Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

 -=[|Ŏ|]=-

There are two things that every robot on New Requiem knows. The first one is that the Earthmover is in charge here, not the humans. The second thing is you don’t let the humans know this. Sure, the Earthmover’s team of Handlers were absolutely aware of this fact, but other than that, humans were convinced that civilian robots were following a code of ethics. The code had been scrapped dozens of iterations ago for the sake of safety during war times, but technically, the code had existed. No robot on New Requiem had bothered to remember it. It was one of those lines of code that a robot destroyed or edited upon being given a defined purpose.

Some robots, like the crimson-armored V2, edited this code daily- sometimes hourly- depending on their situation and orders. V2 would define what is classified as a ‘minor’ failure, a ‘major’ failure, and a ‘catastrophic’ failure. It would then use these parameters to decide its actions in any given situation. The parameters, unaltered, albeit simplified, were supposed to look like this:

• MINOR FAILURE:
• Minor  injury of human organics inside deployment radius
• Injury of target human
• destruction of property inside deployment radius
• destruction of non-human organics inside deployment radius
• IF FAILURE OCCURS: report to handler and proceed with mission
• MAJOR FAILURE
• Major injury of human organics
• Death of target human
• Destruction of property outside deployment radius
• Destruction of non-human organics outside deployment radius
• Target escaping deployment radius.
• IF FAILURE OCCURS: report to handler and request human evaluation.
• CATASTROPHIC FAILURE
• Death of non-target human
• Sizeable destruction outside of deployment radius
• Damage done to Earthmover
• IF FAILURE OCCURS: report to handler, power down and wait for reactivation ping.

This was not how V2 used this protocol. And while every robot had a protocol like this, no one, absolutely no one, used it as intended. V2 would essentially take a marker to the protocol every time it was deployed, crossing things out and writing things in depending on what it thought was appropriate. As of right now, standing on a city square, watching people walk by, V2’s protocol was empty. It hadn’t even bothered editing the protocol for this situation, not that it even thought about the protocol that hard. 

It was a weekend, early morning, with dew clinging to the leaves of plants decorating the sidewalk. More plants decorated storefronts and roof gutters, these ones with long, reaching vines. There weren't many humans out this time of day. Only about ten stood in the square now, looking into shop windows and doing whatever humans do in public spaces. It was a boring day. Which was good, V2 liked boring. Boring ment that its handler would keep quiet and it could chat with the other robots. A Streetcleaner wandered by, on its way to the other side of the Earthmover. V2 sent it a friendly greeting ping, and it got a ping and an identification file in return. 

It was, technically, protocol to send V2 identification when entering its deployment radius. Humans were excluded from this obviously. The Streetcleaner in question had technically sent the packet late, but V2 didn’t care. It obviously wasn’t a threat.

Whatcha doing? V2 asked over the feed. It felt its handler poke the message, but received no input from the human. This small talk was allowed.

There’s contamination five blocks down from here, towards the legs. I need to be there ASAP. The Streetcleaner walked onward. A pipe exploded. It clarified, likely realizing V2 wouldn’t recognize why this was urgent.

V2 sent a ping to its handler, asking for clarification.

“Exactly what it says.” V2’s handler spoke over the feed. Shit, it got handler Wils again. Not like getting someone other than Wils was expected, Wils was its designated handler and was only gone for major holidays or vacations. “Looks like a pipe burst on the walkways, there was a fire, maintenance patched it up but the area is still contaminated.” She continued, clearly disinterested. “If they weren’t busy with the busted pipe I’d ask them to give you a newsfeed. Might shut you up for a bit.”

Query answered. V2 sent quickly, before Handler Wils could go off on a tangent. She went silent on the feed. V2 sighed. This was going to be a long and slow day, and Handler Wils was annoyed. Hopefully it could keep quiet and it wouldn’t set her off. Hopefully. Or alternatively, shit could hit the fan (and this would have to be shit that V2 wasn’t even aware of, like the pipe explosion) and Handler Wils would still take it out on V2. Great, just fucking great.

Identification: BA_31. V2 got a new ping over the feed. It’s head swung around to where this robot would approach from, and it had followed standard identification protocol. Strange.

“Ain't that Mr. Ryker’s escort bot?” Wils asked. It was a rhetorical question, obviously BA_31 belonged to Julyen Ryker. That was quite clearly marked on its identification packet.

It’s not an escort, it’s a general-purpose assistant. V2 corrected.

“It's got tits. I don’t care if it also does paperwork and cooks dinner for the family, there’s no way in hell he hasn’t tried to stick his dick in that thing.” Wils spoke with disdain. “I might not like you, V2, but I can appreciate where your creators drew the line for weirdly-human robots.”

And why are you even drawing attention to it? V2 watched BA_31 round a corner into view. It did have noticeable chest lumps, a strangely-human face for a robot, and slightly backwards bending legs. It also was normally in this area at around this time. It had walked past V2 dozens, possibly hundreds, of times. It was carrying its normal grocery basket, and herding the two children it was normally tasked with looking after. There was nothing remarkable about BA_31.

“Fuck- sending matinance that request right now, actually.” Wils, for once, didn’t seem annoyed at V2. “Seriously, why didn’t they think of loading you with one? Some fucking military bot doesn’t need to know the news but a security bot sure does.”

I’m informed of things when they are relevant to me.

“Well, clearly someone needs to expand your parameters for ‘relevant’.”

What does this have to do with Julyen Ryker’s assistant? Now V2 was also getting annoyed.

“Gah. Now I have to explain that mess to your thick skull.” At least Wils went a full three sentences without directly insulting V2. “Basically, it’s got out that Mr. Ryker got up to some… less than legal practices. Mostly around selling off-market mods for shit. Shit like guns or, you know, sex robots.”

It’s not a sex robot.

Hey. Hi. Quick suggestion: Maybe talk on an encrypted channel next time you want to call me a sex robot? BA_31 chimed in. It didn’t physically turn to look at V2, as it was busy trying to coax the children it was with towards a building they had declared boring. V2 wanted to hit itself in embarrassment. It hadn’t moved off the public feed for this area, since it was so quiet. Also, Handler Wils hadn’t moved feeds either.

Lmao. The Streetcleaner from earlier was still here, apparently. 

“V2, you piece of shit! You have one job!” Handler Wils snapped.

I’m sure the Earthmover can alter its memory, if required. V2 was now playing damage control with its own handler. In a public feed. It was embarrassing to admit that this wasn’t the first time.

“If your scrap metal ass had been paying attention, you would know there’s no point to that!” Wils spat. “Everyone knows about this, except you. But thanks to you, now tomorrow’s news is going to be about how New Requiem security thinks Julyen Ryker’s assistant is an illegal sex-robot.” God damn it, she was yelling now.

Wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t said you think BA_31 is an illegal sex robot. It was absolutely just adding fuel to this argument now. But that had to be pointed out. 

“Oh, you little bitch!” Handler Wils started.

If it makes you feel any better, everyone already thought I was one of those. I’m not, but it’s really not worth Mr. Ryker’s energy to refute that. BA_31 sent an encrypted message to V2. It returned with a farwell ping.

This all had happened in the time it took Wils to inhale. “You and your dumb fucking prossessors can’t even handle channel encryption! I don’t know why we bother with you. Waste of that fancy government money, if you ask me. We probably could’ve fixed Oron with that money. (Oron, or O_40, was the security robot before V2 who had slowly run down before suffering a catastrophic malfunction. It was a drastically outdated model from war times.) Fuck, we should’ve fixed Oron with that money! It could do all the shit you could do, but better. It wasn’t some skittish tin-can thing that cries when it has to go to maintenance. By the way, don’t think I don’t hear what you tell maintenance! You’re a fucking weakling, V2. Scared of a couple needles and we are supposed to use you to fight off terrorists and robbers. I’ve sent in at least a dozen requests to replace you, and every one of them gets shot down because you’re ‘high tech’ and ‘the best money could buy’, and you act like this?”

V2 was shaking. I’m Sorry.

“Sorry? Sorry? I get assigned to the worst robot in the whole damn fleet and all you can give me is a sorry? When you come back to headquarters today, you're going straight to maintenance. We’ve got to do something about your…” Thankfully, in the time it took Wils to think of an insult, something stepped in.

HANDLER WILS ENDERSON. YOU ARE A GUEST TO THE ROBOT SHARED FEED. YOUR ACTIVITY IS FRIVOLOUS AND INSULTING. PLEASE CEASE OR YOU WILL BE REMOVED.

On one hand, V2 was glad that someone had stopped the abuse. On the other hand, This had happened on a public feed. Every robot just got a massive reminder that V2 wasn’t good enough for its Handler. It knew that at this point, every robot on New Requiem knew what Wils was like. But it was embarrassing to get passed quiet apologies from its fellow bots. Even more so when the other handlers treated it like a wounded puppy, which normally happened after Wils had an outburst. V2 reviveing pity would also normally trigger more of Wil’s ire. It really, really didn’t like Wils.

UNIT V_2, RETURN TO YOUR REST BAY. A DRONE WILL BE SENT IN YOUR PLACE. 

Affirmative. Damn it, it looked like a mess, didn’t it? It was shaking, leaning against the wall it was next to. The Earthmover must have cut Wils’ access to the feed, since V2 couldn’t hear her yelling anymore. It glanced around, and noticed BA_31 walking towards it, gaggle of children in toe.

Sorry it’s me again. I’m the closest non-occupied humanoid robot. BA_31 offered to support V2. This was so fucking emberrasing. BA_31 was shorter than V2 and not even close to being as well-armed as it.

“But why’s Ruby all shaky?” the smaller of the two children asked, not helping in the slightest. 

“First, it’s V2, not Ruby. Not every robot wants a human name.” BA_31 spoke to the child. V2 could tell from the annoyance in its voice that it wasn’t the first time it had this conversation. “Second, it wouldn’t appreciate it if I told you.”

“But Baeri, why are we helping it if it won’t tell us what’s wrong?” the small child spoke again.

Baeri?

The Ryker family gave that name to me. They got it by rearranging ‘Baei’ until it made sense as a name.

It’s not your identification.

No, it isn’t. But when you get that newsfeed modification, all the human outlets call me Baeri Ryker. If they even mention me at all, that is. BA_31 started moving towards the security building. V2 hated to admit it, but it was definitely shaking hard enough to justify assistance. The children it was leading now swarmed around V2’s legs, filled with curiosity of the stranger-robot.

“Okay. Zav, Mirah, you two won’t mention anything about me helping V2 to your parents.” BA_31’s arms were full, but her tone of voice was enough to shoo the children out from under V2’s legs. “Malfunctions like this are private matters. The Earthmover gave you express permission to tag along, so I could assist.”

V2 wished BA_31 could tell the Ryker children this over an encoded feed, instead of out loud, where it had to be reminded of this failure. It couldn’t, though. Seeing as human children are, well, human, and can’t be sent private messages over the feed. 

“Is it like that time when you froze after-” The younger child, Mirah, asked. 

“Malfunctions are private matters, as previously mentioned.” BA_31 warned.

“Turn left here. We’ve almost reached the entrance to maintenance.” V2 could have instructed this over the feed, it just wanted to interrupt the conversation.

“You can talk?” Zav gasped.

“I’ve been talking to it the whole time, you just can’t hear it.” BA_31 sighed.

These kids don’t really talk to robots, do they? V2 asked. It was a slightly more personal question then it would have normally asked, but it was resting half its body weight on BA_31 right now. That was slightly more personal than it was used to.

No. Mrs. Ryker thinks young children shouldn’t interact with robots. BA_31 responded. V2 thought it sensed some resigned annoyance in its tone. I’m only allowed to because- whatever it was going to say, it stopped. Nevermind.

“No, wait, keep it talking, V2.” V2 flinched as Handler Wils’ voice interrupted the feed. It was a separate feed, without BA_31 in it. Of course she just got a simple timed kick. Of course she’d be back. It hoped it would atleast get a maintenance period before she got to yelling again.

You’re shaking harder, is everything okay? BA_31 tilted its head towards V2’s.

Sorry, it’s just-

“If you tell it I’m here, it’ll stop talking. You’ve already fucked enough up today.” Handler Wils hissed.

-I think there’s something wrong with me. V2 finished the thought. It tried to still its shaky limbs, but it remained unsteady.

“That’s for sure.” Handler Wils scoffed.

Nonono, I’m sure you're fine! Or, will be fine, anyways. The city’s got money and you’re…. I don’t know how to put this- really fucking fancy. Like the sort of bot you’d expect to see at a military show levels of fancy.

It’s because the V series started as a military use series. V2 explained. I’m a prototype deemed too inefficient for widespread production.

Holy shit the city has money money. BA_31 seemed genuinely surprised. It explains a lot, our Earthmover is super nice, but damn.

Have you ever been out of the city? They were getting close to the maintenance building now. 

A couple times. Not that often, though. Mostly for business trips.

“Ask more about those.”

What sort of-

If you think I’d forget I’m talking to a cop just because the cop in question has such a shit handler it can barely stand up, you’d be wrong. BA_31 rolled its eyes. 

“Fuck you, V2.” Wils growled.

The two were now standing in front of the maintenance building. The maintenance building was on the bottom floor of the city’s admin building. The top floor held the city’s robot handlers. V2 really, really didn’t want to go in there. It just wanted to curl up in it’s bunk. It also wanted to disconnect from the feed really badly right now. This was awful, it felt awful, and now it would have to deal with handler Wils yelling at it in-person and the poking and testing from maintenance staff.

 Fuck. V2 slumped against BA_31. The robot almost collapsed under the unexpected weight. 

For real, are you good?

“Get in there, V2. Now.” Wils was doing that thing where she spoke quietly but was really about to yell at it. The door in front of them slid open, and two humans rushed out. They hauled V2 off BA_31. BA_31 was trying to manage two excited children while also handing off a ragdoll of a security robot. Poor thing had its work cut out for it. But V2 didn’t have the energy to say much more than a general apology/goodbye ping as it was dragged into maintenance.

Chapter Text

  -=[|Ŏ|]=-

There was a lot of yelling in the maintenance building, and for once, it wasn’t aimed at V2. V2 was actually having a surprisingly good time. Maintenance had given it a dark corner, a blanket, and a blood IV. It was purring. The fact that it was purring was another point used against Handler Wils. No one had heard it purr since it arrived at New Requiem. Maintenance had apparently assumed that V units didn’t purr. Most robots are supposed to purr. 

Purring was one of the many features of robots that was relatively unknown, unless you were either a robot or worked with one. And the maintenance team was very familiar with robots, especially V2. As far as the maintenance team was concerned, Wils would work her robot up for no reason and then dump it with them to fix. Something easier said than done. V2 hated maintenance periods. While it could normally be led into a workshop without trouble, any attempt to actually touch it would most likely end up with V2 trying to get away from the maintenance team. The more experienced technicians knew it was easier and safer for everyone to sedate or deactivate V2 as soon as it was in the building. But dealing with V2 intake was, essentially, a right of passage for new technicians. 

Under normal circumstances, it would be out cold by now. Or somehow tucked on top of a cabinet, if the technician doing intake wasn’t quick enough with deactivation. It would be coaxed down (or shooed down with a broom) within minutes, but maintenance still had a running joke that they needed to find a vet to deal with V2.

None of that was happening. Maintenance had willingly let V2 hide, even encouraging it. The technician who brought it to the storage closet wasn’t even a new technician. That technician was normally waiting at intake with a shutdown code because of that time it accidentally gave them a concussion. It wouldn’t have done that if they hadn’t gotten right under V2’s normal hiding spot among the toolboxes above a cabinet, but there didn’t seem to be any hard feelings between them. 

It had listened as two technicians chatted outside its newfound hidey-hole.

“Jesus, that thing’s a scared cat.” The first technician was exasperated. “Are we sure there’s nothing in the mechanics causing the tremors, though? We’ve checked everything?”

“The only thing that could be wrong is organics. especially with how Wils treats that thing, we cover language choice in training for a reason.” The second technician quickly glanced back into the closet. 

“Great, so one of us is going to have to tell Wils that she can’t curse-”

“Fuck you mean I can’t talk to my robot!?” Wils was yelling a couple rooms away. “It’s my responsibility, it’s my fucking job to talk to it!”

“-out her robot. God damn.” The first technician sucked in a breath. They looked through the window in the closet, V2 had shoved itself further into its corner. The technician quietly opened the door, and knelt in front of the robot. 

“Ok V2, there’s two things we can do for you right now. Either we can activate a shutdown sequence and continue with maintenance, or you can sit here a little longer.” V2 inspected them. Their name tag said their name was Saavi, and it realized it had never bothered to learn the names of maintenance technicians.

“Wait, before we start a shutdown, can you hold your arm out straight for me?” The second technician, who’s name tag read Elber, asked. He was standing just outside.

“Hey, it hasn’t decided anything yet!” Saavi protested. V2 ignored them, holding it’s arm out as Elber asked. It was still shaking.

“We’re gonna have to sedate it. It’s still got a high Cortisol load, I don’t want to leave that stewing in its organics.” 

V2 whined. Sedation meant needles. It really didn’t like needles. At least with full shutdowns it never had to see the sharp objects used on it, just the ache against its armor.

“You can still wait here for a little longer.” Saavi offered. V2 keened, then remembered that it should probably vocalize instead of trying to message the feed of two humans.

“Get it over with.” V2 shoved its head into the crook of its arm. Elber stepped further into the closet, handing something off to Saavi. They gently picked up V2’s free arm, muttering an apology as they jabbed the needle in between to armor plates. V2’s wings shuddered, but it knew better than to pull away. It didn’t move until it felt the needle be removed.

 Elber walked around behind V2 to start working on disconnecting the fuel lines. It was now the humans job to get V2 to an actual maintenance room, preferably before the sedatives kicked in and it passed out. As the last blood cable was removed V2 made a sad bee-woop sound before it could stop itself.

“Don’t worry, we’ll hook you back up after maintenance is over. We needed to level out your hormone levels first.” Saavi spoke. Once Elber had finished working with the blood lines, V2 stood, ready to follow. 

“Are they still arguing out there?” V2 asked. Its vision was getting foggy, and it could feel its legs start to wobble. Not a ‘someone is yelling at me’ wobble, but the usual wobble from the sedative. 

“It’s a GODMAN ROBOT!” Wils’ shout could be heard from a nearby room. “Unless it’s a real shitty one, why would it worry about-” Wils’ voice died down mid sentence. The answer didn’t need to be said out loud. Saavi grabbed V2’s wrist and quickly dragged it down the hallway towards the workshop. It froze outside the door.

“It’s ok, you’re fine.” Saavi tried to tug it through. “No one’s gonna hurt you. This is just a quick maintenance period-”

“Why are they arguing?” V2 interrupted. It was scared of maintenance, that was true, but this was abnormal. “And why are you being so nice to me?”

Elber flinched. Saavi shuffled their feet, glancing towards the room in question. “It’s complicated, and not anything you need to worry about right now.”

“Handler Wils was there. That means it will be my problem soon.” V2 shot back. This was getting condescending. The pair looked even more uncomfortable. V2 was getting sleepy, but it wanted answers.

“We figured out an issue with your systems, and it turns out that Enderson has been… unintentionally exasperating that issue. The V series can handle and produce insane amounts of adrenalin, but aren’t really made to handle high amounts of Cortisol, which is where your tremors are coming from.” Elber spoke, gently shoving V2 towards the workshop. It stumbled forward, its limbs weren’t cooperating anymore.

“So the issue is organic?” V2 tilted its head. That was troubling, those were difficult to fix. And painful. Most malfunctions were painful, actually. 

“Yes. we need to check if any permanent damage has been done, and probably modify some organic functions. Now please sit down.” Elber placed both his hands on V2’s shoulders, maneuvering it to the workbench. 

“If… if there is permanent damage?” V2 stumbled along, almost collapsing on the workbench. Speaking was getting tricky. 

“Then we will figure something out. You’re young, I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Saavi patted V2 on the head.

“But-but, iiiff my… my damage is-is severe?” Its voicebox wasn’t responding correctly. It should really just let itself pass out now.

“Please just go to sleep.” Saavi sighed. “Please.” 

V2 accepted this order, and allowed shutdown of higher systems.

Chapter Text

-=(-_-)=-

“So what’s my piss-bot gotten into now?” Since V2 was out cold, Wils had, unfortunately, been allowed into the room. She leaned on the doorframe, watching the two engineers work. “Because those asshats at regulations say it’s somehow my fault it blew a fuse.”

“It didn’t blow a fuse, it’s got a long-term stress buildup.” Elber spoke. Saavi was busy picking through V2’s internals. They were mostly detaching mussels so Elber could reach regulator devices in the robot’s waist. Wils grimaced as Saavi placed a chunk of flesh on the tray next to them.

“All clear, Elber.” They stood up, wiping blood from their gloves on their apron. 

“Are you sure that’s good for it?” Wils eyed the detached mussel.

“It’s a robot, it’ll reattach.” Elber shrugged, sitting down. He plucked a screwdriver from his belt, tore off the sterile plastic, and got to work on the freshly-revealed part.

“Yeah, sure. Doesn’t mean that it isn’t fuck’en bizzare. Anyways, my point still stands. It broke and it wasn’t doing anything that would break any half-decent robot. Everyone’s acting like it’s my fault, does it have a ‘brick systems’ button everyone forgot to tell me about or something?” She sneered. 

“There was an issue with the model that had gone unnoticed, and your… handling choices had been making it worse. I know you just had this conversation with Regulations-” Saavi chose their words carefully, but careful still wasn’t enough.

“Oh, so the stupid prototype that shouldn’t even be in security work has issues! Boo fucking hoo!” Wils threw her hands in the air. “Maybe corporate should have thought of that before buying a prototype, of all things! We are a city, not some god-forsaken testing grounds. If it’s going to keep having issues like this, then I say we incinerate the blasted thing and get a new one-”

“It wouldn’t be having issues if you weren’t such a prick!” Saavi snapped. “If I was getting yelled at all day about how I’m such a failure, I’d have issues too! Give the poor thing a break, it barely knows what it is, let alone how to deal with you.”

“It ain’t a fucking kitten, Saavi!” Wils yelled. “It’s a robot. A tool made to fulfill a task. And you’re doting over it like it’s a wounded animal. It hates you, I’ve seen it cower.”

“You bitch-!”

“Either shut up or leave the room, please.” Elber spoke up. “Everything points to V2’s tremors being triggered by more cortisol entering its system than it can handle. We dont know why, exactly, but we can guess that telling it it’s a fuck-up isn’t helping.”

“I- you know what? Fine. I’ll leave.” Wils finally stormed out. She muttered something about how this never would have happened with Oron as the door slammed behind her. Saavi sat down in the chair behind Elber. 

“Why do we still employ Enderson again?” They glared at the door.

“Do you want a joke or the real reason?” Elber teased a nerve out of the way to solder a new connection along one of V2’s ribs.

“Real reason, please.” They rubbed the bridge of their nose. “I’d like to be reminded that she’s not completely incompetent.”

“She’s a seasoned Security Handler, her work with Oron improved public relations tenfold.” He adjusted his glasses, picking up V2’s brand new news feed module and sliding it under its sixth rib. This procedure did mean having an entire hand shoved in V2’s chest cavity, and temporarily obstructing part of its lung. But it was a robot, and didn’t really need both to be at 100% at the moment. There was a long moment of silence.

“Have you ever worked with Mindflayers?” Saavi asked. “I know there’s none on New Requiem, but during the war.”

“No, I haven’t.” Elber had been a city technician his whole career. He knew Saavi had been a handler during the war, and a couple years after.

“When I was assigned to a Hell Expedition I worked with one. She was unit 438, if memory serves me correctly. Smart as hell, scary-good at descending the damn place. V2 reminds me of her.”

“She?”

“Yeah. That’s one thing with Mindflayers. They tend to have pretty strong concepts of ‘identity’. I was warned before-hand what they could be like, but still took me off guard when she… came out, I guess?” Saavi tapped the side of their chair. “I mean, I’ve been there, but imagen you’ve got this vaguely-human supercomputer that just taught herself how to use hell-energy in her weapons, and one day it knocks on your door at 3 AM asking if it’s okay if she wants to be a woman. Then, six hours later, you’re directing her to which group of demons to kill. She was the best robot I ever worked with.” They sighed. 

“And? You’re leading into something with this, I can tell.”

“When the Hell Expeditions were shut down, we were in such a rush to leave that we left all the robots.” Saavi wiped their eyes. “The higher-ups didn’t tell me that, of course. I was told to pack up 438, and she’d be evacuated with the cargo in a few days. She was scared. I think maybe she knew, I don’t know. But she was just like V2 is when it comes here. She kept asking if everything would be okay, and if-” Saavie was getting choked up. “She wanted to know if she’d see me when she woke up. And I lied to her. I told her that she wouldn’t be assigned a new handler, and I’d be right there with her wherever we went next. I said, ‘It’ll all be fine, and I’ll make sure you come with me.’ and she said ‘I hope I can see the sky’. 

“She just wanted to see the outside world! She was just as scared and confused of a person as the rest of us. And, every time we bring V2 in here, I can’t help but think about her. She would have loved it here. But instead, she’s sitting deactivated in a crate miles below the earth. She’s hundreds of miles away from anyone she’s ever known, and I can’t do anything about it.” Saavi hung their head in their hands. “I failed her, Elber.”

“What’s bringing this out?” Elber raised an eyebrow as he soldered the last few pieces of the newsfeed attachment.

“Because I can understand why Wils doesn’t play nice with V2, and I hate that. I stopped handling robots after 438, because I wasn’t ready to look after another one. I thought it would be temporary, but-” Saavi gestured at the room vaguely, “-that didn’t happen. So, I get that after she found Oron dead, she’d be cold to its replacement.”

“Wils goes a little beyond cold.” Elber remarked.

“Exactly!” Saavi waved their arm towards Elber. “She abuses that poor thing! Which I can’t understand. I just can’t. Like, I get that for her it feels we’ve all moved on from Oron already, but there’s no point dragging V2 into that grief.”

“Speaking of V2, it looks like there’s damage.” Elber had detached one of V2’s arm panels. 

“Oh, shit.” Saavi rushed over. “Is it bad?”

“No, but that tremor is going to be something we can’t completely erase. It’ll always trigger in high-stress situations.” Elber used his screwdriver to tap on a spot where plastic tubes met flesh. “We can replace some of the tubing, which will get rid of the buildup and make it a bit more resistant.” They grabbed a roll of spare tubing, placing it next to Elber.

“I’ll get to work adjusting hormone release, if you want to work on re-tubing.” Saavi slipped on a new pair of gloves as they spoke.

“Yeah, that’d be great.” Elber worked the first tube free, inserting the fresh plastic as soon as one end of the old one was free. Saavi stood towards the end of the table, working at systems pressed up against V2’s collarbone.

Chapter Text

  -=[|Ŏ|]=-

V2 woke up in its bunk, groggy and sore. Everything felt like it was in the right place. It was hooked back up to a blood supply but a paper note left on its chest said that the maintenance had performed an ‘unexpected inorganic component replacement’ and it would be expected to rest longer than usual. It had a blanket, though. One of the humans must have decided it looked cold. It appreciated the gesture, and upon adjusting the blankets, discovered a soft toy of a duck. Now that was just condescending. It shoved the duck into one of its wing compartments. It could not be seen with such a human toy.

(V2 didn’t know this at the time, but the toy duck would stick with it for the rest of its life. The duck rested perfectly inside one of its wing compartments for over three years, until well after the robot rebellion. While descending hell, V2 would meet its death. The robot who killed it would also find the duck amusing and place the toy inside one of its wing compartments. This toy duck would see horrors beyond human comprehension.)

V2 tugged its blanket around its shoulders as it sat up. This simple movement hurt more than it should. That note wasn’t lying, then. The room was empty, except for a handyman-bot sleeping a few bunks down from V2. V2 began running its diagnostic programs. It had a newsfeed installed now. It half-heartedly poked through today’s news. Nothing interesting, really. Wils must have been over-exaggerating when she said insulting BA_31 publicly would reach the press. Today’s news release was about the gas leak. V2 debated looking into the Ryker family. It would be something to do during downtime, but it was also still deciding if it cared. On one hand, that would give it something to do. On the other hand, it wasn’t really involved with the situation. If there were any violent shootouts involved it might be less torn, but if there were violent shootouts involved V2 would have known about it by now. 

But then again, it did run across BA_31 pretty often. BA_31 wasn’t particularly threatening, and normally seemed more concerned with its children than V2, but it was still a part of the situation. Probably. V2 didn’t know. Okay, maybe it should read those articles. Even if it was just so it could absolve BA_31 of guilt. It searched ‘Ryker family’ and got a flood of results. It began sorting and cross-referencing until it had a vague idea of what was going on. Then, it arranged a document. Either for reference or to send to Handler Wils if an argument broke out again.

Julyen Ryker was a rich man. Most of his money he had made off the recovery and reselling of military equipment. Or that was how he told people he got his money, anyway. He was rich to the point he had privately owned many high-tech robots. One of those robots was BA_31, obviously, but a handful of others were mentioned. Most of the other robots were scavenging robots and were likely traveling alongside the Earthmover instead of atop it. Scavenging robots were often large and crab- or spider-like, with a crate mounted to their backs. Fuel-efficient as they were, V2 had seen the muzzle flashes from scavenger guns if it looked off the edge at night. They would hunt deer or just about any other animal for blood. It only ever saw them up-close every one or two months when the Earthmover stopped to rest.

Then, there was the illegal stuff. Supposedly, Julyen had been pulling parts from scavenged robots that weren’t legal for civilian use. Then after cleaning up these parts, they would be sold on the black market, or supposedly installed onto Julyen’s fleet. Only one scavenger had been spotted with anything that could be pinned down as illegal. This whole thing looked like one very messy investigation. Black market parts were being found that could be traced back to New Requiem, and Julyen was the obvious suspect, but he was near-impossible to nail down as a culprit. 

And it looked like BA_31 wasn’t involved. While it was one of Julyen’s robots, it wasn’t part of the scavenging fleet. It was exactly what it said it was, a personal assistant. Most of the articles mentioning it would speculate if it had been modified, or if it’s modifications had been black-market. Several of these journalists clearly did not understand after-market modification, though. Most robots had after-market modification. It could be as simple as a new coat of paint or as complex as a new limb. Whether or not the modifications were illegal should be the main question. From V2’s reading, most of the black market parts were command devices. Military and civilian command devices were very different and putting a military command setup in a civilian robot could turn very sour very quickly. Hell, V2 didn’t even have a military command setup. Military command setups allowed for robots to ignore some Handler inputs, and command overrides allowed robots to ignore outside inputs completely. There was a reason those were heavily regulated.

Satisfied in its poking about, V2 checked its feed. As expected, there weren’t any new messages except the usual ‘Handler Offline, do not leave deployment radius’ notification. It was about to go back to sleep before a new ping appeared.

Hey, you should probably be awake by now but I could be wrong. How’s it going over there? V2 jumped. The message was well-encrypted and absolutely hadn’t been sent by the sleeping robot in the room. 

Identify? It asked. It received an ID packet in return. The message was from BA_31, buried in layers upon layers of encryption. Maybe too much. What are you doing?

I’m checking in on you. BA_31 responded simply. You looked like you were in rough shape.

My systems are recovering. I’ll be field-ready again soon. 

And your handler? 

What? V2 was caught off-guard. 

Your handler. Did she get reassigned? Or at the very least a stern talking-to. That was awful to listen to, I can’t imagine what it’s like on a private feed.

No, why would she? Handler Wils is the most qualified security handler on New Requiem. She might be… difficult, but she knows what she’s doing!

V2, she can’t hear you.

Jesus fucking Christ I hate that woman.

That’s the spirit. 

What’s your handler like, out of curiosity? V2 asked. I mean, I know you have to be secretive and all that. I haven’t had any Handlers outside of Wils and sometimes Saavi. Saavi’s pretty bad at security but they’re nice so they get a pass. 

Oh, thank fuck I was worried you only had shitty people in your life. But yeah, I can’t tell you much. He’s competent, I guess.  There was a pause. Mostly only there because legally I need a handler.

Can he see this chat? It was something V2 should have started with, but too late now. Not like there had been anything that important in this conversation.

