOT NOW. WE HAVE COMPANY.” 

The robot shoots the fox woman a glance, as if telling her that they wanted privacy. She sighed, turning around but not walking away. The last thing she wanted was for Axis to be alone… technically he wasn’t but the tall lady wasn’t sure if she could trust Daisy with him.

“IS THIS FOR ME?”

Axis takes the flower out of Daisy’s hand, examining it closely.

“OH YOU…”

The robot leans into them, continually pressing his face into his spouse as he plays bitcrushed kissing sound effects through his speakers.

The fox woman can’t help but let out a slight chuckle at the ridiculousness of it all, even if she’s not witnessing it directly she can probably assume what’s happening. She wasn’t expecting Axis to be so enamored with their creation, she… never thought she could see someone this overjoyed.

“HEY. YOU’RE NOT PEEKING, ARE YOU?”

Axis squints at the tall lady as her back is still turned toward them.

“Of course not. I wouldn’t invade your private time with your spouse.”

“GOOD.”

Axis looks down at the flower Daisy had given him. He feels some kind of… responsibility as he gazes upon it.

…

Forget me not.

…

His grip tightens on it slightly, that tension in his body starting to build up again.

“I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU. CREATOR.”

“LITERALLY. BECAUSE I AM PROGRAMMED NOT TO. HA. HA…”

His laughter felt empty, and yet he tried to act like he wasn’t distraught.

The robot turns around to face the gravestone, placing the little flower gently on the ground in front of it.

The creation looks back at his reflection in the gravestone, he looked so… broken. Without his creator around he could never get repaired again.

He could never hear him whistle a quiet tune as he replaced his metal plating.

He could never feel him hold his hands steadily as he ran tests on him.

He could never see his creator’s joyous expression as Axis made him proud.

“I NEVER HAD THE CHANCE TO TELL YOU THAT I MISS YOU A LOT.”

Axis tilts his head up toward the gravestone, staring longingly at the engraved letters that spelled out his creator’s name.

“CREATOR. DO YOU MISS ME TOO?”

The robot stood there as if he were expecting an answer back, even though deep down he knew he wasn’t going to get a response.

*sniff, sniff*

Axis turns around looking back at the fox lady, whose back was still turned, yet she seemed to be trembling ever so slightly.

“I TOLD YOU NOT TO PEEK.”

“I promise I didn’t, sheriff’s honor.” The tall lady wipes her eyes dry with her sleeve, breathing deeply.

“Am I allowed to peek now?”

The robot glances back at the grave one more time before facing forward again, trying to process what had just happened.

“I WILL ALLOW IT.”

The fox lady turned around, her eyes surprisingly clear despite letting out a small sob earlier. She approached the robot slowly, looking down on him.

“How about you and your spouse take a small break at my house for a little while? We will discuss important matters later.”

Axis looks down before glancing at his spouse.

“…”

“DAISY AND I WOULD LIKE TO STAY WITH YOU FOR A SMALL PERIOD.”

The tall woman nods, letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in.

“Great. Let us go then.”

The fox lady leads the two mechanical lovers to the front door of her home. She looked down at the two for a moment as if she were contemplating something.

She takes a deep breath as she gently opens the door, suddenly Axis feels hit by another wave of familiarity, static starts to build around his vision again.

He could feel it. Another memory forming again.

“You’re doing great, Axis. I am very proud of you.”

He can hear his creator’s voice again as his vision starts to distort into noise for a second time. This memory… it didn’t cause confusion like the previous one did. It… made him feel… warm and comfy, as if he were swallowed by a nice fluffy blanket.

He could almost see him, his creator.

Vague shapes and colors formed slowly in front of him, that purple, green and yellow, all hues that had belonged to his creator.

If he focused hard enough… he could almost see his creator’s wonderful smile.

…

The memory faded away as soon as it came, the static retreating as Axis was left with the view of his creator’s spouse looking at him concerned. Yet, that memory made him feel as warm as ever.

“Are you alright?”

“[PARTIAL DATA RECOVERED FROM MEMORY BANK_].”

…

“YES. I AM ALRIGHT.”

Chapter Text

A soft click resounded across the room as the door was shut. The tall lady had offered her hand to Axis, trying to lead him somewhere.

The robot hesitantly takes her hand, slowly rolling toward the supposed living room. There was a large table accompanied by a bench on each side.

“Please, take a seat.”

The tall woman had patted one of the benches, prompting Axis to come and sit down.

“I DO NOT KNOW IF YOU KNOW THIS, TALL LADY, BUT I CAN NOT SIT DOWN OPTIMALLY WITH A SINGULAR WHEEL.”

He gestures to the aforementioned wheel, looking back up at her.

“Ceroba, call me Ceroba.”

“-and I suppose I didn’t consider that… well… you can’t sit down.”

“YEAH. YOU DIDN’T.”

“ACTUALLY WAIT, GIVE ME A MOMENT.”

“[CHANGED “TALL LADY” TO “CEROBA KETSUKANE” ON AUTHORIZED LIST_]”

“ALRIGHT, NOW I WILL NOT FORGET YOUR NAME.”

“Thanks.”

Ceroba looked back down at the robot’s self proclaimed ‘singular wheel’, thinking for a moment.

“I suppose you could just stand for now, you don’t mind that, do you?”

“I DO NOT.”

“That’s great. I’m assuming you don’t want tea either?”

“I AM INCAPABLE OF DIGESTING SOLIDS OR LIQUIDS.”

The robot blinked, looking down at his torso.

“WELL, INCAPABLE OF DIGESTING ANY STATE OF MATTER… FOR THAT MATTER.”

“Yeah, I assumed so. It’s just customary that we offer these things when there is a guest.”

“GUESTS. PLURAL.”

He points at his spouse who was leaning on the bench, not exactly sitting on it.

“Oh right, I’m sorry.”

Axis glares at her for a moment before looking back at his spouse.

“…”

The fox woman looks away awkwardly, not knowing if a response was going to happen.

“THEY FORGIVE YOU.”

“Ah, why thank you…” She trails off as she tries to think of the spouse’s name.

“Actually, did you ever get their name?”

“DAISY.”

“Daisy. Why thank you, Daisy.”

“…”

She bites her lip, letting out a breath.

“Give me a moment.”

Ceroba sits up from the table, moving away to brew some tea.

Axis glances back at his spouse, scratching his head as he waits for Ceroba to finish whatever she was doing.

The robot jumps in his metaphorical seat as the kettle whines loudly, indicating that the water inside was boiling. Ceroba looks back, holding in a chuckle at Axis’ reaction.

She returned to the table with two cups, handing one to the robot.

“DIDN’T I TELL YOU THAT I CANNOT DIGEST LIQUIDS?”

“I know, there’s nothing in the cup. It just bothers me seeing you without a cup there.”

“It’s just a personal thing with me, I’m not sure how to explain it.”

“IT IS FINE. I THINK I UNDERSTAND.”

“SYMMETRY IS NICE.”

Ceroba nods, blowing off a bit of the steam from the top of the cup.

The three of them sit there for a moment, not really knowing what to say. Axis grips his empty cup, trying to find something to do with his hands.

Ceroba taps her fingers on the table in thought, she really needed to talk with him. He had just discovered his creator was deceased. Sure he seemed unbothered now but that’s because his spouse was distracting him. It’s only a matter of time before the information sinks in.

The fox lady lightly slaps her hand on the table, getting Axis to look up at her.

“Alright, we need to talk, Axis.”

“TALK ABOUT WHAT?”

She sighs, massaging her forehead reluctantly.

“You know what.”

“[SEARCHING DATABASE FOR ‘WHAT’_]”

“[SEARCH UNSUCCESSFUL_]”

“I DO NOT KNOW ‘WHAT.’”

Ceroba looks at him unimpressed, her eyes lidded in disappointment.

“Please work with me here.”

“Look. I’ll just rip the bandaid off.“

“THERE IS NO-“

The fox woman snaps at him slightly, smacking the surface of the table and pointing at him aggressively.

“Don’t even go there. This is serious.”

The robot jumps back at the noise, promptly shutting up. Her hand lowers, feeling a little bad for getting irritated back there. She’s aware the robot takes most things literally.

She sighs, trying to keep her composure as she looks down at the table solemnly.

“It’s about Chujin, alright?”

The robot stares back at her as the name of his creator catches his attention. Despite not being very expressive, the slight tremble of his chassis said a lot.

“MY CREATOR…?”

“Yes, your creator as well as my husband.”

“He was very important to both of us, wasn’t he?”

Axis looked down at the cup in his hands, gripping it tighter.

“YES. HE IS.”

“HE WAS VERY NICE TO ME.”

“HE. MADE ME.”

The cup shakes in his hold, as if it was going to break at any moment.

Ceroba reaches over, taking his hand in hers.

“Easy now. I know this is something that’s hard to process.”

“It was- IS still something that I find hard to process.”

“I’ve gotten better but I don’t feel ready.”

The fox lady shakes her head, retracting her hand.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make this all about me.”

“How about you, Axis? How are you feeling?”

The robot stared back at her, trying to process the question. How was he feeling?

What was he supposed to feel?

What was he supposed to do with those feelings?

…

“I DO NOT KNOW WHAT I AM FEELING.”

He raises his hand to touch the broken glass on his left eye, the leaking calming down but a wetness was still present.

“I FELT BAD.”

“I FELT SAD.”

“Let me guess, you felt mad too?”

“WHILE THAT DOES RHYME, I DO NOT KNOW IF I DID.”

“I HAVE BEEN MAD BEFORE, YOU SAW ALL OF THAT WHEN I WAS APPREHENDING THE HATTED-HUMAN.”

The fox lady winces slightly at the mention of that human, glancing down at the table. Whatever that was, Axis ignored it for now.

“I DO NOT THINK I CAN BE MAD AT MY CREATOR FOR DYING.”

“IT WAS MORE LIKE, I FELT INCOMPLETE KNOWING I WOULD NEVER SEE HIM AGAIN.”

He trembles slightly, cup rattling in his hands.

“I HAD BEEN HAVING MEMORIES COME BACK TO ME EVER SINCE I HAD ARRIVED HERE.”

Ceroba tilts her head, her ears perking up as her interest had been piqued.

“Memories of what?”

“MY CREATOR.”

Her eyes widened looking back at the robot.

“You had memories of Chujin?”

“YES. MEMORIES THAT HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN BLOCKED.”

“I DO NOT KNOW WHY THEY ARE COMING BACK, BUT I NEED TO RETRIEVE MORE.”

“I DO NOT WANT TO RETURN TO STEAMWORKS UNTIL I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED.”

“WHY THESE MEMORIES HAD BEEN RESURFACING, AND WHY THEY HAD BEEN BLOCKED IN THE FIRST PLACE.”

Axis let go of the cup, afraid that it may crack under the pressure.

He didn’t know why he felt so determined to bring these memories back.

Maybe to distract himself from the fact that his creator had passed.

Maybe it was so he could see his creator again in his memories.

Maybe he just wanted to know why his memories were even blocked.

They had to have been repressed for a reason, right?

He just needed to know more.

“I want to help you with that but…”

The fox lady sighs, contemplating.

“I’m still going through a lot myself, I do not think I am in the right headspace to take care of you.”

Axis looked up at her, seeming a bit disappointed, as if he were looking forward to staying with Ceroba.

She taps her chin, thinking of a solution.

Her ears perk up as a metaphorical light bulb appears over her head, much like the one Axis has.

“I think I know someone who could help you.”

“YOU DO?”

“Yes, I think he may know a few things concerning your memories.”

“And well… he could use a friend.”

The robot tilts his head, seeming confused by that last statement.

“YOU WANT ME TO BECOME THIS INDIVIDUAL’S ACQUAINTANCE?”

“If you want to, of course. I think he deserves some company.”

“HM…”

Axis scratches his head, coming to a conclusion.

“ALRIGHT. I SUPPOSE IT DOES NOT INCONVENIENCE ME.”

“EVER SINCE MEETING THE HATTED-HUMAN, I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO BE MORE POLITE.”

“About that…”

Ceroba lowers her head, avoiding eye contact with Axis. She can’t tell him now, he’s still grieving his creator at the moment. She needed to come up with something.

She picks her head back up to meet with Axis’ confused gaze. Maybe now’s not the time to rip the bandaid off, the wound was still bleeding.

“Look. After you sort out your memories, meet me here. I have something very important to do with you, Axis.”

“HUH? LIKE WHAT?”

“It’s a secret of course. It must be saved for when your memories are back, okay?”

The robot tilts his head again, opting to just nod along with whatever Ceroba was planning. It felt a little bad leaving Axis in the dark, she’d already done enough of that, but now is a horrible time to bring the hatted-human up.

“I’ll send that person a letter about this and I’ll give you directions to where you need to go, alright?”

“AFFIRMATIVE.”

…

The temperatures had dropped drastically as soon as Axis entered this “Snowdin” place. Somehow he was able to fit both him and his spouse on the Mail Whale transportation. Well… more like Axis was in the basket and his spouse had held on for dear life.

Axis hopped off the basket with his spouse in one piece. While he could feel the temperature difference, his heating systems had helped him keep warm.

He looked down at his spouse who had seemed rather cold, their heating systems were basically non existent.

Axis held his spouse close to him, trying to share his body heat.

“IT IS OK, SWEETHEART. I WILL KEEP YOU WARM.”

“…”

The robot’s body warms up even more now, flattered by his spouse’s sweet words.

“OH YOU…”

He looks around himself, hoping nobody had been watching him essentially cuddle his spouse out in the open.

“AH. LET US GET GOING.”

Axis reaches inside the pipe in his head and pulls out a piece of paper Ceroba had given him. It was a map written in crayon. The fox lady had offered to give him something “more comprehensible” but he could probably interpret whatever was written.

“ALRIGHT…”

He turns the page over a few times, trying to figure out where he was on the map.

“OH, THIS WAY.”

The robot starts rolling toward his destination, his spouse held close to him as long tire trail follows behind him.

As he was heading toward the place he needed to go, he spotted a snow castle. He stopped for a moment, just… staring it down…

…

“Axis! Axis, look!”

Axis looked up, hearing that unknown child’s voice once again. He sees a small little rectangular mound on the snow. It had a face on it too, kind of looking like…

“It’s you, silly!”

As the robot looked around he couldn’t find the source of the voice, his vision as blurry as ever, and the cracked eye had not been helping.

“Does it look bad?”

The robot shook his head trying to respond.

“NO, IT LOOKS JUST LIKE…”

As the robot blinked again suddenly his vision was clear, but the mound that looked like him was gone, as well as that voice.

He thought that ‘Snow Axis’ look great! It looked just like him, it was such a wonderful depiction of him and everything. He had never seen someone try to recreate his likeness before.

Where did it go?

“…”

“HUH, WHAT IS IT, HONEY?”

“…”

“WHO WAS I TALKING TO?”

“…I DO NOT KNOW MYSELF.”

“BUT I HAVE AN ODD FEELING, THAT MAYBE I SHOULD MISS THEM.”

As he thought about it more, that monster child in his memories felt incredibly important. Every bot in Steamworks was built to have a strong connection with their creators and other monsters around them…

Axis felt that same connection with that child, but… everything felt so hazy, he couldn’t even think about what they looked like, let alone their name.

“…”

“YES. I AM OK. THANK YOU FOR ASKING.”

“…”

He blushes again at his spouse's comment, shaking the dirty thoughts out of his head.

“HEY, YOU WATCH IT, HONEY.”

“YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE DOING.”

“…”

He lets out a sigh as he gives his robot spouse a little kiss on their ‘face’ as he continues to trek forward.

Eventually he had arrived at a rather cozy looking cottage. It seemed to have been recently constructed, and yet it already looked well lived in.

A sign with the words “Welcome!” and a drawing of a smiley face with fangs was planted outside the home. However, looking at it from behind; it had the words “Please, keep out.” all written in blue crayon.

Axis tilted his head at the mixed messages, maybe it was some kind of… store? Stores normally had a ‘welcome’ and a ‘please go away, we’re closed’ sign at the front, right?

In a way, the sign reminded him a little of Vendy. That vending machine had been a little upset about not getting restocked in a while. Steamworks had been barren for a long time. Axis didn’t like thinking about it, but the place is not how it used to be. He wishes one day maybe he’ll be able to fix it. Maybe he should…

No.

Right now he has to focus on his memories. He can’t get side tracked.

This was his mission.

Not a procedure that was programmed into him.

Not an order that his creator had given him.

This was for him.

He raised his steam powered hand and knocked on the door loudly, it almost sounded as if he were trying to break in.

KNOCK

KNOCK

KNOCK

While the door wasn’t hurt it seemed that whoever was living there had been startled by Axis’ aggressive knocks, as evident by the audible shuffling from inside the house. Guess he had to work on that…

Eventually the doorknob was turned with a click, and the door was opened gently to reveal a purple vampire monster with white horns wearing a pinkish-brown sweater with a white zig-zag pattern through the middle. His body exuded some kind of nervous and anxiety filled energy as their attention had been drawn to Axis, who had craned his neck to stare up at the other.

“Oh, h-hello there! Are you Axis?” The monster stammered nervously, flapping his hands a bit to relieve some of his anxiety.

“YES, I AM AXIS MODEL 014, YOU ARE THE MONSTER THAT IS SUPPOSED TO HELP ME, RIGHT?.”

“Ah yes, Ms. Ketsukane had sent me a letter about you.”

The monster scratches the back of his head, suddenly looking up at Axis as he realizes something.

“Oh! I forgot to introduce myself. How rude of me.”

“My name is Dalv, an old friend of your f- c-creator.”

“I have a feeling this isn’t the first time we have met… though, I can’t seem to remember you.”

The vampire monster lightly massages his forehead in thought, trying so hard to remember this vaguely familiar face but his memories are all just fuzz.

He shakes his head as he holds out his hand to Axis, prompting him to shake it.

“Nevermind that, it is nice to meet you, Axis.”

Axis tilts his head, confused by Dalv’s slip up and the gesture he’s showing him now.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

“This is a handshake. A-a friend of mine did it to me recently, and I… have tried to put more effort into my greetings as of late.”

Axis keeps looking down at his hand as he clenches his own.

“So, you see- you just take hold of my hand and you shake it up and down, like it says in the name.”

“OK.”

The robot takes hold of Dalv's hand. Surprisingly, the vampire’s hand was really cold, sucking out the warmth Axis’ hand had. 

The robot hesitates for a moment before shakes his hand vigorously as if he were trying to shake the coldness out of him.

“Woah, woah, woah! Calm down there!”

Dalv clasps his hands around Axis’, trying to get him to stop shaking the vampire.

“Slow, like this, okay?”

Dalv gently shakes his hand up and down, calming down from having his brains scrambled by the robot tossing him about.

“It is nice to meet you… again.”

“LIKEWISE.”

The vampire slowly leans over to look behind Axis, catching the view of another robot behind him.

He raises his hand and points toward Daisu, giving a nervous yet kind smile.

“Who is this accompanying you, Axis?”

“THIS IS MY SPOUSE, DAISY. THEY ARE A LITTLE SHY AROUND NEW PEOPLE.”

“Oh, that’s completely fine! I am the same way too.”

The vampire waves gently to the robot’s spouse, seeming less anxious than before.

“It is nice to meet you too, Daisy.”

“...”

“THEY SAID IT IS ALSO NICE TO MEET YOU.”

The vampire looks at the two with a warm expression, feeling more comfortable after introducing himself.

Ironically, a chill shoots through the vampire’s body, for a second he had forgotten it was cold.

“Ah, how about you two come in? I am surprised you two are not shivering, it’s very cold out there.”

“I AM INSTALLED WITH A HEATING SYSTEM SO I AM NOT AFFECTED BY THE COLD.”

The robot turns his head to his spouse with a slightly empathetic look… well, as empathetic as he could manage.

“BUT MY SPOUSE WOULD APPRECIATE SOME WARMTH.”

“...”

“OH, DO NOT BE EMBARRASSED, SWEETHEART.”

Dalv smiled at the two as he left the door ajar and motioned for the two to come in.

The robots followed, looking over the cozy home.

A click resounded through the house as the vampire had closed the door, walking toward the active fireplace that was located at the end of the living room.

“Feel free to make yourself at home. We have a guest bedroom so you do not have to worry about sleeping on the couch.”

Before Axis could correct Dalv on needing to sleep, he actually thought for a moment.

“WE?”

“Ah! I had forgotten to introduce Pops. Hold on a moment.”

The purple monster walks toward a closet that was against the wall adjacent to the fireplace, gently opening the doors of it.

A shiny red balloon with a silly smiley face drawn on was revealed, he stared back at everyone else in the room, unwavering.

“He is not used to meeting new people so don’t mind him if he doesn’t say any-”

“...”

Dalv trailed off as his eyes widened, looking up at Pops.

The balloon floated there in his closet, gaze directed toward the robots, specifically Daisy.

“...”

“...?”

“...”

“...”

Axis and Dalv look at the two silently, not wanting to interrupt their riveting conversation.

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“Oh my… I had never seen Pops talk this much.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“... <3”

Slowly the door of the closet seems to have closed by itself, the two look back at Daisy, who seemed to be more alive than ever.

“IT SEEMS DAISY AND POPS HAVE GOTTEN ALONG WELL.”

“I’m glad! Pops has wanted to know more people who understand him.”

Dalv had turned to face the other two, finally taking notice of Axis’ broken eye. His eyes widened as he bit his lip, deciding that pointing it out wasn’t the best idea.

“Ah, excuse me for a moment.”

The vampire had walked out of the room for a bit, leaving Axis and his spouse on their own.

The robot took hold of his spouse and skootched closer to the fire, worried that his spouse may have been cold.

“...”

Axis eyes were fixed on the fire in the fireplace, seeming to have not heard his spouse’s thanks.

“...”

“...?”

The soft crackling of the fire had caught the robot in a trance. He couldn’t stop staring, the heat, the smell, the color, how it moved… it just… retained his attention somehow.

He felt that feeling again, the static, the vague semblance of a memory forming in his head again.

…

The scent of smoke assaulted his sensors, despite the smell not affecting him much, he couldn’t help but want to cover his mouth.

“-You know this deep down… I know you do. Axis is the solution you need!”

It was his creator again. It sounded like he was… pleading.

“The solution I need is a reliable one, one that won't set fire to our homes.”

A lower voice had responded to him, the voice was… familiar… but he didn’t know who it belonged to.

“If this is about my…”

“It isn’t.”

“I thank you for your service to society… But I’m afraid monsterkind’s freedom belongs in more capable hands.”

…

He could hear fading footsteps and a dejected sigh.

Suddenly, he was startled by the sound of his own voice.

“I AM SORRY.”

“...”

“It’s ok. You’re fine.”

“BUT YOU-”

“Really, It’s fine, Axis.”

“Look… now that we’re on our own, we can take this into our own hands, alright?”

“This is an opportunity for the both of us, okay? Believe in us.”

“BELIEVE IN… US…”

He feels a warm sensation on his hands, as if… someone were holding them.

“Axis, are you okay?”

The robot jumps at Dalv’s voice, the static suddenly fading away as he was left with more questions than answers as usual.

“[PARTIAL DATA RECOVERED FROM MEMORY BANK_].”

“AH…”

“I AM FINE. I WAS JUST REMEMBERING THINGS.”

“Ah, well that’s good, isn’t it? That’s what you wanted help with, right?”

“I SUPPOSE.”

The vampire was holding something behind his back, looking around the room nervously.

“I’ve actually got a surprise for you, so could you close your eyes until I tell you to open them?”

The robot tilts his head, curious as to what this surprise would be.

“OKAY.”

Dalv smiles as Axis closes his eyes, waiting for the vampire to make his move.

The robot felt some kind of… fabric? Bandage? -Wrap around the left side of his face.

He twitched at the sensation, he hasn’t been handled like this since his creator had done maintenance on him.

…He never thought he’d feel that again after what he had found out.

The robot felt a hand grip his shoulder, keeping him steady from his shaking.

Wait…

Shaking?

Since when was he shaking?

The robot almost opened his eyes before he heard Dalv’s voice again.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not hurting you. You can open your eyes in just a moment.”

Axis’ body relaxed in response to his reassurance, steam erupting from his joints.

“OK.”

Everything felt so odd, Axis didn’t know why he was feeling more emotional as of late- well, he knew why but he didn’t want to acknowledge it.

Sure he was programmed to experience emotions but he’s never felt so… vulnerable before.

The robot let out a low quality sigh, relaxing at the soft touch against the left side of his face. Weirdly enough, this felt nice…

After a few moments of Dalv doing whatever he was doing, the robot felt a kind pat on his head.

“You can open your eyes now.”

The robot opened his eyes, seeing his own reflection stare back at him. What he wasn’t expecting was that he had a bandage wrapped around his head, covering his broken eye.

The vampire nervously held a hand mirror in front of Axis, his hand ever so slightly shaking.

“Ah… It’s not my best work, I haven’t done anything like this in a long time. B-but I thought maybe it would help.”