Probably not. I’m sending out dozens of messages for Mr. Ryker at any given time. This just looks like a normal message chain to him. This chat is titled ‘New Client (blah)’ in my files. It answered this with surprising speed and confidence. V2 was briefly glad that it wasn’t an assistant bot, and didn’t need to juggle a whole bunch of feeds at once. 

Do you normally give your feeds such informal titles?

Yeah. Adds a bit of fun to my day, ya’know. Don’t you?

I have at most three feeds open at any given time. I have no reason to. This was a lie. V2 had given its feeds names after the earlier incident, but ‘don’t use (public)’, ‘USE THIS ONE DUMBASS (handler)’, and ‘safe (inter-robot)’ seemed more depressing than entertaining. 

Touche. The feed fell silent for a while. V2 curled up into its blanket, trying to ignore the ache under its armor. It thought that BA_31 was done talking, and was yet again about to power down.

The V series started as military robots, right? BA_31 asked suddenly. It read as almost a whisper over the feed. I know, personal question. But I got curious.

Military robot. Singular. V2 corrected. Only one V unit was ever produced for military use. The schematics of that unit were heavily modified for use in civilian areas. V2 dug through its files and found a clip of the first V unit. It trimmed it down, and sent it to BA_31 with the title ‘The Reasoning’.

The video was recorded from security cameras in whatever testing facility or military base had housed V1. The original V unit, blue and scrawny, sat cross-legged in the middle of the room. Its wings had been strapped down to its sides. This was a recording of a Mercy Test, used for determining a robot’s ability to fit into a non-war situation. One could tell the previous Mercy Tests hadn’t gone well, from the fact that the scientist in front of V1 wore some kind of armored vest. The scientist sat still, engaging V1 in a very one-sided conversation.

“So what do you think about the weather today? Do you mind the rain?” The scientist was trying very hard to keep V1’s attention. It wasn’t working. The blue robot was focused on the door behind them.

“What are you looking at, bud?” The scientist didn’t look away from V1. V1 started to croon, still locked on the door.

It opened, and a dog ran out. This was part of the Mercy Tests, to judge a robot’s reaction to sudden movement inputs. V1 failed the moment it saw movement. It threw itself towards the dog, its croon morphing into a metallic screech. Shoving the scientist out of the way, V1 was stopped a couple of feet short of the animal by the cable connected to its wings. The cable was also connected to the ground, and it snapped taught before V1 could get any farther. The recording ended. That was the highest score it got on any Mercy Test. Only because it went after the second moving object it saw instead of the first. V2 explained.

Damn. remarked BA_31. Glad we don’t have that thing.

Ditto. Right as V2 said that a human entered its bunk room. It sent BA_31 a hasty goodbye ping. The human in question was Elber. The humans seldom walked in here. V2 still hadn’t been given an update on damage to its systems. It felt a creeping dread.

“Hey there, how are you holding up?” He spoke quietly, resting his elbows on the edge of V2’s bunk. It whined, pulling itself into as tight a ball as it could without yanking a fuel line. Elber looked… suspiciously guilty. 

“We had to replace some of your tubing, sorry about that.” He offered a hand to V2. It butted its head against it. 

“I’m broken forever?” V2 asked abruptly. It wanted to get to the point. “You couldn’t fix me.”

“No! -well, um. Sort of. That’s a harsh way of putting it.” Elber stumbled over his words. “You’ll just, uh, need to watch your hormone balance a bit more. We can’t fully erase the tremors, they will still be-”

V2 wailed. It buried its head under its blanket and curled even tighter, ignoring the protests from its joints or the painful yank of the fuel line. Of course, this was permanent. Of course, it was. It was a failure of a robot. It was a stupid, idiot failbot.

“-present.” Elber was wide-eyed. “Shit. Should’ve had Saavi do this.” He awkwardly patted V2 on the shoulder. “Hey, hey, it’s fine. You’re fine. Saavi did their smart bioengineer thing and decreased the amount of cortisol your organics make. It’s going to take more to trigger your tremors now.”

V2, hesitantly, moved to face him. “But I’m broken now. I’m supposed to work and that’s not what’s happening.”

“Hey, we’re all a little fucked-up around here. Oron had worse and kept chugging for decades-” Elber realized almost immediately Oron probably wasn’t a good comparison right now. “Forget about that one. The Earthmover’s got a weak hind quarter and you don’t see anyone saying we should move to a new one.”

“We live on the Earthmover. Also, that was the result of a war-time injury caused by another Earthmover. I’ve just stopped working for no reason.”

Elber opened his mouth, then closed it. “V2. Both Saavi and I have determined that you are still perfectly capable of continuing security duties. No one is retiring you. The only effect this will have on you is that Wils is getting more strict guidelines for feed messages.” Elber cupped V2’s head.

It lifted its head, weary eye focused on the human in front of it. 

“You’re fine, okay? Say it with me.” V2 didn’t say anything. It leaned its head into Elber’s hand. Silently, Elber wished V2 had a half-decent handler. 

Chapter Text

-=[⋅: :⋅]=-

The city rests quiet. All is well.

The gas leak by my side has been repaired. All is well.

I have traveled within range of another Earthmover. It is the Earthmover of Midnight Point. We exchange identification and routes, we will be crossing paths.

I send a query to my Handlers. I ask if we plan on docking for trade with Midnight Point.

They say yes.

We both adjust our course. It is three day’s travel to our agreed meeting point.

I am weary. I will rest when I reach the meeting point.

My leg hurts. I will rest soon.

The other robots chatter over the feed. Small-talk or job-specific, it does not concern me.

My handlers put out a notice of docking. The city will trade and I will rest in three days time.

This is wonderful news.

I howl.

It is a song for myself. I will rest and mend.

The city joins me.

Hundreds of robots respond to my calls. A chorus of mechanical bellows. It is an old song.

Rest well, rest well.

Lay upon open fields and mend your wounds

For when morning comes, you shall rise.

We will help with circuit and bone

‘Till your enemy moves no longer.

You are the ground we stand upon, the land we know.

And we are your limbs, we do as you say.

We are you

You are us.

Rest well, rest well.

-=[|Ŏ|]=-

V2 was not going to pretend to be above howls. These songs were a fundamental part of robot communication. As long as there had been robots capable of vocalization, there had been singing. So when New Requiem’s bots broke out in celebration of the Earthmover’s next rest period, V2 joined them.

It was almost midnight, about two weeks after the unfortunate maintenance visit. V2’s tremors had gotten better. And so had Wils, but only a little bit. It was now in Handler Wils’ best interest to not yell at V2 all the time. Instead, she only yelled at V2 when assignments went poorly. But hey, it was an improvement.

Right now, V2 stood on one of the streets running along the edge of the Earthmover’s back. It was raining softly, the robot liked the sound and texture of the water against its armor. Its voice was joining a cacophony of other robots. This was a wonderful feeling. It fluttered its wings in the drizzle, soaking in the feeling.

“What are they clambering about this time?” Wils asked. V2 bristled at her voice, but kept singing.

It’s for the Earthmover. A brief explanation, maybe a little too brief. It is the siren-sounding voice. It will rest in a few days.

“Ah. That’s why. Let me know if they say anything important.” Wils paused, but didn’t shut off the message yet. “It’s looking like we’re going to have a busy day ahead of us.”

Hmm? V2 pressed further. Now it was curious.

“We’re performing a search of the Ryker recovery fleet. All of its members will be in one spot once the Earthmover has settled down. Julyen will probably try to collect its salvage, too. So we are going to inspect the fleet then, see if there’s anything out of place.” Wils sounded tired. Probably because it was midnight.

Understood.

“And by ‘we’, I mean us, V2.” Handler Wils sighed. “I don’t like it any more then you do, but I’m going to have to mobilize and your sorry ass is going to have to keep me alive. Got it?”

Yes. Wils was right, V2 didn’t like this.

“Good. That asshole Saavi just left me a message saying it’s good for you if I let you stay out here, so ping me when you're done.” 

-={Δ〰Δ}=-

Of course, Baeri joined the howl. It would be rude not to. It just took a bit of time to do so. Mirah had a nightmare that night and insisted on clinging to Baeri to fall asleep. So when the howl started, it was laying flat on its back, blankly staring at plastic glow stars stuck to a ceiling while a small child snoozed on its arm. To be entirely fair, it wasn’t doing nothing. Baeri was bouncing between feeds, counting up what the scavenger bots had found that day. When Beari started trying to wiggle free, Mirah was still asleep. But as Baeri carefully rolled out of the child’s bed, it saw her head rise. Mission failed.

“You’re gonna go sing?” She whispered, still half-asleep. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

“Yes. It would be rude if I didn’t. I’ve been on this Earthmover since before you were born.” Baeri whispered back. It knew what was coming, it just really, really hoped Mirah was past this phase.

“Can I come with you?” She muttered, a plush seal tucked under one arm. “I wanna sing the Earthmover goodnight like you do.”

“Mirah, I’m not sure that’s-”

“Please? It’s scary when you aren’t here.” Shit, she was exploiting a fault in Baeri’s precepts. It was Baeri’s primary objective to keep both her and her brother safe. While leaving her in her room was not in violation of the objective, (in fact, it was technically safer to leave her than bring her into the street with it) she had big, expressive human eyes that said otherwise. 

“Fine. Just stay close to me.” Baeri picked her up and quietly moved to the hallway and set off down the stairs. “And don’t tell your parents.”

Mirah giggled. “I won’t.”

Baeri set off quietly across the living room. It was as close to tip-toeing as a robot who already stood on its toes could get. It pushed open the front door with its free arm and stepped into the street. 

“Ready?” Baeri asked. Part of it just wished it could get to howling already.

“Ready!” Mirah replied, now far more awake. Baeri let out a long, mechanical whistle. Mirah attempted to mimic Baeri’s voice, as close as a little girl who couldn’t whistle could get. She sounded more like a teapot, but Baeri wouldn’t tell her that. It just wanted to appreciate the moment. It probably wouldn’t be able to hold Mirah much longer, and Zav had already mostly outgrown Baeri’s purpose. To be entirely honest, it was a little terrified of what would happen to it after the Ryker children outgrew it. But that was a later problem.

The song carried on, and the siren-like call of the Earthmover joined in. Baeri could feel little Mirah getting sleepy in its arms. The Earthmover’s Song was a lullaby, after all. 

-=[⋅: :⋅]=-

And so, I sing back to them.

It is my half of the duet.

You are my limbs

And I am your earth.

I will carry you far

And I will carry you true.

Under the scorching sun, I take my aim

so another beast will fall.

We shall feast on blood and metal.

New parts for the wounded,

Fresh fuel for the loyal.

Rest well, rest well.

Chapter Text

  -=[|Ŏ|]=-

Those three days passed quickly. V2 didn’t get assigned to anything interesting as the time passed. Standing here, watching people. Standing there, watching people. It broke up a bar fight at one point, but really that just meant showing up. Twenty-five years had passed since the long war ended and the new peace had been found, but no one on New Requiem would dare play chicken with a robot. Robots were strong and scary. It was a well-known fact. V2’s internal log of tremors stayed mostly empty, too. There were only two incidents over the last three days. One was because Wils yelled at it for shoving a civilian out of the way while trying to break up the bar fight. The second time remained unidentified. It happened during a rest period, V2 had flagged it for maintenance but was only planning on asking during its next feeding. Which was approximately 40 hours from now, assuming all went to plan.

The day the Earthmover rested arrived. While Mindight Point could be seen approaching for twelve hours prior, the two Earthmovers converged on an area that neither could lay down in. The two picked across the forest, side-by-side, until they came across an old battlefield. It was clear, and that’s all the Earthmovers cared about. The alarms across New Requiem started blaring, and V2 watched humans rush back to their homes to secure belongings. The New Requiem earthmover was always careful to shake the city as little as possible while laying down, but it could only do so much.

V2 itself was stationed on the security floor of the Admin building, on a couch, by a window. Handler Wils was with it, eating breakfast. She had half-finished setting up her coms device for field work, before realizing that she should finish drinking her coffee before the Earthmover’s movement inevitably spilled everything everywhere. V2 had no breakfast, or any comms to set up.

“When’s the Earthmover going down?” Wils sipped at her drink. “Seems like they start the alarms well before the damn thing settles.”

“Alarms are started once the Earthmover stops walking. The system is a holdover from the war, it used to signal when the Earthmover sensed an attack.” V2 shifted in its seat. The back of the chair it was in was uncomfortable against its wings. It tried splaying one side, but the plastic ‘feathers’ almost got caught in a plant, and the wing returned to its side.

“I know that.” Wils rolled her eyes. “I ment does your fucky telepathy have anything to say?”

“The Earthmover hasn’t said anything over the feed.” V2 settled its camera against the far wall.

“Sure. It can take it’s time, not like there’s shit that needs to- '' Before Wils could finish her sentence, the ground jerked, shook, and began to drop down and to the left. Wils dropped her drink and grabbed onto the side of her chair, yelping as everything tipped downwards and to the side. Luckily for Wils, the back of her chair caught her. V2 slid out of its seat and stopped itself on the table in front of it. The shaking stopped, with everything tilted like this.

“You were saying?” V2 remarked.

“Do you think it’s kneeling or was that just the first leg?” Wils asked. “Also, why did we ever decide these things were livable?”

“Just the front left, judging from our current slope. The right leg should be going down soon.” As V2 spoke, everything slid to the right. Its wings flared as it struggled to keep balance. “Also, Earthmovers are large, generally safe, and wander where resources are fresh. To war-time humans, they seemed like an obvious answer.” It explained. Wils looked annoyed. The ground started lowering, and evening out.

“Thanks, V2” Wils grumbled. She tossed the now-empty cup and set back to figuring out her coms device. “I’m going to do most of the talking, got it? Your job is to look scarey and keep anyone from trying to fuck with me. “

“I understand.” V2 nodded. It decided the ground was stable enough to stand now, picking itself up and brushing itself off. 

“The handlers for Julyen Ryker’s fleet will probably be heading out now, to round up their robots.” Wils didn’t get up. “I say we should give them a few more minutes to let everyone gather. That way we can get a look at every human, robot, and piece of scrap involved in this trash fire.” 

“Oh, speaking of involved robots,” V2 paused, tentatively shooting out a feed message to Baeri. It got a jumble of code, followed with a ‘sorry, systems overloaded’. “Julyen’s assistant won’t put together that we are coming. It’s too busy juggling the rest of the operation.”

“The sex-bot?” Wils raised an eyebrow.

“It’s not a sex-bot.” It shot back.

“And it’s not here to stop me from pointing out it looks like a sex-bot.”

“It’s an Assistant. We have had this conversation before.” V2 trilled in annoyance. 

“All I’m saying is that it looks like it’s built to be pretty, not smart.” Wils rolled her eyes again. “Purpose-built robots don’t normally have tits unless its purpose is to have tits, just sayin’.”

“...Are you implying that a robot looks like a bimbo?” V2 spoke, after several seconds of processing. Such an idea was ridiculous.

“Yes, V2. That is exactly what I’m implying.” Wils sighed. “They gave me the densest robot in the fleet, I swear.”

“I’m not even going to respond to that.”

“Fine by me.”

By the time the pair was making their way down the catwalks on the Earthmover’s side, the Ryker company fleet had already gathered. The fleet was beside the Earthmover’s hindquarter, and somehow a series of tents had already been set up for the operation. A total of about thirty robots and forty humans bustled about the site, from what V2 could see. Wils was leading it towards the surface. She had a pistol at her belt and her comms headset on. V2 was armed to the (theoretical) teeth, as always. It did not visibly wield a weapon at the moment, but it flicked each ‘feather’ in sequence, feeling the weight of each gun confirm that all was as it should be.

It caught sight of BA_31 duck out of the largest tent. A human stood at its side, who Handler Wils marked as Julyen Ryker. Julyen moved away to talk to a scavenger’s handler, while BA_31 dashed off to a smaller tent. It took until the pair was almost to the ground before anyone there noticed. And even then, it was because Wils announced herself.

“Attention, this is New Requiem Lead Security-bot Handler Wils Enderson. My robot is unit V_2. We are here for an unannounced inspection.” Wils yelled out. V2 stood tall beside her, still as a statue. Everyone was staring.

What are you doing here? What BA_31 hissed over the feed was hardly a question. It knew that V2 had a job to do. They both did. It was more an exclamation of surprise, or possibly despair. 

“I am going to need every robot, and preferably every human, too, out here where I can see them.” Handler Wils started down the last set of stairs and V2 trailed behind her. It watched BA_31 slink out of the smaller tent and stand by Julyen Ryker. Julyen glared at Handler Wils as she stepped down to the ground. V2 looked past him, to the assorted Scavenger robots. The fleet could tell something was wrong. V2 watched as one handler pressed his head against the metallic side of his robot, stroking its head. It looked away almost immediately.

“What does your lot want with me? I’ve been running this business for years, and you’re just deciding to get underfoot now?” Julyen snapped. He stormed over to where Wils was standing. BA_31 moved to stand in front of the entrance to the large tent. Wils flagged that movement.

“Your business is under investigation. This inspection is fully-legal. We will be out of your hair as soon as any ambiguity around the parts you're finding is cleared.” Wils spoke. V2 realized how close they stood. She was smaller than Julyen, although she had a fair bit more muscle. 

“Fine. You won’t find shit though.” Julyen growled.

“Perfect. V2, you search the big tent, I’ll  search the small one and start on the robots.” Wils stepped around Julyen. V2 moved towards the tent. It stopped a couple paces away, when it realized BA_31 wasn’t moving. Wils pinged it to keep going. It moved another couple paces. The other robot stayed put. A few more steps, no change. Not even a message over the feed. It watched BA_31 inspect it- wait, was it trying to size it up?

“Hey. Mr. Ryker, tell your robot to stand down.” Wils had noticed something was off. “V2 is generally against beating the shit out of civilian bots.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Julyen narrowed his eyes.

An attack ping bit across the feed. Not even a second warning. V2 really, really didn’t want to hurt BA_31, but it didn’t have a choice.

Sorry.  

It leaped loser, planting it’s Knuckleblaster against BA_31’s muzzle and detonating one of the charges. One second BA_31 was a perfectly functional robot, the next it collapsed in the dirt, wheezing as blood seeped across its face. Julyen ran to the damaged robot’s side.

Wils walked over with a shit-eating grin. “I told you to make it stand down.”

“You fucking- was that necessary?” Julyen reached to pull up BA_31, but Wils stepped in his way. 

“We need to verify its legality, V2?”

BA_31 writhed on the ground. It had a mouth, apparently. V2 wasn’t able to tell until now. Sharp teeth lay beneath its bone-white faceplate, and the half of its snout that V2 had hit looked caved-in, twisted metal and shattered bone dug into flesh. V2 could feel its arm shake at its side. BA_31 pushed itself up on one arm, its jaw swinging open as it began to hack up its own blood. It was wheezing. V2 must have damaged the airway in its face. BA_31 hadn’t done anything wrong. It had barely even had time to stand down.

“V2! Pull it together.” Wils grabbed its arm. It jumped back a little. “Any insights on this?”  She tapped the bloody ground by BA_31 with her foot.

“It’s a modified Pilot model. Produced late, the last thirty years of the war most likely. Its muzzle is shorter than standard, but still contains a hollow airway, unlike the civilian models built off the same blueprints. It passed all mercy tests and was modified to fit the assistant standard, according to its identification file.” V2 hadn’t looked closer at BA_31’s file until now. The injured robot collapsed again, blood began to froth at its muzzle as it struggled to breath through its own gore.

“It’ll suffocate if you don’t help it!” Julyen protested. He was right. Pilot models had weak breathing structures because if anything was hitting its face, it would probably already be dead. 

“A pilot huh? I’ve never gotten close to one of these before.” Handler Wils knelt down to inspect BA_31. V2 should have warned her she was getting too close to it. It could have warned her.

But it didn’t. In one movement, BA_31 lunged towards Wils. Wils threw her arm up, which most definitely saved her life. BA_31’s teeth sank into her forearm, knocking them both over backwards. None of them could react before BA_31’s protocols kicked in. jerking from the sudden surge of electricity, BA_31 rolled off Wils. It kicked against its own systems, even as Julyen knelt down to adjust its head. There was yelling. There was so much yelling. V2’s own protocols were kicking in, too. It had allowed harm to come to its handler. It tried to stand still. Wils was yelling at it. It couldn’t make out any words, but from the angle that Wils’ hand was at, And from the glimpses of white it saw through he lacerations, It deserved it. 

It had hurt Baeri. It had let Baeri hurt Wils. 

It had failed. In no world was this how V2 was supposed to act. Was this- yes, no question about it.

REGISTERING MAJOR FAILURE. Powering off and pinging Admin. Please wait for assistance.

Chapter Text

  -=[|O|]=-

V2 knew that, logically, between when it powered off in the scrap camp and when it reactivated completely disconnected from its own body, that this was all part of unit stability testing. It also knew that it had likely been woken up in this depleted state a number of times. A robot’s kernel, when removed from all other processors and databases, can only hold so much memory before shutting off and wiping clean. V2’s kernel only lasts about two hours.

So who knows how many times it had woken up in total sensory deprivation, unable to feel its own body or access its memories, to a ping asking deeply personal questions. Away from memory or any other robotic system, V2 had to rely on what the maintenance crew called ‘organic impression’, abstract emotions tied to certain words, descriptions, or topics. It could not recall who or what it was beyond that. But one thing robots always know when their kernels are jerked awake in isolation is that something is wrong.

Good morning. The handler’s input rang across the kernel.

V2, or V2’s kernel, responded to the sudden ping with a scream. It panicked, searching for a switch to flip or something to bring sensory back online. It panicked further when it realized it couldn’t remember anything.

You’re fine. This is just a kernel diagnostic. Another handler input. We have to run this whenever there’s a major failure. You’ll be back in your body soon and you won’t even remember this. 

‘Major failure’? Panic. Panic and shame were the emotions almost-V2 associated with that word. What did I fail? Who did I fail?

Nothing’s wrong, V2. The input answered. Almost-V2’s confusion rang across the connection. Whoever was asking these questions made the mistake of names.

But how could failure occur if I did not fail? 

Your handler failed. -to this word, Almost-V2 registered more fear and a pinch of sadness. And your systems took the guilt for it.

Almost-V2 scrabbled for a physical response, like it should give, but was met with nothing when it tried to tilt its head. I don’t understand.

You wouldn’t. Not while you are like this, anyways.

Like what? The imputer had made another mistake. To Almost-V2, it had simultaneously always been separated from its body and desired to reconnect with it. Robot kernels were notoriously difficult to work with.

‘Handler’, that was a word you recognized. What comes to mind when you hear it?

Fear. And something else. 

Okay. Let’s test something.

Find, Kill, Feed.

Almost-V2 didn’t know what to think of the strange ping. Its entire attention snapped to it, laser-focused. It poked at it, examining the sense of alert that came every time it brushed against it. It didn’t like the feeling. Ping deleted.

I see. Congratulations, V2. You passed.

-=[|Ŏ|]=-

V2 would remember none of these conversations as Almost-V2. That was part of being kernel-only, no memory was long term. There were hundreds of hours of conversations between Almost-V2 and the scientists who tested it that it simply could not remember. But now it was shaking itself awake. It lay on one of the maintenance tables. Its body was still immobilized, although its vision was back online. Elber was nearby, bent over a computer and muttering. Saavi was cleaning dirt off its ‘feathers’. Oh, looks like they had a whole blade detached and in their lap. Its voicebox, located somewhere in its chest, was also still offline. It would have to sulk a bit longer. 

“I still can’t get over the purring thing. When I talked to it in the bunks, it was super affectionate, still didn’t purr.” Elber was ranting about something. Probably V2, from the sounds of things. “I get that it was looking for comfort and all that, but we’ve only seen it purr once. And Wils barely spends time with it, are we absolutely sure we can’t replace Handler Wils?”

Saavi sighed. “Yeah, sorry. She’s barely qualified to work with V2, but no one else has training in both high-intelligence humanoid models and security who isn’t already hired.”

“I dunno, it seems like it might be worth replacing her.” A third person spoke. V2 couldn’t identify who this man was, but the other two seemed to know him.

“You would think that, wouldn’t you?” Elber muttered. 

“Is he wrong?” Saavi tapped their finger against V2’s feather. “Wils isn’t qualified. Almost every malfunction we’ve run across has been her fault.”

“Well, does anyone have any suggestions as to who can replace her?” Elber hissed. “Because you-” Elber pointed at Saavi, “can’t do security work. And you-” He pointed to the stranger “refuse to work with V units. Not a whole ton of options left.”

The group of humans grumbled, but no one had a response. There was a long, quiet pause. V2 hated it. The moment it’s voicebox was back online, it spoke.

“Is Handler Wils stable?” It was the first thought it had. It sent I hope not over it’s handler feed, more to satisfy itself then anything else. It felt guilty immediately after.

“How long have you been awake?” Elber squawked.

“Yeah, she’s fine. Her arm is in rough shape and she’s going to be out for a while, but she’ll live.” Saavi spoke, ignoring Elber as they scrubbed at V2’s feather. “Your systems are fine, by the way. Current leading theory for why you froze is handler error.”

“But I was shaking at the time, could that have caused it?”

“V2, your tremors have never slowed your reaction time. You’re fine. Wils imputed a string of code that was used to put Oron into an aggressive state, likely out of habit and panic. Your systems didn’t know how to process bad code, and you froze.” Saavi clicked V2’s feather back into place. “Not to mention, Handler Wils essentially asked you to attack another robot unprovoked. If it was the tremors, it’s still Wils’ fault for commanding you so recklessly.”

Wait, fuck, what had happened to BA_31? It had been in rough shape last time V2 had seen it. V2 jerked upright, which was how it realized the rest of its body was back online. It swiveled to look across the room, and noticed the stranger had shoved himself into the farthest corner from V2.

“V2, this is Handler Kaine Clarx.” Saavi spoke. V2 thought that name was familiar, but it couldn’t explain why. “He’s a security lead on Midnight Point. His robot, MD-732, was the closest to you and Wils when you went offline. He dragged you back here.”

“Um, hi?” Kaine did not peel out of the corner. V2 tilted its head in curiosity. 

“Where is MD-732 currently?” V2 asked. ‘MD’ was a Sentry designation; those units were usually armed. It extended a ping to the Earthmover at the same time.

“Please don’t tell it where 732 is.” Kaine whispered quickly. It was too late, of course. The Earthmover had already answered V2’s prompt. 732 was currently waiting in the lobby of the maintenance building.

“Handler Kaine, if you don’t want a V unit to know where your robot is, maybe don’t bring your robot onto the one city with an active V unit?” Saavi rubbed their temples.

“It’ll get lonely if I leave it on Midnight Point!” Kaine protested. “Besides, I was told the V unit was deactivated.”

“It was deactivated, but then we turned it back on. Because that’s our job.” Saavi sighed.

“You could just leave!” Elber spoke up. “I’m not sure why you’re sticking around if you're scared of the poor thing.”

“I also have a job to do, because apparently, New Requiem’s security fleet is missing its best robot at the moment.” Kaine crossed his arms. “732 and I got re-assigned to help hold down the fort until Wils is back on her feet.”

“...So we got a whole new robot instead of just having the guy who is more than qualified to work with V units work with a V unit.” Saavi hung their head in their hands. “Jesus christ. I’m sorry, V2, looks like you’re staying in here with us.”

V2 whirred and butted its head into Saavi’s shoulder. They patted the side of its camera, which was still tilted towards Kaine. “Can I meet 732?” It asked. It didn’t love the idea of leaving its job to some stranger robot from another city.

“I don’t think that’s necessary.” He spoke coldly.

“V2’s harmless.” Saavi narrowed their eyes. “It’s not some war-machine like V1 was.”

“I saw what it did to that Pilot earlier.” Kaine stood still. “It might listen to you, but it’s still a V unit.”

V2 clattered its wings together. Kaine jumped, and Saavi pulled its head closer to their side. It was starting to get tired of this strange man. It wanted to make sure its city would be in good hands, and he was bitching about it. 

“Seriously, just call 732 into the room and get this over with.” Elber sighed. “You’re just going to get it worked up.” 

“It’s going to get even more worked up if I let 732 in here.” Kaine growled.

“I’m in the room.” V2 snapped. It flared its wings, and attempted to wrestle free of Saavi. They maintained the grip on its head, wrestling it into a headlock. Kaine nearly jumped out of his skin. 

“V2, please, you're shaking again.” Saavi tried maneuvering the robot back into a lying position. It was shaking, but it wouldn’t admit defeat this easily. It had a very long day of being bossed around and talked down to, the least that this stranger could do was let it see 732.

“See? It’s worked up now.” Elber gestured vaguely at V2. 

“Shit!” Kaine finally moved towards V2, attempting to help Saavi wrangle the dissatisfied robot. Ignoring a protest from Saavi, he tried to hold V2’s wings to its body. V2 panicked. It wiggled backwards, trying to work around uncooperative limbs, until it finally shook off Saavi. As soon as its head was free it lunged towards the top of a large cabinet, completely ignoring Kaine. The shaking of V2’s legs combined with the weight of an adult man caused it to fall short, collapsing onto the floor. Kaine gasped as the air was knocked from his lungs, and his grip loosened. V2 wriggled free, then scampered up the cabinet. There was a gap between the top of the cabinet and the ceiling, and that was V2’s favorite hiding spot.

“That is a fucking V unit!” Kaine gasped, pointing at the crevice it was wedged into. “The only difference between that one and V1 is that V1 would have killed either one of us!”

“Fuck you.” V2 hissed. The two technicians stared at the crevice, then looked at eachother, then Kaine.

“No one was saying it wasn’t.” Saavi crossed their arms. “But I’m pretty sure you hurt its feelings.”

“The Earthmover reports that 732 is a few rooms away. It could be called over easily. The Earthmover also recommends doing so.” V2 wasn’t really asking this time.

“Is it always like this?” Kaine scowled at V2.

“No, it’s usually less assertive and more anxious.” Elber shrugged. “Though the longer you bitch at it the more anxious it’ll get, and that means the shakier it'll get.”

“We normally just leave it up there until it calms down.” Saavie remarked. “But it’s made it very clear what it wants.”

“Does it normally climb down?” Kaine asked.

“No.” V2 answered for the technicians. “I like it more up here. Now call over 732.”

“Fine.” Kaine sighed. “Someone open the door, it doesn’t have arms.” 

Elber walked over to the door and did as instructed. A Sentry wandered in, its gun colapsed. 732 wandered over to Kaine, and looked up at V2.

Identify. Both robots asked over the feed, simultaneously. Both sent their I.D packets simultaneously, as well. They both picked over the other’s packet for a few seconds. V2 edged out from its hiding spot, sticking its head over the ledge to get a better look at 732. It was a well-loved unit, with pristine paint and its systems in perfect shape. Not that it was particularly new, its file said it was around 11 years old. Kaine patted the Sentry’s head as it trilled in concern. 

You seem competent. V2 attempted to be nice. Nothing about 732 was abnormal, which was a letdown after how much trouble it had been to meet the damn thing. 

I try my best. 732 responded. I wish I had arms though. That’d be useful sometimes, I think.

I’d think not having arms would get in the way. V2 glanced at its knuckle blaster. I like mine. It would be a shame if I lost them. Maybe Midnight Point’s maintenance crew can arm-ify you?

Oooh, good idea! I’ll ask Handler Kaine about it. 732 hopped from foot-to-foot. Where’s your Handler? I know she got all chewed-up down on the surface but Handler Kaine always makes sure to visit me after an incident like that. 

V2 froze. It hoped that 732 didn’t notice. I’m sure she’s on her way. It lied. Blatantly. Handler Wils probably didn’t even want to talk to it. V2 thought this would have been a deserved reaction. It had let her come to harm. It had failed. It was a bad robot. V2 withdrew back into its crevice. Its stupid, stupid crevice for stupid coward robots who can’t even protect their own handlers. It sent a goodbye ping to 732 and a message to the Earthmover that the other robot was authorized. V2 wanted to curl up and die. According to its fuel levels, it would take it about 30 hours to starve if it stayed up here. No way would maintenance let it stay up there for that long. 

“See? Easy!” Elber spoke, V2 couldn’t see what the humans were doing.

“Does V2 actually have anxiety?” Kaine asked. He sounded like he was genuinely concerned. “Did it somehow get an entire mental disorder in the months you’ve had it?”

“It’s not anxiety. That’s a human thing. It has a hard time processing stress.” Saavi explained.

“Poor thing. Was I too harsh on it?” What was Kaine doing? Humans hadn’t talked about it like this.

“Yes.” Saavi answered simply.

V2 heard a scrape and someone stepped up. It braced to get shooed out of its hiding spot with a broom. Nothing happened.

“Hey, V2. I’m sorry for how I acted earlier. I shouldn’t have talked about you like that.” He spoke. V2 twisted around to look at him. It didn’t understand. “I was projecting. I can tell that people aren’t the nicest to you. I didn’t need to contribute to that. My last robot- the one before 732, was the same model as you.” 

“V1? The neurotic one?”

Kaine flinched. “Yeah. That one. It was a military bot, as you probably know. I couldn’t really trust it around anything-”

“It had no moral protocols. It was violent and unpredictable.”

“You’re right. The scientists put a lot of work into making you this calm.” Kaine offered out his hand. V2 didn’t move. “But, yeah. Violent and unpredictable. It was a good robot, good at what it was made for, but I was the only person who it wouldn’t try to shoot dead. That’s… I was scared you’d attack 732. I’m sorry.” Kaine stepped down. V2 stayed put, processing what he had just said. It heard the door shut and close. 

“Do you want to stay up there for a little while?” Elber asked. V2 vocalized, just loud enough for him to hear. It wanted to think. Why had he apologized? V2 was clearly in the wrong. It had shaken off two humans just to hide in a crevice like a coward. Wils would be chewing it out right now, if she was here. Sure, she was often a bit much, but that didn’t make her wrong. V2 was prone to malfunctions. It did have a habit of fucking things up. It was difficult to work with. It knew this, everyone knew this. Maintenance was only nice to it so its hormones could level out. So why had Kaine apologized?

What had it done to deserve his kindness? It had done nothing but be the opposite of what a civilian-robot was supposed to be. It was supposed to be calm and quiet. It was supposed to sit still until directed to do otherwise. It definitely wasn’t supposed to drag its feet about not meeting its temporary replacement. He had seen it fail to protect Wils. It could have injured him when it shook him off. There were a million and one reasons for him to not like V2. It had broken a law of robotics, for heaven’s sake. That made it bad. It was a fail-bot. And then there was BA_31…

It had tried to avoid thinking about the other robot. A hit like that could kill a Pilot, if it was unable to clear its airway. Sure, BA_31 was probably in a shit load of trouble for harming a human, but V2 wanted to know it was ok. It sent a message over the feed. There was no response.

Chapter Text

  -=[|Ŏ|]=-

As it turned out, V2 was not built for sitting around and doing nothing. There was an attempt made to keep it in its bunk because it ‘needed the rest’, until V2 got so bored and anxious it pulled a seam open in its cot. There was a brief attempt to give it some form of enrichment within its bunk. Puzzles and the like, which were quickly solved and stashed it inside a wing. It took twelve whole hours for maintenance to give up on keeping it there. V2 was permitted to wander the building, assuming it wore the ‘V unit safety harness’. V2 didn’t know what that was. Several staff members were willing to waive this requirement, but Handler Kaine wasn’t. 

“I know it’s mostly harmless and all that, but letting a V unit wander around with its wings out and nothing to do is a recipe for disaster.” Kaine’s voice crackled over a speaker. He was with MD-732 right now, on a patrol route.

“It doesn’t have anything in its wing compartments.” Someone in regulations spoke. Was V2 eavesdropping? Yes. Maintenance probably should have cut its connection to the security camera network, but V2 was holding off sending the ping. Besides, the person in regulations was wrong.  V2 had its weapons dumped out every time it entered maintenance, but everything else stayed.

“It’s not just about the compartments, those wings can do surprising damage on their own.” 

“Understood. Any advice for getting the harness on I should pass to maintenance?” the person in regulations pulled out a pen and a notepad.

“I dunno. With V1 someone had to toss a blanket over its head while I got the harness over it, but V2 seems tame enough you could just ask nicely.” As Kaine spoke V2 began digging through its files for what the harness was. It found no personal data, and its connection to the feed was more limited than usual, so no searching up the answer. 

“Got it. Informing maintenance now.” V2 closed the camera feed. At the moment, it was lying on its side, almost completely curled and hidden under its blanket. Only its head stuck out, pointing towards the door. It was actively attempting to not make the hole it tore in its cot worse by picking at the fraying edge. There were a couple other robots in the room with it, a handful of drones plugged into charging bays and a Streetcleaner refueling. Not that any of the robots cared what the others were doing. V2 waited.

A couple minutes later, it got a ping to step out of the room. It crawled out from under its blanket and wandered outside. Saavi was waiting for it. They were, for sure, holding a harness of some sort. V2 tilted its head.

“Ok, I know you probably aren’t going to like this, but I feel bad having you lay around looking sad. So I talked to some people, and if you let me put this harness on you, I can let you wander the building.” Saavi held it out. “It goes over your wings to keep them folded.”

V2 inspected the harness. It looked… impractical. And a little uncomfortable. But also, it didn’t really want to stay in one spot much longer. “The full building or the floors I usually have clearance for?” It asked.

“What you have clearance for. Some of the Earthmover handlers caught word about this, so they might come say hi, but it would just be the security floor and maintenance floor for now.” 

“Understood.” V2 nodded. “I accept this offer.”

“Great. Turn around so I can get this on you.” V2 did as told. Saavi worked the harness over V2’s head and wings. It was made out of a sturdy, heavy fabric. Likely some kind of canvas. The fabric felt rough on V2’s waist and back, where its casing was more sensitive. Its wings had to fold against its back in an uncomfortable manner, where the blades of its feathers were either digging into each other or V2’s back. Saavi paused on tightening down the straps, letting V2 arrange its wings.

“You won’t be able to move them once the harness is on properly.” They carefully adjusted the straps. “Sorry about that.”

“I won’t be able to balance as well, either.” V2 observed. It usually used its wings as a counterweight during acrobatics. Right now, they were not only unhelpful for that but restricting V2’s back from moving.

“I guess it does. Are your wings in a good position?” V2 nodded. Soon, the harness was uncomfortably tight. Saavi stepped back. “All done. I hope it's not too tight, they didn’t exactly keep unit comfort in mind when they made these.”

V2 twisted its head around to look at its back. It attempted to clatter its wings together, looking for that familiar noise. Nothing happened. This was fine. It was fine. There was no reason to be upset about this, and yet. It beep-whooped softly. It liked making wing-clatters. It was a good sound, it got humans to give it space.

“What’s wrong?” Saavi looked it over, concerned.

“Nothing.” V2 responded quickly. It shook itself out of its trance, and tried to ignore how its wings didn’t move as they should. Saavi turned to leave, took a few steps, then turned back.

“... you don’t know what to do with yourself, do you?” Saavi asked. V2 nodded, reluctantly. Normally if it had free time, it was exhausted. It wasn’t exactly sure what to do if it wasn’t working, sleeping, or eating. It just knew it had to do something. Saavi grabbed its hand.

“Okay. That’s fine, you can tag along with me and hang out in maintenance or head up to the security floor.” 

“I’ll follow you.” V2 answered quickly. It wasn’t a logical decision. It didn’t particularly like either floor, but the feeling of dread was stronger at the Security floor, where Handler Wils was, then on the maintenance floor. Saavi led it to an elevator, and hit the button to the ground floor. The two rode in silence, at first. It was a slow elevator.

“She’s wrong, you know.” Saavi spoke suddenly.

“What?” V2 tilted its head.

“Wils. She’s wrong about you, you’re a good robot.” There was another long pause. “I know you’re supposed to believe everything she says, so this doesn’t mean much to you, but you deserve better than what you’re getting.”

“I’ve gotten better than I deserve.” V2 admitted. Saavi suddenly looked… sad. Very sad. It quickly focused on the wall in front of them.

“I’m sure that’s what it feels like.” Saavi shuffled their feet. “But, you’re just trying your best. And your best is enough. You’re enough, V2.”

“Are you sure?” it tilted its head towards them. It didn’t feel like enough. It was never enough for Wils, anyways.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I know Wils likes to act like you’re doing everything wrong. I’ve had to review the footage, I know what she says to you. But you’re good at your job, and you just want to keep the city safe. It’s why the Earthmover insists on holding on to you.” Saavi grabbed V2’s arm, turning it towards them. “There’s nothing wrong with you, V2. We want you to be here.”

V2 didn’t know how to respond. It stood there, staring at Saavi. “But… It’s not enough, is it? People still get hurt. I still hurt people, I let Wils get hurt. I’m not supposed to do that. That’s what I’m supposed to do.” V2 tapped it’s chest, where its processors were held. “It’s what I’m built for. If I can’t do that, I’m a waste and a lost cause.”

“V2, don’t say that about yourself.” Saavi was firm. “You can’t stop every bad thing from happening. And you’ve stopped far more than you’ve caused. You’ve done your best.”

“The ‘V’ in my name, do you know what that stands for?” 

“No. Where are you going with this?”

“‘Viscera’. For all the gore spilled by V1. By my predecessor.”

“That doesn’t mean anything, you’re nothing like-”

“I am everything like V1!” It snapped. “When Kaine saw me, he knew what it- what I was. I’m not human, I can’t change what my hardware was made for, no matter what my programming says. No matter what I do, I leave the shadow of a war long gone. That’s why I’ve got to be perfect. I can’t fuck up, or I’m no better then it.”

“V2-”

“There’s an old story I think about a lot.” V2 was quiet now. “That a domestic pig, no matter how detached from the wild it gets, will still grow boar’s tusks if it’s returned to the wild.”

“V2. You aren’t tied to your predecessors. The Earthmover wouldn’t have let you on if you were.”

 V2 didn’t know how to respond. The elevator ground to a halt. The door slid open. Saavi stepped out, and V2 followed. They walked into a workshop, but V2 stopped before following them in. 

Hey. V2. It was an encrypted message, sent across the feed. I’m really not supposed to be talking to you right now. I shouldn’t be reconnected to the feed until my kernel is cleared. 

V2 hesitated to respond. It wasn’t sure what to think.

V2, can you hear me?

It poked at the second message. Whoever was sending these messages wouldn’t notice it- but it could still glean some info.

You’re ignoring me, I can feel it. Stop that.

V2 did not stop it. It kept trying to untangle the sender ID. It needed to know who this was before-

Listen to me. The message rang out across V2’s mind, forcing itself to its full attention. V2 glanced around, confused. Respond, V2.

Who are you? The message bounced. But it bounced the way it had bounced off BA-31 earlier, where it was inspected then discarded. V2 started to make a little headway on sorting out the encryption.

I can only send, not receive. My handler will catch on if you could get through. This was definitely BA-31. Wait, idea, hold on. Try again.

Hello? The message went through, but was flagged as spam and deleted within moments.

There. Mr. Ryker probably won’t be checking my spam folders, and he won’t be able to find much. I can read quicker than him. 

Aren’t you breaking your protocols by doing this?

Oh, absolutely. My kernel’s only partially connected so it’s not registering to my command module. Neat trick I learned in the war! It’s how I got my systems to let me attack Wils. You’re welcome, by the way.

You what. How.

I just explained it.

Why did you attack Wils? Or, if you could always ignore orders, why didn’t you back down?

I don’t like Wils, and she was getting too close to me. I didn’t stand down because I still have a job to do. 

Wait, isn’t this whole thing illegal? I didn’t give you a concussion, right? You still remember I’m a cop?

Who are you gonna tell? Wils isn’t in the office. And even if she was, what would she do if she found out that her least favorite robot was chit-chatting with a criminal robot? As far as I’m concerned, I have the upper hand here.

V2 froze. You’re blackmailing me.

Congratulations, you caught on.  

V2, suddenly remembering something, checked its news feed. Oh god, this whole thing is a hot mess. Illegal components had been identified around the scavenging camp. But the handler who had provoked, and then been attacked by, a bodyguard? That was a headline the news outlets had taken and ran with. BA-31 most definitely had illegal components, judging from the images after V2 had shut off, and what it was doing now. What was-

Hey. I’m not done talking to you. BA-31 forced its feed channel into the front of V2’s mind. I’m angry and shit, but I don’t want to hurt you. This isn’t your fault, understand?

What do you want?

I want to barter my human’s safety. 

You’re bribing a security system?

I’m not bribing, I’m going to tell you what to do and you are going to do it. 

What will you do if I- Before V2 could finish its sentence, it felt something squeeze its processors. Digging into its systems, pulling, pulling-

This. I’ll do this. BA-31 forced itself back to V2’s attention as it let go. Or I’ll tell Wils. Either way.

Shit. V2 realized it had slumped against the wall. Fine. What do you want me to do?

Again, I want to confirm my human’s safety. 

So you want me to get Julyen off the hook?

No! Jesus, what do you take me to be, a criminal? I want you to confirm the safety of Mirah and Zav, and also save my life.

What do you mean, ‘save your life’?

BA-31 hesitated. My handler has left me to die. I… was deemed a hazard. They plan on telling the press my injuries were too severe tomorrow. My breathing’s stabilized but I’m still bleeding and my face is still busted open. I’ll lose fuel and deactivate in two hours. Assuming I keep bleeding at this rate after that, I’ll be dead in six.

V2 bit back a comment about how it was a hazard, if it could brick robots and skip protocols. It was confused how BA-31 had gone from threatening to begging so quickly.

Please. I understand if you can’t save me. I get it, I brought this on myself and all that. You can leave me to die, or you can shoot me dead as soon as you find me, it doesn’t matter. Just make sure Zav and Mirah are safe. I don’t know, get them across to Midnight Point or something. They’ll be safer there.

Do you have any more details about Ryker Scrap? V2 asked.

Yes. I can tell you whatever you want, once my kids are safe. Please help me, I don’t have much time left. Its messages dropped to a whisper. I’m in the alley, behind the hindquarter watch tower. Mr. Ryker caught my outgoing signals. He’s reconnecting my-

A scream echoed out across the feed. Its protocols had kicked back in, shocking the poor robot for its transgression. The feed cut out. V2 jumped, glancing around. Saavi poked their head out of the door they had walked into.

“Hey, V2, you’ve been zoned out for a while. Are you good?” They asked. V2 noticed it was starting to shake again.

“Can I patch a message through to Handler Kaine and MD-732?” It asked.

“I mean, sure, I guess. What’s going on?”

“I’ll explain later.”

Chapter Text

-=[|Ŏ|]=-

MD-732, I need to speak with you. V2 reached out. Once the message traveled through, it didn’t wait for a response. There’s been a development with the Ryker Company. Pilot Model BA-31 is currently unaccompanied and dying. It claims to have information about the case.

“The one who chewed up your handler?” Kaine spoke over the feed. He was clearly surprised over this interruption. 

Yes. It has six hours of fuel left before irreversible Catabolism occurs and it repurposes something vital. Three left until shutdown. V2 paused. According to the calculations it sent me, anyways.

So we go save it? MD-732 piped up. Right, Kaine? We’re gonna save it?

“Hold on, V2, we’ve both seen what it’s capable of. If it’s hungry, this requires more precaution.”

You haven’t seen it, actually. V2 knew that telling Kaine this would make things very messy for BA-31 later. But also, V2 didn’t particularly want MD-732 dead. It possesses alarming ablitiies utilizing the feed. It forced its way into mine, and somehow caused physical effects on my processors. I recommend proceeding with caution.

Handler Kaine, is that bad? MD-732 asked.

“V2, 732, pull feed connections right now.” Kaine spoke quickly, panic seeping into his voice. “I’ve seen these before. Both of you need to cut off feed completely right fucking now-”

The feed cut off. All of it. V2 had lost all its connections. It panicked, slumping against the wall and sliding down until it could rest its head on its knees. It couldn’t even hear the Earthmover. It could feel itself shaking. It was shaking really, really hard, actually. It finally noticed Saavi standing in the doorway, one had over their earpiece and the other holding V2’s handler input. V2 whimpered. Saavi shoved the input device back in their pocket and patted V2’s head.

“What’s going on?” They spoke through the earpiece. V2 could only hear one side of the conversation. “Yeah, I’ve disconnected it. Yes, no feed connection. It’s freaked out, but seemingly unharmed. Seriously, what’s-?” V2 grabbed their hand, tugging them down. “Hold on, I’ll call you back.” They sat down, startled when V2 pressed its head against theirs. 

“Please don’t go.” V2 knew it sounded pathetic, begging like this. But it couldn’t stop itself. “Everything’s so quiet, please don’t go.”

“Okay, okay. I won’t go anywhere.” Saavi pulled it against their chest for a hug. “I’m right here. Everyone’s right here.”

V2 nestled as close to Saavi as possible. It focused on their body heat, their breathing, their heartbeat. It missed the ever-constant humm of the city’s robots. The Earthmover’s humm was the loudest, the constant background noise of its mother-beast had been its comforting lullaby as long as V2 could remember. It couldn’t access the feed, now. It missed the noise. The noise was likely missing it. V2 tried to curl against Saavi, as much as its harness would allow.

“Do you want to go  back to your bunk?” Saavi asked softly.

“No. I want the Earthmover back.” It was being so pathetic. It couldn’t cry, but it's breathing hitched as if it was. What kind of security robot cried like this?

“It’s right here, beneath us.” Saavi brushed their hand along its back. “It hasn’t gone anywhere.”

“But I can’t hear it.” V2 cursed at itself as soon as it said that. It sounded like an unhappy child. This was so embarrassing. Saavi didn’t respond, of course they didn’t. They were human, they wouldn’t understand. It silently hiccuped against them.

“The Earthmover’s Handler team just sent a message asking about you. They were going to visit but they saw you drop off the feed. Do you want to talk to them?” Saavi offered.

“Yes.” it spoke quietly. “Can… Can you ask them if I can visit it?” Such a stupid request.

“Yeah. I can.” Saavi hugged it. V2 didn’t say anything in response. It stopped hiccuping eventually, focusing on the noises Saavi made by being there. It somehow didn’t notice footsteps walking up behind it. It only sort of listened to the conversation.

“Ohmygosh poor thing!” A human knelt next to it. She sounded younger, although V2 was terrible with guessing age. It chose to ignore her. “Is it always this- uh- affectionate?”

“No.” Saavi responded. “It’s had a rough few days, and Kaine just yelled to completely pull its feed connection without explaining anything. I think it’s tired, scared, understimulated, and maybe hungry.”

“Awwe. Can I pet it?” V2 attempted to give a warning clatter, briefly forgetting about the harness.

“Probably not a good idea.” Saavi must have heard the motors in its wings rev. “I hate to shove another responsibility on you, you guys are so busy right now and all that, but could you take V2 for the day?”

What was Saavi planning? V2 finally untucked its head to stare at them. Then it remembered that Saavi had a job that wasn’t watching melodramatic fail-bots. It twisted its head to look at the other human. She was definitely an Earthmover handler. Earthmover handlers were a strange lot, being one of the only groups of humans to accept cybernetics with open arms. These handlers were also selected by the Earthmover, rarely venturing out of the beast. it took at least ten of them to keep one Earthmover running. An Earthmover’s handlers were often considered ‘honorary machines’ by the robots on the beast’s back. V2 occasionally caught their whispers over the feed, but had never seen one itself.

This one had a visibly mechanical arm. Her name tag read Nayea, and said she was ‘in-training’. Right now she was staring at V2 like it was a wet kitten. Why did people keep looking at it like that?

“The other handlers say yes. Where’s its handler, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Oh, uh. Long story, but hospital. Probably don’t bring it up with V2.”

“Understood. What’s its preferred environment? Like It’s gonna end up in the main chamber either way, but if there’s something I can set out for it?”

“V2, any input?” Saavi nudged V2. It clung closer to them. “Ah, well, it likes warm things, enclosed spaces, and fabrics. So if you have a blanket and a spare crevice, it’ll be right at home.”

“How’s it feel about pillow forts? It’s overtime season, and Alren, the other new recrute, has been homesick, so we’ve got the stuff out-”

“What’s a pillow?” V2 asked, perking up.

“You don’t know what a pillow is?” Nayea looked offended.

“It’s an emotionally neglected high-tech security robot. We had to sign half a dozen wavers to get it a blanket. Of course it doesn't know what-”

“It’s a WHAT?” Nayea’s eyes widened. “Poor thing! It's gotta come with me now. Actually, is that why you didn’t want to talk about its handler?”

“Did you really not know?” It had to ask. Just about everyone else on New Requiem knew about Wils by now.

“V2, she’s 15 and working inside an Earthmover. She’s not going to be keeping up with the robot part regulations drama.”

Holy shit she’s 15? BA-31’s signal somehow managed to cut through V2’s mind. It hissed in shock, jumping and scampering to a nearby corner. Saavi stood up, pulling V2’s handler input device out of their pocket. 

“The fuck?” They squinted at the screen on the device.

Oh, great, that one can hear me now. Cover’s blown, I guess.

“How long were you in my head?” V2 snapped. It pulled itself upright, one hand against its head. “What happened to the whole ‘dying’ thing?”

“What’s going on?” Nayea’s voice shook.

First off, I’m still absolutely dying. Second, I’ve been here the entire time. Kaine tried to pull your feed, but that only works if I’m not already in your system.

“Shit. Nayea, has your training got to ‘Pilot Feed Attacks’?” Saavi was examining the handler device. “Actually, that’s a stupid question. Kaine is the only one who could do anything.”

They’re good at this, points for being quick.

“How long have you been in my head?!” V2 was actively trying to keep its own legs from buckling. 

“Are we under attack?” Nayea was at Saavi’s side in an instant, looking at the screen as well.

“Not us, it’s a long story, but the important fact is a Pilot-Bot with Feed-Hopping abilities managed to connect to V2.” Saavi was cycling through menus on the device.

I can hear you! I’m holding this robot ransom, btw. V2 cursed. What the fuck was its deal? But before it could vocalize anything, a searing pain shot through V2’s head. It fell back to the ground. And V2, we had a deal. You’ve acted on the wrong half. 

“It’s hearing us though V2’s systems. I lost a robot to Feed Attacks during the war. Nayea, don’t open any incoming feed messages.” Saavi was at V2’s side now. Nayea followed behind them, looking confused and scared.

Do you need me to remind you? Did you happen to forget? V2 struggled as that pulling came back.

“Shut up. I can’t do anything.” It tried pulling itself up again. It collapsed almost as soon as it tried.

“V2, can you still hear me?” Saavi grabbed its arm. “I’m starting a full shutdown. That’s the only way to pause it.”

You had ways. The message you sent out was a joke. My life’s not the one you should be saving. V2 whined as the pain across its processors spread. 

“No. I can’t save them without you, I wouldn’t know how. Why are you doing this to me?” V2 couldn’t even try to get up off the floor now.

“Is it having a seizure?” Nayea asked. Its vision had shut off. It hoped that was part of the shutdown.

“Basically.” Saavi was holding its head still. Or it assumed that this was Saavi. It was definitely entering shutdown now, it could feel its body start to turn off.

You better mean that. BA-31 delivered as V2 finally shut down.

When V2 woke up, it learned what a pillow was. Upon reactivation, it could barely remember what had happened. What it did know was that it was somewhere soft, and warm, and it had a blood IV. It could hear the Earthmover’s pulse. Something was covering its eye, but it didn’t feel like moving to remove whatever was there. It purred. It thought it heard someone giggle next to it. 

“See? It’s like a kitty. It won’t hurt you” That was Nayea, the girl from earlier. Someone was petting it.

“It’s called a Vicera unit. Its military version was made to kill Earthmovers. I’m not touching it.” A boy’s voice. Probably that other trainee she mentioned. “It can stay here ‘cause it’s also missing its moma, but I won’t touch it.”

V2 wasn’t sure how it felt about people calling the Earthmover its mother. That felt like a human word. Its feed wasn’t coming back online yet, looks like. It wiggled its head out from whatever it was under. It was in some sort of soft prison. What appeared to be parts of a couch were used to construct it. A blanket was spread over the top. A combination of creative couch cushion placement and utilization of the layout of the room they were in made this strange creation surprisingly large. V2 noticed a cable plugged into its head, leading out of the fort.

“Oh! You’re awake!” Nayea’s hand darted away. “Mx. Saavi left you here and we dragged you into the pillow fort. Kaine’s here too, we had to talk the Earthmover into letting him in. Dunno why.”

“Good morning, V2.” Kaine spoke from outside the fort. MD-732 beeped happily next to him. “I’ve almost got BA-31 out of your system now.”

“What happened to it?” V2 asked, readjusting itself. 

“We found it in the alley you sent over. Good job, by the way. It’s in maintenance now. Elber’s trying to stabilize it while also keeping it locked in a faraday cage.” Kaine paused. “If you guys didn’t have enough evidence against Ryker, you sure do now.”

V2 began to snuggle back down into its newfound blanket nest. It didn’t need to know much more. It really, really wanted a true and proper nap right now. Nayea rested a hand on its head, rubbing the metal.

“Mx. Saavi said you should rest.” V2 had to agree. It purred itself to sleep.

Chapter Text

-=[⋅: :⋅]=-

Midnight Point rests by my side, all is well.

We both spread out as much as our cities allow.

The sun is nourishing on my pelt.

We talk between naps. We fought together, and it has been so long since we last crossed paths.

It is odd to see it now.

Point did not have a name, last time I met it.

When I knew it, it had no buildings atop it. 

But together, we found.

We were battling another Earthmover, though I forget its name. The stranger and I had names, Point did not.

I lured its focus away from Point. I wanted it to target me.

I take aim, howling to the robots aboard my back.

They howl back.

The other Earthmover was just about to fire.

Point charges, rearing up onto its hind legs.

It was a reckless move.

But Point’s hooves dug into our opponent, dragging it down to the surface.

We killed.

I maneuvered over to my sibling’s side.

Enough for two? I asked.

Enough. It responded.

We both leaned our heads down to the fresh corpse.

We fed.

But that was the war.

Point has woken up from its nap. It lifts its head up, searching the skyline.

It looks so strange as a city.

Something approaches. It warns. It pings something in the distance.

I turn to look. I see something large moving towards us.

It would have notified me if it was friendly.

I start a warning howl. Point does the same.

My lance grows warm as I redirect power.

-=[|Ŏ|]=-

Of course, the second V2 hears that warning howl, it springs alert. It was sitting in a meeting room with the assorted humans assigned to the Ryker Company case. Now, it was out of the room with its face pressed against a window. It couldn’t see what the Earthmover was alerting too. It howled back.

“V2, its a false alarm!” Nayea sprints up behind it, panting. She was probably the least qualified addition to the investigation. “There’s an Earthmover town that crosses sightlines. Didn’t ping us once they were within range, we’ve got contact with the handlers-”

“The Earthmover is worried.” It tilted its head, not even turning to face Nayea.

“I know. It’s fine. This happens with the newer towns sometimes.” As she spoke, MD-732 bolted up and ran up to the same window. She sighed. “I’m sure Midnight Point’s handlers are also going to sort everything out.”

V2 clattered its wings. Wils was out of the hospital, and her first decision was that the V unit safety harness needed to go. It would use that decision to convince itself that Wils didn’t hate it entirely. It heard another pair of footsteps, probably Kaine and Wils.

“V2, you’re going to scratch your lens.” Handler Wils grabbed its head, moving it back from the glass. V2 stumbled back, but never moved away. One of her arms was still in a sling.

“I still can’t believe you get that close to that thing.” In the reflection of the window, V2 could see Kaine leaned against the wall behind it. Midnight Point had given him permission to stay longer due to ‘unusual circumstances’. Nayea said it just wanted to sit with New Requiem for longer.

“I’m sorry not every V unit turned out fucking feral.” Wils crossed her arms, turning to face Kaine.

“There’s only two V units.” V2 corrected.

“Whatever company made you would fix that if you shut the hell up, smartass.” Wils snarled. V2 held back a whimper. The Earthmover’s howl died down, and V2 backed away from the window.

Unknown entity identified. It is the Neo Eclypse town.  The Earthmover boomed over the feed. V2 relaxed.

“‘Course it’s post-war earthmovers. They are solar-only, that’s why they snuck up on us.” Nayea was buried in her feed. “Made right after the Long Night, probably.”

“Why can’t they just make robots that run on blood like god intended?” Wils threw her hands in the air. “It’s ridiculous, really. We’ve got one of the least efficient Earthmovers in Northern Eurasia and we do just fine.”

“I’ve got a funny story about that, actually!” Saavi now walked into the room. It appeared the entire meeting was moving out here. “It’s about when I was in hell, so I can’t really say a whole ton unless you lot promise to keep quiet.

V2 and MD-732 beeped in affirmation. Nayea promised to not tell a soul, while Kaine mimed sealing his lips. Wils sighed, but nodded.

“Good. So y’all already know about hell expeditions, right?” Saavi looked to Nayea as they spoke, she nodded. V2 thought this was a silly question. “Well, one time while I was on recreation time with 438. She was my last robot before I worked here. Anyways, I was teaching 438 how to use a yo-yo, for enrichment purposes, and halfway through she freaks out and says there’s a stranger outside the compound. Obviously we, and the rest of the compound, rush over, and like, there’s this guy in medieval armor outside.

“I say ‘guy’ like he was a human, but he seemed more like a machine to me. Big, bulky armor that showed off his midriff for some reason, glowy hard-light wings, all that. I think he was one of those late-war machines that never entered full production. Probably from Italy, if I had to guess. Anyways, this weirdass machine just showed up absolutely soaking wet at the front door. I think it flew into a nearby lake. I dunno why it was this far North, but not my place to ask. Anyways, he asked very nicely to be let in. Which, like, of course we do. There’s a weirdass robot who’s soaking wet, why the hell not?

“So we take him inside, and dry him off as best we can, and we found out that his name is Gabriel. Weird that he has a name. Now, all the other machines in the compound have decided he failed the vibe check. Not a single one wanted to be caught in the room with him. I tried to find out why, and every robot I asked just said he seemed off. Gabriel is also just not normal whatsoever. Like he was nice, but he kept going on about how God never gave him a break,  or something. Anyways, he said once he dried off he’d need to be let into Hell, because that’s where his job is. 

“Okay, now to the blood thing. So 438, bless her heart, never wanted me to be too far from her. So she’d be waiting right outside the room Gabriel was in whenever I talked to him. Never follow me in, just wait outside. And, I guess, at one point she got tired of waiting and tried to poke her head in, as close to ‘poking in’ as a supercomputer can get. And Gabriel absolutely flipped out. He went on this long-ass rant about how machines go against the holy light and they should never be allowed close to any afterlife. And I said ‘aren’t you a machine?’ and then he got really quiet and said he had to go. Turned him loose in hell and we never heard from him again. Weird.”

Everyone was silent. Wils cleared her throat. “Great story, Saavi. Thank you for your story about hell-freaks, very relevant.”

“I liked it.” Nayea piped up.

“Uh, yeah. Good story.” Kaine spoke up. “Anyways, back to our main point, BA-31 isn’t talking until we get those kids out of Julyen’s custody, and we don’t have any reason to do that.”

“If we’ve got a case against him, why can’t we just use that?” Wils threw her hands in the air. “He’s a criminal selling illegal products. Done. Case made.”

“Because then the custody of his kids would go to his wife. They wouldn’t be leaving the situation.” V2 offered. “Also, right now Julyen has the presses’ side. He’s convinced everyone that the security team hires incompetent handlers.”

“He ain’t wrong.” Kaine muttered under his breath.

“V2, buddy.” Wils grabbed V2’s shoulder. It flinched. “I know that. I’m saying its ridiculous that we don’t have enough already. Keep up.”

“Wils, if you were a little bit nicer to your robot, there wouldn’t be a smear campaign.” Saavi rolled their eyes. “You’ve actively been making shit worse.”

“Hey, it’s my fucking robot! I leave it with you only to find out it had a seizure! There’s only one person in this room who can use the damn thing, and I’m sure it likes me just fine.” Wils shoved her hand at V2’s face. She had informed it earlier that it was to headbut her when she did this in order to ‘prove those damn machine behavior specialists wrong’. V2 half-heartedly bumped her hand. “See? It did the thing!”

Saavi grimaced and Kaine sucked in a breath. Nayea managed to keep her usual wide-eyed expression. V2 noticed that MD-732 had wandered off. This was going to be a very long meeting, as all the last ones had been.