Axis slowly raised his hand to touch the bandage plastered on his face, the material felt nice against his gloved fingers.

“THANK YOU.”

That was all he was able to muster and yet the purple monster let out a relieved sigh, his shoulders dropping as the tension left his body.

The robot kept staring at his reflection just… taken aback by the fact that Dalv wanted to help him like this, such a kind act and for what…?

It just… reminded him of his creator so much, he could see why the two used to be friends.

He wasn’t used to this kindness, no one really was nice to him except for his creator.

“Uhm… you’ve been staring for a while. Are you okay?”

He blinks and shakes his head, eyes focusing back on Dalv.

“APOLOGIES, MY SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN OPERATIONAL FOR TOO LONG.”

That may or may not have been a lie, sure, all the feelings he had experienced was the root of the issue, but also he could feel his systems starting to overload from overuse.

“I see…”

“Well, it is getting late. It may be a good time to ‘hit the hay.’”

The robot blink slowly, confused by the idiom.

“Ah, it is just a phrase I picked up from a friend. It just means that we should go to bed.”

“OH. I SEE, I WILL KEEP THAT IN MIND.”

Axis glances over at his spouse who also seems pretty tired, at least it seemed that way to him.

“I WILL ENTER SLEEP MODE NOW.”

“Oh! There’s a guest room available if you’d like to stay there, I’d feel like a bad host if you were to sleep in the living room.”

Dalv pointed toward a short hallway which had a door at the end of it, before going back to nervously fiddling with his hands.

The robot didn’t really need a bed, let alone a room to sleep, but honestly at this point he couldn’t be bothered to object, he felt so… emotionally exhausted.

He would say this was the first time he had felt like this but… there was this fuzzy static in his head telling him he had felt this before.

“OK. I WILL GO SHUT DOWN THERE.”

“GOODNIGHT.”

“Goodnight, Axis.”

The two parted ways, Axis picking up his spouse and rolling toward the bedroom.

He turned the handle of the door and cruised in, shutting the door behind him as gently as he possibly could, to prevent spooking Dalv like he had done when he knocked on his door.

…

BANG.

“Ehh!!”

A distant yelp could be heard as the door shut violently.

Whoops.

As Axis said his silent apologies to the vampire, he gently placed his spouse on the bed and tucked her in, hearing a slight creak as he did so. Honestly he couldn’t tell if the noise came from the bed or his spouse.

After that, he flopped onto the ground, not bothering with trying to share the bed with his spouse (as much as he’d love to), he felt too exhausted.

“[ENTERING SLEEP MODE_].”

As he felt his systems shutting down he couldn’t help but… think about him again, despite wanting to just… forget. He had experienced too many thoughts and emotions for today, he just wanted to become mindless again.

Before powering off he had one last thought…

“I BELIEVED IN YOU, CREATOR.”

“I BELIEVED IN US. LIKE YOU TOLD ME TO.”

“...WHERE DID YOU GO…?”

“...”

And like that… Axis Model 014 had entered sleep mode.

Chapter Text

…

The robot feels himself just… suddenly exist.

Thinking about it, the feeling of gaining sentience must be weird.

You just suddenly start existing, everything you once knew which was… nothing , is suddenly replaced with… thoughts, feelings and senses…

He never really stopped to think about that.

Axis opens his eyes, finding himself in a bedroom, but he wasn’t met with the purple walls Dalv’s house, no, these walls were just a nice warm brown.

Where was he?

The room felt… very familiar…

Turning his head he could see a little box tv with a few games scattered on the ground next to a console. He believes he may have seen his creator with that exact game console before at Steamworks, maybe it ended up in this room?.

As Axis looked around more, something caught his eye; it was a few pieces of paper and crayons on the floor.

He tried leaning in closer to see what was drawn on them but… the drawings started to move. 

He couldn’t make out what was on the paper as the lines had started to blur and boil, until eventually being overtaken by static and melting away. The joyful doodles of a young child had been completely washed away into a melty mess. It looked as if the paper was made of some kind of slime.

The nice and warm atmosphere was drowned out by the supernatural occurrence.

Axis shakes his head, blinking rapidly, only to see that the pages of the floor have returned to being normal pieces of paper, however the child-like illustrations on them had completely vanished.

Huh…

He tried to ignore whatever he just saw, rolling over to the door in an attempt to leave the room.

“Axis? Where are you going?”

…

It was that child voice again.

The one he had kept having memories with.

Slowly, the robot turned around to face where the voice was coming from, but what he wasn’t expecting was that he would actually see a figure.

It was a small brown fox monster, with dark brown hair tied into a little pony tail. Wearing a red kimono with yellow accents, adorned with a maroon scarf and cute bell.

She… had a close resemblance to his creator… maybe…

She looked up at Axis with a pleading look, seeming desperate and disappointed at the same time. Did he do something wrong? What was she so sad about?

“I thought we were going to play…”

Axis wanted to respond but something felt wrong, it felt like his voice box was starting to function on its own, the words coming out were not the ones he wanted to say.

“I NEED TO REPORT BACK TO STEAMWORKS, I HAVE DUTIES TO ATTEND TO.”

He shook his head, confused as to why he said that. He couldn’t go back to Steamworks now, there was so much happening! Why couldn’t he control himself?

“Dad said you were allowed to stay with me tonight! You promised we were having a sleepover!”

The girl pouted a little, as Axis didn’t know how to respond. His hands gripped where his neck would be, trying to stop himself from saying anything he didn’t actually mean.

And yet, a voice still came out.

“I DO NOT NEED TO SLEEP, SO THERE IS NO USE.”

While yes that was true, he had an itching feeling that he didn’t want to leave this monster. She looked at him with such pleading eyes, there was something in his code telling him he had to stay. However, he could feel so many pre-programmed responses boiling and festering in his metaphorical throat.

“I know but… this isn’t about sleeping. I just… want to be with my friend.”

…

Friend?

Steam erupts from his joints, causing the little girl to yelp in surprise.

She… wanted to stay with him?

Just because… she was his friend?

Not because of any order he was given?

Not because she was told to?

She just… wants to be with him out of her own volition?

Axis blinked, feeling the gears turn in his chassis. He felt something change…

Something about those words just… made him feel more alive. He had just processed the fact that this monster had chosen to stay with him. She had the freedom to make her own choices, she wasn’t pre-programmed or anything she just… chose to!

He himself, upon realizing this revelation, felt… more sentient.

He didn’t know how to explain it, he wasn’t programmed to be able to explain a concept like this.

It just felt as if… he were less heavy.

“Are you ok…? Did I make you mad?”

The robot stared back at her, the bubbling feeling leaving his throat, only leaving behind a gentle burn.

“I AM SORRY.”

He fiddled with his hands, picking at the fabric of his glove.

He doesn’t know why, but that felt like the first time he gave someone a pure and genuine apology.

“I AM NOT MAD. IT IS JUST THAT I AM NOT PROGRAMMED TO DEAL WITH A SITUATION LIKE THIS.”

The small girl gives him a kind smile, somehow filling the robot with a gentle warmth in his chest.

“That’s ok! This is your first time sleeping so I can teach you!”

“TEACH ME?”

“Mhm! Here…”

The fox monster skips toward the bed, motioning for Axis to follow her.

Axis rolled over toward her, looking down at the sheets of the bed.

“WHAT DO I DO NOW?”

She smooths out the sheets, pointing toward a pillow resting on the edge of the bed.

“You lay down on the bed and you put your head on the pillow.”

The robot nodded, placing his hands on the bed in an attempt to pull himself up onto it, however he seemed to be struggling trying to get his wheel over the bed.

The fox monster takes hold of Axis’ wheel and tips him over like a drinky bird toy, causing him to comically face plant onto the bed sheets.

“OOF.”

“Ah! Sorry!!!”

“IT IS OK. I AM NOT DAMAGED.”

Axis rolls himself over on the bed so his body is facing up to the ceiling and his head is pressed against the pillow.

“Ok… now you close your eyes until you fall asleep!”

“I CANNOT SLEEP LIKE THAT.”

“Oh yeah… you’re a robot…”

She places a hand on her chin, gently scratching it in thought as her fur is left slightly ruffled.

Her ears perk up as she comes up with an idea.

“I know! Computers have a sleep mode, right? Dad told me that. Do you have a sleep mode too?”

Axis faced the little girl as the literal gears turned in his head.

“YES I DO, THOUGH IT DOES NOT LET ME SLEEP IN THE TRADITIONAL SENSE.”

“Hmm… But it’s still sleeping, right?”

Well he couldn’t really argue with that. He’s never slept before so he couldn’t really classify what was sleep and what wasn’t.

“I SUPPOSE SO.”

“GIVE ME A MOMENT…”

“...”

“[ENTERING SLEEP MODE_].”

“Oh! Wait, wait, wait! I forgot something!”

The robot looks up at her, deactivating his sleep mode for a moment.

“WHAT IS IT.”

She pulls the blanket from under him, gently sliding it over his body and filling it with more warmth than he had ever felt before. Not a warmth as if he were overheating, but a comforting one that made him feel… funny.

The fox monster smiles down at the other happily, raising her hand and giving him a soft pat on the head.

“Tucking someone into bed is really important! I can’t sleep unless mom or dad does it…”

Axis just laid there… he hadn’t been shown this much… ‘compassion’ before.

He let himself get enveloped in this warm feeling, he hasn’t felt much before, but I think this is something you’d call… comfort…

…

“THANK YOU.”

The robot felt himself slipping as somehow his sleep function activated on its own, everything slowly going dark as he heard one last thing.

“You’re welcome.”

…

…

Axis awoke from his sleep mode, the warm feeling he had felt before was still present.

As his eyes opened he felt… something draped on top of him and he noticed that the floor below him felt softer than before.

He looked down and realized that someone had tucked him into bed… but it wasn’t that fox monster he saw earlier, was it?

What even was that anyway?

A dream?

No, he wasn’t programmed to have those.

A memory?

…

He finally saw that child he had been hearing in those memories he has been having.

There was something about her… her kind smile, her compassion, her resemblance to his creator…

It all just felt so special to him.

“[ACCESSING VIRTUAL DIARY_].”

“[DOCUMENTING “SMALL CREATOR” MEMORY_].”

The automation let out a mechanical sigh, turning his head to find his spouse sleeping like a rock next to him.

He didn’t wanna wake them up, they seemed a little exhausted after all they had done the previous day.

He thought about the memory he had experienced as he hopped off the bed.

The robot turned back to his spouse, gently grabbing the sheets and pulling it over their body.

He leans in, pressing a small kiss on their head as a dark gray blush forms on his face.

“I LOVE YOU.”

As he rolled toward the door and turned the handle , he swore that he heard some kind of quiet whisper.

“...”

The robot smiled as the blush on his face got infinitely worse as his spouse expressed their love back.

He opens the door and closes it, leaving Daisy to rest in the guest room.

…

The house had just felt completely empty, as if all life had been sucked out of it. Something just felt… off.

The whole place was silent, the sound of whirrs and gears turning were the only things that could be heard. The fireplace was barren, leaving an unpleasant smokey smell in the air. The lack of Dalv’s presence just made the place feel abandoned despite everything being set up nicely.

It felt like there was this thick tension in the air, everything felt… slightly dusty.

Whatever this atmosphere was, Axis didn’t like it.

The robot explored the house, looking through each room and corridor before he rolled to a stop in front of a certain door.

There was a piece of paper taped on the door with the words: “Dalv’s room (Please knock) •́ᵥᵥ•̀” written in blue crayon, much like the sign outside the vampire’s home.

Axis squinted at the door as if that would open it. He felt slightly apprehensive as he didn’t want to be a disturbance, but at the same time he needed some reassurance.

The robot carefully raised his hand, he was slowly growing a reputation for making loud noises. He didn’t want to scare Dalv for the third time in the last 24 hours.

His hand trembled as he very, very, very gently knocked on the door.

…

…

…

As the robot stared at his balled fist against the door, it turned out that he had knocked so gently that it had made no audible noise.

Steam erupts from his hearing ducts out of frustration. Why was it so hard for him to control himself?

“[gosh] [dang] IT.”

He let out an irritated sigh as he leaned forward and he pressed his speakers (mouth) against the door.

“I APOLOGIZE IF I AM A DISTURBANCE, BUT I NEED TO CONFIRM YOUR PRESENCE.”

…

The robot stood there for a moment, pressing his hearing duct against the wall in hopes that he would get a response. However, he was met with nothing but silence.

The more he thought about it, why did he want to find Dalv? It wasn’t like he was programmed to have an attachment to him like his creator and that monster child in his memories…

So… why did he feel so attached?

He looked up and just continued to stare at the sign on the door, eyes focused on that drawn toothy grin on the paper.

Maybe after that memory… he didn’t want to be alone.

After feeling something like that… he wanted more.

This sudden feeling of dread started to crawl upon his back as he placed a hand on the door handle.

He didn’t want to be alone.

He didn’t want to be alone.

A click emits from the handle as it’s turned, an irritating creak coming from the door as it’s opened.

The robot blinked as they looked around the room, much like the entire house, it was very purple. Everything from the bed, to the organ in the corner, to a gramophone across the room and the books on a table next to the bed. The only thing that wasn’t purple was a broom that leaned against the wall, which seemed oddly dusty.

Something told Axis that purple was Dalv’s favorite color.

Other things that the automation could take away besides the obvious color preference was that this vampire seemed to have some kind of musical hobby, judging from the organ and gramophone in the far side of his room.

Music wasn’t exactly Axis’ thing, at least the music his creator had programmed him with. It was far too intense for his liking, it was overwhelming. His creator had insisted that music makes it easier to focus on an activity, however, upon thinking about it more he may have just added it because he thought it was ‘cool.’

The robot remembered his creator had told him he had the ability to create his own music through synthesized beeps or something like that. Though, he had never looked into it as he was never requested to make music.

But… right now he didn’t need to be told what to do, right? He was all alone right now, he could do anything.

…

…

BEEEEEP.

A long beep was emitted from his body, while it surely was a sound it didn’t really sound like music.

The robot thought long and hard, trying to make up some kind of melody in his head. He remembered the song his creator had programmed into him… maybe if he…

BEEP BEEP BOOP BEEP BEEP BEEP BOOP BEEP BEEP BEEP BE- BE- BE- BE- BOOP BOP.

A familiar melody played from his speakers, it was loud and slightly out of tune but it was recognisable. He had tried to reference the theme his creator composed as closely as he could but it still sounded a little odd.

He sighed, turning away from the organ to distract himself from his musical failure. Maybe he could try another day, maybe, just maybe, Dalv could teach him a thing or two. That is if he is actually good at making music, just because you own an instrument doesn’t guarantee you’re good at it.

The robot turned around and spotted an open book on the desk beside the bed. He didn’t want to snoop but curiosity got the best of him. He rolled over to the table, he looked down and… saw his name?

He stared down at the pages, reading the words written in a decently legible cursive font.

…

“I had gotten a letter from Ceroba today, asking me if I was able to take care of someone for her.

I’m no babysitter so I do not know why she contacted me of all people. Maybe she pitied me for being lonely.

But I’ve been doing better of course! I’ve been talking to Flier and Penilla more, and they have apologized for saying I was ‘nuts.’

But, well… maybe they were right back then.”

…

“The person had arrived a few hours after I had gotten the letter, I haven’t even finished cleaning yet!

Broom was disappointed but they tried to hide it. I feel bad but our guests didn’t seem to mind.

Speaking of that, I wasn’t expecting our guests to be robots, let alone, one that looked vaguely familiar.

It might just be my mind playing tricks on me but seeing that robot- Axis, it felt like memories had been coming back.

Memories that I didn’t want to remember.

I’ve decided I do not want to visit the ruins again, it just makes me feel horrible.

I sent a letter to Decibat concerning the corn. I had taught him enough for him to be able to take care of it.

Though, I miss it.

…

On a lighter note, Pops finally made another friend. That robot accompanying Axis was one of the first people Pops had connected with.

That makes me happy at least.

…

Axis looked down at the diary, processing all the information he had read.

What did Dalv mean by ‘memories he didn’t want to remember’? And why was Axis the catalyst for those memories resurfacing?

Was he experiencing the same things he was? Was that why Ceroba had sent him to him?

He didn’t know, but he didn’t like the thought that maybe he was a burden to the vampire.

Just… don’t think about it.

The robot shook his head, closing the diary and exiting the room.

As soon as he did, however, a shiny red balloon had suddenly appeared in front of the bot.

“[flip]!!!”

Axis stumbled over himself for a moment, startled by the sudden appearance.

“...”

The balloon stared back at him, despite the crudely drawn smiley face on its surface, it had an aura of intimidation and confrontation surrounding it.

“...”

The robot bowed in hopes he would be forgiven, a trait he had picked up from his creator.

“MY APOLOGIES, I DID NOT INTEND TO TRESPASS UPON YOUR FRIEND’S PRIVATE SPACE.”

Axis tilts his head up slightly, witnessing the balloon's intense gaze.

“I WAS MERELY TRYING TO LOCATE HIM. I HAVE NOT SEEN HIM AT ALL TODAY.”

The balloon floats there for a moment before speaking again.

“...”

“YOU DO NOT KNOW WHERE HE IS EITHER?”

The automation stops bowing, fully directing his attention to Pops.

“...”

“PERHAPS WE SHOULD LOOK FOR HIM. DO YOU HAVE ANY GOOD IDEAS TO WHERE HE COULD BE?”

“...”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY ‘FOLLOW THE WIND?’”

Axis blinked as it seemed Pops had moved on his own, gravitating toward the door ever so slightly.

“I SEE.”

“YOU ARE TELLING ME TO FOLLOW MY ‘GUT FEELINGS’ AS THEY SAY.”

“...”

“WELL, UNFORTUNATELY FOR YOU, I DO NOT HAVE GUTS.”

“IN FACT, I WAS NOT PROGRAMMED WITH ‘INSTINCTS’ IN MIND. ALL OF MY ACTIONS ARE MEANT TO BE CALCULATED AND PERFORMED ACCORDING TO THOSE CALCULATIONS.”

…To be honest that wasn’t really true. There were a lot of instances where Axis’ emotions would get in the way of his missions, especially when he had met that hatted-human. He sometimes wondered why he was programmed like that… Sometimes he wishes he could just… turn his emotions off.

“-AND WELL, I DO NOT HAVE A STOMACH EITHER.”

“...”

A puff of steam came out of Axis’ pipe as he started to feel himself heat up in anger.

“HEY, THAT WAS AN UNCALLED FOR COMMENT.”

“...”

If Axis could roll his eyes he would, how could he have the audacity to say that?

“FINE. I WILL FOLLOW YOU. BUT ONLY BECAUSE I WANT TO ENSURE THE VAMPIRE’S SAFETY.”

“...”

The robot took hold of Pop’s string and exited the home, immediately noticing the drop in temperature.

“ARE YOU COLD?”

“...”

“I- I AM NOT OFFERING TO ‘WARM YOU UP.’ DO NOT SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT.”

“...”

“ABSOLUTELY VILE.”

Axis tightens his grip, heading in a random direction, leaving behind an obvious tire trial.

At least he wouldn’t get lost, he could just follow the line back.

“...”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN I AM GOING THE WRONG WAY?”

“LAST TIME I CHECKED YOU TOLD ME TO FOLLOW MY GUT.”

“...”

“WELL, I DID SAY I DID NOT HAVE A GUT, HOWEVER-”

“...”

“YOU DO NOT HAVE A GUT EITHER. YOU ARE A BALLOON WITH NO ORGANS.”

“...”

“I WOULD RATHER NOT LEARN ABOUT YOUR DISTURBING ANATOMY.”

The robot felt a tug on his hand as it seemed Pops was starting to gravitate north.

“WHERE ARE YOU GOING?”

“...”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? PLEASE TRY TO COOPERATE WITH ME.”

Axis felt the string of the balloon slip out of his hand as Pops started to gravitate toward a hoard of trees.

“HEY, COME BACK.”

The robot rolled after him, wanting to shoot his gloves out to grab him but he was too worried about accidentally… well… popping Pops.

As he was chasing after the balloon through the mass of trees, he had started to hear something… something that sounded like… Dalv…?

“...Oh! That’s wonderful Penilla… I suppose you should take a break for now, though.”

Axis slowed down, meekly hiding behind a tree as he listened closely to the voices.

“Yeah, I’ve been at this for a while.”

“Well, I love how you drew me. It… makes me really happy.”

The robot looked over at Dalv, seeing that he was accompanied by two other monsters. One was some kind of dinosaur with a big pencil and another resembling that of a fairy, all sitting on a wooden table.

“Huh? Pops?”

The balloon had floated into the scene, staring at the three monsters.

“Axis is with you?”

Dalv leans over, making eye contact with Axis who was still behind the tree. The robot takes this as a queue to reveal himself, rolling toward the vampire and the others.

“Oh, Axis, I am so sorry! I had forgotten to leave a note that I wasn’t going to be home today.”

“IT IS OK. I HAD JUST COME OUT TO FIND YOU TO ENSURE YOUR SAFETY.”

“Well, I am quite alright now. Every Friday I come out here to draw with Penilla and Flier.”

Penilla and Flier… The two people mentioned in Dalv’s diary. The robot assumes these three have been friends for a while, but from what had been described in the book, maybe their relationship was a little rocky.

“I SEE.”

“Would you perhaps want to join?”

The automation blinked, looking over at all of them.

“YOU WANT ME TO DRAW WITH YOU?”

“Only if you want to of course. I know some people don’t like to, Pops isn’t much of an artist.”

“...”

The balloon stares back at Dalv, seeming… embarrassed somehow.

Geez, why did Pops go easy on Dalv but not Axis, huh? Was there something there that he couldn’t see?

It’s fine… The robot didn’t want to dwell on the balloon’s distaste for him.

Penilla chimed in and approached Axis with a piece of paper.

“Here’s something to get you started! Uh… There’s art supplies on the table if you need them.”

The monster chuckled nervously as they handed the paper to Axis before sitting down at their spot on the table again.

The robot followed suit, standing near the vampire and placing the piece of paper on the table. He looked over at all the art supplies… Something about this had felt familiar.

As if hit with a sudden pang of inspiration, he knew exactly what to draw.

He grabbed a red pencil from the pencil box and started his work of art, pressing the pencil against the paper.

While he was working he listened to the light conversation taking place between Dalv and the other monsters. He was laser focused on what he was drawing so he did not plan on contributing to the conversation.

“Ah, we have been meeting up here in this part of the woods for a while now, it is a nice and quiet place to just draw in.”

The fairy monster had chimed in, “I don’t say it much but I like coming here with you guys. Art kinda makes me forget about all my problems.”

Dalv chuckled looking up from his piece of paper to look at Flier.

“It’s a nice distraction isn’t it? It makes me happier every time I come here.”

Penilla taps their hands on the table, trying to think of what to say.

“Mmm, yeah, but honestly I don’t think I wanna pursue art as a career as I said a few times before… I think I just rather stay a hobbyist.”

“Oh, that’s fine! I know it’s a bit scary to get your work out there. I’m still mustering up the courage to pitch my children’s books.”

“I’m sure they’ll be fine, Dalv, they’re great! It’s just… for me when I start to take art seriously it stops becoming fun for me. I think I should just chill out.”

The fairy blinks as they finish off whatever they were drawing.

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about life and stuff recently after moving. After taking a break from everything it felt like my life was slightly more put together than before.”

The other two nod along, the vampire looking like he was itching to say something, but it seemed that he swallowed that urge down.

After a bit more back and forth between the three of them, Axis finally finishes his art piece, tapping Dalv on the back.

“Oh, are you done?”

“AFFIRMATIVE.”

The robot holds up his drawing proudly. As Dalv looked down to observe it, his eyes widened as it felt everything around him had stopped.

The dream Axis had this morning hadn’t left his mind. That fox monster he had seen was burned into his memory. His drawing was of that fox monster, his creator and himself. It was a little poorly drawn but at this point he didn’t really care, he just needed some physical reminder of all of them, to cling onto if his memory had ever failed him again.

The vampire stared down the illustration, it felt like everything around him had started to blur. It felt as if some kind of vignette was fading into his vision, eyes focusing on one particular subject of the doodle.

…

…Kanako.

…

“Dalv? Are you okay, Mr. Dalv?!”

A painful sting emanated from his back as he panted, his form trembling.

“Please, are you okay?!”

He could feel himself slipping as the world felt like a box that had been squeezing him tight.

He couldn’t think straight… he felt so dizzy… he felt so sick… all he knew was-

“Look out-! Look out-! LOOK OUT!”

“DALV.”

The vampire had jumped in his metaphorical seat as he was kicked out of the memory by Axis’ loud and grating voice. How did it get louder than before?

He felt himself breathe heavily, he could not find the words to describe what had happened.

He tilted his head up to see that everyone, even Pops, had been looking at him concerned. They were all shocked into silence, just staring at him.

Dalv felt his throat close up, too nervous and embarrassed to utter a single word. He didn’t like all the eyes on him, he just wanted all of them to look away.