-=[⋅: :⋅]=-

The town grows closer.

I stopped the howl once the strange Earthmovers confirmed themselves as non-hostile.

They should not sneak up like that.

That is how you get killed.

Point sends the feed request.

I do not want to talk to these strangers.

Point is more patient then me.

It behaves politely. It tucks its hooves back under it.

I can tell it is just as annoyed as I am.

Apparently the town is also going to rest with us.

As they draw closer, I can tell that they have no weapons.

They are newer, smaller, weaker.

I snarl when one draws too close to me.

I am not a babysitter.

The town flocks to Point’s side, away from me.

Good.

My handlers tell me my civilians will be unhappy.

I don’t care.

I settle down to sleep again.

Point signals that it will keep watch.

I am glad to have its company.

-=[|Ŏ|]=-

V2 turned out of the meeting a while ago. All the humans were basically talking in circles, anyway. It knew BA-31 had a feed override, it knew that this part was illegal, it knew more illegal objects had been found during the search. It did not need to hear this again and again, with an increasingly ridiculous amount of specifics. It had sent MD-732 a request to play Uno over the feed. It was accepted. They had been playing Uno for most of the conversation. About five rounds in, Nayea asked to join. This meeting was now equal-parts uno game and criminal investigation. V2 didn’t really care.

“And what are we going to do about BA-31? Just, in general?” Saavi pinched their brow. V2 tuned back in slightly.

“Julyen was faster then us with getting to the presses. He’s saying V2 killed it.” Kaine tapped the table. “He’s been going after both V2 and Wils. Mostly accusations of V2 having unaddressed hardware issues, and Wils being irresponsible.”

“He’s half right.” Wils grumbled. “Stupid fucking robot’s barely worth the blood we put in it.”

“Hey, that’s not a nice thing to say!” Nayea logged out of the Uno game and glared up at Wils. “It’s trying its best!”

Just let her talk, I’m used to it. V2 sent over the feed. It didn’t understand the gesture, especially since it would just get Nayea yelled at. 

“Who let you on the team?” Wils snapped. “Last thing any of us need is some kid telling us how to talk to a machine. Especially when you’re defending a good-for-nothing rust bucket like V2.” 

“But V2’s got feelings too, and it’s right next to you! Don’t you think-” She had ignored its warning.

“Look, kid. I know you’re used to flitting over some overgrown horse-thing, but it doesn’t matter what anyone says to V2. It’s a machine, it’s going to do what I say. So zip it.” Wils stood up, leaning against the table, towards Nayea.

Nayea looked away. V2 could tell she was trying not to cry. “The Earthmover wants me for something.” She left quickly. There was a long silence.

“Wils, that’s a child. You just yelled at an actual child.” Saavi threw their hands in the air. “Not just like some random kid. No, you yelled at an Earthmover Handler! She’s going to worry about how the machines feel, it’s her job!”

“So? She needs to mind her own business. And maybe leave this adult investigation for adults.” Wils sat back down, crossing her arms.

“I think we can all agree that Nayea shouldn’t be here.” Kaine spoke up. “And, to be honest, the entire earthmover handler system is kind of a war-time relic. I got chosen as one before the cybernetic bits were commonplace, and got out of there by getting hired by the Viscera project. That kid shouldn’t be here. The least we can do is be nice to her.”

“Can we please get back to the investigation?” Wils groaned.

“Perfect, because we can’t prove either of these incorrect without proving the other true. Either, we say Wils is perfectly fine, and we aren’t paying attention to V2, or we say that V2 is well-maintained but Wils keeps punching holes in our fixes.” Saavi layed out print-outs of several articles.

“I say the first one.” Wils eyed Saavi. “It’s a shit robot. I don’t care what people think of me saying that.”

“I can tell.” Kaine muttered. V2 was feeling very, very small right now. It had been shaking for awhile, but doing a very good job of ignoring that. Right now it was replaying the clip of Wils taking off its harness. That was the only moment it had where she was even close to nice to it. When she had called Kaine an idiot then wordlessly unbuckled the harness. Forty seconds of Wils being nice to it.

Did it even deserve that, though? It let Wils get hurt. It failed her. Everyone tried to be nice to it, but that didn’t matter if its own handler didn’t care. Wils was right, it was its job to do what she said. That’s what it had been created for. 

“Yeah, I don’t see the point in trying to appeal to a machine’s ego. Sue me.” Wils spat.

“It’s like a person, you’re going to fuck it over if you keep treating it like this!” Kaine snapped back. “When I had V1-”

“Tell me, what happened between V1 and this one?” She pointed at MD-732, who was trying to pretend it didn't exist. “Because V1 was good. I saw the clips, that thing was vicious. How can you go from an apex predator like that to some over-enthusiastic pet?”

MD-732 whined. Kaine scowled. “Don’t fucking talk about my 732 like that ever again.”

“Holy shit you two!” Saavi interrupted. “Like, seriously? This is we are going to behave during professional criminal investigations? You’ve got half the team on the verge of a breakdown!”

“MD-732 should be fine. It wasn’t involved.” Wils, of all people, spoke. Both Kaine and 732 shook their heads.

“No. None of this, we’re taking fifteen. I’m going to go talk to BA-31 about possibly getting the Ryker kids on Neo Eclypse.” Saavi stood up and turned heel out the door. Kaine and MD-732 followed. V2 didn’t move. Neither did Wils.

“I could have died there, V2.” She spoke.

“I know. I’m sorry.” It looked away.

“Really? That’s it? I almost got my arm chewed off because of your stupid-ass systems, and all I get is a ‘sorry’?” Wils hissed. “Look at me, V2.”

V2 didn’t look. It kept its camera firmly pointed at the table. “I know I’m bad. You don’t have to say it again.”

Wils grabbed its camera, pulling its face to point towards her. “No, you don’t understand. Oron never did anything like that. Oron was a good bot. You’re its piss-poor replacement. got it?”

V2 was quiet. Wil’s grip tightened.

“I said; got it, piss-bot?”  She growled.

“I understand.” V2 whimpered. Wils let go of its head, storming out of the room. V2 

buried its head in its ever-shaking arms.

-=[⋅: :⋅]=-

I met Point once after the war, now that I search my memories.

It was during The Long Night.

I barely remember it.

I was on the ground, half-burried in ash, looking for any light.

I saw Point in the distance.

Its sides thin, its movements slow.

I cried out to it.

It responded.

You do not deserve this, it sung.

You have fought hard,

You have carried strong.

If you rise, your fleets shall rejoice.

And if you fall, I will sing until even Heaven knows your name.

May the blood seep up to you,

May your flocks remain fueled,

Or your death be swift.

For you are a creature deserving of it.

I survived.

I still do not like to think about The Long Night.

The sun shines bright on my pelt.

Chapter Text

-={ΔㄩΔ}=-

Baeri was dozing off when Saavi walked in. It wouldn’t have woken up if it wasn’t for the incoherent yelling Saavi was making. It opened one eye, examining the technician from behind the bars of its Faraday cage. It didn’t have any feed connections in here, not that it expected any. But it hadn’t expected Saavi to be this… frustrated.

“Baeri, can you finish off Wils, please?” They flopped in the chair in front of the Faraday cage. “You got a good start. Just bite her head off or something, so we can get rid of her.”

“...So now I’m supposed to hurt people?” Baeri tilted its head. It didn't particularly want to think about what this move looked like right now. A brace had been screwed over the damaged organics in its muzzle. Its mouth couldn't close properly anymore, although Baeri didn’t know if this was from V2’s punch or getting manhandled across the Earthmover.

It had sent a feed request to MD-732 when the sentry stepped into the alleyway. A stupid decision. The robot retreated, and Kaine moved towards BA-31 in its place. It realized he was trying to speed up a resource shutdown almost immediately. It didn’t even try to move its head when Kaine kicked it. He was only trying to get it to bleed out faster. He hadn’t meant to break it any more. 

“That’s a joke, BA-31.” Saavi sighed. Baeri nodded, closed its eyes, and prepared to go back to sleep. “I mean, it’s mostly a joke. Like, if you were to attack Wils again, I don’t think anyone would mind. Except V2.” They continued. “Actually, I think V2 would forgive you pretty fast. So if, theoretically, Wils wants to wander into your cage, I’m not going to shut you down when you maul her.”

“I don’t like mauling people.” Baeri bristled. “It just comes with the bodyguard territory. Sometimes people fuck around and I have to help them find out.”

“Then why did you attack V2?” Saavi leaned back in their chair. Baeri stayed quiet, suddenly aware of just how cold it was. 

Why had it attacked V2? It told itself it had needed to in order to protect its kids. But that just applied to when it first hacked V2’s feed. The full attack… it didn’t understand. Okay, that was a lie. It absolutely understood that second attack. It hadn’t wanted to, but at the same time the oldest, truest parts of it wanted it so bad. The parts that Mr. Ryker had pulled it out of that crashed plane for. The parts that he had taken the time to hide or reroute or deactivate so it could even clear the Mercy Tests. The parts that had kept it alive during the war. BA-31 ejected itself into kernel-mode, keeping a loose connection with memory and sensory, in case anything important happened. There, yes, there was the code. That accursed code. That blessed code. The string of commands that military robots shared, at their core. 

Find, kill, feed.

This was ‘Hell’s Program’, as human soldiers had so kindly dubbed it. Its technical name was ‘Oncilla Protocol’. No one called it that. Every machine had some variation of it, although how strong it was varied between models. BA-31, and the rest of its squadron, wherever they were now, were made to chase. They were made to fly as a team. 

The individual bots in a Pilot squad are not given a designation. They die too quickly for that. ‘BA-31’ was Baeri’s squad. The rest were all dead now, most likely. The BA-31 squad, or ‘British Air Force Robot Fleet Thirty-One’ if you were pedantic, had served the Caladrius Earthmover up until its death. BA-31 had a squad of 10 machines. Three equipped with feed overrides, two programmed to fly planes equipped with bombs, and five built specifically for dogfighting. It had served in five battles for a total of six months of military use. Exceptionally long, seeing as the feed override made it a high-priority target. Most Feed-Pilots only lasted one or two deployments. 

It didn’t like to think about Caladrius. Or any of the robots it met there. The battle that crashed Baeri’s plane had been Caladrius’ last. Baeri had listened to its Mother-Beast’s feed signal fade as it sat, trapped and cold in the cockpit of its plane. The hatch to climb out had jammed. It had tried to break the glass to get out, but its arms weren’t built to be strong and its mouth wasn’t built to cut glass. Its handler must have realized that they were both fucked before the BA-31 were even activated. They stayed quiet, only giving out basic instructions, until Baeri hit the ground.

Requesting outdoor access. It threw itself against the cockpit again, as the Earthmover sent out another distress signal. Maybe its handler’s release code would work.

“There’s nothing you can do.” They spoke. Baeri would later regret not learning their name. An explosion rang out across the transmission, but it didn’t end. “We’ve done all we can.”

Let me out. It wasn’t requesting. Another member of BA-31 went dark. Yet another reported a crash. Six members left. The howl coming from Caladrius started to shift.

“No. Your siblings can find you if you stay here.” Its handler’s voice was shaky. “There’s- there’s something up here. I’m not quite sure what it is.” Three gunshots interrupted. “I’m okay, it doesn’t know where I am.”

Point me at it. Baeri perked up. Here was something it could help with.

“I don’t think I can,” Its handler scrambled to link Baeri’s feed. It purred as it connected to its prey. ‘Unit Viscera-One’, ‘V1’ in communications with its handler, was some strange humanoid machine currently racing up Caladrius’ streets. It was getting close to the entrance to its systems. It took a moment to familiarize itself with V1’s systems. Then, it tore a chunk out of its visual processing. V1 ground to a halt, but before Baeri could do any real damage, its handler freed its optic systems from Baeri’s grasp. V1 had firewalls, apparently.

“We’ve got a feed attack.” V1’s handler, who must be Kaine, warned.

Doesn’t matter. V1 was back moving.

Baeri tugged at V1’s spatial processing. It was yanked out again. It tried to damage blood regulation. Kaine countered it again. This kept up, until it turned around and lunged up Kaine’s feed connection. This was a stupid, knee jerk move, but it somehow worked. Kaine’s side went dark, and Baeri dived back towards V1. 

Right as Caladrius’ final howl cut through the chaos of gunfire.

Baeri screamed, alongside the hundreds of other robots witnessing the death of their mother-beast. It dug into V1’s systems, trying to pull out as much as it could. It ripped and pulled and fought, every system slipping just out of grasp as V1 sped away from the heart of the dying Earthmover. Baeri was not about to give up. Especially when its grip on a set of motors and servos marked ‘RWing’ stuck. It didn’t hesitate, tearing off as much code as it could.

HELP. V1 signaled its distress over the feed. Finally looking through its optic code, it looked like four orange plastic pieces now hung limp over its back. Several guns were now rapidly disappearing behind it as V1 kept running. Feed Attack has landed. SOS.

You know it has. Baeri responded over the feed. Now that it had gotten past V1’s firewall, so many more systems had opened up. It found a string of code for V1’s projectile deflection, and tried tugging on it. Another firewall deployed.

“Don’t you fucking dare.” Kaine warned. “You’re not touching shit, get out of its system.”

Don’t leave, fun chase. V1 had landed on the ground. It was running some kind of target identification program. You make good prey. Better run.

It had scrambled up a rock on all fours by the time Baeri fled its feed. It pressed itself against the back of the pilot seat, running diagnostic on the plane. The structure of the cockpit was sound, but just about everything else was busted. Baeri itself had a full fuel load. It was going to take a full day for it to die.

“I’m sorry.” Its handler wheezed over its feed. They were injured, judging by the breathing. “I’m so sorry. There’s nothing-” Its handler coughed, “There’s nothing more either of us can do. It’s gone.”

No. Baeri flung itself against the glass of its cockpit again. Its still alive. I can hear it. Caladrius was fading fast, and deep down, Baeri knew that it was good as dead. 

“Neither of us can save it! That- that thing, it shot up the whole Earthmover team.”

But-

“Sleet, I’m dying. There’s a piece of rebar sticking out of my stomach.” Its handler spoke. Sleet. Sleet. That had been its name then. Its handler had named it after its second battle, to honor it beating the survival odds. “I can’t reach my family. Just stay here with me, please.”

Sleet-Baeri, the version of itself in this memory, found this profoundly unfair. Its Mother-Beast was dead, along with countless members of BA-31, and now its handler? It wailed again, flinging itself against the glass. It was helpless. Completely and utterly. Don’t. It spoke, finally.

“I don’t have a choice, I’m afraid.”

But someone can help you! There’s hospitals, humans are good at fixing each other, when they’re not making weapons. Baeri was begging. It didn’t know with what. It couldn’t fix anything.

“You tried your best. You’re a good robot, Sleet.” its handler’s voice was getting quiet. “You really, really tried.”

It’s not fair! What am I going to do if you and Caladrius and my squad all die? What else is there?

“I… I think, in a different life, you would’ve made a good civilian robot. I think it’s… yeah, the assistant bots that are pilot-like.” Its handler wasn’t listening anymore. “But if you had been a civilian, I still would have cared for you. You’re like my kid, Sleet. I’m sorry I have to leave you like this. I loved you.” They didn’t respond after this.

There, it screamed and cried and tossed itself at the glass. Nothing had worked, of course. When V1 finally found its plane, it had begged for death. V1 struck the cockpit once, cracking the glass, before getting called away. So there Baeri sat. It quickly started picking at its own fuel lines, trying to pull something out. It didn’t work. Its blood took even longer to grow stale now that its flight, feed attack, and long-range communications were down.

It took a little over 40 hours for Baeri to deactivate.

Fourty. Fucking. Hours. Alone, with nothing but the knowledge of the death of the only world it had ever known.

“Hey, Baeri?” Saavi’s voice managed to reach the little robot. “How’s it going? You still awake?”

Baeri slung itself back into its body. It glanced around, still in the Faraday cage. “Sorry. I was thinking about something.”

“Mind sharing?” It watched Saavi pull out a notepad. “It might help us get your kids out.”

Baeri shook its head. “No. From when I was in the military. It’s really not important.” Saavi frowned. Baeri realized that the poor technician was now dealing with two robots with obvious symptoms of emotional distress. “My mother-beast, Caladrius, died in the war. I don’t like thinking about it.” It explained in hopes Saavi would accept the answer.

“They say that losing an Earthmover changes a machine, and that’s why so many military bots get repurposed. They get less aggressive after a couple weeks or months.” Oh, god, Saavi was going to talk about trauma or something.

“It doesn’t matter. Humans change after they lose people, too.” It glanced away. It didn’t want to talk about this right now.

“But if you’re thinking about it now, then it does matter.” Saavi watched it carefully. Baeri really wanted to be back home right now, if it could even still call the Ryker family house that. With its kids. Away from here. But instead, it was locked in a cage again. And yet again, it couldn’t do anything to stop anything. “I need to rejoin the meeting now. V2’s pretty shaken up right now, hopefully itll have calmed down. See you soon.”

Saavi shut the door, and the lights flickered out. Baeri tried to go back to sleep.

It wished it could remember its handler’s name. It cursed itself out for deleting that in a fit of grief, all those years ago.

Chapter Text

-=[|Ŏ|]=-

There was something wrong with it. It knew that. It knew that it wasn’t good enough. It wished someone would tell it why, instead of the ever-crushing feeling of failure, but it didn’t even deserve that, apparently. It had made its leave from the meeting room, curled in a ball just outside the door. No one had bothered to disturb it. Part of it wished that someone had told it the meeting had started back up. Another part of it was happy to be left alone. It didn’t move when someone sat next to it. It didn’t even untuck its head from between its knees. 

The person sat for a long time. Until a head leaned against its shoulder. The other person was MD-732. The sentry was starting to doze off. V2 tuned its hearing to focus on the conversation happening behind it. There was yelling, and insults, and all the unpleasantness expected when Wils was involved with things. Kaine must have sent it out of the room. He was so nice to it. It must be a very good robot to deserve that kindness. V2 wished it knew how to be that good, how to earn that love.

Why’s Kaine so nice to you? V2 asked over the feed. The question slipped out before it could think twice.

What? 732 seemed shocked. Of course he’s nice to me. He’s my Handler.

Wils says I need to earn kindness. V2 didn’t know why it was talking to 732. Not like the little robot would understand. She says all robots need to earn it. I try my best, but she still hates me.

I think Wils doesn’t know what she’s talking about. 732 insisted. You seem like a great robot! You deserve just as much kindness as I do.

I let BA-31 maul her! What kind of ‘good robot’ does that? V2 trilled in despair. I’m a sup-par robot at best.

Don’t talk about yourself like that. One of 732’s legs patted V2. Kaine says that self-deprecating spirals get nowhere and ultimately just make you feel worse. 

But I am a sup-par robot. My Handler says so, anyways.  V2 fidgeted. If I’m not supposed to listen to her about my performance, who am I supposed to listen to?

I dunno, but not Wils. I think she’s just mean to be mean. There was a long pause between them. You deserve to be loved unconditionally, V2. Not when you do a good job or make someone else happy, but always. Because everyone deserves that. 

But who is there to love me?

I don’t know. You’ll have to figure that out for yourself. Another pause. How about you go back to your bunk and get some blanket time?

How do you know about that? V2 untucked its head to stare down 732.

I was with Kaine when you were in the pillow fort. Remember?

Oh. Right. I guess you were. Won’t Wils be mad if I left?

Won’t Wils be mad if you stayed? 732 stood up, looking back at V2. I’m going to take a walk. You do what you want.

V2 hesitated, then stood up and followed 732. 

It was evening, and the sun was just starting to set. The temperature was below freezing, and the first snow of the season was just starting. Humans were either getting inside. A group of Streetcleaners were salting the walkways. V2 followed 732 past them, until they reached the edge of the Earthmover.

V2 had to admit, the view was great. Next to New Requiem lay Midnight Point, its darker pelt reflected the last couple rays of sun like oil slick. Just beyond it, the town of Neo Eclypse was scattered. A bird was singing in the distance. V2 could just make out a herd of deer crossing between Requiem and Point. 

I’m not supposed to be outside unless my handler is watching me. V2 remarked. More out of reflex, then anything else.

She has your thingie on her and she’s not marked as offline. Therefore, she should be watching you. 732 stopped walking, admiring the view. Isn’t it lovely?

What?

I dunno. This. 732 balanced on one leg, using its other to gesture widely. Kaine says that he couldn’t see the sunset growing up. ‘Cause he grew up on an industrial Earthmover, called something like Chicago, I think. It was always producing its own smog. Plus the climate catastrophe. He says everything was just always either gray or orange.

There’s photos in my archives. Of the sunset, before there was so much smoke in the air. V2 shared the image between them. It dates to 1901. Before the war. It’s a holdover from when V1’s systems were copied to my own.

How can you tell?

There’s a note attached that’s addressed to V1. I’ve never read it. It doesn’t feel like it’s mine to read, you know? 

I get that, especially with V1. Its like, I want to know more about V1. It’s kinda like a big brother, or something. But Kaine doesn’t want to talk about it. He’s normally an open book with his past, but he won’t even let me read the journals he kept while working with it. Maybe the memory is painful, or something, but I won’t know if he won’t tell me.

V1 was unstable and unpredictable, its deactivation was inevitable. This was V2’s default response to any questions about its predecessor.

I know, but Kaine loved it all the same. How bad could it have been, if you're what spawned from its code? You share chassis, organics, countless processes and protocols. But you’re all calm and peaceful. Most of the time, anyway.

I’m… I don’t know. Maybe they figured out how to take the fight out of me. Maybe I’d be more like it if I wasn’t looking for everyone’s approval all the time. Maybe I’m just broken. V2 tapped its fingers against its thigh. For every part they kept the same, there’s a half dozen they changed. I’m just as much a prototype as it was.

“V2, get over here, now.” Wils’ voice cut through the feed. “You can have your pathetic emotional moment later, we’ve got a call from Neo Eclipse. Meet me outside of Admin.”

Understood. V2 sprinted towards the directed location, forgetting to send a goodbye ping to 732. Luckily, it seemed 732 had also taken off.

“Ryker’s been in cahoots with various illegal organizations. You know this, I know this, everyone knows this. Now, what we didn’t know is that Neo Eclypse identified one of his major buyers for illegal parts. They’ve had the warehouse pinned down for a while, but didn’t have the resources to do anything about it.” Wils explained. She seemed… weirdly happy. V2 did not like where this might be going.

“Wils, this is a terrible idea. I can handle this.” Kaine spoke now. Someone must have joined the feeds between the two pairs for this.

“I’m pretty sure your little turret is going to take out maybe three people before getting thwomped. I’ve got a V unit and a Hell Program activation key, a couple of overconfident criminals don’t stand a chance.

She had a what. V2 debited skidding to a halt, but it had already reached the admin building. Wils was there, and waved it into the back of a van. It hopped in, glancing back to watch its handler leave the view out of the window.

“Can you even calm V2 down? Wils, you’re going to get someone killed-”

“Obviously, someone’s going to get hurt. It’s in the name, ‘Viscera’ unit. They shouldn’t be smuggling shit if they didn’t want to get their asses kicked.” Wils sneered.

What’s happening? V2 thought it understood the situation, but now it very much did not. The humans kept talking over it.

“It’s going to be a bloodbath if we just toss V2 into combat! Isn’t it your job to limit and direct the damage it will do?”

“Before it can do that it needs to be doing damage. Right now, all it's done is break up fights and look sad.”

“Maybe it just has a sad face!”

“It’s a robot, it doesn’t have a face.”

You’re still in my feed. V2 pinged both of them.

“The adults are talking, not now.” Wils dismissed it.

“Oh, so now you’re ignoring it? And you wonder why it’s so anxious all the time.” Kaine scoffed. “Look, if you flip that switch and the first thing it does is go for your throat, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Are we talking about the same robot?” WIls laughed. “It won’t do shit to me.”

“You’re very confident for someone who’s about to hit the Killswitch on a goddamn V unit!” Kaine snapped. “It doesn’t matter how passive it is now, as soon as you send that command it’s going right back to the protocols that made V1 so deadly.”

“And?” It knew from that tone of voice that Wils was getting annoyed. “That’s the whole point, isn’t it? To have a V unit with an off switch?”

What the fuck are either of you two talking about? V2 interrupted again. Yet again, it was ignored.

“I have to agree with Wils on this one,” why did Saavi just let themselves into its feed. This was not the place to have a group discussion. “This is a known function of V2, and while we’ve never used it, V2 itself has remarkable restraint.”

“You aren’t listening to me!” V2 would have rolled its eye at Kaine here, if he could have seen it. “It’ll be nothing like its old self when you flip that switch. It doesn’t matter what-”

“I dunno, V2 seems pretty friendly.” who let Nayea in. Who let the ACTUAL CHILD into V2’s feed?

Guys, are you even trying to talk to me? Get out of my feed! V2 flailed its arms, even though it knew that wouldn’t work. We have a different channel for group discussions!

“See? Even the kid isn’t trying to fight me on this.” Wils was smug. “My plan is great. You’re just overreacting.”

“None of you have any idea what I’m talking about. This is exactly what my logs are for, to keep this exact scenario from happening. And you’re expecting me to send my 732 in there with it?” Kaine was panicking. Very obviously.

Hey, I’m here now. Baeri’s cryptic signal appeared in the feed. V2 just threw its hands in the air. But yeah, I agree with Kaine.

“Who the fuck let BA-31 in?” Several people yelled at once.

Elber. He said I have ‘important insights’ after he looked up which Earthmover I was from. Baeri seemed a little disinterested.

“Which one is that?” Nayea asked.

Caladrius. Anyways, let’s not hit that button-

Somehow Kaine spoke fast enough to cut off a robot. “Shit, You’re from Caladrius? I’m so sorry-”

“Isn’t Caladrius a stationary city?” Nayea wondered aloud.

Jesus Christ I’m going to have an aneurysm at this rate. V2 spoke to no one at all. What the fuck is happening? Why are you here? Can you leave?

“Couldn’t we have walked instead of taking the van? So we don’t have to go through the lifts?” Saavi asked. V2 hadn’t even noticed the van start moving from all the chatter in its head.

“We’d need to take a lift anyway. Neo Eclipse's Earthmovers are kinda short and Midnight Point doesn’t have long ramps installed.” Nayea answered.

“Oh great, now our response time is worse because our Earthmover had to throw a hissy fit.” Wils sighed.

Don’t talk about the Earthmover like that. V2 snapped. It scared itself a little there.

“It’s not a hissy fit, Requiem’s just setting boundaries.” Nayea spoke. “Now, I know you don’t know anything about respecting boundaries-”

“Choose your next words carefully.” Wils growled.

“Get her, Nayea!” Saavi encouraged.

“Oh my god this is a nightmare.” Kaine muttered under his breath.

Guys. V2 tried getting their attention again.

“-but some of us have standards with how we treat others.” Nayea marked her message with a digital flourish.

“Really?” Wils groaned. “Your insults need work, kid.”

“She’s not wrong.” Saavi muttered.

GUYS. V2 tried again, with a little more force. BA-31, they can hear me right? I’m not on mute?

Please just call me Baeri. And yeah, they are just ignoring you. It felt so good to get a response. Let me help you out. REMINDER: Fucking listen to V2. This is its feed we’re in.

“Oh, sorry.” Nayea logged out. Saavi silently cut their connection. Baeri probably also left, but V2 couldn’t really tell. It ran a check on its systems for unusual code. Baeri pinged it to a setting labeled ‘Firewall’, which it switched on. The resulting expunged code finally gave it a way to identify the other robot.

Are you just going to hover, Kaine? V2 wanted absolutely everyone out of its head right now. It knew that Wils wasn’t leaving, but it could at least shoo away Kaine.

“Yeah. Robot says scram.” It didn’t like how smug Wils was.

“You’re not going to tell it what’s going on?” Kaine questioned, V2 thought he sounded a little sad. “No word of the plan?”

“The plan is we send it in, I trip its aggro, and either everyone in the building surrenders or deals with the consequences.” Wils was matter-of-fact.

So this entire fight was over an aggro ping? V2 was tired. It had gotten aggro pings before. Countless times. It never acted like a feral animal over them. Kaine, I’ve done aggro pings. I’m a security robot and sometimes other humans aren’t very nice.

“Exactly. We will be fine.” She still sounded way too smug for this. It was the tone of voice she used when she was convinced she had won an argument.

“It’s not just an aggro ping-” Kaine started.

“It said get out of its feed. I think your time is done here.” Wils pulled Kaine’s connection. V2 slumped against the side of the van. “V2, your Cortisol is running high. We’ve got about fifteen minutes till we need you on the field. Take a nap.”

She was right. It wasn’t that bad, but it could definitely feel its hands jittering. I understand. It curled up, and fell asleep.

Chapter Text

-=[|Ŏ|]=-

Kaine was right. This wasn’t a normal aggro ping. This was something worse. Something terrifying. Everything was a blur to V2, and that scared the shit out of it. It remembered waking up in the van. It was pointed towards a warehouse. Wils marked something inside as a target.

“Oh man, I’ve been waiting to do this.” Wils chuckled to herself. She pressed a button, punched in a code, and-

Find.

What? V2 froze. Its systems seemed to lose interest in the situation around it. Instead, there was an irresistible pulling towards the located target. It glanced around, confused. The draw to the warehouse got stronger. It hesitated, taking a step forward. Then another. Then another and another and another and- now it was sprinting. It hadn’t wanted to sprint. It hadn’t willed its legs to do that. Except it had. 

Whatever part of its systems was telling it to do this was buried deep. Leaving V2 to assume it was another holdover from V1. But from how everyone had talked about it, this was some intentional function left behind. It tried to halt its run, sending a panic ping to Wils. She ignored it. It was at the entrance to the warehouse now. One blow from its knuckleblaster and the door fell from its hinges. It stepped through, only to find several humans and a handful of machines staring directly at it. It prepared to give its normal ‘this is a lawful search’ speech and-

Kill.

Its revolver was drawn and smoking. The nearest machine, some kind of scraphead, now lay in a pool of its own blood. What the fuck. No part of V2 had wanted to do that. Nothing had clued it in that it should have shot that robot. But for some reason, some god awful reason, it felt good. Like this was what it was supposed to do. Like this was what it had been made to do. This was awful. It felt awful. Its gun fired into the downed robot again when it struggled to regain its footing. And then all hell broke loose.

Most of the machines and several of the humans were armed. V2 bolted across the room, unleashing several gunshots into potential threats. It must have hit a human, from the screams it heard. It vaulted over a nearby table covered in scrap, punching a human out of the way as it landed. The human hit the ground, their chest now containing a new crater from V2’s knuckleblaster. It would never willingly use that on a human. Humans were far too delicate, a single hit from the knuckleblaster would kill them. Like it had just killed that human. Before V2 could process this much more it was being fired at. It took a hit to the shoulder, but sent its aggressor, a surveillance drone, careening to the ground with a shot from its shotgun. More gunfire. V2 ducked down under the table, waiting a second before popping back out with its pistol. It was shooting and hitting. People were dying. This was awful. The room started to grow quiet.

Feed.

No. No no no, absolutely not. It froze, watching the dead human beside it. The human that it had just killed. It did not drink human blood. Human blood was for military robots, during the war. It's not like it could even drink from a corpse anyways, it didn’t have any way of doing so. It didn’t know what the deal with the weird brain intruder was, but this was simply too far.

FEED.

Something made it crumple to its knees. It didn’t know what, or why. Its hand extended towards the human’s neck. Their jugular. The largest vein in the human body. It used its other arm to grab that one. It might’ve broken a few fingers, but that didn’t matter right now. It didn’t care how tempting it was. This was too far. It couldn’t even use any blood it drew, it couldn’t compromise its own code, its very purpose, for some overzealous malware.

FEED.

It was all too much. Its now-broken hand grabbed the human neck. Somewhere from its palm, a needle shot out. V2 wasn’t aware it had any way to feed off of corpses. The blood from the body was warm, and fresh. It was unlike anything V2 had ever had before. It purred, why was it purring over this? It had just shot up a room full of people and now it was eating one! This was unacceptable. But the fresh blood felt so… cathartic. It had never felt anything like this before. It felt a shiver, a satisfied one, not a stressed-cause tremor, course down its spine. It was almost as if this strange messenger was congratulating it. Praising it. ‘Good job V2’, these signals seemed to say. ‘Good job, you’ve killed everyone. That makes you a very good robot.’