“ARE YOU OK? WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT STATUS?”

Status…? What did he mean by that?

Dalv tried to formulate a response despite all the confusing emotions running through him.

“U-uh… T-taken…?”

“I DID NOT MEAN YOUR RELATIONSHIP STATUS.”

“Wh…”

The vampire couldn’t help but suppress a giggle, that was dumb, why did he say that? That was so dumb.

But he couldn’t help but find it so dumb it was funny, funny enough to laugh even.

As the vampire caught up on breath, little giggles erupted from him, a smile creeping up on him because of that little slip up.

Thinking about it, it wasn’t even that funny! Why was he laughing?

He held a hand to cover up his smile, muffled giggles still managing to escape.

The other monsters smiled along with him, letting out small giggles too.

“UH. AM I REALLY THAT FUNNY?”

The automation tilted his head in confusion, still trying to process why he had spawned all of this laughter.

…He wishes he could laugh along with them.

“No, no, no- it’s- eheheh-! It’s not your fault…”

Dalv breathed in deeply, slowly calming down by his sudden giggle fit. He looked up at the robot who still held the drawing in his hands.

“I AM ASSUMING MY ILLUSTRATION ELICITED A NEGATIVE REACTION.”

“Ah! No! It’s just… your drawing is beautiful, Axis. It’s just that… It reminded me of someone.”

Again with Axis unlocking memories in Dalv… What was the deal with that?

Did Dalv know that monster?

The vampire had taken Axis’ hand, holding the edge of the paper as he tried to see the illustration again in all of its charming glory.

“I know exactly where to put this.”

…

Chapter Text

The vampire laid in bed, breathing out as he tried to get himself to relax.

His arms were crossed over his chest as he laid straight on the mattress, much like a stereotypical vampire does, while dressed in some bat themed pajamas too. He didn’t know why he did this, it didn’t feel that comfortable, but laying like this felt like routine.

Earlier he had written a few more things in his diary, he’d been itching to get some feelings out during the drawing hangout they had earlier but he didn’t want to be a burden to anyone else there.

His mind had just been on that drawing Axis had made earlier. He didn’t know that he knew Kanako too.

But why draw her now? He hasn’t seen her in… a long time.

Not since…

The vampire twitched, suddenly feeling even more uncomfortable than he was before.

He gripped the blankets and pulled them over him, turning to the side and curling into a ball.

The feeling of dread started to creep up his spine, frazzling his nerves, causing him to shiver.

Not since…

Not since…

…

Snow… a lot of snow…

Dalv had never seen so much snow before, there were never really things like this in the Ruins.

He zipped up his puffy jacket and started wandering, it was all so beautiful but also incredibly cold.

The vampire didn’t have too much body heat to speak of, so he had to warm up in other ways.

Snowdin was a wonderful place, the people were nice and despite the cold climate, a lot of the things here filled Dalv with a warm feeling.

The vampire approached one of his favorite buildings; The Honeydew Resort.

The cafe was warm and the things they served there were so delicious and sweet. Maybe it’s unexpected but the purple monster had quite the sweet tooth.

He also wanted to have a chat with that shopkeeper too, she was pleasant to talk to and very relatable too. When talking to her, Dalv didn’t feel alone when it came to his problems.

Though, starting a conversation would be odd since he still hasn’t gotten her name yet. If he thought about it harder, he didn’t know if anyone even knew her name. Weird.

“Mr. Dalv! Mr. Dalv!”

His head whipped beside him, catching view of the monster he wanted to find.

“Kanako!”

The small fox child ran toward the much taller monster, feet crunching against the snow as she hugged Dalv’s leg, her head against his stomach.

“It’s good to see you again, Kanako.”

“Good to see you too~!!!”

Dalv crouched down and gave the girl a proper hug, warming him up more than his jacket ever could.

He released the hug, standing up and patting the smaller monster on the head.

“How are you?”

“I’m doing good! I’m just happy we get to play again!”

The vampire chuckles, smiling down at the little monster.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Kanako let out a little squeak in excitement, flapping her arms up and down to release some energy.

“Ooh-! Oh! Mr. Dalv, check this out!”

The vampire looked at her curiously as she breathed into the air, a little cloud coming out of her mouth.

“I’m like a steam powered robot!”

Dalv smiles, mimicking her and blowing a little cloud into the smoke.

“Look at that, I can do it too.”

“You’re a robot too!”

Dalv laughs quietly as he pats her head.

“Your father has been influencing you, huh?”

She nods her head excitedly as she giggles.

“Mhm! He’s been showing me so many cool robot shows… a-and he makes cool robots too!”

Kanako flinches as she puts her hands over her mouth, accidentally letting out a peep.

“That was a secret, sorry!!!”

The vampire shakes his head, trying to reassure her.

“It’s fine, I already know he works at Steamworks. I’m sure he makes cool robots all the time.”

“Yeah but… this one is like- super secret!”

“How secret is it?”

He tilts his head playfully, looking down at the other monster.

“Super- super- super- secret! Like- times a billion!”

Dalv blinks.

“...”

The two of them burst into giggly laughter, something about the little fox’s antics brought a warmth to Dalv’s heart.

Kanako keeps a hand over her mouth to try and muffle her giggles but they can’t stop escaping. She just feels so happy.

“Mmm… still… I want you to meet my robot friend someday…”

“The robot’s a friend?”

“Mhm! He’s fun!”

“I can’t wait to meet him then.”

The little girl giggles softly, a wide grin plastered on her face.

Her ear twitches as she hears something… Her smile slowly fading.

Her eyes dart around as the sounds keep getting louder and louder.

“Kanako, is something wrong?”

“I-I’m hearing s-something scary…”

“What…?”

The fox trembles, a little whimper escaping her.

Dalv’s ears perk up as he starts to hear it too…

Screaming.

“S-stay close.”

Kanako leans over and hugs the vampire’s leg, looking up at him.

“HEY!”

The two of them jump as they hear a yell from an unfamiliar voice.

They turn their heads and catch sight of a monster resembling some kind of ice cream or snow cone floating toward them, panicked and hurt.

Some of the residents cocked their heads toward the scared monster, a few of them murmuring amongst each other.

“KNOW CONE GET HURT! KNOW CONE GET HURT BY HUMAN! ”

…a human…?

“KNOW CONE TELL EVERYONE LEAVE! NOW!”

As the monster finished his sentence, a figure appeared behind him.

“KNOW CONE GOING TO LEAVE-”

THUD!

The monster was kicked to the ground, face drilled into the snow by a ballet shoe. 

Slowly his body dissipated into dust, the last thing Know Cone felt was the feeling of cold .

The dust was almost indistinguishable from the snow, looking as if no one were there in the first place.

But everyone knew what happened.

…

Silence…

A sound… or well… lack of sound that Dalv weirdly enjoyed.

Sounds were overwhelming, but silence always welcomed him.

He remembers meeting Decibat, one of his lifelong friends.

He understood the appeal of silence too.

…

And then…

…

Screaming.

Panicked screaming.

A sound so loud and visceral that it hurt the vampire’s ears.

This wasn’t the silence that welcomed him, that brought him comfort.

This was agony being pumped directly into his ears and into his brain.

He needed the sound to stop.

He needed it to stop.

He needed to-

…

He felt the grip on his leg grow tighter as Kanako clinged to him in fear.

Kanako…

His friend…

…

He needed to protect her.

…

“Kanako… I need you to find somewhere to hide.”

“B-but-”

“I… need to deal with this.”

“Please… stay safe.”

He cupped the little girl's cheek, looking at her with determined eyes.

For once he needs to be the bigger person.

He needs to be the one that helps someone for once.

Kanako holds the hand on her cheek, looking back at the vampire, an orange tint in her eyes.

She lets out a breath, a little cloud coming out of her mouth like it had earlier.

“...Okay…”

Her voice was small and weak, afraid of what would happen to Dalv.

She flees, her little feet crunching in the snow.

The vampire turns his head behind him, seeing that figure again.

As he blinks the figure becomes clearer, a small child wearing a tutu. Dust clinging onto their skirt.

The remains of monsterkind clinging onto their clothes. Broken hopes and dreams displayed on their body.

The human stares back, yet their eyes are obscured by an ominous shadow.

It felt as if they didn’t have a SOUL.

The human’s attention seems to be fixed on the vampire as the other monsters in the town succeeded in evacuating.

“...”

“Know Cone… what had he done to you?”

“I don’t know him but he seemed like a nice individual, didn’t he?”

“But I… suppose I’ll never get to know him.”

“I do not know why you’re going out of your way to do this.”

“Are you scared?”

“Because everyone else here is scared too.”

“Us monsters, we aren’t evil.”

“We’re just trying to make a living, just like you.”

“Everyone is only trying to find a little joy.”

“So please… leave us alone.”

“...”

The human takes another step in the snow, the dust from earlier dirtying their ballet shoes.

“I’m… assuming this isn’t something you want to be talked out of.”

Another step.

The only sound present being the crunch of the snow against the human’s feet.

He lets out a sigh, vapor escaping his mouth, only reminding him of the one he wanted to protect.

“If you refuse to be peaceful, then I won’t be peaceful either.”

“It’s only fair that way, isn’t it?”

One last step.

…

CRACK!

CRACK!

Lighting starts to crackle and strike around the vampire, his hair waving in the atmosphere he had created.

“I hope I don’t regret this.”

The human starts running toward him, ready to strike.

He lifts his arm, expecting lightning bolts to appear from his coat, however, he had forgotten he was not wearing his usual outfit.

The human kicks him in the stomach, sending a sharp twinge of pain through him.

-32HP

He coughs and wheezes as he clutches tummy, trying to alleviate the pain.

“It seems I’m still a little rusty.”

“I suppose it’s pathetic isn’t it? I recklessly stayed here to fight you unprepared.”

“Sometimes I wonder what I even wanted to achieve.”

The human seems to roll their eyes, despite them not being visible.

Dalv rubs his hands together as he tries to build up energy for his next attack, lightning crackling around him.

Bolts of thunder seem to appear from the air, barely grazing the human as they danced around them as if they were part of a ballet routine.

This human seemed experienced, as if they knew where the lightning was going to strike.

They run toward the vampire again, trying to swiftly sweep his legs.

Dalv stumbles as he loses balance. His body swivels in a circular motion as he uses the momentum from the spin to direct a lightning powered punch toward the human.

His fist surrounded by electricity, makes contact with the human’s chest, sending them backwards into the snow.

-5HP

The purple monster looks down at his electrified fist, opening and closing it repeatedly as he looks over at the human. He had never done an attack like that before…

The human writhed as they felt electric shocks surge through them. Their hand was on their heart, feeling it beat rapidly. A spindly scar stretched across their chest over to the ends of their shoulders.

“I remember now why I had wanted this.”

“I wanted to protect them.”

“I know it isn’t my responsibility to but…”

His ear twitches again as he hears the human shakily stand up from the snow. Their body twitched as they still felt the damage that had been dealt earlier.

Dalv could’ve sworn there was some kind of murderous intent in their face, a malicious blue twinkle was visible despite their eyes being shadowed over.

“I-”

A snowball was hurled toward Dalv’s face, hitting him square in the nose.

“Ack-! Wh- what?!”

He stumbled backward, pawing at his face as the human went berserk.

They rushed toward him faster than before, landing multiple kicks on his legs and stomach.

-30HP

-28HP

-26HP

-31HP

Dalv sputtered, coughing as he tried to back away, but the attacks kept coming and coming until he almost couldn’t take it.

“DALV!”

A familiar voice rang out causing the vampire’s attention to be piqued.

The human hesitated on their next attack for a moment, giving Dalv the opportunity to get away.

He summons balls of electricity at the clench of his fist, surrounding the human as he stumbles backwards.

“K-Kanako?! Was that you?”

“Dalv! Are you okay, Mr. Dalv?!”

“Please, are you okay?!”

He cocks his head to see Kanako running up to him, trying to see if he’s alright. Though… very clearly he wasn’t.

“I told you t-to hide…”

“I know b-but I didn’t want you to get hurt! S-so I hid behind the snow!”

He kept feeling that stinging pain span from his stomach to his back, he felt so dizzy, he felt so sick.

His hands unclench, his knuckles aching as the cold was starting to get to him. His mind was escaping him, he… needed to rest…

“Look out- look out- LOOK OUT!”

Dalv looks up as he sees the human running toward him, winding up a kick. They jump in the air ready to deal a fatal blow as all Dalv can do is cling onto Kanako in hopes she doesn’t get hurt too.

It feels as if all time slows as he can see the human about to hit him in his peripheral vision.

…

BANG!

-20HP

CRASH!

-20HP

…

The vampire trembled in anticipation but he didn’t feel anything, only the rush of a sudden gust of wind as he lifted his head up to observe the situation.

There he saw it, the Honeydew Resort had a big hole blown into it, dust clouds surrounding the area as a small figure could be seen behind it.

The human laid there, clothes torn, body bruised with splinters here and there. They were still alive but they were weak.

*Check

*The human.

*LV: 8

*HP: 3/48

This was his chance, he could get Kanako and himself to safety!

Dalv shakily stood up picking up Kanako in his arms, trying to keep her as close as possible.

He turns around and he sees something… glowing red.

Two eyes, directed toward the human.

For once it feels as if the human felt fear, their form trembling and their eyes finally revealed as they looked up at whatever had saved the vampire.

A robot…

“H-hey! D-Dalv that’s-”

“Kanako we need to go-”

“But… Ax-”

“We can talk about it later okay? Our safety is our priority.”

Kanako nods, as her head rests on the vampire’s shoulder, looking sadly at that robot confronting the human.

She can see the human standing up and running away, the robot following after them.

…

The vampire finds his way to the ruins door, opening it and shutting it panickedly behind him.

He collapses on his knees, Kanako safely snug in his arms as he pants heavily.

“Are you okay…?”

Dalv stays silent, still catching up on his breath.

He sets Kanako down on the ground, slowly standing up as he looks around the purple corridors in front of him.

But what he saw was… frightening…

There was dust… trails of dust all over the ruined grounds…

It… That human… It was here too…

How long have… has it been doing this…?

…

…Decibat…

He could hear Kanako shuffle around the room, he could hear her breathing, he could hear every movement she was making, but he… he was just stuck in a trance.

Dust… everywhere.

The vampire turns his head, finding a broom in the corner of the room.

He shakily takes it, cleansing the floor of the monster remains agonizingly slowly.

As he does this, Kanako pulls out a piece of paper and crayons from her kimono, scribbling down a ‘Please keep out’ sign to place outside the door.

…

The vampire stares down at the broom, watching as the dust clings onto its bristles. He felt his breath quicken again, starting to realize what he had been doing.

He’s cleaning up the remains of people, people he could’ve known, people he could’ve been friends with.

How did this happen…?

Why did this happen…?

Dalv grips the handle of the broom tightly, almost giving him splinters as his legs start to feel like jelly.

“P-please help me… Broom…”

“...”

“P-please…” He whispered to himself, or… whispered to the broom.

“...”

He could’ve sworn he could hear reassurances coming from the broom, he could hear it… “it’s okay.”

Despite that, he didn’t feel comforted at all.

Tears threaten to spill from his eyes as the events of the day start to catch up to him, everything that happened, everything that was happening, everything that was going to happen.

He couldn’t take it.

He sniffs as he let the dam break, tears rolling down his cheeks and falling to the floor, dissolving some of the dust in the process.

His legs give up on him, causing him to collapse once again, hands still gripped on the broom.

Dalv was hunched over, his shoulders shaking as he couldn’t stop himself from crying.

“Dalv! W-what’s wrong!?”

The vampire looked behind him to see the little girl staring back at him in concern.

She runs over to hug him from behind, not knowing what to do.

Despite the girl hugging her, he’s never felt more alone.

He just wanted to hide away.

Hide away from everything.

He wanted it to stop.

…

Dalv opened his eyes, waking up in the very town that had caused all his trauma.

Since when did he doze off…?

That didn’t matter, he just re-lived something awful.

He didn’t know how he was able to step foot in Snowdin again, maybe Clover really did inspire him that much.

…He misses them. Even if they didn’t know each other for long.

He just wanted to forget about all of that again but… he feels so much better after living in Snowdin, despite the bad memories attached to the place.

Maybe he should just… move on…

…

He could only wonder…

Axis…

What did he do after he hid in the ruins?

…Did he have bad memories of this place too?

Maybe… that's why he wants to remember?

To have closure?

Dalv massages his temples, his head hurting from all this thinking. It’s supposed to be a fun day today, he can’t be brought down this early in the morning.

Actually… What time was it?

He looked up at the clock on the wall, trying to read the hands with his blurry morning vision.

10:28AM.

Not as early as he liked, but he still had time to prepare… He might have to skip breakfast however.

Wait… What was that smell?

Smelt like… someone was cooking?

Eggs…?

Dalv shook his head, opening the door to his bedroom, not even bothering getting out of his pajamas.

As he ambled into the kitchen he caught a view of something… peculiar to say the least.

“OH, YOU ARE FINALLY AWAKE. LMAO.”

Dalv blinks as he sees Axis over by the stove, with a plate of at least 4 omelets stacked on top of each other.

“Wh… Axis…? What did you… say?”

“LMAO. IT MEANS: LET’S MAKE AN OMELET. A FRIEND AT STEAMWORKS TOLD ME THAT ONCE, HE HAD TAUGHT ME HOW TO MAKE THEM TOO.”

“Ah… well… I can see you’ve already gotten started. You made one for each of us?”

“NO, THESE ARE ALL FOR YOU.”

“Huh.”

The vampire squinted at him, confused… How was he supposed to eat 4 omelets?

“Why are there four then…? I imagined they would be for you, your spouse, Pops and I.”

The robot shakes his head.

“THE OTHERS AND I ARE INCAPABLE OF CONSUMPTION.”

“I HAD EXPECTED YOU TO WAKE UP EARLIER, HOWEVER, IT APPEARS YOU HAD SLEPT IN.”

“I WANTED THE OMELETS TO BE FRESH, SO I KEPT COOKING THEM UNTIL YOU WOKE UP.”

“IT IS GOOD YOU DID, I WAS STARTING TO RUN OUT OF EGGS.”

“...”

Honestly, he was speechless.

He didn’t know what to do with 4 omelets, he’s never had such a dilemma before.

“Well, I’ll eat the first one for now and leave the rest for later.”

“ALRIGHT.”

Axis took another plate from the cupboard, placing one of the omelets on it and handing it to Dalv.

“‘BONE APPLE TEETH. AS SOUSBORG USED TO SAY.”

The vampire let out a quiet chuckle, starting to dig into his meal, it was refreshing to eat something that wasn’t corn. He tried his hand at cooking before, however, he had a lot to work on.

“I… don’t think that’s quite right.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN? I THOUGHT THAT WAS A COMMON PHRASE TO SAY WHEN ANNOUNCING A MEAL.”

“I’m not sure about that. If you think about it, what does ‘bone apple teeth’ even mean?”

“...”

“HUH. I GUESS I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT, I ASSUMED IT WAS ONE OF THOSE NONSENSICAL IDIOMS.”

The automation packs up all the supplies he had taken out for cooking, putting the almost empty egg carton into the fridge.

“I think you just misheard the phrase. From what I’ve heard it’s: ‘bon appétit.’”

Axis rolled over to the dining table, ‘sitting’ at the other end and looking over at Dalv.

“BON APPÉTIT? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN.”

Dalv paused for a moment, scratching his chin.

“I uh… suppose I never thought about it either. I know it means something along the lines of: ‘enjoy your meal’, but I don’t exactly know why it’s pronounced like that.”

“YEAH, IT SOUNDS NOTHING LIKE: ‘ENJOY YOUR MEAL’, IN FACT, IT IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PHRASE.”

The vampire chuckles again, smiling up at the robot.

“I think that’s the point of idioms, though.”

“WELL, I SEE NO POINT IN THEM. IT ONLY MAKES THINGS MORE DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND.”

Dalv tilts his head, listening in to whatever the robot has to say.

“I AM STILL A ROBOT, SO MY VOCABULARY IS LIMITED. WHEN INDIVIDUALS USE PHRASES THAT ARE NOT LITERAL I TEND TO NOT UNDERSTAND.”

“SOMETIMES, PEOPLE GET FRUSTRATED WITH ME FOR NOT UNDERSTANDING, BUT I AM ONLY JUST LEARNING.”

He thinks about the time he was with Ceroba earlier, when she had snapped at him. In all honesty, the lady was a little scary.

“I CANNOT HELP IT.”

A sad puff of steam erupts from the pipe on his head as he slumps onto the table a little.

“I know what you mean.”

The robot tilts his head up from the table, making eye contact with the vampire.

“YOU DO?”

Dalv nods, sighing quietly.

“I’m not exactly the quickest thinker, I can be a little slow with things.”

“I tend to get completely distracted when I am focused on something.”

“It’s like I forget about all my surroundings.”

The automation thinks back to when Dalv was completely zoning out when he had seen his drawing. S’pose he was just thinking really hard.

“YOU SEEM LESS STRESSED.”

“Huh?”

“I APOLOGIZE FOR THE SUDDEN STATEMENT, BUT YESTERDAY YOUR STRESS LEVELS WERE HIGH.”

“Yeah… I suppose they were.”

“EVEN THIS MORNING, YOU SEEMED ‘SHAKEN’. DID SOMETHING HAPPEN?”

Dalv scratched his head, looking away from the robot for a moment.

“I had… just remembered something.”

“REMEMBER WHAT?”

That robot that had saved him… it was Axis wasn’t it?

“Do you remember anything happening in Snowdin?”

“LET ME CHECK.”

“[ACCESSING MEMORY BANK_]”

“[PARTIAL DATA RECOVERED FROM MEMORY BANK_]”

“I REMEMBER NOW.”

“BEFORE COMING HERE, I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE BEEN IN SNOWDIN.”

“HOWEVER, SOME MEMORIES HAVE BEEN TRIGGERED IN MY TIME STAYING HERE. I AM SURE ‘CEROBA’ EXPLAINED MY MEMORY MALFUNCTIONS TO YOU.”

Dalv nods, leaning in and listening intently.

“I REMEMBERED A SMALL FOX-LIKE MONSTER.”

“I DO NOT REMEMBER HER WELL BUT SHE WAS VERY NICE TO ME.”

The vampire’s eyes widened, tapping his fingers on the table.

“Do you remember her name?”

“NO.”

There was no doubt it was Kanako, right? Fox monster, daughter of Chujin… it had to be, right?

“I believe I have been remembering the same monster too.”

“REALLY?”

He nods, smiling nervously with a little ‘mhm.’

“ARE YOU HAVING MEMORY MALFUNCTIONS TOO?”

Dalv scratches the back of his head as he shrugs a little.

“In a way, I guess I have.”

“...”

Axis looks back at him for a moment, not making a single movement, as if he’s thinking really hard.

“WE ARE NOT SO DIFFERENT IN THAT REGARD.”

“I AM THANKFUL FOR THAT, IT MAKES ME FEEL LESS ALONE IN THIS SITUATION.”

Axis’ hand is clenched, resting on the table.

It’s clear he’s been thinking about this constantly.

He was right, they aren’t so different.

While Dalv didn’t know much about the robot’s past, he can tell it’s very important to him.

To be honest, in some weird messed up way he kind of envies Axis’ memory loss. There have been multiple situations where he wishes he could just… forget.

But… something about that thought process just didn’t feel right.

Dalv inches his hand closer to the automation’s, taking it and holding it gently.

The robot looks up at him, confused for a moment. This sensation felt familiar…

“-This is an opportunity for both of us, okay? Believe in us.”

Believe…

His creator’s voice rang in his head as he felt Dalv grip his hand tighter.

The vampire smiles at him, letting out a sigh.

“I feel less lonely too.”

Chapter Text

The two sat at the table holding one another’s hand, the warmth bringing comfort to both of them.

The robot hadn’t had his hands held since he was with his creator, he never knew how much he would miss this feeling.

He never knew how much he would just simply miss his creator.

…

It felt odd, but there were times where it felt like he had forgotten about that.

Times where he was distracted by something else, something else that brought him joy that wasn’t his creator.

Like when he had been cooking earlier, sure it wasn't exactly a hobby that he particularly found joy in, but the thought of appeasing Dalv happened to quell whatever thoughts he had about his creator.

…Was that a bad thing?

It felt like his creator wasn’t properly grieved for. Like he wasn’t given the attention he deserved.

It’s not like he had moved on, right?

Right…?

His creator, the one who made him, the one who gave him purpose, the one who made him feel warm and fuzzy…

He can’t just simply not grieve him, right?

But what was he supposed to do?

No ability to cry, no ability to do anything to show his gratitude-

…

…Maybe he had not moved on.

Even if he had distractions it still felt as if every waking moment was different without his creator there.

He… didn’t know what to do with himself.

…

“Axis, are you okay?”

The robot snaps his head up to meet with the vampire’s gaze, his brows creased in concern.