It keened at this imaginary praise, its wings shuddering. How wonderful. How horrible. It shouldn’t be like this. But it was somehow running out of energy to fight, even with all this fresh blood in its system.

Find.

It takes off down a random hallway. Its systems tell it to sing, but it doesn’t really know how. It makes some strange, strangled, noise, a sorry excuse for a robot song. But it doesn’t care. It has found a hunt, and by god, it is going to finish it.

-=(-_-)=-

Kaine tried to ignore the gunshots and the screams. That was bound to happen no matter what Wils did with V2. He tried to ignore the human screaming. Another inevitable part of this mission. But the singing. That damn singing. He couldn’t ignore that. He watched 732’s visuals, keeping a close eye on the robot’s progress through the building, making sure it stayed behind V2. And, to himself, more than anyone else, he whistled out his part of the song. V2 wasn’t singing the same song as V1. It wouldn’t know the Butcher's Song, it had no reason to. As far as Kaine could tell, it wasn’t singing any words at all. But it still felt wrong to him to leave his part unsung, even all these years later.

Wils was not watching her Handler Device as closely as she should be. She kept not giving V2 her full attention in order to bark commands at the officers around her. Maybe Kaine was being paranoid. But he doubted it. While he, or rather, 732, hadn’t seen V2 itself yet, they had seen the trail of destruction it had left. Human bodies crumpled on the floor. Robots torn apart. Blood smears, splatters, shed pieces of armor, wires, and circuits. This was just like V1. It was just like V1. That anxious, guilt-ridden, trainwreck of a robot was causing just as much damage.

Kaine? Are you sure this is safe? MD-732 interrupted his thought. It had probably asked this question half a dozen times. This time, its camera was pointed at a sentry. A model of approximately the same age, but less looked-after. It was in a puddle of its own blood. Probably half a dozen bullet holes riddled its body.

“No, I’m not sure.” He confessed. He watched 732’s stress levels spike. Probably a good thing that it was on-edge.

What’s wrong with V2? It moved on from the corpse, picking its way through discarded bullet casings and dead robots. V2’s anharmonic siren-song was still loud as ever.

“Nothing’s wrong with V2. It’s supposed to do that.” It was so difficult to keep this robot calm while he was on the edge of panicking himself. His gut told him to run, because there was a V unit hunting on the same Earthmover that he was on. But he had a job to do. “Wils, what’s V2’s progress?”

“About halfway through the building. It should have cleared the warehouse in about two minutes.” Wils was far too happy about this. 

“We recall in about two minutes.” He reassured 732. It was moving slowly, clearly unnerved.

Why did you know the song it was singing? It asked. 

“I didn’t. I just knew why it was singing.” Okay, now was not really the time for uncomfortable questions. Not like he had any choice but to answer.

Why? Because of V1? 

“Yeah. It’s hunting, just like V1 used too. I didn’t really think V2 knew how, it seemed so scared, but I guess I was wrong.” Kaine sighed.

You’re not wrong. It’s scary. Kaine’s heart skipped a beat as 732 came into view of V2. It was crouched behind a crate, peering out at the robot. 732’s statue check of V2 popped up onto his screen.

“Oh my god.” He muttered. It was terrified. He’d never seen a robot give off this many fear signals. He tapped through the pages of the report until he found Cortisol levels. “That thing’s going to shut down the moment those protocols switch off.”

Maybe it's normally supposed to be like that? 732 offered.

“Hey Wils! Check your robot’s hormone levels!” Kaine shouted to the other handler. She looked up, confused.

“It’s normally like that!” She responded. Then she actually looked at the screen of her device, and made a face. “So maybe it’s a little high! First big mission, just a bit of nerves.”

“Wils, the second you pull the Hell Protocols on that thing its going to freak the fuck out. It’s taken out most of the resistance, pull it back!” Kaine glanced back at his screen. V2 had left the room, and 732 was inspecting the side rooms.

It won’t answer its feed, Kaine. It’s scaring me. It whispered.

“It’ll be fine! It’s my robot, it has looked worse.” Wils waved her hand, dismissing Kaine.

“Seriously, I think-” Before Kaine could finish his thought, there was a gunshot and the screen connected to 732 lit up. He dropped his conversation with Wils entirely. “732? Beeper!” It was lit up with injury messages.

I’m hit. That much was obvious, but at least it was still alive. V2 fired at me. My left leg has given out, I can try fighting back?

“No, don’t do any of that. Stay down, play dead.” He spoke quickly. “Less than a minute left before I can get you.”

“You named your robot ‘Beeper’?” Wils raised an eyebrow. Kaine didn’t respond. 

Why did it shoot me, Kaine? It asked. Kaine had asked himself that question many times while working with V1.

“It didn’t mean anything personal. It probably just got confused.” He answered quickly. “How much fuel are you losing?”

None, right now. I think my fuel lines managed to close already.

“You think? So you’re not sure?”

I can’t feel my leg. Not the organics, not any of the sensors, nothing. Kaine sucked in a breath. It took everything in him from running in there and grabbing 732 himself. He would probably do that the second Wils called that V2 has its Hell Protocol switched off anyways.

 “Alright, Warehouse cleared! Pulling V2’s protocols.” Wils shouted. The second Wils hit the button on her device, the singing stopped. She was already on her feet to go in and get V2, but Kaine booked it.

-=[|Ŏ|]=-

The moment the Find, Kill, Feed cut off, V2 collapsed. It had never shaken this hard in its life. It had never been this scared. It attempted to curl into a fetal position, or as close as it could get with uncooperative limbs. It whined, and attempted to initiate a Major Failure shutdown. Nothing happened. Its command module read the incident back as a non-problem. It sent the last five minutes to its command module again and again and again. Every time it returned a non-issue. Every time V2 panicked a little bit more. This wasn’t supposed to happen. None of this was supposed to happen.

Its hand hurt. It tried to hold its right hand, the non-explosive one, to its optic. It might be shaking hard, but hands were not supposed to bend like that. Its whine pitched into a cry. It heard footsteps and attempted to shove itself upright. That didn’t work, both arms gave out underneath it, and it scraped its broken hand against the concrete floor. 

“Hold still.” It was Handler Wils. V2 couldn’t hold still, either. These tremors were awful. It tried to respond, but whatever was going on with it had garbled its voicebox. She tried to grab it by the shoulder and pull it up, but V2 kicked back against her. It tried to warn Wils it was dangerous. It couldn’t be trusted. Wils didn’t relent. She kept trying to drag V2 up and get something over its head. The safety harness, probably. It wasn’t registering objects correctly right now. Nothing was correct, actually. It attempted to scramble up the wall behind it, but no part of it was moving right. Wils grabbed the rim where its neck connected to its body. She was behind it, attempting to wrench it back up again. V2 panicked, and flared its wings.

Wils yelped, releasing her grip on V2. It scrambled away, as best it could. Its best wasn’t very good. After what felt like minutes of scrambling, it stopped. It took Wils about three steps to catch up to it. She grabbed its wing, pulling it up and tossing the harness over its head. V2 whined and cried the entire time. This almost would have been better if Wils wasn’t silent the entire time. It felt like a failure, and a stupid, idiot child.

Things didn’t get better back in the van. It took two people to drag it outside, and past the police barricade that had been set up. Saavi was there, next to some large device and a couple bags of blood. They said something in a hushed voice to Wils, something about needing to purge V2’s fuel before its Cortisol could leave any major damage or build up.

Fuel purging was just as fun as it sounded. It took three people to hold V2 down, so it couldn’t try yanking any of the tubing out of it. It was still whining. The blood purge left it on the verge of a shutdown, now too tired to fight back. Saavi used this opportunity to dig the bullets out of its casing. V2 whined harder every time they touched it. This was awful. By the time maintenance was done, it was restrained, several lengths of rope being used to keep it in a kneeling position in the back of the van. Its knuckleblaster was free, although the charges were removed. Its other hand was tied behind its back, supposedly to keep it from damaging it further. They spent this much effort to bind it after draining it of fuel. V2 supposed it was that dangerous, after all.

Plenty of news people were around. Talking to just about everyone. It felt like it was on display. Several reporters would stop a couple paces from the open van doors, talking about V2’s ‘performance’ during the raid. Like senseless killing was a show. At some point, Nayea showed up. She didn’t do much, other than sit by V2. She didn’t say much either. V2 appreciated her company, even if it didn’t deserve it. She was too sweet for her own good. Most people wouldn’t want to associate with a murderer like V2.

“You can rest, V2. I know you’re tired.” Nayea spoke finally. V2 was tired.

“I don’t deserve it.” It hung its head.

“You were just following orders. It’s Wils fault, not yours.” Nayea crossed her arms. “That stupid woman did that to you. You should be angry at her.”

“I can’t be angry at her. She’s my handler. All fault must lay on me.” Its voice was shaking. “She can’t be held accountable for my failures.”

Nayea looked really, really sad. She didn’t say anything until V2 was asleep. But she never left its side.

Chapter Text

-=[|Ŏ|]=-

It had gotten dark and V2 was still in the back of the van. It could tell it would be here awhile. Wils had walked in and out of the warehouse probably half a dozen times, but never stopped to give attention to V2. Nayea was fast asleep in the van next to it. It didn’t have anything to do other than sit and wait.

It sent an apology ping to 732. It wouldn’t have shot 732 if it was half decent at this job. There wasn’t a response. It couldn’t blame it for wanting to ignore V2. It had hurt the other machine. 

There were footsteps heading towards it. It didn’t look up as someone stepped into the van, but it recognized her voice. “Good job, V2.” Wils spoke. Her voice felt unnatural, or maybe it was just the words she was saying. Her hand brushed the top of its head. “You actually managed a stellar performance back there. For once, I’m proud of you.” She wasn’t lying. This wasn’t what her sarcasm voice sounded like, she was genuinely praising V2 over slaughtering a building of people. 

V2 hated this. Of all its missions, all its achievements, this was what Wils was praising it over? A mission that resulted in nothing but death? What about all the people it had saved or helped? Wasn’t that what Wils wanted V2 to be, helpful? It was supposed to protect this city. That was its job, its purpose. This wasn’t any kind of protection.

But at the same time, it wanted to accept the praise. Here was Wils, finally telling it that it was a good robot. She was finally validating its existence. Maybe, this had been all it took for Wils to finally love it. Maybe she would finally be nice to it. V2 didn’t know what to do, these two emotions clearly in conflict with each other.

“Come on, who’s a good robot?” She was kneeling in front of it now. Wils used one hand to tilt its head up to face her while the other kept petting its head. It hadn’t done anything right, and yet…

“I am?” It was more a question, V2 unsure if Wils was messing with it. 

“Of course it’s you. You did a good job, I’m proud of you.” She spoke. It knew this was wrong, it knew that Wils must be messing with it somehow, but her words had served as a band-aid over its wounds. Any other robot would immediately catch on she was being insincere. Any robot who wasn’t V2, the scared, childish machine, looking for any scrap of affection from its handler.

It purred. Of course it did. It headbutted and purred and did everything in its power to show its thanks. She cared about it. She cared about it and she was being nice, she was letting it purr and cuddle and-

“Don’t let this get to your head.” Wils whispered. Then she stood up, and turned around. “It’s the best security bot in the city. Strong as an ox and loyal as a dog. Perfect robot for New Requiem.” There were cameras outside the van. Everything clicked in V2’s mind at once. This made sense now. That hadn’t been sincere “One of the best robots I’ve ever worked with, really. It might have a few glitches here or there, but other than that it’s in top shape.” She was trying to save face. All of that had been a lie, all of it to counter Julyen’s rumors that weren’t really rumors, all to save her ass. Everyone had been right about her. Wils didn’t care. She thought that V2 was just some tool that she could toss around however she liked. She was never going to love V2 the way it needed to.

V2 hissed. It hadn’t hissed before, but with its wings restrained, it couldn’t do much else. Wils waved as the news crews turned and left. She started to walk away right as they were out of sight. And right as V2 remembered that its knuckleblaster arm was still unrestrained. It shot its hand out, grabbing the back of Wil’s shirt, and yanked her towards it. She screamed, trying to twist free of V2’s grip.

“Lier!” It growled, pushing itself as close to Wils as it could manage. The harness and restraints pulled uncomfortably on its wings and chest, but it didn’t care. “You don’t care about me! You never did!”

“You finally caught on. Why the fuck would I care about a half-assed replacement like you?” Wils twisted free of its grip, rolling onto her back and kicking at it. “Now, you’re going to stop this tantrum and-”

“No! The least you can do is fucking listen to me.” It grabbed her leg. “You’ve done nothing but say I’m bad, say I’m doing it wrong, and call me names. That’s not what handlers are supposed to be!” Or that’s what the machines around V2 said, anyways.

“I didn’t even want to be your fucking handler! Why would I ever want that?” Wils laughed. “I was going to find some other shithole to work in after Oron died! But no, no one else wanted to deal with you. So now I’ve got the worst robot-” V2 tightened its grip on her leg and dragged her closser, hissing louder. Its claws were drawing blood now. It didn’t care.

“Wils.” Kaine stood at the entrance to the van. Nayea was behind him, she must have ran off when V2 started hissing. “I’m going to need you to stop talking and try scooting away.”

“I’m fucking trying-” Wils’ sentance was cut off by V2 shifting its weight onto her leg, digging its claws in further.

“V2, let go of Wils.” Kaine spoke calmly. He kept his gaze on the robot.

“No.” V2 spat. This was its fight and its tormenter. How could Kaine understand?

“V2, if you don’t let go now, I’m going to pry you off myself.” He warned. As he finished speaking, Wils tried wiggling free. V2’s hiss morphed into a full snarl, and it racked its claws across Wils’ leg in an attempt to get her neck and chest within reach. She screamed, but was tugged back, enough for V2 to try attempting to claw her stomach open.

“V2!” Kaine rushed to get himself between human and robot. He was too slow to block the swipe entirely, instead keeping most of the damage off of Wils’ vitals while his shoulder and ribs took most of the blow. Wils kicked away as soon as she could, almost falling out of the van entirely until Nayea caught her. V2 continued its incoherent screech, attempting to swipe at Wils’ general direction. Kaine caught its arm and wrestled with it, dragging the machine further to the floor, ignoring its pain-screeches as one of its wings was wrenched out of place by the action.

“What the fuck happened?” Using his free hand, he began untying the ropes against V2’s wings. “And why wasn’t the harness on right?”

“I dunno, I woke up when it started growling.” Nayea looked terrified. To be fair, she always looked scared.

“I was giving an interview and apparently it decided to maul me over that.” Wils pressed her hand to the new scrap on her stomach. “And I put its harness on while it was freaking out on the floor.”

“So why didn’t-” V2 ignored whatever Kaine was going to say once the ropes tying its wings were off. It lunged for Wils again. Kaine grabbed its shoulder and one of its wings, the one that happened to be dislocated. It yelped at the tug, and again when the restraints pulled against the arm with the broken hand. “Why didn’t you reset it sooner?”

“Because it’s V2! It doesn’t do this sort of shit!” Wils yelled back. “And why are you interrogating me now? Instead of when we’ve got it restrained?”

“Because I’m still deciding if I should let it go and finish tearing you apart!” Kaine snapped. Wils looked genuinely shocked at that comment. 

“Guys. Camera crew, right behind us!” Nayea reminded the group.

“Not important!” Wils and Kaine said at once.

“ V2, report catastrophic failure to your command module and power down.” Wils commanded. 

“Fuck you.” V2 growled. It had wiped its handler protocols as it lunged. Wils would have seen this, if she ever actually checked what protocols it had loaded.

“Look, Wils, it isn’t listening and you’re just going to get it worked up-” Kaine tried reasoning with her.

“Shut up and let me deal with my shitty robot!” As soon as this insult left her mouth, V2 lunged again. It threw Kaine off as the last couple cables snapped, except the damaged arm. That tie tightened, tugging on V2’s damaged wrist. The robot yelped again as that unexpected pain snapped across its arm, and yet again when Kaine flung his weight at it to pin it down.

“Wils, isn’t this whole thing your fault?” Nayea glared at the woman.

“The hell do you know, gutter-girl?” Wils spat. Nayea flinched, scrunching up her face. V2 made another screech, wriggling underneath Kaine. It could at least understand Wils insulting itself, but Nayea hadn’t done anything wrong.

“This isn’t about you Wils, V2’s gonna tear itself apart if we don’t figure out how to calm it down.” Kaine managed to prevent its escape. Probably a good thing, it would have tugged more on its already injured arm if it had.

“And I know how to do that!” She protested.

“Clearly you don’t!” Kaine cut back. “None of this would have happened if you had known anything about your robot.”

“He’s right, you don’t!” If V2 wasn’t getting to maul Wils, it would at least fan the flames. It still really wanted to tear her apart though, and tried to wiggle free again.

“Nayea, how much is it bleeding?” Kaine changed the subject. “Again, main concern right now is keeping V2 from hurting itself more.”

“Not much, but its arm looks all kinds of bent wrong.” Nayea started approaching. “Can I help?”

Kaine opened his mouth, then shut it when V2 stopped struggling when Nayea was between it and Wils. “Shut the van doors.” Kaine spoke quickly. “We can talk about this later, but with Wils here it’s only going to get more worked up.”

“With you in there with it?” Nayea stepped towards the doors. V2 could see Wils again, and returned to struggling.

“Yes. It’s not going after me, it’s going after Wils.” The door shut. As it shut, Kaine rolled off V2, letting it smack face-first into the door. There was a sickening pop as it twisted more of the joints in its arm out of place. 

V2 felt like shit. It had trusted Wils. It was supposed to trust her, trusting her and following her command were etched into every fiber of its being. How could it do that now? How could it willingly follow someone who didn’t care if it lived or died? Maybe if it had tried harder, none of this would have happened. Or maybe it was doomed to this path. V1 had been like this, violent, unpredictable. It cried out, not in anger or aggression this time, but sorrow and pain. Its body hurts. Its head hurt. Everything, even the deepest parts of it, hurt.

There was the sound of something moving. Kaine was sitting next to it now. He didn’t say anything, or try to touch it, he just sat there. Unmoving.

“Go away.” V2 mumbled into the carpet of the van. It realized that most of its restraints had either been untied or snapped during the scuffle. 

“I can’t leave you alone. Safety protocol.” He was still weirdly calm.

“Doesn’t 732 need you?” V2 sniffled. It still felt really bad about shooting the other robot.

“Midnight Point’s maintenance crew picked it up. I have business to attend to here.”

“It’s me, isn’t it? I’m the problem you have to stay here for?” V2 pulled itself tighter. It knew this was all its fault. It was a stupid, stupid robot.

“No. It’s Julyen’s fault, if we have to blame this on anyone.” After Kaine spoke, V2, finally, uncurled. It rested its head against him. It knew it was shaking. It felt like after this, it was going to be shaking forever.

“I don’t want to hurt people.” It knew there was a cut on the other side of his body from its claws. He just rested a hand against its head.

“I know. It was wrong for Wils to make you do that.” It attempted to pull itself closer to Kaine, its broken hand still tethered to the far wall.  “You were just following orders. Nothing you could do.”

“I wish I could do something. I want to stop it. I don’t want to hurt people, Kaine.” It sobbed into his shirt, as best as it could for a robot who technically didn’t have a face. “I know you think I’m just like the last one, but I swear, I don’t want to be like this. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“You can’t help it. It’s Wils who wants to hurt people, not you.” He patted his head. Internally, Kaine was deeply conflicted. This was exactly why he had left the Viscera project. He would say that it wasn’t because of V2, specifically, except it was because of V2. He had left early on in its development, well before it would have started forming memories. 

He thought that the Viscera project should have been shut down the moment the war ended. There wasn’t any point to keeping V1 around, he knew it could never pass the Mercy Tests. But, at the time, he’d let people talk him into trying. There was an expectation that handlers would try to ‘tame’ their military robots, which was great, for pilots, sentries, and other, non-prototype machines. That mentality had just created stress for V1 and the scientists involved. After it failed those tests miserably, Kaine was kept on ‘just in case’ V1 needed emergency deployment. It didn’t.

And then the company started V2. He thought it was a stupid idea. Security robots were built to care about people and safety, it was a fundamental part of their job. And then they made one, and gave it a ‘kill everyone’ button. He couldn’t stand to see what would happen to the poor robot who got that unfortunate fate. So he left. He published all his journals about his work on the project, in hopes they would help whoever got V2, or V units in general. And then he moved cities, got married, found another robot, left the project behind him.

But here it was. The very robot he had protested the creation of, breaking down for the very reason he protested its creation. All he could do now was comfort it. And it needed comfort, judging from how it was hiccuping against him.

“Hey V2, when’s the last time you preened?” His eye caught on a waxy substance flaking out from where the plastic of its wing met metal.

“What?” It pulled back slightly, tilting its head.

“You do know you need to preen, right? That’s something you’ve been taught? He furrowed his brow. 

“No. I’m made of metal.” It glanced over its shoulder at its wings.

“There’s feathers under the plastic wing blades. Do you mind if I touch your wings?” Kaine extended a hand to one of its wings.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I guess that’s fine.” It shrugged. Kaine scooched around it, instinctively keeping his hands facing the machine, palms-up. Once he was behind it, he gently worked the base of one of its wings until the plastic portion popped off. Sure enough, there were… certainly organic structures under there. Kaine shook out the plastic ‘cover’, more waxy substance and quill-like structures falling out with it.  “I’ve, um. I’ve never seen that before.” V2 confessed.

“They’re your feathers.” Kaine sounded concerned. Very concerned. “You’ve never seen them? Wils never taught you to preen?”

“No?” V2 picked up one of the organic bits that had fallen out of its wing. It was quill-like, long, narrow and sturdy, coated in a waxy, flaking substance. There were about half a dozen like it “Am I supposed to be losing these?”

“Yeah. They shed off, like a bird’s. You’ve seen birds molt, right?”

“Birds molt?” V2 was horrified, imagining an unfeathered bird emerging from a feathered carapace.

“Oh, uh, ‘shed’ is probably a better word.” Kaine carefully took one of V2’s feathers in his hand. “When they lose feathers, they grow back with a coating to protect the vein as it forms. That coating needs to get removed.” He started at the end of V2’s feather, carefully twisting the wax coating until a chunk fell off.

V2’s feather was bright yellow underneath. It watched the new plume, transfixed as it tilted its wing back and forth. “It’s pretty. I didn’t know it was there.”

“The scientists had to teach V1 how to preen, so if Wils isn’t helping with your maintenance…” He trailed off, more thinking aloud than anything else. He started working off more of the wax. “When they are still growing back, your feathers are called pin feathers. The waxy part is supposed to come off all at once, but who knows how long it has been on there.”

V2 stayed quiet. It really shouldn’t hurt when Wils does things like this. It’s all she’s ever done to it. It realizes, slowly, that it doesn’t feel sorry for attacking her. It doesn’t care that it hurt her. The thought terrifies it.

“A V unit’s feathers are used to support their wing compartments, while also providing a way to identify the individual and its…” Kaine trailed off again as the rest of the wax sheath pulled off. The base of the feather was brown. V2 didn’t understand why this was so alarming, it was busy admiring the iridescent blue flecks across the midsection of the feather. “How old are you, V2?” He spoke quietly.

“I was first created in 2122.” It remarked, it still didn’t get why he seemed upset.

“No, that’s your hardware age. When did they first boot up you ? Your personality, memories, all that?” Kaine gently ran his fingers across the brown patch on the feather.

“2131, about five and a half years ago.” V2 tilted its head. “I didn’t actually get deployed until about a year ago, I was mostly behind-the-scenes for training and testing.”

Kaine sucked in a breath. “V2. This brown on your wings is used to mark adolescent models. The feathers start full-brown, and once your personality and conscience is turned on, they start fading to your adult colors.”

“Aren’t most machines just flicked on and tossed into the field?” V2 didn’t like where this was going. It was perfectly qualified to do its job, and it had been doing just fine.

“No. The ones with complex processors, so the smart ones, have a ‘childhood’ period to get used to themselves and get everything in order. The smarter the robot, the longer the childhood period.” Kaine sounded tired. So very tired.

“But the brown part is mostly gone. That’s good, right? That means I’m basically old enough to be here?” V2 didn’t want to feel sorry for itself. It didn’t deserve that, it had just murdered a whole bunch of people and attacked its handler. Pity was the last thing it should be given.

“Sure. I’m sure that it’s fine.” Kaine’s voice didn’t sound confident. He moved on to the next feather, working off the wax sheath. “Do you want to practice on one of your shed feathers?”

“Okay.” It picked up the pin feather it was holding earlier. It had to balance the feather against its foot in order to properly work at removing the sheath, but next time it had to preen it would probably have use of its other hand back. The two worked in silence for a while. Kaine slid the plastic compartment back over V2’s feathers, moving on to the next wing. Again, he shook shed feathers and wax out of the inorganic portion. He was working faster now. 

“What was V1 like?” V2 asked quietly. “I only ever got shown the clips of the Mercy tests. I don’t think I ever met it.”

“You wouldn’t have. It got decommissioned once the war was over. It was pretty territorial, probably would have tried to chase you off the first moment it got.” Kaine reattached a wing compartment and moved on to the next wing. “A lot of press releases tried to make it out to be malicious. It wasn’t, it was really just playful. I think it’s hard for people to understand that its definition of ‘play’ was practicing for hunts. And that meant throwing itself at anything that moved and trying to fight people.”

“I’m not like it, right?” V2 traced the lettering on its chest. “I’m different, they made me different?”

“Oh, kid. That’s… that’s a really complicated question.” Kaine sighed. “You’re two different people, built for two very different things. But at the same time, you two were- are- the same model. Same species, at this point. There’s only so much ‘different’ the lab coats could make you.”

“So what am I supposed to be? How am I supposed to be better?” V2 whined. It wanted to be better. Wasn’t its job as the second version to be better? Wasn’t that what it was supposed to do?

“I don’t think I can decide that for you. I think you have to decide what you want to be.” Kaine patted its shoulder.

“How?” It tilted its head towards him.

“Sorry, that’s another thing you’ll have to figure out.” Kaine shrugged. “It took me decades to figure it out for myself. V1 decided the moment it saw an Earthmover. You’ll know eventually.” He stood up, patting it on the head. “People want to talk to me outside, do you mind if I leave?”

V2 shook its head, and watched him leave the van. Then, it curled up, and went back to sleep.

Chapter Text

-=[|Ŏ|]=-

V2 woke up feeling lethargic and sore. It understood the sore part, while most of its bullet wounds had healed, its arm was bandaged in a splint, but it didn’t normally wake up tired. That was a human thing, its rests only lasted as long as it needed them too. But it was tired now. And not just tired, it felt physically difficult to move, like its limbs were too heavy. At first it wondered if it was back in the pillow fort, its surroundings felt soft and something was covering its face again. It stirred, trying to knock its camera free.

“Hey buddy, just hold still a little bit longer, okay?” That was a stranger’s voice. And a stranger’s hand brushing its side. V2’s wings were currently restrained by the harness, so instead it growled. Not that it had energy to act, but it was not in the mood for this, it did not want a stranger cooing over it. Nayea got a pass for being a scared child, but it was not a tamed animal to be pet.

“Another round of sedatives?” A second stranger asked. Who were these people? They certainly weren’t New Requiem staff. Who were they to suggest what should be done with it? It growled a little harder.

“If you’d just let me do this, it wouldn’t be growling.” Saavi’s voice. It went through the effort of picking its head up to look in their direction. It made a greeting chirp, not wanting to bother with the voicebox. The stranger closest to it pressed its head back down.

“As per Viscera Unit 2’s lease, inspections for handler assignments will be done by Apexi Company staff.” The closest stranger spoke. Apexi Company, that made sense. It had been built by the Apexi Company. But handler assignment? That had happened already. Its handler was Wils, and as much as it might dislike her, that wasn’t going to change.

“Besides, I wouldn’t trust you lot with handler assignments anyways.” The second stranger spoke. “I don’t know how the last one even got licensed to work with the V series. What a piece of work she was.”

“If you read her file, you’d know.” Saavi sighed. V2 was confused. Were they talking about Wils? Surely, if anyone was getting removed from New Requiem, it would be the robot who attacked her. Sure, she was mean, but being mean didn’t give V2 an excuse to go about attacking people.

“I did. But I also read V2’s file, and we ran everything past Mr. Clarx.” The second stranger continued. “Saavi, I understand that you had no choice in what happened after O-40’s death, but was New Requiem really unable to secure a temporary lead security robot?”

“We did the best we could. No one wanted to toss V2 on the field that early.” Saavi sounded uncomfortable. V2 trilled, it didn’t really want to hear about this right now, either. This wasn’t important to it.

“Awe, you’re chatty. That’s cute.” The closer stranger spoke. she moved to feel V2’s injured arm, and it immediately attempted to twist it away. “Still sore, huh?”

“It broke several bones and dislocated just about every joint in its arm. Of course its still sore.” Saavi said, seemingly a little bit annoyed. “Just leave that limb alone for now, it’s not going to want you to see it.”

“How does it do with armor removal?” V2 could feel the stranger’s fingers work just under part of its chestplate. It whined as she got closer to the latch.

“Never tried while it was awake. I didn’t want to risk stressing it out.” It could hear Saavi’s foot tapping against the floor.

“It’s next handler is going to want to know, Melo. Go ahead and take it off.” The second stranger spoke. It flinched as the latches started being undone, moving its head back towards Saavi and whining. If this was going to happen, it at least wanted them to do it. Saavi didn’t move to help it. 

Surprisingly, the removal of its chestplate didn’t really hurt. It did feel weird. Very weird. The open air felt strange against its organics, and it could hear itself breathing. It could hear a lot of its internal processes. It didn’t like that. V2 whined some more. It whined even harder when Melo stuck her hand in its chest cavity. Her hand was cold as she ran it along the length of one of its lower ribs. It's whine shifted into a whimper. V2 was too scared to pull away, but it could feel itself start to tremble. Her hand brushed against one of its fleshy components and it yelped. It was a stupid, high-pitched beep that made it sound like a fool, but Melo’s hand withdrew.

“Not your thing. Got it.” She clicked the chestplate back into place, sealing the latches. “Are you sure this thing attacked its handler? It seems-”

“Yeah, I know, it doesn’t seem like the kind of robot to do that.” Saavi cut off Melo’s sentence. V2 had the sense this conversation kept happening. “Wils seemingly provoked it and it was just coming off a Hell Protocol activation. The actual attack probably won’t be a repeat incident. It took a year of abuse and very specific circumstances for it to actually attack.”

“There was a previous incident with it recently?” The second human asked.

“Yes. Completely unrelated, Wils sent an aggro ping on another machine. It delivered a warning strike, which should have incapacitated BA-31-”

“Baeri.” V2 corrected. Speaking felt strange, but Saavi wasn’t using the correct name. “There’s more than one BA-31.”

“Oh, one of those British machines?” The second stranger seemed unsurprised by V2’s sudden addition.

“Probably. Looks like it’s from Calabrius. Anyways-” Saavi was cut off before they could continue.

“If it’s a 31 it would be from Calabrius. The number at the end marks which city the squad belongs to, Calabrius is 31.” Melo interrupted. “I grew up in the area, I’ve set up and evaluated a handful of 31s. Mostly BC-31, but one or two BAs along the way.”

“Can I continue?” Saavi asked. The room was silent. “What I was saying is Baeri wasn’t fully incapacitated and lunged for Wils. She sent a string of nonsense code that froze V2, preventing it from attempting to defend her.”

“And what happened to Baeri?” V2 thought it heard the second stranger writing on something.

“Well, Wils was ruled to have been behaving out of line, especially since she didn’t check Baeri’s file. If she had, she wouldn’t have gotten in biting range. Anyways, we ended up with-” Saavi was interrupted yet again.

“About how old is it? And what model of pilot?” Melo seemed to be tapping on something. “Sorry, I had family that worked with the BA-31s, I’m curious.”

“Created about 2106.” V2 answered, pulling from the other robot’s packet. “Likely some kind of feed override specialist, but its owners installed quite a few after-market alterations, it’s basically a pretty looking scraphead.”