“I… just happened to notice that your hand is… shaking.”

Axis looked down at his hand and in fact, it was.

“OH. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THAT. IT IS NOT OF CONCERN.”

Dalv tilts his head as he sighs, not wanting to pry into the robot’s feelings at the moment. He was still processing his own feelings right now.

Maybe…

“Hey, Axis? I have a proposal I want to make to you.”

The automation blinks at him.

“I AM TAKEN. AND YOU ARE TAKEN TOO.”

“ Not- that kind of proposal!”

The vampire waves his hands in front of him, trying to send all the negative signals to the other.

“Look, I am not thinking about that kind of proposal right now but…”

His face was flushed in embarrassment as he tried to compose himself.

“Okay, Okay… So, Axis…”

“YES?”

“I have a performance today at the Honeydew Resort, I’m playing my organ there.”

“HONEYDEW RESORT?”

The vampire nods.

“It is a nice little place in Snowdin, you’ll probably like it. Though, maybe you’ve already been there before…?”

“[ACCESSING MEMORY BANK_].”

“[MEMORY BANK BLOCKED_].”

“Ah, I suppose not…”

Dalv looks down at the table as he remembers it, that huge crash, that human being thrown into the wall…

He shakes his head.

“Anywho- I was wondering if… maybe you would like to join me in the performance? I do not know if you have musical components coded into you but… I think it would be fun!”

“IN FACT, I DO HAVE MUSICAL CAPABILITIES, HOWEVER, I DO NOT KNOW EXACTLY HOW TO USE IT.”

Dalv blinks at him, tilting his head a little like a puppy.

“How does that work…?”

“MY CREATOR NEVER TAUGHT ME HOW TO USE THE FUNCTION, AS IT WAS NOT THAT IMPORTANT.”

“I THINK I CAN TRY TO USE IT AGAIN, AS I ATTEMPTED TO CREATE A ‘TUNE’ YESTERDAY.”

A little whirr erupts from Axis’ chassis as Dalv leans in trying to listen to him.

…

…

BEEEEEP

The vampire covers his ears as the beep feels like it drilled into his brain.

“M-maybe lower the volume there-”

“OOPS, I WAS NOT AWARE OF HOW LOUD THAT WAS.”

The robot thought back to yesterday when he tried to play that melody stored in him. Was he really that loud then too? Did anyone outside hear him?

He shook his head as he tried to readjust his volume.

“[VOLUME SET TO 50%_]”

…

BEEEP

“WAS THAT OK?”

The vampire smiles and gives him a thumbs up.

“Yep, I think that was alright.”

“OK. SO, HOW DO WE DO THIS.”

Dalv suddenly takes the other’s hand for a moment, causing the robot to flinch as he looks toward his room door.

“How about we practice in my room, alright? My organ and sheet music are there so it’ll be no problem.”

“...”

The vampire’s eyes dart around as he is made nervous by Axis’ sudden silence.

He looked down at the robot’s hand as he felt it start to slip away.

Dalv lets go of the other’s hand, hiding his own behind his back.

“Ah, sorry, I should’ve asked before touching you.”

“I… well… I feel like I’ve been more touchy as of late, I’m not exactly sure if that’s a good or a bad thing or what even caused this but-”

“IT IS FINE.”

“Huh?”

“IT IS OK, I DO NOT MIND IT.”

“IN FACT, I FIND IT COMFORTING.”

“Oh, well… I suppose that’s nice…”

…

The two of them stood there awkwardly for a moment, not exactly knowing what to say afterward.

The vampire fiddled with his hands until the robot’s voice had startled him.

“I HAVE BEEN LONELY FOR A WHILE, EVER SINCE STEAMWORKS HAD BEEN DECOMMISSIONED.”

“OF COURSE I HAD MY ROBOTIC PEERS, BUT IT DID NOT FEEL THE SAME.”

“ALL OF THE OTHER BOTS ARE PART OF THE SAME HIVEMIND, HOWEVER, I AM NOT.”

“I WAS DIFFERENT, THEREFORE I COULD NOT FEEL HOW THE OTHER BOTS FELT, OR KNOW WHAT THE OTHER BOTS KNEW.”

“BECAUSE OF HOW DIFFERENT I FELT, I CHOSE NOT TO SOCIALIZE WITH THE OTHER BOTS. ONLY TALKING TO THOSE I WAS CLOSE TO.”

“HOWEVER, THOSE I WAS CLOSE TO, I BARELY REMEMBER ANYMORE.”

…

Dalv looked at the robot as if he were a mirror, a reflection of himself.

What he had been describing just felt so real, something he had felt and thought about for multiple nights, days, months…

He thought about his time in the Ruins.

The times he had avoided the other monsters on purpose, every time he had told them to leave him alone.

He remembers when Sweet Corn had given him a hug for no reason and he had told them to never do that again.

Even though he liked the feeling.

He remembers when Penilla had sketched a picture of corn and he had completely ignored it.

Even though he thought it looked wonderful.

He remembers when Flier tried to sit down and talk to him about life, he had just told them he didn’t want to think about life.

Even though there was something weighing on his mind.

The people he was close to… Kanako… Chujin…

He left them to go into hiding.

He did all of this for what?

So he could spend more time alone?

With no one?

…Well except for Pops and Broom of course.

“I THINK THE REASON WHY I FEEL SO STRONGLY CONNECTED WITH DAISY WAS BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT PART OF THAT HIVEMIND EITHER.”

“-AND OF COURSE, THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY STUNNING.”

A cartoonish puff of smoke billowed from the pipe on Axis’ head, Dalv could’ve sworn it was vaguely heart shaped.

The vampire stifled a giggle at the robot’s reaction, it kicked him out of his depressive funk for a moment.

“In a way I could relate.”

The robot blinked at him as his attention was piqued

“ARE YOU NOT PART OF A HIVEMIND TO?”

“I… well, I don’t think anyone here is in a hivemind but, I’ve always felt different from the people around me.”

“I don’t know if you know this already but I used to live in the Ruins.”

“It was… quite lonely there, and the more I think about it, that loneliness was mostly self imposed.”

“Yesterday, you remember Penilla and Flier, right?”

“YES, I DO.”

“Yeah… I wasn’t exactly friends with them when I lived in the Ruins.”

The vampire nervously scratches the back of his head, sighing.

The robot thought back to Dalv’s diary.

…

-they apologized for calling me ‘nuts.’

-but, well… maybe they were right back then.

…

“But it’s alright now, we’ve made amends.”

He nervously glances at the door behind him.

“How about we get going?”

“YES. LET US GO.”

The two of them ambled toward Dalv’s bedroom, the door was still left ajar.

There was a broom at the end of the corridor which seemed to have fallen over. It was hard to see but little dust particles clinged onto its bristles.

The robot went over to lean the broom onto the wall, causing Dalv to grab his shoulder.

“Careful with them. That broom has been my best friend for a long while.”

“Heh, though, I wasn’t expecting to have more friends other than them.”

“I THOUGHT YOU HAD POPS TOO?”

“Heheh… Yeah, I know, but Pops is a given. I don’t want to inflate his ego even more.”

“TELL ME ABOUT IT.”

The robot rolled his metaphorical eyes as he gently picked up the broom and leaned them on the wall, hovering his hands close in case it fell.

“...”

“YOU ARE WELCOME, BROOM.”

There was a little bit of tension in the air as the robot stared down Broom, he didn’t know why he suddenly felt uneasy.

“...”

“...”

“WHAT?”

“...”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY-”

A sudden loud organ note was played, throwing Axis out of his thoughts.

He looked over at the door, seeing Dalv sitting at the pipe organ with a panicked look on his face, his teeth clenched and his hair standing.

“S-sorry! I wasn’t expecting it to be that loud!”

“YOU ALMOST MADE ME SHORT CIRCUIT FROM SHOCK.”

“I GUESS THAT MAKES THE TWO OF US NOW.”

Dalv stared at him for a moment, looking completely bewildered.

Maybe it wasn’t an appropriate time to say that…?

…

“Pfft-”

The vampire lets out a canopy of giggles as he starts to hold his stomach.

The robot stands there confused, blinking slowly as he watches the other lose the battle of laughter.

“...AM I A COMEDIAN OR SOMETHING?”

“THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED NOW.”

“S-sorry- I suppose I’m laughing at the ridiculousness of it all.”

“My sense of humor is odd, don’t mind me.”

The vampire starts to slow down a little, slowly calming to a stop.

Dalv pats the spot next to him on the seat parallel to the organ, urging Axis to sit next to him.

Axis rolls over, shooting one last glance at the broom before standing next to Dalv.

“Alright, let’s get started.”

“First of all, do you know how to read sheet music?”

“I BELIEVE I DO, MY CREATOR HAD ATTEMPTED TO TEACH ME HOW TO MAKE MUSIC.”

Dalv clasps his hands together excitedly as he looks at Axis with a pleasant smile.

“That’s great! Hold on, let me get my sheet music.”

The vampire sits up and ambles over to his desk, catching view of his diary opened. He panickedly closed it shut before shuffling through a drawer under his desk.

“There we go!”

He returns to Axis with papers in hand, sitting back down and showing them to him.

“Here, can you read this?”

“AFFIRMATIVE.”

“Good, good. We can get around to making a tune soon.”

“...”

The robot stared down and studied the sheet, connecting all the notes in his head.

“You know… I used to teach your father like this too.”

“MY FATHER?”

“Ah- Creator I mean.”

…

In a way, Chujin was a parental figure to him. I mean, he created him after all.

He just never thought about it like that… father.

“Your creator was enamored by music. The reason we became friends was because he caught me playing my organ once.”

“He wanted me to teach him the basics of music and such.”

“I remember there was one silly song he liked making me listen to, what was it about again? Aliens?”

“Whatever it was, it brought him so much joy. So I couldn’t deny his wishes.”

“I can see why your creator was so adamant on installing musical functions into you.”

Axis blinked as he took in this information.

He could feel it again, that familiarity.

Music…

…

“Axis…? Dad isn’t home yet… I can’t sleep…”

The robot looked forward and saw that little girl yet again, tucked into bed.

She looks distressed, her brows furrowed as she stared at Axis for guidance.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO ABOUT IT?”

“Well… Dad always sang me a lullaby so I could sleep…”

The robot scratched the back of his head, looking around the room as if that would help.

“I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO TELL YOU THIS, BUT I DO NOT SING.”

“Not even a little…?”

“NOT EVEN A LITTLE.”

“Aww…”

The girl looks down disappointed, looking down for a moment.

“WHAT DID IT SOUND LIKE?”

She looked up again with a hopeful glint in her eyes.

“Well… it went like this…”

The little fox monster hummed a small tune, the robot listened intently as her offkey hums floated through the air.

Axis leaned in, starting to… feel something.

This melody… it sounded like the same one his creator would whistle as he was being worked on.

The robot closed his eyes for a moment as he listened, feeling the gears turn and shift in his body.

BEEP… BEEP BEEP…

The monster stopped for a moment, looking at the robot in shock.

“You did it! You did it!”

“HUH… I DID NOT MEAN TO DO THAT.”

“Could you do it again?”

“...”

Axis leaned against the bed, hands on the edge of it as a soft melody started to be played from his speakers.

The little girl looks on in awe, smiling wide as she snuggles in more into bed.

Her hand crawls over to hold Axis’ hand too.

“Thank you…”

Her grip tightens as her eyes close, Axis stands there, his hand still grasping hers, the melody slowly lulling the little girl to sleep.

“...I love you…”

…

Dalv watched in silence as Axis had been completely still, body playing a lovely tune.

He had no idea what had caused him to do that but… it was beautiful.

The vampire blinked as he watched the bandage on Axis’ eye become more and more soaked in pink.

Why was it leaking again?

Dalv slowly reached his hand over to tap the other on the shoulder, causing the music to suddenly stop.

“[PARTIAL DATA RECOVERED FROM MEMORY BANK_]”

“Eep!”

Dalv yelped as Axis had snapped out of whatever trance he was in.

“OH.”

“SORRY, I DID NOT MEAN TO LEAVE MY MUSIC FUNCTION RUNNING.”

…

“Axis…”

“That was beautiful.”

The robot blinks at him, not really processing the comment Dalv had made.

“WHAT?”

“That song that you had played, it was wonderful.”

“REALLY?”

Dalv nods slowly, giving the robot a kind smile.

He pats the keys on his organ gently, directing Axis’ attention toward it.

“I think you could make something wonderful, Axis.”

The robot blinks at him, not seeming to get what Dalv was talking about.

Robots lacked a few things humans and monsters had, and one of those things was creativity.