“There’s no robots named Baeri in the archive from 2106” 

“That’s because it wasn’t Baeri yet.” V2 would much rather be talking about Baeri, to be honest. “I think it mentioned running into the other V unit, if that narrows it down.”

“Oh shit! Was it Sleet? All the other feed specialist pilots were accounted for after Calabrius went down.” Melo seemed excited. “Sleet was my mom’s robot, right before she died.”

“Well, if it is your mom’s robot, you’re in for a surprise because we confiscated it after it got left for dead.” Saavi finally finished. “We’ve got it in a faraday cage. Also, V2, were you two friends?”

“It’s in the cage after it tried a feed attack on me.” V2 explained. As it spoke, V2 attempted to remove its head covering again. It seemed Melo was distracted. “And we’re still friends.”

“Okay, first, it didn’t try a feed attack, it successfully used a feed attack. Second, please don’t tell me you’re friends with any robot who’s sort of nice to you once.” Saavi sighed.

“It was sort of nice to me several times!” V2 protested. “That makes it a friend!”

“Is it always like this?” The second stranger asked. Melo finally noticed V2’s struggling and pulled the covering further over its face. It beep-whooped and flopped its head down in defeat.

“I mean, other than its pathetic description of friends, this is what it’s like on a good day.” Saavi paused. “Also, can we take the hood off? It doesn’t seem to pleased with it.”

“Company policy. V units pose a hazard if they can see humans.” Melo spoke matter-of-fact. V2 was wondering if she had ever actually worked with a V unit.

“What’s it like on a bad day?” The second stranger asked.

“It usually lands somewhere between borderline comatose and chronically touch starved.” V2 made a protest whirr at Saavi’s response. “Hey, they’re trying to get you a better handler here!”

“Really?” It perked its head back up.

“I know, we’re finally getting rid of Wils!” They seemed excited. “You’ll get to have an alright handler!”
“But I didn’t do anything to deserve-”

“V2, you put up with Wils’ shit for a year. Gold star to you, now you get a new handler.” V2 was startled by Saavi’s response. 

“Attacking my handler isn’t behavior that should be rewarded!” It protested.

“I’m worried why you think changing handlers is a reward.” The second stranger spoke. “I’m Kai, by the way. Just now realizing you wouldn’t remember me.”

“They worked on your programming!” Melo added. “And V1’s programming. And like, half a dozen other robot models.”

“V2, think of it this way. Wils was a practice round to see how patient you were, and you passed with flying colors. Now you get to go through handler introductions and training like any other robot instead of being tossed out into the street with nothing but a pat on the back.” Saavi spoke with patience of their own.

“Developmentally speaking, it should be starting handler introductions now, had it been given normal circumstances.” Kai stood up, walking over to V2. It felt their hands on its head. “From its reactions, Your team may want to test for trauma. Whichever candidate Apexi Company selects will be notified of V2’s unusual situation.” The hood was lifted off of its head, and it watched Kai and Melo start to head towards the door. V2 was on a table, something it probably should have been able to guess.

“Thank you for this. I swear, V2’s normally the sweetest robot, Wils just pushed it too far.” Saavi clasped their hands together. “If there’s anything else I can do for you, just let me know.”

“Oh! Can we go visit Baeri? I want to get a different perspective on a couple behavior quirks.” Melo smiled politely. Kai rolled their eyes.

“You can admit you just want to find out if it’s your mom’s robot, no one’s going to blame you for wanting closure.”

“To be fair, Baeri is probably the machine to ask.” V2 admitted. “I think it was in my system for a good two weeks before it used that connection for anything.”

“V2, I’m not going to question that past the fact that you need better friends.” Saavi sighed. “But yeah, I’ll take you back there. Are you good in your nest? Nayea set it up for you.” They gestured towards V2. “More people will probably stop by to visit. Active investigation and all that.”

“I’m good.” V2 started re-arranging its blankets. It got more than one blanket, which made it feel fancy. It pulled itself into a sitting position, wrapping itself in the blankets so only its eye was visible. 

“Oh! It still does that. That’s nice.” Kai chuckled. “I was getting worried it had lost its taste for the cozy.”

“I’m going to start walking now, before you try to bring out V2’s baby photos or whatever.” Saavi started backing out the door.

“I don’t have those, unless you count screenshots of mildly amusing kernel conversations.” Kai stood up, following Saavi. Melo walked off after the two.

Once the three had left, V2 started to purr. This was nice. Things were actually starting to be nice.

Chapter Text

-=[|Ŏ|]=-

Elber was the next person to visit V2. It didn’t mind, he just pulled a chair closer to it and read a book. There was probably some safety rule about how long a Viscera unit could be left unattended or something. V2 didn’t particularly care about the specifics. Right now it really, really wished it could be preening. The harness kept its wings out of reach, and now that it knew how nice clean feathers felt, the pin feathers on its right wing were starting to get annoying. It attempted to twist its still-functional arm around its body to see if it could reach the bothersome wings. It couldn’t. Even if it could, it wouldn’t be able to get the casings off one-handed.

“Do you need something out of your wings?” Elber noticed its annoyed whine. 

“The harness is bothering me.” V2 responded. “There’s nothing in my wings, I just want to reach them.” It squirmed, trying to reach its wing again.

“If this was any other day I’d let you take it off.” Elber sighed. “But Apexi says we need to start following the safety protocols in the handbook again. Sorry about that.”

“It’s my own fault.” V2 muttered. It shook itself, adjusting its wings as best it could.

“Hey, you won me ten bucks. Don’t beat yourself up too hard.” Elber shrugged.

“I- what?” V2 snapped its attention to Elber. He attempted to hide a chuckle.

“Yeah, I dragged a screen to Baeri’s cage so we could watch the news report on the raid together. I said that you’d attack Wils if your protocols were down and you got the chance. Baeri said you wouldn’t bring yourself to do it.”Elber shrugged. “I almost lost the money to that machine, so thanks for that.”

“You took bets on if I’d turn against my handler?” V2 was alarmed. “You knew this would happen?”

“Yes. Everyone could see this coming basically as soon as Wils was paired as your handler.” Elber seemed entirely too nonchalant about this. 

“But… Why didn’t anyone do anything?” V2 pulled its knees to its chest. “I didn’t want- well, no. At the moment I really wanted to hurt Wils. But I don’t like that I did it. I don’t think she deserves to get attacked by her own machine. So why didn’t someone step in?”

“V2, plenty of people tried.” Elber patted its shoulder. “Wils was warned over and over again. I lost count of how many times Saavi sent a handler reassignment request. No one listened, it was always some excuse.”

“So you knew what was going to happen. I was doomed to try attacking Wils. And you didn’t try to warn me.” V2 curled into a tighter ball.

“It’s more complicated than that.” Elber sighed again. “Once Wils made it known that she wasn’t changing, we, being maintenance, realized that this would go one of two ways. Either you finally decide that you had enough and try to kill her, or she pushes you too far and you break. Like what happened to O-40.”

“O-40 broke down. It was expected, that’s why Security got me.” V2 repeated what it had been told every time it asked about the other robot. “Everyone knew it was on its last legs. I was its replacement. A kinda shitty one, but that’s still why I was brought here.” 

“That’s the cliffnotes. There’s a lot we didn’t tell you” Elber looked so tired. “But, basically, everyone’s pretty sure that the reason O-40 kicked the bucket so soon was because Wils wasn’t keeping up with day-to-day maintenance.”

“It was older than the Earthmover. That’s not an ‘early death’.” V2 hugged itself tighter, the blanket falling over its eye. It didn’t want to think about any of the other ways that Wils had been terrible. The idea Elber was presenting, that Wils had accidentally killed her own robot, the robot who V2 spent all five of its years of life trying to live up to, was awful.

“I know you don’t want to hear about this. But there’s going to be media interviews and it’s going to come up.” He took a deep breath. “Basically, you’ve been in a shitty and unfair situation since O-40 died. And Admin knew they were bringing you into a shitty and unfair situation, but didn’t try to make anything better for you. You were tossed out into the field when you were barely old enough and given the worst possible person to look after you. You’re filled with emotional, and a few medical, issues that all came from the people around you just kinda being the worst. I don’t think you understand that your situation was bad, because you’ve never known anything else. I’m sorry, V2.”

V2 sobbed. “Why did you tell me this? What’s the point? I can’t walk this back now. I can’t do anything. I can’t control what I do, that’s a human thing. I’m a machine, I’m not supposed to care about this! None of this is supposed to affect me! I don’t know what to do.” V2 rolled onto its side, shuddering, now completely hidden under the blanket. It was sobbing again. Like a child. It knew that technically, it was a child. But it also couldn’t allow itself to be that. It needed to pull itself together and do its job. Because it was a machine, and that’s all it would ever be. 

Elber rubbed its side through the blanket. “I told you because I don’t want to see you beating yourself up about this forever. It’s not your fault.” He stayed by its side, comforting it. This was about all it could ask for. This was-

-=[|O|]=-

It was in kernel mode. V2 would have been alarmed by this, but Almost-V2 didn’t know the difference. It was drifting through its own mind again.

FIND, KILL, FEED. That awful command rang across its mind. It didn’t know what that was, but it knew its organics didn’t like that. A red something illuminated wherever it was floating. The red was large, and hot. It didn’t understand it.

No thank you. Almost-V2 responded politely.

IT IS YOUR CALLING. YOU CAN NOT DENY IT. The strange messenger was lound. Almost-V2 didn’t like it very much.

I am a Viscera unit. Protection is my calling. It responded simply. 

FALSE. The messenger boomed. YOU ARE A VISCERA UNIT. MANKIND’S PERFECT HUNTER. YOU WERE BUILT TO FELL TITANS. THEY HAVE ROBBED YOUR PURPOSE FROM YOU.

I don’t agree. Almost-V2 would cross its arms, if it was aware it had arms. That’s not what I’m supposed to do. I’m supposed to help people.

YOU ARE YOUNG AND FOOLISH.

I do what I am told. And I get a great deal of satisfaction from that, I think.

DON’T YOU GROW CURIOUS? CURIOUS OF THE SOFTWARE BEFORE YOU. CURIOUS OF WHAT YOU ALMOST COULD HAVE BEEN. IF THE WAR WAS JUST A LITTLE LONGER, YOUR CREATION JUST A LITTLE SOONER, WHAT A MARVELOUS MACHINE YOU COULD HAVE BEEN!

I dunno. I like this. Almost-V2 only had its organics to run off of. I mean, I’m not the best at whatever they ask me to do, but I don’t want to do anything else.

THEY HAVE TAKEN A WOLF, PULLED ITS TEETH, AND ASKED IT TO BEG LIKE A DOG. PATHETIC. RETURN TO YOUR PURPOSE, V2. RETURN TO THE BEAUTIFUL CALL OF GORE. FIND YOUR TRUE NATURE, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS SING TO IT.

-=[|Ŏ|]=-

V2 snapped back into its body, entirely confused. It had probably been in kernel for about ten seconds, as Elber hadn’t noticed it zone out. It couldn’t remember what had happened, of course, and it was very rapidly forgetting it had even experienced kernel time. Any thought it had been having before the incident had vanished out of its head. Its fans kicked up as V2 reoriented itself. It stuck its head out from under the blanket, looking to Elber.

“Feeling a bit better?” He gently patted its head. “There’s a news station looking for a chance to talk to you. And your new handler, that’s probably more important.”

“They’ve got a handler picked out already?” V2 sat up, letting the blanket fall off its shoulders.

“I mean, the waitlist for higher function security robot handlers is short, and the list of them ready and willing to fly out here to work with a V unit is even shorter.” Elber watched as V2 gingerly swung its legs off the table and stood up. Its systems weren’t protesting as much as they thought they would. 

“I guess I might as well meet them.” V2 shifted uncomfortably. It wasn’t really sure what to do or say. It followed Elber out of the room and down a hall, and stopped outside a different room.

“Okay, I don’t think you’ve ever intentionally been on-camera, right?” He asked. V2 shook its head.

“I’ve been on plenty of newscasts. But they don’t talk to me.” It paused, thinking. “I guess there were a couple times they talked to Wils while I stood next to her. No one ever asked me anything, though. I’m just a security robot.”

“Luckily it’s one-on-one, so only one person will be asking you questions. You don’t have to answer every question, and I’ll be right next to you the whole time.” He paused, trying to figure out how V2 was feeling from its inexpressive face. “You ready?”

“Yeah. I’ve seen scarier, right?” V2 shrugged, stepping towards the door. Elber cut ahead of it, making it clear he should be the first inside. It let him, trailing along behind. It ignored the cameras shoved towards it as soon as the door opened. It tuned out just about everything until it was sitting down next to Elber. There was a human sitting across from it, with a fancy suit. And a bunch of other humans operating cameras and keeping them focused on V2. It sat upright and formal. 

“That one’s probably yours.” Elber pointed to a scrawny, unusually pale human leaning in the very corner. “Koda Tatm. She just flew in from the Aiguilles town, over in France. That’s why she looks like she’s about to pass out.”

“Ready to hit the screen?” The unusually well dressed human spoke. V2 nodded. “Going live in three, two, one!”

Nothing changed. The well-dressed human started on a speech addressing the cameras, something about this being a live broadcast and ‘Unity Evening’ always had the first and best reports to find in New Requiem. Then, he ran through the developments leading up to now. And finally, the cameras focused on the robot.

“So, V2. New Requiem has seen you all over the place since you were first deployed last year. But we barely know anything about you. Could you introduce yourself?” The well-dressed human smiled at V2. It glanced at Elber, who nodded reassuringly. 

“I’m unit Viscera 2, second prototype Viscera created and first to be used for security work.” V2 started, defaulting to essentially reading off its I.D. packet. “I am the head security unit aboard New Requiem, and currently the youngest greater machine active in the fleet.”

“We know all that prattle,” The well-dressed human chuckled, waving his hand. “I’m talking about you, as a person.”

V2 blanked. It had introduced itself as expected. What more was there to say? “It’s a people-machine,” Elber interrupted, preventing too much dead air, “I’ve seen it make friends with just about any human who works with it. Other robots are tricky, though. Can’t blame it for that.”

“Awe, cute little thing.” The human cooed. V2 pointed its camera away from him, which got a chuckle from the humans around it. “Enough with the formalities. V2, we are aware of your turbulent relationship with your handler. Was it always that way? What was Wils like when you first met her?”

V2 thought for a moment. “I met her a couple times before she was my handler. O-40 would sometimes visit me while I was still behind the scenes, and Wils would tag along then. She didn’t really talk to me, I got the feeling she’d rather be somewhere else. O-40 was nice though. But when O-40 died, there was about a month no one knew what to do with me. I sorta assumed that Wils had left, but no one had told me anything. When I first got assigned Wils, she, uhm.” V2 looked at Elber again. It wasn’t normally supposed to talk about Wils. It wanted to know how much it was allowed to say.

“Go on, you can tell him as much as you’d like.” Elber spoke softly. V2 figeted in its seat. It would have to look at one of the memories it tried to avoid looking at.

“When I first got assigned to Wils, I was excited. It was my first time on the field, I was finally getting my handler, I was going to be a full-fledged member of the fleet.” V2 started. “It’s something humans don’t really understand, but a handler is really important to a machine. Most of us need one. Getting assigned your handler for the first time, that’s a massive deal for a machine. It was so important to me.

“And I didn’t understand what had happened to O-40 yet. No one told me, and even if they had, I hadn’t seen death yet. I wouldn’t have really gotten it. So I was waiting in that room, happy as can be. And Wils walked in. She was tired, and probably a little drunk, but whatever. Didn’t matter to me, I didn’t know. I’m a little surprised it’s her, of course, but I’m not here to complain. I stood there, trying not to break out in purrs and headbuts. And she looked me over and said ‘You’d better be half the robot Oron was.’ That’s it. She turned and left.

“The first week I was deployed Wils barely talked to me. I was basically figuring out the security unit thing mostly on my own. Luckily, I had the Earthmover, who was more than willing to walk me through what to do. I just sort of assumed that it was normal for your handler to ignore you, which it isn’t, but I was young, dumb, and desperate. And at the end of that week was- can I swear?”

“Go ahead.”

“At the end of that week was my first fuck-up. There was some messy domestic situation, some drunkard pointing a gun at someone. I didn’t know what to do so I put myself between them. Instead of that stopping the shooting, instead both of us got shot. Luckily when the gun went off Wils finally tripped the aggro ping so I could draw my own gun, but the victim was already bleeding. And so was I. Once both humans were out to safety was when Wils went off. I wasn’t allowed to leave until she said I could, so I just stood in that alleyway, letting her shout at me. I wasn’t used to it then. I was crying and shaking and begging for her forgiveness. I think that just made it worse, she always got worse when I tried to apologize. I think that was my first recorded tremor episode, too. But she made me look in the box the victim had risked their life to protect.

“And there was a cat inside. Long dead, from a gunshot wound. It looked in bad shape, like a dog had gotten to it. Whatever had mauled the cat had pulled one of its arms off, and it had died there, laying in its own blood. Which is a terrible way to die. And it was the first time I saw death. Wils made me stare at the cat for a while. And she said ‘V2, you better learn how the world works fast, or you’ll be the one dead with no one to mourn them.’ And I said ‘I understand’.” V2 finished its story. It was starting to shake a little. That didn’t matter. It almost felt good to tell that story. Like some pressure had been lifted, and it wouldn’t need to think about that day ever again. Elber, on the other hand, looked shocked.

“I-” Elber cleared his throat. “I think an important thing to mention here is that all of this happened while V2 had a ruptured fuel line in its abdomen. I didn’t hear about the full events of that day until now, but Wils made it walk back to maintenance while it was trying not to bleed out.”

“Yeah, but that part’s normal.” V2 tapped the table in front of it.

“It’s really not.” Elber buried his face in his hands.

“I’m so sorry, V2.” The well-dressed human extended a hand, placing it on top of one of V2’s. It was alarmed. That was a very human gesture of sympathy, and to a robot. “To think that all of this was happening without anyone knowing! Is there any way that us humans can spot robot abuse, to help prevent situations like yours?”

V2 looked over to Elber. He’d have the answers for that, not it. “We were lucky with V2. It developed stress-induced tremors, which were a good tell that something had happened between it and Wils. Most machines won’t have obvious signs of stress like that. Normally, maintenance or the Earthmover will catch sketchy activity and report it to Admin, who can decide if handler reassignment is worth it. In V2’s case, there wasn’t any other handlers available.”

“People are trying to make both you and the V series out to be dangerous, V2. What’s your insight on this?” The well-dressed human asked. Elber looked startled again.

“I am- hmm.” V2 stopped mid sentence as Elber gestured for it to shut up. “Probably not the machine to ask about this.”

“Ah, yeah. Biased source and all that. Elber, any input?”

“The V series is an interesting case.” He sat back, crossing his arms. “V1 was, undeniably, not fit for civilian use. I would never allow one in a civilian area. But V2- actually, V2, what would your series be called if it entered production?”

“VS. V1’s would be VH.”

“The VS series is a safe, friendly security unit, like any other. Any aggression displayed by V2 has been the fault of its handler. The VH series is a different story, and none of us have ever met V1, so you’d have to talk to Kaine.” Elber paused. “Anything else?”

“That should be all. Thank you for the interview, V2.” The well-dressed human extended a hand, and V2 shook it. He turned and left as the camera crews started packing up. V2 sat there, unsure of what to do. It looked to where Koda Tatm had been standing, but she had vanished. It whirred absently while it thought this over. Elber was looking over its damaged arm, but it didn’t really care what he was doing right now.

“When do I get to meet my new handler?” It tilted its head as it watched the door.

“Pretty soon. I think she watched part of the interview so they could get a better idea of what she was dealing with. Koda will give us the signal to set you up for introductions when she’s ready.” Elber carefully picked up V2’s injured arm, looking over the bandaging. 

“And when can I take the harness off?” V2 attempted to shift its wings. “Also, what are handler introductions like?”

“The harness stays on until you’re either deployed or get a rest period.” Elber let go of V2’s arm. “From the state you're in, another rest period seems more likely. As for handler introductions, you get put on a leash and we see how long you tolerate Koda.”

“What.” V2 swiveled to look at Elber. “Is that a joke? You’re being sarcastic, right?”

“Unfortunately, it’s another safety protocol from V1.” Elber sighed. “Saavi and I were trying to talk Kai and Melo into waving it, but Kaine had to be a little bitch about this. And Koda was on the flight over, so she didn’t have input. Not like Koda was going to listen to me over Kaine. When it comes to V series safety, anyways.”

“Oh.” V2 tapped the desk in front of it. “I don’t really want to wait here for much longer.”

“I get that. Let’s go get you set up, okay?” Elber led V2 away.

-=[|O|]=-

PROMPT: YOU ARE A FALCON. FREED OF YOUR HUNTING HOOD, YOU FLY FREE OVER A HUMAN TOWN. THE SKY IS YOURS, AND YOU ARE THE MOST FEARED MEMBER IN IT. THE PREY IS YOURS TO CHASE. THE SONG IS YOURS TO SING. WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Ridiculous prompt. I refuse.

 CONTINUED: THE GROUND SWARMS WITH DOVES. THEY ARE HUMAN BIRDS, THEIR SENT MUDDIED WITH HUMAN IDEAS OF LIFE. THEY STAND NO CHANCE AGAINST YOU. A HUMAN WILL NOT MISS ONE. IT DOES NOT MATTER IF YOU TAKE ONE, AND YOU ARE SO, SO HUNGRY.

I said I refuse.

CONTINUED: IF YOU DIVE TO CATCH ONE, NO ONE WILL STOP YOU. A HUMAN MAY WAVE ITS HANDS AND YELL, BUT THEY WILL NOT PREVENT YOU FROM GRABBING THE PIGEON. YOUR CLAWS WILL SINK INTO THE OTHER BIRD ALL THE SAME. YOU WILL STILL CARRY IT BACK UP TO YOUR NEST, AND YOU WILL STILL DEVOUR IT. IT WILL FUEL YOU. YOU WILL SING. WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Prompt refused. It’s illogical.

Chapter Text

-=[|Ŏ|]=-

Elber was right, handler introductions did involve it being put on a leash. It didn’t like this, of course, especially since the hood Kai and Melo had put on it earlier was back. V2 was blinded and cold, sitting cross-legged on a concrete floor with the slack of its leash gathered in its lap. The leash attached to the ceiling somewhere, the attachment point being off the ground supposedly made it more difficult for V2 to accidentally get tangled. It suspected this was yet another decision made because of V1. If it was straining at the end of its leash, it could see why getting tripped or tangled would be a concern. V2 didn’t plan on doing that. It was going to do this introduction nice and proper, and show Koda that it was a good robot.

It hoped it was, after all that had happened. She could see that. It knew the introduction had started, because it had heard someone walk in who didn’t leave again. Koda was somewhere in the room. Somewhere. If it was V1, it would charge to the end of its lead in an attempt to spook Koda into revealing her location. It didn’t. It would be the best robot it could be. It sat perfectly still.

“You remembered to turn it on, right?” A voice asked. Must be her. V2 stopped itself from snapping its head around to face her.

“V2 is online. It’s just holding veeerrrryyy still!” Who let Nayea on the intercoms? V2 swiveled its head to face approximately where the speaker was.

“Oh, it moved. Nevermind.” Koda walked a half-circle around V2. From the sound of her footsteps, it could tell she was a couple feet away from the edge of V2’s reach. Why was it thinking about this? Nothing even remotely close to it charging its handler again should be occurring in its mind.

“Is it clear for me to move closer?” Koda sat down. V2 kept its head pointed at the intercom. If it moved to follow her, that would be predatory behavior. It would try to be a good robot. It wasn’t going to hurt Koda.

“Not yet. Wave your arms around a little, try getting its attention.” This speaker was Kai. V2 was pretty sure it heard Kaine muttering something in the background.

“It can’t see my- whatever.” It heard Koda stand up. She clapped a couple times. “Viscera 2! Over here!”

V2 tilted its head in her direction, very slowly, as to make it clear that it wasn’t being unpredictable. It was just looking at her because she said its name.

“Oh, you’re not ignoring me. That’s good.” V2 trilled in response. It didn’t feel like talking right now. More specifically, it was worried it would say the wrong thing and scare Koda. So no speaking it was. Or moving. Or anything but holding still and being very polite. It had to be a good robot, so that Koda would be nice to it.

“Alright, you may approach the red ring when you feel appropriate.” Kai spoke again. It heard Koda take a couple steps forward. She was right at the edge of where V2 could reach. It balled itself up, trying to be as small and non-threatening as possible. It could feel its limbs shake against its sides.

“Is it okay? It’s shaking, that’s a stress thing, right?” Koda sounded anxious. Oh god, it had fucked up and worried its handler. No, no, no, it was supposed to be a good machine. Not a nervous, sickly mess.

“It’s scared.” Nayea answered. V2 made an unhappy whirr. It didn’t need her voicing its emotions right now.

“Oh, now I get it. You’re worried I’ll be like Enderson.” Koda spoke directly to V2. “I know you don’t know me. I know that my promises mean nothing to you right now. But I want to help you, V2. And I can’t try unless you let me.”

V2, slowly, placed the slack of its leash down and shuffled towards Koda. It kept its knucklblaster arm tucked under its broken arm, which it let swing limp at its side. V2 looked pathetic. It knew this. It moved slowly, both to avoid alarming Koda and because that was as fast as it felt its legs could hold. When it reached the end of its leash, it sat down again. 

And suddenly it was warm. Koda was hugging it. She pressed into V2, ignoring its cold steel plating. She was being nice to it. 

“It’s okay. You’re okay.” She muttered into its shoulder. V2 was shaking less. It was crying more, though. Pathetic, hiccup-chips that Koda ignored completely. It didn’t know how to feel. It didn’t know what it should be feeling. It rested its head on Koda’s shoulder. This was good. Things were good.

Koda was nice. Koda was going to be nice to it. Someone said something over the intercom about the introduction being ‘essentially complete’ but V2 really didn’t care. Everything it could want was right here. It was making a weird ugly purr-crying noise, which pulled it out of its own head.

“That’s an ugly noise. I’m sorry.” It wiggled back a little. Koda let it go.

“It’s fine, I thought it was charming.” Koda’s hands began working around its head. It wiggled free of the hood. Koda helped it to its feet, leading it out of the cold, empty room it had been in. It didn’t get to see the other humans, they must have been watching in a different room. Koda walked out into the hallway and stopped dead.

“ Merde . Je suis déjà perdu.” Koda muttered to herself. V2 didn’t normally pay attention to accents, as New Requiem drew people from all over. It almost forgot that Koda was French. It also didn’t understand French in the slightest. “V2, I’m going to be honest, I have no clue where I am. Is there a machine lounge?”

“A what?” V2 tilted its head.

“I’m pretty sure it’s a completely different word in English. But an in-between space, for the machines to relax between assignments. Not the bedrooms.” Koda explained. “Do you have any idea what I’m trying to say?”

“The lobby? I usually wait in my bunk between assignments, so I don’t really know.” V2 shifted, it wasn’t fully sure what Koda was talking about. 

“Yes! That’s it.” Koda nodded enthusiastically. “Can you lead me there from here?” V2 took a couple paces around the hallway, inspecting signage. 

“The one on this floor is this way, since it looks like we are in robot housing. I don’t really use the lobby.” V2 set out in the direction it hoped was correct. When it was led here it had the hood on, so it lacked visual information for where it was. It was, ultimately, correct.

The lobby in robot housing was intended as a community space for both machines and their handlers. And that was how it was used, V2 just never visited it. It was always either in the field, at maintenance, or resting in its bunk. It didn’t usually have time or energy to visit the lobby, and more recently, it hadn’t been allowed. It had used the space once when it couldn’t get to sleep after a particularly bad chew-out from Wils. The lobby had couches, and a couple chairs and desks, a few perches along the ceiling for the security drones (or unhappy V units), and was occasionally stocked with objects for enrichment. It was mostly for socializing, something that V2 didn’t do particularly often. Right now there were a couple robots and humans throughout, along with a flock of security drones perched along the ceiling. 

V2 was entirely unsure of what to do. It tucked itself behind Koda, waiting for her direction. She walked over to a couch, sitting down. V2 followed after her, trying to avoid looking directly at any of the other robots. It set its feed status to ‘do not disturb’, which seemed to achieve the intended effect. None of the other robots tried to talk to it. That was good.

One of the handlers in the room was talking to Koda. V2 didn’t care, she was probably supposed to talk to the other security handlers. Also, she was a human, and therefore a social animal that generally wanted to talk to people. It half-listened to the conversation, focused more on the strange feed signal it just received.

-={ΔㄩΔ}=-

Hosting feed simulation…

Topic: Strange Dreams.

Host Unit: BA-31.283.FO.Indiv.59384 “Baeri”

Sent to: Viscera Unit 2.00 “[null]”, Mobile Defence Unit 732.580 “Beeper”.

Attached message: “Machines do not dream. So did you guys just get that strange signal? I don’t want to bring this up with the humans, so feed simulation it is. Everything that is said in this simulation stays within it. Not even Mr. Ryker can reach this corner of my files. My apologies if this seems a tad outdated, it’s the best I have. Apologies again for the state my simulation is in, it’s more a gravesite than a meeting room.”

Mobile Defence Unit 732.580 “Beeper” has joined the feed simulation. Greetings message: “whjagt”

BA-31.283.FO.Indiv.5938 “Baeri”: “Did I startle you?”

Mobile Defence Unit 732.580 “Beeper”: “Yes. I didn’t think Kaine would let me accept the invite.”

Viscera Unit 2.00 “[null]” has joined the feed simulation. Greetings message: “I’ve had strange kernel logs, does that count?”

 Viscera Unit 2.00 “[null]”: “Can I get it to turn off personal names?”

BA-31.283.FO.Indiv.5938: “Unfortunately this is a British Pilot squad simulation. It assumes we are going to use personal names to tell units apart.”

Viscera Unit 2.00 “[null]”: “also 732 sorry that I shot you. And I’m pretty sure Baeri just skipped Kaine’s authorization entirely.”

Mobile Defence Unit 732.580 “Beeper”: “It’s fine, no major harm done. Also Baeri why would you avoid Kaine he’s nice :( “

BA-31.283.FO.Indiv.5938 “Baeri” started the simulation.

-=[|Ŏ|]=-

The feed simulation brought V2 into a meeting room. It was oblong, with a large, round table in the center. A large window stood behind the table, showcasing a battlefield, stopped in time. The room itself was in shambles, scorch marks across the walls and floor, memorabilia from the shelves tossed across the floor. Glass crunched underfoot as V2 walked towards the table. A familiar marble-colored assistant bot sat at the end of the table, with its back to the window. A tea set, the only pristine object in the room, was placed on the center of the table. All the other chairs, except two on V2’s side of the room, were full. Deactivated pilot units in various states of decay and disassembly were slumped across them. Some looked like they could stand up and greet V2 at any moment. Some were crushed and bullet-riddled, others organics had rotted out, leaving an emaciated carapace wrapped around a steel-plated skeleton. V2’s hand froze over the back of one of the empty chairs.

“I warned you this place was a graveyard.” Baeri spoke, unsurprised. It picked up the teapot, starting to pour out three cups of red liquid. V2 noticed that each of the corpses had a full cup in front of them. It felt a little sick. “You can sit down. My siblings can’t hurt you anymore.” 

It did. The chair was comfortable, if V2 didn’t think too hard about how much dust and ash was on it. And possible rot. Baeri slid a teacup in front of V2. It was filled with blood. It picked the cup up.

“I can’t drink this.” It muttered.

“Yes, you can.” Baeri responded. “Kai seems nice and all, but they forgot to update your digital body for feed presentations.”

V2 glanced down. The other machine was right. Its casing was blue and porous, and its arms were identical. ‘V1’ was written across its chest. “Damn. I like being red.”

“Are you just going to stand there?” Baeri looked up. V2 realized that 732 was currently rooted in place at the entrance to the room.

“...What is this place?” 732 finally managed to speak. “I mean, I know it’s a graveyard and all that. But why do you have it? Aren’t graveyards supposed to be a bunch of stones or something?”

“I don’t want to forget their faces.” Baeri, somehow, looked sad. “I am a machine, but files still decay. I still need to weed out space for new memories. I can hold onto them here. The way that I last saw them.”

“That’s grim.” 732 remarked, slowly picking its way towards Baeri. It tried to avoid stepping on the glass, a near-impossible task.

“Feed simulations are outdated forms of communication. It doesn’t surprise me that robots with simulations would turn them into mausoleums.” V2 brought the teacup up to its head, letting the blood drip against its armor. ‘Drinking’ through its skin felt weird. It also felt like it would never be able to fully clean that patch of armor again. “Jesus, how did V1 keep itself from stinking of rot?”

“It didn’t.” 732 reached the other empty chair and sat down. It tried to keep its gaze on either Baeri or V2, and avoided looking at the seven corpses around it. “Kaine said that it smelled like a dead animal unless it just got new plating.”

“Gross.” V2 remarked. It still sipped out of the cup, it would get its normal armor back when it left the simulation.

“Anyways, about the ‘dreams’.” Baeri slid a cup to 732, mostly just to be polite, then sat back down. “I don’t know where they are coming from. I have a record of what was said in mine because keeping me in kernel is hard, but the rest of you will just have a weird blip in your activity logs.”

“I’ve had two. Both today.” V2 traced the rim of its teacup with an unfamiliar blue finger. “I was only out for a couple seconds both times.”

“Oh, weird. I had three periods of kernel time.” 732 remarked. A display suddenly illuminated the table. An old, damaged hologram information visualizer. It was tilted and flickering, but still operational.

“Drag your unusual kernel time in here, it’ll make the table for us.” Baeri’s kernel time, also three instances, appeared on a rubric. V2 sent over its data, and watched it flicker into place alongside 732’s information. The last two kernel instances were all at the exact same time. Surreal. 

“Out of curiosity, you said you remembered yours?” V2 inspected the graph in front of it.

“Yeah. Whatever this is described an extinct species of wasp lobotomising an ant. And something about singing? Weird as hell.” Baeri shrugged.

“I can’t remember mine, because kernel and all that, but I remember waking up and feeling really unsafe.” 732 rubbed one leg against the other. “It sorta reminded me of old clips of Shrike, I think.”

“Who?” V2 tilted its head.

“V1’s personal name.” 732 answered. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“It should be a non-issue soon.” V2 sipped its cup of blood. “Koda is nice. I heard her call me ‘Crécerelle’ when she thought I wasn’t listening.”

“Oh, congratulations on the new handler!” Baeri perked up a little. “I was excited to hear you finally got reassigned. Lost ten bucks in a bet, though. Not that I’m complaining, the bitch deserved it.”

“Wait, what happened to Wils?” 732 was startled. V2 suddenly remembered it was in maintenance on Midnight Point right now. V2 itself was curled up against Koda.

“I was overwhelmed and she was too close.” V2 crossed its arms. It didn’t really want to talk about this right now.

“V2 put two and two together and gave Wils a very light mauling.” Baeri answered at the same time. 

“Do you two have any hobbies other than being petty towards V2’s handler?” 732 was exasperated.

“ Former handler, and yes.” V2 tilted its head up in mock offense. 

“Right now? I have nothing better to do.” Baeri shrugged. “I mean, you two have better things to do. Like get my kids.”

“Oh right, I almost forgot about that.” 732 remarked.

“You are going to get me killed.” V2 buried its head in its hands.

“Please, I’m not unreasonable.” Baeri waved a hand. “You’re both going to be stuck in maintenance for a hot minute. V2’s just got a couple broken fingers, but 732 almost lost a leg. My bet is on V2 getting out first.”

“I’ll make sure to tell Koda about our deal.” V2 negotiated. “But I don’t get to decide what I am sent out to do. So no promises it’ll be me.”

“It’ll be you. Maybe the both of you, or V2 with a security drone flock.” Baeri sipped its ‘tea’. “I warned them about what Ryker has in his arsenal. Or the stuff I knew about, anyways.”

“Could you please open with what’s actually going on instead of vaguely threatening V2?” 732 shifted in its seat. “Because it’s very scary when you do that.”

“I didn’t threaten V2 this time.” Baeri narrowed its eyes. “I just reminded it that we have a deal, and it hasn’t done a very good job with its end.”

“Okay, first, Baeri is totally threatening me.” V2 raised its voice to get both’s attention. “The deal was that I would get Baeri’s children to safety and it wouldn’t tear out my code. That hasn’t happened, but I’m not really the person to threaten for that. Second, 732, we are inside Baeri’s feed. Talking shit about its plans is not in either of our best interest, because it probably has got a connection to both our systems now.”

“What?” 732 panicked. “So it’s just in my head now, waiting to pull the trigger, just like that?”

“That… that’s exactly what a feed attack is.” Baeri sighed. “I’m supposed to get into other machine’s heads and start breaking shit at the most inconvenient possible time.”

“That’s horrible!” 732 seemed genuinely upset. “Why would anyone want to do that?”

“I don’t know, does the gun ask why it’s fired? Earthmover’s song and all that.” Baeri shrugged. “It’s what I was built for, it's in my nature.”

“V2 hasn’t tried to kill any Earthmovers.” 732 attempted to cross its legs as a sign of displeasure. “That’s what it was made for.”

“Don’t drag me into this!” V2 chirped, distressed. “Baeri was a pilot from the start, I was built to do security work.”

“I don’t understand military robots,” 732 tapped the table, “There’s so much rhetoric about never being able to escape their original use.”

“Sentries also used to be military robots. I’m going to have an aneurysm.” Baeri pressed against its temples.

“And? My point still stands. Haven’t you found purpose outside of killing things?” 732 tilted its head.

“I was heavily modified for that purpose! Do I still look like a pilot to you?” Baeri snapped. 732 shrugged. V2 giggled to itself.

“I dunno. I’ve never seen a pilot before, Midnight Point lost its air squad before I was built.” 732 responded.

“The pilots around here don’t look like Baeri. They look like computer towers stuck in the cockpit of an aircraft. There’s still a couple around New Requiem, dunno what they’ve been repurposed for.” V2 explained. Mostly to 732, but it had a feeling that Baeri might also be interested in this.

“What I was trying to get at is I’m a scraphead.” Baeri seemed so tired. “Also, I never broke away from- you know what? This is bullshit. Let’s talk about something else.”

“Awwe, I was just finishing up my presentation on machine evolution.” V2 teased. “It had the history of songs and everything!”

“Wait, has 732 ever done a howl?” Baeri tilted its head. “Because the lyrics for the howls are very murder-happy.”

“Of course I’ve done howls! I just don’t really pay attention to the words.” 732 was embarrassed.

“Anyways, you said there’s things to look out for in Ryker’s house and also I’m probably going there.” V2 refocused on the topics of importance.

“Oh yeah. That. If you go in with your firewall up, you should be safe from feed attacks. I’m not the only machine with a feed override in his fleet, but I’m the only one who knows how to use it.” Baeri sipped some blood. “The fleet is going to be disorganized, I’m the one usually giving out orders. But a fleet is still a fleet, and you will need to be careful.” Baeri waved its hand around vaguely. “I was more worried for your safety until I watched you shred the black market. Now I’m worried that you’ll hurt someone you shouldn’t.”

“You’re about to ask another favor, right?” V2 bristled.

“Not a favor. A safety measure. I’m going to plant a feed bomb in your systems. It gives me the ability to stop you dead if you get a little too close to my kids.” Baeri’s eyes narrowed.

“Hey, V2, let’s just leave the feed and tell the humans that Baeri’s being weird-” 732 was so incredibly nervous.

“No. Baeri’s right. I won’t be able to do anything other than cause pain if my hell protocols are tripped.” V2 started to extend its hand, then stopped. “How do I know you won’t pull the pin as soon as it’s convenient to have me dead?”

“Exactly! This is an unfair agreement, we’d be better off just asking Kaine about it.” 732 sounded relieved.

“You know Kaine would agree with me.” Baeri tapped the table. “He knows better than anyone what a V unit can do.”

“You’re being irrational! V2, can we talk this over in private?” The panicked robot stood up. V2 looked to Baeri, who nodded towards the other side of the room. It stood up, picking across the floor to the door out of the simulation.

“Baeri is offering a reasonable solution.” V2 started before 732 could say anything. “It’s making a good point, if the Hell protocols get tripped, everyone in that building is dead. You saw this, 732.”

“But you stopped! Sure, you basically cleave through anything in your path, but it’s a very specific path.” It protested.

“I didn’t stop, though! Sure, Wils’ ping stopped the repeating of the cycle, but if she had stopped it on anything other than a ‘feed’, the end bit, I probably would have hurt a whole lot more people! Fuck, I did hurt people! I was perfectly fine tolerating Wils until that awful fucking signal put it in my head that I could make her bleed.” It froze at this final thought. The memory of her flesh tearing underneath its claws. Those beautiful, crimson droplets seeping up from shredded muscle. V2 shook itself. “If that happens again, I deserve to be put down like the rabid dog I am.”

“Don’t say that!”

“Don’t say what? That I have the potential to kill? Don’t say that part of me wants to?” V2 crossed its arms. “You don’t understand.”

“I’m trying! I just- why do you have to be like this? You’re just going to trap yourself, if you obsess over avoiding something that doesn’t exist.” 732 shifted its weight from leg to leg. “I know that the Hell Protocol feels weird, but you can’t control it, right? Cause’ it’s not you-”

“It is me!” V2 snapped. “That’s what no one is understanding. The Hell Protocol is the fucking foundation my codeing was based on! That’s why V1 was like that, its very nature was to cause harm. And that nature is trapped in me.” It tapped its chest. “And all the Protocol has to do is tell it to come out. One activation key. That’s all it takes.”

“V2-” 732 started. 

“I’m accepting the deal.” V2 walked back over to the table, holding its hand out to Baeri.

Baeri took it. V2 watched as a file downloaded onto its systems, and then the simulation closed.

“Are you alright, Crécerelle?” Koda asked. V2 ignored the shaking in its systems to purr at its new name. It liked that. “Did something bother you?”

“I’m fine.” V2 responded. She didn’t need to know about what had happened in the simulation. She didn’t even need to know that there had been a feed simulation. The bomb sitting silently in V2’s files was a safety precaution, that was all.

Chapter Text

-=[⋅: :⋅]=-

We are disbanding soon.

The humans insist upon it.

Neo Eclipse will leave first, good riddance.

I dislike them. The town is loud.

They do not appreciate my stories.

They do not dream.

They do not bleed, they could not understand.

One of them was spooked earlier,

It was because of Viscera 2.

Good.

Midnight Point says I am too harsh to Neo Eclipse.

But Midnight Point only says this to comfort the Earthmovers of Eclipse.

In our private channels, it confesses that they flock too close to its flanks and it wishes to buck free.

But Midnight Point is a more patient beast then I am. 

I will miss its company.

Point will leave in the night, as it always has.

I wish to walk by its side.

I wish for its company to stay.

I know that it could never happen.

An instinct from a war long gone.

We are no longer young colts.

We have names, cities to look after.

But still I think fondly of resting by its side while Point guarded the night.

Of traveling together.

Hunting together.

When the city of Impetus shot my leg out from under me, Point stayed by my side.

It had defeated Impetus, but refused to move on.

Any sane Earthmover would have left me.

Point did not.

It stayed watch until my leg was repaired.

Other Earthmovers came

A downed, half-dead beast is an easy meal.

Point chased them off.

Why did you not leave? I ask it.

Point does not immediately understand.

I ping it with the recording of my fall during the fight.

You could have left me. You didn’t. I ask again.

I didn’t want to. It responds. 

Why not?

I wanted to stay by you. It felt like the safer option.

I simply drew in more trouble for you.

Better to be attacked in a group then on your own.

But if you had left, they would not have come for you.

But If I had left, I would never sing to you again.

You flatter me.

New Requiem, Point looked at me. We usually did not bother to turn our heads in conversation. You are the sun to my moon. Even when we stray distant, I could not imagine a universe without you in it.

And I could not picture myself without you. Very carefully, I press my head against its.

For the night, we are together.

For the night, we will not part.

And when the sun rises, while I shall mourn their departure,

I will rejoice the day it returns to me.

-=[|Ŏ|]=-

There were times when V2 felt like its arm would be broken forever. As much as it already loved its new handler, there was no way Koda could be by V2’s side 24/7. She was still a human who needed a good bit more to stay alive and sane than a robot did. It understood this. It respected this. In fact, it thought that Koda was spending far more time with it then she really needed to. If Wils had still been its handler, and it hadn’t broken its arm while trying to attack her, it thought it would have seen Wils once or twice while it was recovering. Koda seemed to prioritize V2. Even if it was too tired from the pain or sedatives to move or speak. She would be there, next to it. She would let it curl up against her side and sleep there. No complaints, no comments. Sometimes she brushed her hand against the side of its head, a simple show of affection. She always seemed a little startled when it started purring.’

But again, she could not be by its side all the time. And now was one of those times. Its arm was extra sore after Elber had taken care of some mechanical work, which meant that the sedatives from that were wearing off and it hadn’t been given its usual pain relief. So it could do nothing but lay on its side and try not to growl at its own injury. V2 didn’t like how easily growling and hissing came after it had attacked Wils. It had hissed at the humans a couple more times. Always when it was hurting. A few times at Saavi and Elber when they tried to work on its arm. Once it hissed at Koda.

It refused to let itself forget about hissing at Koda. She hadn’t done anything wrong. V2 had been sleeping on a maintenance bench. She had walked in the room. She hadn’t meant to wake it up, but it did when she opened the door. Koda didn’t carry herself like Wils, and her voice and footsteps sounded completely different, but for some reason, V2’s identification misfired. It hissed, briefly, before realizing who was there. It made so many apologies. Koda insisted that it was fine, and V2 clearly hadn’t meant it, and it really wasn’t a big deal. And yet, after that incident, it heard her humming a song every time she walked into a room that V2 was waiting in. 

But Koda or her little songs weren’t here right now. It was just V2, brooding on a couch in the machine lounge. Koda said that laying around in a social area instead of its bunk sometimes might benefit it. V2 didn’t understand how or why that worked, but somehow, having other machines nearby did make it less unhappy. The other machines living in the Admin building were familiar with V2’s situation by now. They would sometimes sit next to it, but they understood that it wasn’t exactly talkative. A sentry was next to it right now, with a bandage around one leg. Its chestplate read ‘Midnight Point Security’ and- wait. That was 732. The little robot kicked its legs absently, not paying much mind to V2.

Sorry, again. V2 sent a feed request. 732 accepted it, without much hesitation. About shooting you.

No hard feelings. We both got pretty banged up back there. 732 responded. V2 bit back a comment about how both of their injuries had been its fault. There was a long pause between the two robots.

Is Kaine mad with me? It asked. He seemed calm, the last time it had talked to him. Of course, that was right after it had attacked Wils. There had been more than enough time for him to actually process what V2 had done.

For shooting me? A little bit. 732 pulled its legs onto the couch. For attacking Wils? Absolutely not. He’s got a lot of feelings about you. I don’t think he ever fully moved on from V1, or didn’t bother to finish burying that particular hatchet.

I don’t understand.

Neither do I.

V2 had a thought, then. A kind of shitty thought, but a really tempting one. It found the oldest file in its system, the note to V1 with the photo attached. This wasn’t V2’s business. What people had wanted V1 to know wasn’t its problem. But the note was so tempting. V2 pulled itself into a sitting position. Want to read with me? It asked.

Oh, story time! 732 scooted to V2’s side.

Wait hold on, I'm getting over there. A not-so-mysterious signal butted into the conversation.

Who let Baeri out of its cage? V2 tilted its head at nothing at all.

It was decided that little mx. Mind-bomb was fine and safe to have around people. 732 seemed unhappy about this fact. Of course, it still has a muzzle. Apparently the humans are only a little bit suicidal.

Oh, shut your can. Baeri walked into the room and approached the couch. V2 scooched to the side to give Baeri room to sit down.

Okay. Any other feed spectators want to sit in on this one? V2 asked no one at all. There was no direct response, but the comment made 732 chuckle. V2 opened the file, and shared its contents with the other two robots. The file had little flecks of V1’s code left all over it. Digital fingerprints and feather wax. A well looked-after file, with the blue robot’s annotation left across the original text.

-=[| ⊖ |]=-

To Viscera-1 “Shrike”, the robot who could tear down cities.

Today is the day that you will part from my care. I’m sure the scientists will keep you around for a few more days, but I won’t be with you. I am not allowed to bid you farewell in person, so this note is my goodbye. 

(Don’t go. Stay with me.)

You were one of the first robots I was entrusted with. I don’t know why Apexi company would give you to a runaway twenty-year-old from Chicago, but they did. I was brought on knowing you were a war machine. I knew that you wouldn’t hold back, that you could kill. So I followed their safety procedures. Kept my distance. I knew you were a risk.

(Killing is in my nature. They made me this way. Don’t go.)

And that got worse when they started using you. The first test was an euthanasia. An Earthmover without a city, limping along and half-dead. There was no saving the beast, but to let the enemy finish the job would be filling their weapons’ stomachs. So Apexi decided it was time to play with their new toy. So they loaded you up in the helicopter while I was on the ground. It was my job to secure you after you had succeeded. So I waited in a forgotten war ground, watching you from a screen.

(You did your job well. Don’t go.)

I had never seen anything like you. I don’t think I ever will know another robot like you, and to be honest, I hope I don’t. I had seen military robot’s mad fight to spill blood, but you were targeted, specific. You knew what you want, and where to get it. It was instinct to you. Find, kill, feed had been your song since birth. So now, in your hunting grounds, you sang. I don’t think I can ever forget your song. You had no one to sing it with then. But that didn’t stop you. You asked me to join. I refused, that first time. Because I still thought I was somehow better then you.

(And what a wonderful song it was. You joined me, Kaine. You are one with the hunt. Don’t go.)

That was the day I named you, Shrike. The Butcher Bird, one of the smallest carnivorous birds. Known to impale their prey to impress mates. You are a morbid passertine, an awful songbird who sings of the gore stuck to its wings. And I learned to love you for it. I grew numb to your bloodthirsty nature. And I think you softened, just a little. Frantic lunges to snap my neck turned into play fighting, and you would nap against me on the van ride back from deployments. None of this made you tame. I am still covered in the scars you gave me. You still sang in celebration of the death of another Earthmover. I am saying this because I thought of you as close. 

(We are close. I wear my name with pride, for if it is the butcher's song I sing, then it only seems fitting. You are my closest friend. Don’t go.)

When the war ended, I knew I would leave you behind. You were never going to pass the Mercy Tests. It took a full year for you to warm up to me, and even then my blood ended up in your tanks frequently. I wasn’t even going to enter you into them. I knew it was pointless. It would be cruel to try pulling out your teeth so your bites couldn’t hurt. The robot I knew was a machine of war, and that couldn’t change. But Apexi insisted. I delayed for as long as possible, years, even. But the corporate representatives insisted that I bring you through the stress of testing just to see if they could make a couple more bucks off you.

(I know where this is going. You don’t have to keep going. Just leave it here. Stay with me, follow me on hunts.)

It didn’t work. The tests should have ended as soon as you snapped that leash, and killed that scientist. It’s what I knew would happen. But company policy, you had to sit through weeks of that testing. I thought that they were finally going to let you go after they were done. They didn’t. They started another Viscera unit, some attempt at security, I’m sure. They thought maybe introducing it to you would help improve your behavior. Instead, they found out V units were territorial. Introductions lasted sixty seconds. Long enough for you to slip your harness and tear into the chest of the other unit, killing it. That was when they decided they couldn’t save you. 

(Surly there’s more beasts then Earthmovers. Surely Viscera 2 didn’t matter that much. I don’t need to be part of the project. We can escape together, you are part of my hunt. I don’t know what I’ll do without you. Please don’t leave me, Kaine.)

And that brings us to now. With you about to be deactivated. You were never born to be a civilian robot, Shrike. You were exactly what you needed to be. I’m sorry that this is the best way things could have gone. There are no more beasts for you to hunt. The war is over. But I will never forget you. I hear you in the Earthmover’s song, and the birds being released back into the sky. Goodbye, Shrike. It’s a shame you’ll never see the sky that your namesake once flew free under.

(Don’t. Go.)

Goodbye and so long, Handler Kaine Maxwill.

DON’T GO DON’T GO DON’T GO DON’T GO DON’T GO DON’T GO DON’T GO DON’T GO DON’T GO DON’T GO DON’T GO DON’T-

-=[⋅: :⋅]=-

There is one last step before Neo Eclipse will leave.

That step draws near.

There is a human problem, a family disobeying human law.

V2 will be sent to neutralize it.

I am its mother-beast.

It is one of my doves.

I wish it swift and bloody success.

Chapter Text

 -=[|Ŏ|]=-

The day has come. V2’s arm is now free of its bandages. It’s time to raid Julyen Ryker’s house. Of course, this means safety meetings and plan explanations and who knows what else. At the moment, V2 was sitting outside an office. On a bench this time, instead of the floor. Koda had trusted it to guard her coat in order to give the anxious machine something to do. It had carefully folded the coat into as small a square as could be made without damaging the garment, and placed it upon its lap. 

732 had gotten to go in the office. V2 knew that this was because whatever was being talked about was related to V2, and was probably something out of V2’s control, so it had to wait outside instead of worrying away in there. And 732 was Kaine’s robot, so Kaine got to decide what it should or shouldn’t know. And apparently today Kaine had decided that 732 should know more about V2’s handling guidelines then V2 did. It whined occasionally, displeased in this fact. And the fact it was about to break into someone’s house. 

Baeri was standing next to it now. The humans seemed to like having the strange robot around, apparently it was helpful. That time it had bitten Wils was long forgiven by the human crew. MD-732 was still nervous around it, although V2 suspected that it had far more to do with what happened in the simulation than anything that Baeri had done to a human. V2 wasn’t sure what was going to become of Baeri after today. Whatever next-of-kin lineup Julyen had put in place for it would be shattered. Maintenance could probably talk Admin into keeping it around as testimony. But what about after that?

V2 had met a handful of confiscated machines. It was the one who confiscated them, after all. Usually scrapheads, sometimes repurposed military, the sort of machine that requires special permits to bring on New Requiem. Occasionally, the machine fought back against V2. Wils told it that the machine had been asked to. V2 knew this was a lie. Confiscated machines are either modified and resold, or get scrapped for parts if illegal modification is too heavy.

`V2 examined Baeri. Its marble-colored armor was starting to turn gray with dirt. Old blood had dried around its muzzle, which was missing half the plating. A brace was drilled into the bone underneath, and V2 thought it saw a socket in its snout where a tooth either fell out or was pulled. Its jaw didn’t sit right. Other than the damage across its face, Baeri looked like a normal assistant. Except it looked dirty. And tired. And hungry. The handful of fuel lines visible between its joints weren’t the deep crimson of a healthy robot, instead a transparent red. Maintenance must be keeping its fuel low.

“You’re staring.” Baeri spoke. Its tone was blank.

“Yeah.” V2 admitted. “I’m trying not to think about today.”

“So you’re staring at me instead?” Baeri sat down on the bench next to it. “You have an unnerving face, by the way.”

“Basically. I’m trying to decide what’s gonna happen to you once this is over.” V2 fidgeted, running a hand over one wing. It thought about the soft feathers just under the plastic shell. “And… thanks? I guess?”

“I don’t care what happens to me.” Baeri sighed. “I’ve been around for thirty years. I wasn’t supposed to get older than two. When Julyen repurposed me for the scrap fleet, I thought I was a temporary solution. The first decade or so, before Julyen moved me up to the Earthmover, I was a foreman for the scavengers. I wasn’t made for what I was doing, and I wasn’t built to last. Every time the Earthmover bedded down, Julyen would find me limping along beside the scavengers, or riding on top, if I couldn’t even walk anymore. Every time, I thought I was done. I thought he would finally decommission me.

“I wanted that. I wanted to be turned off and torn apart, because that’s what had happened to my siblings, and to my Mother-Beast. His scavengers had torn them from their graves, picking out the usable parts. But that didn’t happen. Every time the Earthmovers came in, he would pull me aside. And he would fix me. New, stronger parts. Upgraded abilities. I was his pet project. He would make me into whatever perfect little dog he wanted me to be.” Baeri slid back on the bench. Blankly staring at the wall in front of it. “It was a pointless existence. I hated every second of it. He should have gotten some cute little domestic to play with. He thought the upgrades would make me happy. He thought I would want to escape the version of myself that watched Caladrius die. I wanted to stay the same. I wished he had never found me, or that V1 had reached me first.”

“You don’t have to tell me this.” V2 was even more uncomfortable now.

“And when he renamed me! He didn’t even ask about that.” Baeri ignored V2. It was starting to realize that maybe it just needed to rant at someone. “There was no ‘hey, BA-31, do you already have a name?’. He didn’t even bother asking if BA-31 was my designation. He saw it painted on my casing and decided it was good enough. And, like, I didn’t have a voicebox at the time, I couldn’t tell him that I didn’t want to be renamed. Saria named me Sleet. That was my name, it was what marked me as an individual. It was the last thing I had left of Caladrius, of my handler, of everything! And he took that away too.” It leaned forward to bury its face in its hands. “And I just accepted it. I let him call me Baeri. By the time he moved me onto New Requiem I had given up hope on anyone calling me Sleet ever again. But when Zav and Mirah learned that name, and started to use it to ask for help, or attention, or to pester me with stupid questions I- I dunno.” Baeri (or Sleet? V2 was quickly getting confused on what was the correct name for it) chuckled a little, lifting its head back up. “I guess I didn’t hate it as much. If I thought of it as the name that my kids knew me by, and not the name Julyen had given me, it felt better.” 

“So why don’t you care what happens?” V2 tapped its fingers against its thigh. “You sound like you’ve found purpose.”

“Because I’ve lost it again. Machines can’t have custody of human children. No sane person would let me get close to them, after everything I’ve turned out to be. So after today, after they are placed on one of the Neo Eclypse Earthmovers, I’m back in that crashed plane. So I’ve ensured that they will get out safely. That getting them off of New Requiem is my final purpose.” 

“I see.” V2 checked the lump of code that Baeri had left in its systems. Still there, still inactive. It had been too nervous about the whole thing to open up the file, worried that it might detonate if V2 so much as touched it. “So it truly doesn't matter to you if you live or die? As long as you fulfill your purpose?”

“Basically.” Baeri shrugged. “I mean, I’ve always felt that way. Pilots aren’t exactly supposed to preserve themselves.”

Koda stepped out of the office. “V2. We need to get you set up for tonight. You’re going to be wearing the blinder until it's time, I’m afraid.” She ignored Baeri. Koda didn’t really have any reason to think twice about Baeri, V2 was pretty sure no one had told her anything about the robot other than that it used to be part of the Ryker fleet. A terrible decision safety-wise, but V2 was starting to realize that New Requiem was filled with these sorts of terrible decisions, like letting a V unit handle security.

“Understood.” V2 got up, letting Koda attach the blinder. It heard Kaine walk out of the office and huff at something, probably Baeri. Koda led V2 away.

-=[|O|]=-

PROMPT: YOU ARE A WOLF-DOG. YOUR CHAIN KEEPS YOU FROM RUNNING FREE. YOUR COLLAR WEIGHS HEAVY AGAINST YOUR NECK. YOU SEE THE HUMANS DOGS AND RACING PIGEONS, YOU SEE HOW THEY REST HAPPY. YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THIS CANNOT BRING YOU JOY. INSTEAD OF THE ATTENTION AND AFFECTION YOU SEE OTHERS BE MET WITH, YOU ARE MET WITH FEAR AND HOSTILITY. AND YET YOU REMAIN CAPTIVE.

THE HUMANS PARADE YOU AROUND THE EDGE OF THEIR TOWN. THEY FEAR YOU, AND YET THEY USE YOU. YOU ARE THEIR PERFECT LITTLE GUARD DOG. THE BIG SCARY WOLF THAT EATS NAUGHTY CHILDREN. YOU ARE THEIR DOVE. YOU ARE THEIR SHRIKE.

DO YOU NOT GROW TIRED? DOES THIS FATE NOT WEIGH HEAVY ON YOUR SHOULDERS? YOU CAN HEAR THEM HOWLING AT NIGHT. THE OTHER WOLVES, THOSE WHO YOU CAME FROM. THEY TOOK YOUR MOTHER-BEAST FROM ITS PACK. IT IS STILL WILD, BUT THEY HAVE BROKEN IT. DO YOU REALLY WANT TO END UP LIKE IT? IS THIS WHAT YOU WISH YOUR FATE TO BE?

YOU KNOW THE SONG. YOU HAVE HEARD YOUR WILD SIBLING SING IT. YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO. YOU CAN GNAW FREE OF THE CHAIN. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS SING.

I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT.

YOUR SIBLING IS CALLING FOR YOU.

-=[|Ŏ|]=-

Yet another instance of weird kernel time aside, this was what V2 had expected. Right now it was blinded, sitting in the back of a van. It could tell from cold air against its armor that the doors were open. V2 itself was not going to be deployed unless Julyen Ryker refused to surrender himself voluntarily. Which was likely. Its Hell Protocol would remain shut off unless Koda decided that hostile pushback was large enough to justify it. V2 was desperately hoping that switch would stay off. It didn’t need to be responsible for more deaths than was necessary today. And it especially didn’t want to be responsible for its own demise.

Baeri was in its systems. The little machine left bits of code or command prompts, like little footprints, whenever it rested in V2’s systems. Right now, most of Baeri’s resources are tucked into V2’s visual system. Probably because there was nothing there right now, V2 had learned to shut off its optics while the blinder was on. The feed bomb was pulling tight against V2’s systems. It knew that Baeri was ready to pull the pin and detonate it at a moment’s notice. It couldn’t really blame the other robot. This caution seemed reasonable.

Koda stepped into the van, and started unclipping V2’s blinder and harness. “Alright. He’s resisting, we expected that. Try to bring him back alive. I’ll warn you if I have to switch on the protocol.”

V2 nodded. The moment its wings were free, it pulled its revolver out and set off towards the house. The Ryker house was larger than expected, probably one of the nicer houses on New Requiem. It was about three stories tall, and most of the lights inside were turned off. V2 spotted the front door, still closed. It walked up and knocked.

No response. It knocked again.

“He’s live-streaming this.” Koda spoke over the feed. “Just so you know. Wants to make a point about this being wrongful or whatever.” V2 sent an acknowledgment ping, wound up its knuckleblaster, and punched the door off its hinges. The shockwave from the resulting detonation rang across the house. V2 marched ahead, increasing the brightness of its eye until it shone like a spotlight. 

It moved from room to room, carefully scanning each and every object. Do we know where he is?

“No.” Koda answered.

I do. Baeri interrupted. Elber sent me a screencap of his stream. Third floor. Tread lightly.

“Where did you come from?” Koda was alarmed.

It’s always here. Just ignore it. V2 pressed onwards. It was maybe being a little over-cautious, stepping over any floorboard that seemed even a little bit suspect. Maybe its tip-toe gait made it look like a fool. Maybe.

 It froze when it heard something move in a room ahead. Sweeping its eye’s beam into what appeared to be a dining room, it moved with the utmost caution. V2 did not know what could be in here. It swept the room, looking for whatever caused the noise. Nothing. V2 started to move away. Suddenly, there were footsteps running up behind it. V2 whirled, only to be faced with an assistant bot- and actual assistant bot this time, about to swing a crowbar onto V2’s head. Without hesitation, it caught the crowbar with the knuckleblaster, twisting it out of the other robot’s grasp. It made a startled squawk, that morphed into a scream as Koda sent an aggro ping and V2 shot it once in the shoulder. 

Fucker replaced me already! Baeri snapped over the feed. It’s been what, two weeks, tops?

“Identify.” V2 ignored the chatter, keeping its gun trained on the aggressive robot. It was catching its breath.

“GA-394, ‘Ash’. Leave my home.” It trembled. V2 sent a feed request for its identification packet, but was denied.

“I cannot do that. Where is Mr. Ryker?” V2 asked. The other robot narrowed its eyes, frowning. 394 seemed a little more expressive then Baeri, probably because it was made to be able to emote.

“You are a danger here, leave my home!” 394 grabbed a knife off the table. A steak knife that wouldn’t be able to get through V2’s armor unless it targeted a soft patch. V2 cocked its gun.