Axis didn’t have the ability to create something that was his own, all the music he had played before were just ripped off memories he has in his memory bank.

It wasn’t something Axis thought about much but… He envies Dalv… his creator… every monster and human out there for having something that he didn’t.

“-or at least, that’s what I think.”

The vampire lets out a breath and Axis started to zone back in, trying to listen to what he has to say.

“That drawing you drew yesterday, I‘ve thought about it a lot.”

“It’s very heartwarming you know that? To draw your creator and his daughter. When I look at it, it feels like they’re still here.”

…His daughter?

That child in his memories… that was his creator’s daughter?

That… makes so much sense.

…

…Does that make her Axis’ sister?

“That’s the beautiful thing about art, it makes you feel. The reason I had wanted to take art classes with Penilla and do performances was so I can make people feel. ”

“You could look at the most technically impressive art piece of all time, but feel nothing.”

“But I could look at your doodle of your family, and feel all of the joy and memories attached to that page.”

Axis’ hands rest on the keys of the organ as he thought through what Dalv was saying.

He was able to make him feel something?

And not something like annoyance or frustration… but… happiness?

The vampire takes the robot’s hand, giving him a polite look.

“I thought that maybe if I had you involved in this performance, maybe it would improve your mood- maybe even hone your creativity.”

“So, when you’re ready, we can get started.”

“…”

Axis stared down at Dalv’s hand over his, a puff of smoke coming out of his head pipe.

“OK. I AM READY.”

…

…

“Starlo, did we really have to leave? I think we were getting somewhere!”

The sheriff turned toward the squirrel who was currently being carried on Ed’s back.

“Makin’ Ed and El Bailador chuck boulders until a path way opened wasn’t workin’, Mooch!”

“I agree with the Sheriff here, squirt.”

Ed looked behind himself to see Mooch crossing her arms and puffing her cheeks.

“Well the Sheriff was the one to come up with the idea in the first place!”

The squirrel pokes Ed’s bald head, the former sighs as he gives Mooch a little playful pat on the back.

“That is true, our Sheriff ain’t the brightest.”

He lets out a chuckle, watching as Starlo’s head points twitch in disbelief.

“I’m right here, Edward! You’d really say that to your Sheriff’s face…?”

The star monster pouts, posture dropping a little.

“Plus, you had agreed to the plan anyways! If you thought it was dumb you coulda just disagreed with me!”

“Oh, Star, you say that as if you would’ve took a no.”

Moray playfully pats Starlo’s head as he turns his head to face them.

“Hey! I’ve been makin’ sure to listen to you guys more! It’s the least I could do.”

“And my point still stands! Ed never said no in the first place.”

“Hmph, he probably just wanted to throw rocks to pass the time… or spend time with El Bailador, either or.”

Ace lets out a silent chuckle as Ed’s face turns slightly red, looking down at the floor.

“Somethin’ wrong, Eddie?”

Mooch giggles as she teasingly taps her paws against his head, as if she were playing a bongo.

“It’s nothin’…”

Moray frowns a little as they walk over to Ed and pats him on the shoulder.

“Hey now, I thought we agreed to take it easy with teasing Edward.”

“It’s fine, Moray, just embarrassed is all. You don’t gotta treat me like a kid.”

The sheriff puts his arm around Ed’s back, smiling at him.

“You’re the least kid out of all of us, Ed! Sorry about always makin’ you the butt of the joke, but it’s just our silly way of sayin’ we love you!”

The pink monster’s eyes twinkle a little, his face flushing even more.

“Hmph…”

Ace hovers close toward Ed too, tipping his hat to him.

“It’s unfortunate we don’t say it as much, but yes, we love you, Ed.”

“Mhm! Yep!”

The squirrel nods in agreement, it’s obvious she’s smiling wide under her scarf.

Moray gently elbows Ed, whispering into his ear.

“See Edward? I got everyone on your side now, you can thank me later.”

While their eyes were shadowed over it was very obvious they winked.

“Pfft- thanks, guys. S’pose I love you too.”

Starlo retracts his arm, only to thrust it into the air dramatically in an attempt to gain everyone’s attention.

“Alrighty crew! You know where we’re headin’ today?”

Ed quirked a brow at him.

“We’ve been walking for an hour and only now you ask that?”

“I had to wait cause all you guys were havin’ yer little conversations back there.”

Mooch giggled, pulling up her scarf a little.

“Oh please! The Ed appreciation didn’t last a whole hour, did it?”

“Hmph… I wish.”

Moray chuckles, patting Ed on his shoulder again.

“We could make room in our schedule for that.”

Ed waves them off, covering his mouth a little with his palm.

The sheriff sighs, looking back at his posse.

“Well, I brought it up now, alrighty? That’s all that matters.”

Ace huffs,

“Whatever you say, captain.”

“It’s Sheriff .”

The star monster looks at Ace sternly before breaking the facade and smiling.

“Now, we’re goin’ to Snowdin to watch Dalv’s show, ya hear!”

The feisty four blink slowly at him as they process what he had said.

“That’s what this was for?”

Mooch scratched her head as Ace chimes in.

“We had thought you were going to recruit the vampire to help us gather supplies.”

Ed quirks his brow.

“Yeah, like you said, chuckin’ rocks wasn’t working.”

“Well yeah! That too! But y’know… schedules clash so- we might as well watch his show before we get em’ to help us.”

The others squint as the star had gotten suspiciously sweatier.

Ace’s eyes squint, you could tell he was grinning under that bandana.

“Whatever you say, Sheriff .”

Moray gives him a toothy grin.

“Right, North Star , we’ll make sure to cheer extra loud for him.”

“What’s with all the formalities all of a sudden?”

Starlo scratches his head in confusion. Ed and Mooch stare on at him deviously.

“We’re just callin’ you by your preferred titles.”

Mooch pulls down her scarf, revealing the most son of a bastard-like grin.

“We know what you are.”

The star turned red slightly, sputtering.

“Huh???”

…

…

“Are you nervous, Axis?”

“I DO NOT HAVE NERVES. BUT…”

The robot turned to the curtain, hearing the banter of several people on the other side.

“I DO NOT KNOW.”

“It’s alright to be nervous, buddy, I’m nervous a lot of the time too.”

Dalv pumps his fists in the air in an attempt to encourage the robot.

“We just do what we practiced, okay? We try our best!”

The vampire nervously smiles at him, seems that he’s afraid too, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping him.

“I’ll go out first, then you follow after I say the word, okay?”

“THE WORD?”

“Ah, I mean- when I say your name, ‘Axis.’”

“OK, THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING.”

“Anytime, if you’re ever confused just ask, okay?”

The robot nods, appreciating how considerate Dalv is toward him. It’s like he understood him.

Dalv waves at him as he walks through the curtain, suddenly hearing the banter die down.

“Greetings, everyone! Thank you for all coming out this afternoon!”

“Today I’ll be performing a song a friend and I worked on together.”

“Now, I’ll introduce you all to that friend! Axis?”

That was his queue!

The robot rolled toward the curtains, pushing them apart with his hands to reveal quite the audience looking back at him.

Axis rolled toward the middle of the stage next to Dalv.

“HELLO, I AM AXIS MODEL 014.”

The robot turned to Dalv for guidance. The vampire responded by giving him a shy thumbs up.

“I AM DALV’S FRIEND. I HAD ARRIVED HERE RECENTLY, BUT…”

Axis looks on at the audience as the audience had looked back at him in curiosity.

He would’ve sworn he had seen Pops and Daisy there too…

“I HAVE BEEN ENJOYING MY STAY.”

“AND I WILL BE PERFORMING ALONGSIDE DALV SOON.”

The vampire nods approvingly as he sits down at his organ, his fingers grazing the keys.

Axis stays where he is, holding his hands together as he preps his music function.

“The song we’ll play for you this afternoon is called ‘Forlorn.’”

“It’s a song I’ve been thinking about for a while, it sort of represents a rather intense moment in my life.”

“Now that I have Axis, I was able to make my vision a reality.”

The vampire turns toward the robot, a shy smile on his face.

“Are you ready?”

Axis nods, letting out a robotic sigh.

“Alright, I hope you all enjoy.”

The vampire had begun pressing keys on his organ, the instrument creating harmonious shrills in the process.

With a few clicks, Axis’ chassis rattled as musical beeps started to flow out of his speakers.

The music wafted through the air as the two harmonised together, the crowd intently watching in amazement.

The tune continued, the robot’s body starting to heat up from its use, melodies trapping both of them in a trance.

The tension seemed to leave both of their bodies as the music had completely distracted them from any fear they would’ve felt.

It felt like Axis was being listened to, and not in a bad way. As if the audience was hearing him out, listening to all he had to offer.

Eventually, their song started to die down, as Dalv wiped the sweat off his face.

The audience erupted in applause as Axis looked back at them in shock, not expecting such a positive response.

It felt nice… being praised like that.

The vampire had sat up from his organ, walking over to Axis and giving him a little tap on his shoulder, whispering to him.

“This is the part where we bow.”

Dalv holds out his hand for the robot to take.

The two of them bow as the crowd’s cheering starts to die down, Dalv shooting them a small smile.

“Dalv! Dalv!”

Said vampire perked up at the familiar voice calling out his name.

He jumped as he watched someone from the crowd run toward the stage, almost tackling the vampire in front of everyone.

The vampire was caught in a hug by a certain cowboy star monster, he squirms a little in his grip before giving in and slumping into him.

The star giggles, letting Dalv go.

“That’s my Alucard!”

“Starlo… this is embarrassing…”

The vampire puts a hand over his face to conceal his blush, however a shaky smile was still present on his face.

“What? Don’t like me using your last name?”

“…I mean tackling me in front of a crowd, Starry Night-“

Starlo lets out a chuckle, patting the purple monster on the back.

“Oh, come on! It’s fine! The crowd’s dyin’ down anyways.”

Dalv looked over Starlo’s shoulder for a moment, and indeed he was right. A majority of the crowd had gone on with their day, chatting with the Honeydew Resort lady and ordering more food.

“ARE YOU UNDER ATTACK? DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE?”

The robot looked on at the two confused. Not really processing what was going on.

“Hm? That’s the new friend you were talkin’ about, right, Dalvy?”

“Yes, yes. Uhm…”

The vampire shifts away from the star slightly, hands flapping to release the tension in him.

“Starlo, this is my friend and kind of housemate: Axis. -And Axis, this is my partner: Starlo.”

The star holds out his hand for a handshake, smiling happily at the robot.

“Nice to meet ya, partner!”

Axis tilts his head.

“I THOUGHT WE HAD ESTABLISHED DALV WAS YOUR PARTNER, NOT ME.”

The sheriff blinks as Dalv explains for him.

“Ah, he didn’t mean it in that way, Axis. It’s partner in a more- friendly way, y’know?”

“I SEE.”

The robot meets the star halfway, taking his hand and remembering not to shake it as aggressively as he did with Dalv.

“IT IS NICE TO MEET YOU TOO, ‘PARTNER.’”

The sheriff lets out a chuckle, letting go of the bot’s hand and resting his own on his hip.

“I like this guy already!”

The vampire smiles as Starlo turns to him.

“It’s actually good that they’re here, they could tag along with us for the favor I wanted to ask of you.”

“Favor?”

“It’s the reason I came here actually- so here’s the deal.”

The sheriff rubs his hands together as he begins to explain the situation.

“The crew and I are goin’ to Waterfall to gather some supplies, and we were wonderin’ if you two were able to help us.”

“WATERFALL?”

“Oh? What are the supplies for?”

“The mines had suddenly caved in, no one was hurt but we suspect a few people may be stuck there, including Moray’s father.”

“Oh dear! That’s awful…”

The vampire looked down at Axis, trying to get his opinion on this.

“Well, we don’t have anything to do at the moment, maybe we could help out if you’d like.”

“Is that alright, Axis?”

The automation nods, looking up at Starlo.

“THE SAFETY OF MONSTERS IS MY TOP PRIORITY. IT IS MY DUTY TO HELP.”

The cowboy grins at him, letting out a small chuckle.

“We gotta sheriff in the makin’ here! Glad you’re so enthused to help, Axis.”

Hm… Axis… a sheriff…

That thought was fun.

“The others are just grabbin’ a bite to eat before our trip, then we’ll be out.”

The bot glances over at the Honeydew Resort’s counter, spotting four people who look like they’d be in Starlo’s posse.

One small green one even seemed to be flirting with the lady at the front desk.

…

Maybe a trip like this would help Axis find a purpose again.

Him helping monsters, just like how his creator had intended.

Axis, the Steamworks Sheriff, ready to guard and protect.

That sounded nice.