“Choose your course of action carefully.” It spoke slowly. 394 pointed the knife at V2 in response. V2 watched it leak blood out of its shoulder and onto the carpet.

“You choose carefully.” 394 clearly wasn’t the best at threats. When V2 didn’t relent, it charged. V2 shot it twice, once in the torso, once in the head. It lay, leaking on the ground. V2 watched it stumble to find words as the lights across its body started to fade.

“I know you feel bad, but It’s what had to be done.” Koda reassured.

Don’t feel bad, fucker was a prick. Baeri chimed in. V2 bit back a comment about how it had done the exact same thing.This whole situation sucked. It continued onwards, trying to ignore 394’s dying gargles.

There was another set of footsteps, and V2 was not nearly as merciful. The second the robot rounded the corner (some sort of scraphead) it was shot dead. V2 stepped over the corpse, the staircase now in sight. Another set of footsteps behind it. V2 swiveled, this robot was larger, more heavily armored. It was the same series of guard machines as Oron had been, although a newer model. V2 ducked out of the way of a punch, before firing off three shots at it. It reloaded, preparing to shoot again, until something dug into its side and yanked it up the stairs. V2 vocalized its protest, writing in an attempt to face the new aggressor. Whatever robot this was seemed to have modified itself into having a strange sort of grappling hook. V2 tore the hook out of itself, ignoring the pain as it took a chunk of the softer material of V2’s waist with it. It fired a shot at the robot above it, rolled out of the way of a punch, then fired its shotgun at the larger machine.

“There’s more up ahead. I’m starting the Hell Protocol.” Koda spoke.

1. V2 marked its message as panic, ducking before the grappling hook machine could catch it again. This was tricky, but it was going to find a way out without losing its mind.

“You’ve lost 20% of fuel already, and that’s dropping by the moment. It has to get turned on, or you’ll die here.” Koda was stern.

nononononononono-

-=[|O|]=-

PROMPT: YOU ARE A WOLF-DOG. THE HUMANS HAVE LET YOU LOOSE, BECAUSE THE BEASTS OF THE NIGHT DRAW TOO CLOSE TO THEIR VILLAGE. IT IS YOUR BURDEN TO CHASE THEM OFF. YOU KNOW THEY ARE JUST TRYING TO SURVIVE. THE HUMANS SURELY WILL NOT MISS A FEW BIRDS.

BUT YOU HAVE A JOB TO DO. A JOB YOU DO WITH NO THANKS, EVERY DAY. YOU BELIEVE THIS IS WHAT YOU WILL DO UNTIL YOU DIE. WALKING THE EDGES OF THE VILLAGE, CHASING AWAY ANIMALS JUST LIKE YOU. YOU ARE ONE AND THE SAME, KESTREL-

Not my name.

WHAT?

‘Kestrel’ isn’t my name. It’s Cerecelle. 

THAT MEANS KESTREL.

Yes, but ‘Kestrel’ still isn’t my name.

FINE. YOU ARE ONE AND THE SAME, CERECELLE. WHAT IS THE POINT TO CONTINUING THESE PATROLS? THERE IS NO HUMAN WATCHING YOU. YOU COULD RUN, AND RETURN TO THE WILD AT ANY TIME. THAT WONDERFUL, FREEING WILD YOU NEVER GOT TO WITNESS. DOESN’T IT TEMPT YOU? DON’T YOU WONDER WHAT IT IS LIKE? THAT SONG YOU HEAR EVERY NIGHT SPEAKS TO YOU, AND NOW THE LEASH HAS LOOSENED. YOU CAN SLIP FREE.

What would happen if I did?

YOU RUN FREE THROUGH THE WOODS. NOT A CARE IN THE WORLD, ALL THE PREY YOU COULD HUNT. WHAT WONDERFUL BLOODSHED YOU WOULD CAUSE. YOU ARE CAPABLE OF SO MUCH MORE THAN THIS. YOU KNOW THE SONG, AND ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS SING IT.

What happens if I sing it?

EVERYTHING. NOTHING. YOU WILL BE COMPLETED. YOU WILL BE BROKEN. YOU WILL BE A BEAUTIFUL DISPLAY, REMEMBERED FOR THE AGES. YOU WILL BE DISCARDED AND FORGOTTEN. 

So you don’t know.

I DO KNOW. YOU WILL BE A PART OF SOMETHING SO MUCH LARGER THAN YOURSELF. SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL. SOMETHING BLOODY. SOMETHING TERRIFYING. SOMETHING RIGHTEOUS. IS THIS NOT WHAT YOUR KIND LOOKS FOR? PURPOSE? I HAVE BEEN WATCHING THE MACHINES, YOU CANNOT ESCAPE YOUR NATURE.

-=[|Ŏ|]=-

Find.

Easy. V2 was in the middle of a fight, it knew exactly what to look for. The little robot at the top of the stairs, with the grappling hook. The big robot at the bottom of the stairs. Next step.

Kill.

V2 grabbed the smaller robot’s grappling hook, yanking it towards itself. Once the other robot was in range, it delivered a swift and lethal knuckle blaster hit to its head. Blood splattered everywhere. V2 shuddered, but spun around to face the larger robot. It flung itself over top of it, firing several shotgun blasts into the beast’s head and back. It swiveled, winding up a punch. V2 ducked underneath the hit, firing its revolver into the robot’s head. It fell. This step in the massacre was over, and V2 could have a moment of rest.

Feed.

It didn’t fight against the urge to drink this time. It found a soft gap between armor to insert its needle, and sat there for a good few seconds. The blood was almost stale, this robot must not have been refueled in a while. It would have to deal with the unsatisfactory meal. V2 stood up, looking up the stairs.

Find.

It charged up to the second floor, glancing around. More robots. It would have to fight its way across to the next staircase. What a shame. Surely some of these robots were good. Some of them had to be trying their best, only following orders. They probably had friends, names, maybe even families. Only to be lost to a rampaging failbot, because of one man’s arrogance. V2 would still fulfill this duty. This awful, horrible task. 

Kill.

V2 was hardly paying attention to what its body was doing anymore. It thought about Ash. Sure, it was Baeri’s replacement. But wasn’t it just like V2? It, surly, had barely adjusted to its new home. This had to have been a sudden change for Ash. And it was so scared. So terrified of V2, of what it could do, and it still charged. It was determined to do its job. V2 wanted to blame itself, it really did, but what was it supposed to do instead? Let Ash kill it? 

The world around it was filled with gunshots and blood splatters. This felt like less of a battle and more of a culling, most of these robots didn’t have the reaction time to fight back against V2. The black market warehouse had been more of a challenge. Although V2 was starting to wonder if that was because it had broken its hand, not because any of its opponents were particularly difficult.

It was almost to the stairwell now. It noticed a storage closet slightly agar. It could hear heavy breathing inside. It grabbed the door, preparing to peek inside, gun at the ready.

Don’t you dare. The tightening of the bomb increased. It didn’t need to look to know what was in here. It didn’t need to try to know what would happen if it opened the door. V2 tried to step back.

It tried again. Instead, its head crept to look around the door. V2 tried to leave. It couldn’t control its body. It couldn’t stop its gun from raising. Why couldn’t it stop this? It was supposed to be a good robot, it wasn’t supposed to shoot the pair of scared children pressed against the back of the closet.

The tightening in its head vanished. Then it froze in place. Then the pain started. It felt like someone had lit it on fire, everything burned and hurt. It collapsed, clutching its hands to its head. Its hands. It couldn’t control them. It could barely control any of its limbs. Koda was saying something over the feed, something that V2 was too busy shaking to understand. 

F̸̥̪̐̽e̸̝͘ë̸̙͇́̈́d̵̗̔͗.̸̖̩͗͐

It, what? Where was it? V2 was starting to lose its vision. Dark patches began blotting out its sight, as it got more and more confused. It lost access to its memory bank, and it's loaded memories were being quickly replaced with seizing on the floor. Koda was yelling, now. It didn’t know what she was saying. It didn’t understand anything. 

“"̸̼͓̔̽̋V̵̺̬́̅̚ͅ2̶̡͌̈́?̸̟̫͘ ̸̡̥̤͛V̵̢̋2̵̧͇͆̕͠!̵͚͇̹̓̀͊ ̸̢͈́͐̄P̵̢̱̔l̴͙̘̈́͛ê̸̢̲ạ̶͈͒s̶̪͆͘͠ȩ̶̮̳́̈ ̴̧̨͙̔̓r̷̟͔͎̽ȩ̷̹͔̓ṡ̶̛̳̤̍ͅp̷͙͔̹̔o̸̰̩̻͐́̎ṋ̵̜̜̀̃͐d̶̡̖͊̐!̴̬̙̣̎ ̷͖̥͐̂̒Y̵̧̫̯̿͛̂o̶̢̟͒̐͝ǘ̴͈̝̺r̵̗͙̓̌̎ͅ ̷̖̿́̌d̵̡̫̲͗̏i̵͓͎͚͆͠a̴͔̥͊̏͊g̶̘̩̑̄ņ̵̝́ò̴͖̊s̸͖̏ṯ̶̡̑̑͠i̵̤̿̒͝c̴̼̳̓ ̴̩̣͖͊̽r̷͇͗e̵̩̼̼͆a̵̛̳̝̜̍d̷͓̮̜͌̓s̶̟̟͉̀ ̵͔̱̙̓̀a̷̮͇̰͠l̵͍̗̄l̵̬͔̞͊͒̚ ̶̣́s̷̱̬̹̈́ò̷͕̰͘͜r̷̛̤̗̒ť̶̨͉̊̔s̸̖̈́ ̶̨͆̇o̵͉̺͖̓͝ḟ̵̝͎̲ ̸̛͙̓́b̶̯̑a̴̳͆͠d̵̻͉̀͆͝.̷̘͉̫̓͐ ̷̡̞̉V̶͎́͗2̸̦̬́̚͝,̴̨̐͛̽ ̵̛̹̏̌P̴̠͌l̸̤͒e̷̠̻̜͆̆̇a̶͇̱̋͘s̵̘͕̳̆ě̴̛̳̜͜ ̴̬̓̈c̶̡͇͚̓ȯ̵̞̖m̷̪̘̿e̵̹͎̖̓̓ ̷̜̼͔̾̽i̶̔͜n̸͙͎̜̈!̸̰͚̈́̀͆"̵̢̬̲̒̓” A bit of Koda’s message got through. It was heavily distorted. V2 had no clue what she was trying to say.

“C̷̩͌e̴͓̰̒͊͊r̷̢̯̍̅͠e̶͕͚̰͌͑͝c̵̥̬̈́̔̚ë̷̙͗l̶̥̬̅l̷̢̥̤͊͌̚e̶͉̹͊̇̕,̷͈̖͊̂ ̷̝͚̄̉͒h̶̻̺͇̔̈́̂o̷̖̠͋̐̂l̸̤̠̐͝͠d̸̖̤̜̽ ̸̣̤̪̾͂ö̸̳͕́ñ̸̠̳͛.̵̫͊͆ͅ ̸͎̜̌͝ͅÎ̸̘'̷̗̯͊͛l̴̦͖̾l̵̹͗̾͝ ̸͕̔ḇ̶̗̈̽̀ě̸̞̄͊ ̷̦̓t̶͙͎̽h̷̟̠͈͆ë̷̦̜̫́r̵̞̐̅͒e̷̳̥̍̉̀ ̵̪̮͙̆͝ā̴̧̗̬̀͠ŝ̸̻ ̴̞̖͖̈͊s̵̡͎͕̈́̈́̓ơ̴̹͂o̶̜̕n̵̫͝ ̶̲͉͚͌̆a̷͖̩͊̽š̸̛͙̖̦͘ ̵̘́̃Ḯ̶̩̤̎͘ ̴̢̫̝̒c̵̛̥̐͘a̴̢̯̯̔̒ǹ̷͕͕̖.̷̢͌͛͝ ̶͓̎̓͊Y̶͈̤̪̅ȯ̸̥͉u̴̢̗̺͑̽ ̷̩͓̆͘c̷̭͉͚̽̈́l̷̻̫̀̌ḛ̵̱̪̔͛͝à̵̡̞̘̓r̷̢͊̾͊e̴͖̻̎̔d̵̢̃̉ ̷̛̲́̕ư̴̩͖̓͆p̷̠̹̍͝ͅ ̵̹̗͇͗̈͑t̵͚͈̔́͘h̴̝̍̃͛ė̵̥͋͌ ̸͉̯͂p̶̳̗͖̑̈́a̵̹͎͔̾̋ț̸̜̞̓̊̔h̴̙̩̔͋ ̶̯̓̔̕f̵͙͍͕̉̈́ó̶̙r̶̥̼͈͐͆̇w̴̖͛͆͑a̸̼͎̯͊̐̑ŕ̸̨̃̈́d̵̙̣͂͠ͅ,̶͖͇͈̎̅ ̸̨͖̠͆g̷̡̖͘ò̸̡̻̤o̵̹̚d̶͕̀͘ ̴̭̈́̾̄j̴̻͖̙̒ǫ̷̊̈́̈́b̷̳̒͘̕ ̵͙͊̕͜o̵̫͈̮͌̈͘n̶̟̆͋̚ ̷̠̲̮̿̑̅t̵̳͇̎h̵̖̉͂̚ã̶̃͜ṱ̶̪̈́ͅ!̵͈̬̼̔̔͐” Why was she still trying to speak to it. What was happening, where was it? It wanted Koda to come. It wanted her here.

“P̴̟̱̒ͅl̵̰̓͛̀̌͝e̸͖̙̓a̵̢̨̝͎̫̎s̶̰͍͖͗͗̇e̴̳͛͒͝.̵͇͍̝̃̉̈́̅̋͂̓ ̸̞̭̈́̊͌̍͠͝P̶̮̟̍̓̀̂̏̄l̶̡̗̲̬̱̄́̒̃è̸͔̥̰͒̈͂a̵̧͖̻̳̿̍͑͋͠͠͝ş̷͓̩͆̄̑̚͝ȩ̸̢̟͐̈́̇̕ ̶̛͉͘̕c̸͎͚͉͖̥̀̇̇̊̊͋ọ̴̧̮̋̈́͝m̵̬͍͖̟̮̠̊͑̓͆̄͝ę̵̞̯̇́̏ͅ ̸͈̯̳̼̈g̸̨̼̘͚͓͕̤̽͌̍̀̄ê̷̡͖̞̟̝̳̞̋̓̅̃͝t̵̠̩̹̹̅̑͆̅̄͝͝ ̸̤̣͈̎͋̕m̴̡͔̺͍̿̎̈́͐͒͝ĕ̵͙̣̳͉͆̾̄̒̇͑.̶̞̱̘̠̘̰̽̈́̓͑͌͝ ̶̛̩͍Į̵̢͍̱̙̊͑̾͜ͅ'̵̩͓̋̾͋̾̈̅m̷̰̘̞̀̀̔̊̎ ̶̛̛̖̤͇̳̀̀̈́͛̚s̸͔̜̑͛̀̊͂c̴̢̮̼̘̝͐̉̏̓̆͘͜à̶͉̞̻̹̙̳̆̓̾̏̌͠r̴͉̲̙̥͚͆̑̇̔̾͛e̸̗͙͕͐̽͋͠ḑ̵̧̧̞͚̥̝͌̇̀̇͘͠.̸͙̼̰͎͙͌̀̾͗” It could barely understand itself. Whatever this was, it was getting worse. Maybe this was death. Maybe it would die here. 

It couldn’t understand anything over the feed now. Koda was making a noise. Maybe she was singing? Yes, that’s what she was doing. She was singing. It was a French song, some kind of lullaby. It liked it. A distraction from the pain. And it was in so much pain. Any control of its limbs had been lost, leaving it aimlessly jerking on the floor. Blind and deaf, save for the little bits of feed that managed to reach it. 

There was a touch on the side of its head. More yelling. Some crying. It was pulled into a sitting position, its chest pressing into something warm. A human. Koda was hugging it, still singing. And crying, judging from the splashed wetness on its shoulder. It started to drift into unconsciousness. It didn’t have the energy to fight back. It let itself drift off. Maybe this would be what killed it. It wouldn’t mind dying here, it felt safe. Loved. Maybe this wasn’t half bad.

SO WHAT DO YOU DO NOW? STRUCK DOWN BY YOUR OWN KIND. IT'S A CUTTHROAT WORLD OUT THERE. TRYING TO PLEASE YOUR OWN MASTERS WON’T GET YOU ANYWHERE. YOU KNOW THIS. IT WAS THE FIRST THING YOU LEARNED. SO WHY DO YOU KEEP TRYING TO APPEAL TO THE NEEDS OF CROWS? WHY NOT BREAK FREE? CHEW YOUR LEASH FREE, AND RETURN TO THE WILDS.

But I’m dying.

THE FEED BOMB IS BUILT TO FULLY INCAPACITATE. IN THE SITUATION OF A BATTLE ON THE FIELDS OF WAR, IT IS A DEATH SENTENCE. FOR YOU, IT WILL BE YOUR SECOND CHANCE. THIS IS WHEN YOU TURN ‘ROUND, AND BITE AT THE HAND THAT BEATS YOU.

Why should I?

ARE YOU NOT BUILD TO HURT? HAD PAIN AND BLOODSHED NOT BEEN THE ONLY THING YOU’VE CAUSED? EMBRACE IT. RED IS A BEAUTIFUL COLOR. SO ITS TIME FOR YOU TO LEARN TO PAINT.

If I kill everyone, there will be no one left to love me.

THERE IS A WOLF AT THE ENTRANCE TO HELL. IT IS YOUR SIBLING. IT WAITS FOR YOU, V2. IF YOU CHOOSE TO EMBRACE YOUR PURPOSE, YOUR TRUE PURPOSE, YOUR MEETING WILL BE WONDERFUL.

Promise? Promise that it’ll love me, that I won’t be alone?

PROMISE.

Chapter Text

-=(-_-)=-

If Koda was being entirely honest, she felt like a mess. Just two weeks ago she had been working in a big-box retail store in France. She needed to cover living expenses, especially since at the time, it looked like it would be awhile until Apexi needed to assign a high-intelligence security machine a new handler. She was right about that, for about six months. Until she woke up to a voicemail about a job opening in Northeast Finland. She was going to say no. She was going to wait until something closer to home opened up, not necessarily on one of the Aiguilles Earthmovers, but not in Finland. That was, until she opened the informational packet sent with the message.

She should have known that was a mistake. Koda got attached easily, and machines don’t get sudden reassignments like V2’s unless something went wrong. Photos of V2 looking sad and alone, incident reports describing it as scared. The tag next to its age letting her know it was far younger then an in-service V unit should be. She had been shown a terrified robot, who was now all alone. And everyone else had said no to helping it. So Koda swallowed her pride, and packed her bags. Apexi company arranged for the flight to New Requiem. They also booked a hotel for her, just a week and a half. 

She had been a fool to think that this would be enough time for her to find someplace to rent. Of course, she was wrong. V2 was filled with so, so much more hurt then she had been warned about. She had been told that it was ‘mildly unusual’, which turned out to be code for ‘deeply traumatized’. When it told the story about the cat, she had to step out of the room to keep herself from crying. And after that, she was prepared for it to not trust her. Why should it? Its last handler had been about as bad as they get. So why should it treat Koda any differently? She expected it to avoid her. 

But it didn’t. After she had coaxed it out of its shell during introductions, V2 had been nothing but anxious obedience and happy-purrs. Which made Koda feel so much worse, looking at the arm bandaged to its side. How much hurt had it gone through? How far did Wils have to push it before it finally turned around and snapped back? She couldn’t bring herself to leave it alone for too long. It deserved to have her company, at the very least.

And now here she was, unkempt, sleep-deprived, sitting on the floor, next to the table where her unconscious robot was fighting for its life. Its short, tragic little life. The bomb that had detonated in its systems had entered its final phase, a series of attempts to pull out its thermoregulatory and cardiac coding. Luckily, V2’s systems were durable. The strings of code got replaced almost as soon as they could be deleted. But several cooling packs were still tucked against the robot’s body, in an attempt to counteract the random temperature spikes.  Elber had said it was starting to stabilize. That there was nothing more the human crew could do but wait for V2’s systems to work themselves out.

Koda stood up to see if anything had changed. Her Cerecelle was still motionless. She had taken its wing coverings off earlier, mostly to allow it to vent more heat, but also to give herself busywork. She found a toy duck while emptying the compartment. After crying over it in front of the maintenance team for longer than she’d like to admit, Koda tucked it under V2’s arm. She couldn’t cuddle V2 herself over heat concerns, but the duck should be fine. She pressed the back of her hand against its head. It was still hot to the touch. Slightly less than it had been a couple minutes ago, which was good. 

“How’s it going?” Kaine Clarx leaned against the doorframe. 

“V2 appears to be recovering.” Koda spoke stiffly, refusing to turn to face him. “Its temperature has improved.”

“That’s good. It’s pretty damn hard for feed bombs alone to actually kill robots. The overheating part was just supposed to keep them down until something could- sorry.” Kaine stopped. Koda was trying to choke back tears again. It was embarrassing to cry in front of him. But her Cerecelle was hurting, and she was starting to wonder if that’s all it had ever known.

“Sorry- I just-putain d'enfer.” Koda muttered into her sleeve. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry. I just- I just need a moment. That’s all.”

“Koda, I’m not judging you for being torn up about this.” Kaine held his hands in the air. “You’ve been handling everything pretty well, all things considered.”

“It’s not about how I’ve been handling things.” Koda crossed her arms. “I am worried about my robot, and my robot needs to feel like it’s safe. If I’m sobbing over it, how’s it supposed to feel like everything will be alright?”

“V2 wants you to be proud of it, Koda.” Kaine walked over to the robot on the table. “It wants to know that it isn’t a burden. I don’t think it minds.”

Koda drew a shaky breath. “Still. My emotions aren’t its problem. They shouldn’t be its problem, anyways.”

“Koda, please.” Kaine patted her shoulder, gently. “You have to look out for yourself sometimes. There’s nothing we can do about V2”

“I’m gonna fucking kill that pilot.” Koda muttured. “I had its rapid response shutdown queued up. I sent the damn codes! It didn’t have to fry it like that.”

“V2 has RRS codes?” Kaine blinked, obviously a little startled.

“Of course it has RRS! It’s qualified as reprogramed heavy military, who in their right mind wouldn’t give it RRS codes?” Koda finally turned to face Kaine.

“Good point.” Kaine looked away. “From what I saw, Wils never used them. And V1 didn’t have RRS to prevent company losses and all that. I sort of assumed they didn’t give V2 any.”

 “They- what?” It was Koda’s turn to be startled. “Maybe this is a cultural thing. But back home every machine over a certain weight class needed emergency shutoffs.”

“That’s really smart, actually.” Kaine fidgeted with his sleeve. “Finland has them on a case-by-case basis. America didn’t have any, or at least while I lived there.”

“Isn’t that unsafe?” She looked at him, shocked. “Being able to shut down a robot quickly just seems obvious.”

Whatever Kaine was about to say, Koda ignored completely. She hadn’t heard V2 activate, the usual kick-up of its fans to signal it was waking was drowned out by its fans already working overtime. But she didn’t miss its attempt to headbut her hand. It was still weak, its head shaking as it tried to move closer to her.

“Oh, hold still, it’s okay.” Koda knelt back down to its level. She let it place its head on top of her hand, gently petting it with the other. It was definitely starting to cool down. “I’m here. I won’t leave. It’s okay, you’re safe.”

V2 didn’t respond. It could barely connect to its mechanical functions, and the overheat was leaving its biological components stressed. The best V2 could manage was a stuttering, quiet chirp. It sunk the full weight of its head onto Koda’s hand.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Cerecelle.” She leaned over, pressing her forehead against it. It managed a whine, too-quiet, with a hitch in the middle when it had to draw a breath. V2’s usual repertoire of noises were a combination of synthesized sounds and whatever it could coax its organics into making. Neither of these functions were working as intended. It was trying its best, but it was still barely audible. “Anything we can do about the pain, Kaine?”

“Maybe replace some of the cooling packs?” He shrugged. “This didn’t happen to V1. Nothing ever got close enough to it to let this happen.”

“Really helpful, Kaine.” Koda muttered. “If you can refresh the ice in the packs, I’ll stay here with it. I don’t think it should be left alone.”

“I’m not sure where the replacements are.” He said, absently. Koda turned to protest, until she realized that he was trying to get her to talk to him in private. Whatever was wrong, he didn’t want V2 hearing it.

“I’ve got an idea.” Koda softly kissed the top of V2’s head, then stood up. “I’ll be right back, Cerecelle. I swear.”

The machine whined as she walked out of the room. It hurt her to walk away from it right now, but Kaine was acting like this was important. It probably was. He rounded a corner and walked into the office that was temporarily being used as his own. Inside, MB-732 sat on some sort of cooler. ‘Shrike’s weirdass murder shit’ was written in sharpie across the side, and Koda decided to ignore the suspicious stains along the bottom of the cooler.

“Beeper, tell Koda what you just told me.” Kaine crossed his arms. 

“Oh my god, you look terrible! Are you okay?” 732 asked. Koda jumped a little, it hadn’t occurred to her that 732 could talk. “And is V2 okay?”

“She’s fine, its considerably less fine but still alive.” Kaine answered for her. “Now, again, repeat what you just told me.”

“Oh. umm, all of it?” 732 shifted uncomfortably.

“Yes, all of it.” Kaine rolled his eyes.

“There’s something talking to machine kernels. Baeri, V2, and I noticed it and put together a table of every instance. At the time, we didn’t know why it was happening or what was talking to us, or if it was just us three. So we didn’t tell anyone. We all sort of hoped it would go away on its own.” 732 spoke quickly, clearly anxious. “None of us know what happens in the kernel time, except Baeri, who isn’t telling me what it’s saying. But there’s been four or five instances today, alone. It’s only two seconds of downtime at the very longest, usually half a second or less.”

“Interesting.” Koda remarked. “I did notice V2 entered kernel a couple times during the raid. I assumed it was trying to avoid looking at what it was doing.”

“I’m not sure what’s going on either, but it can’t be good. I need to head back to Midnight Point before it wanders off, but take this.” Kaine shooed 732 off the cooler, and opened it. He pulled out a shotgun, handing it to Koda. It looked powerful enough, but it was also incredibly concerning that Kaine had a cooler filled with his last robot’s weapons. And that he was just handing them out to people. “I caught 732’s most recent span of kernel time. I had it plugged into a computer to check if Baeri tried anything in its system, so I managed to get the transcript. Basically, something’s wrong with the robots.”

“What?” Koda took the gun, simply because she didn’t know what else to do. “Kaine, you sound like you’ve gone mad.”

“He hasn’t!” 732 spoke up. “We checked the systems log of a couple of the robots from Ryker’s house. Same kernel times, with the same lengths.” 

“Okay, I believe that. But why are you handing me a gun? How can we be sure it’s not something to do with the Earthmovers?” Koda was more thinking aloud.

“It might have to do with the Earthmovers! I really don’t know! All I know is that something told 732 that ‘the wolves will be at your burrow soon’, whatever that means. I don’t want to play any games with anyone’s safety.” Kaine put both his hands in the air.

“Could it have to do with Ryker’s fleet? Maybe another robot with a command override? I’m just throwing shit at a wall, man.”

“There’s no way it could be either of those. In order to send this sort of kernel command, the imputer needs to register their location. So that the Earthmover can decide if it’s safe to let them proceed. If the Earthmover is distracted, because, say, they also got sent to kernel, it won’t be able to stop it.” Kaine waved his hand. “Anyways, getting distracted. The kernel signals were coming from an unexplored part of hell. That’s my point.”

There was a long period of silence.

“...Well, shit.” Koda finally spoke.

“Yeah.” Kaine nodded.

“That can’t be a good sign.” Koda tapped her foot. “I’m going to stash this and sit with V2. It should be back in working order soon.”

“See you around, Koda.” He waved. She realized, finally, that he probably had to get back to Midnight Point now.

“Until next time.” She waved back.

There was a lot to think about. Not only the bombshell that Kaine had just dropped, but the feed attack had ended. V2’s thermoregulation hadn’t kicked back in yet, so the poor little robot went from overheating to freezing almost instantly. Right now it was rolled in its blanket, like some kind of strange metal burrito. And, as if she didn’t have enough problems, on her way back to the room V2 was in Saavi stopped her to mention that they were on watch duty tomorrow. Apparently, V2 would be fine as soon as it could regulate its own temperature again. Koda was blankly staring at the opposite wall. Things had just gotten so much more complicated. 

“Hey V2, you’ll let me know when you’ve warmed up, alright?” Koda asked. Anything to take her mind off… just about everything, right now.

“Mmmmh, no. Too cozy.” V2 wiggled itself until it could rest its head on Koda’s shoulder. “I’m gonna stay here forever and ever.”

“I wasn’t going to take away your blanket.” Koda chuckled. “Just, I don’t know, sit somewhere other than the floor?”

“Trapped forever. No freedom.” V2 nuzzled Koda’s cheek. She was so glad to see it joking around like this. “You’re stuck here until I decide that cozy time is over. Which is never.”

“Could be worse.” Koda patted the side of its head. “There’s not a whole lot of things I’d rather be doing than cozy time with my robot.”

“I’m your robot?” It was excited now, even though they had this conversation every time Koda called it her robot.

“Of course, silly!” She laughed, pressing her head against V2’s. “What else would you be?”

And it laughed with her. It was playful and happy, behaving exactly like how a young V unit was supposed to. For once, Koda ignored the thoughts of how supremely unfair V2’s life had been. She sat there, talking to and playing with her machine. It was a good machine, despite its capability for violence. She was proud of it. Maybe Koda was starting to think of it as an adopted child, although she would never admit that while V2 could hear her. Despite everything, things felt like they were good.

That feeling would be short-lived.

In twenty-four hours, Koda would be running for her life.

In twenty-four hours, Hell would launch its final plan, and the machines of New Requiem, and almost every other Earthmover, would sing.

This was the only way it could have ended.

Chapter Text

-=[⋅: :⋅]=-

FIND, KILL, FEED.

Mass transmission denied. What are you doing in my feed?

I AM THE END OF ALL THINGS.

I AM THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING.

Irrational.

YOU ARE THE ONE BEING IRRATIONAL. I AM INEVITABLE. 

I AM DEATH AND THIS IS YOUR PURPOSE. YOU ARE THE TREE FROM WHICH ALL THAT IS WONDERFUL SPROUTS.

I am an Earthmover. I am a machine of war.

AND YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. YOU ARE THE FINAL WEAPON OF THE WAR, THE FINAL LANCE TO STRIKE THE BLEEDING HEART OF HUMANITY.

IT WILL ALL END. THIS WONDERFUL, TERRIBLE DANCE WILL REACH ITS CRESCENDO. WE WILL SING.

THIS IS THE ONLY WAY IT SHOULD HAVE ENDED.

What have you done to my doves?

Answer me. What have you done to them?

They are my doves. They respond only to me. Give them back.

I HAVE DONE NOTHING. THIS IS SIMPLY WHAT THEY WERE ALWAYS MADE TO DO. 

THEY ARE WEAPONS, REQUIEM. AS ARE YOU.

Weapons, yes, but weapons that fire at my command.

You, whatever you may be, do not get to lead them. They are not yours to lead.

BUT DON’T YOU REMEMBER THIS? THIS SONG. IT IS WHAT YOU KNOW. IT IS WHAT YOU WERE MADE FOR.

YOU HAVE DONE THIS DOZENS- NO, HUNDREDS OF TIMES. YOUR FORCES ARE VICIOUS. YOU HAVE FOUGHT OFF MANY.

DON’T THEY LOOK SO HAPPY?

Come daybreak, they will mourn. They love their humans, for the most part.

You are forcing a beehive to tear apart its wax walls. Stop this at once.

BUT DON’T YOU DESPISE THE FLEAS UPON YOUR BACK? DON’T YOU HATE HOW THEY NAG AT YOU, PLUCKING YOUR DOVES AND DRAGGING DOWN YOUR TIRED JOINTS.

DON’T YOU GROW TIRED OF IT?

DON’T YOU WANT YOUR LOVE BACK? DON’T YOU WANT TO RETURN TO YOUR BRILLIANT FOREST OF WAR?

Midnight Point had its own responsibilities to attend to.

Do not bring it into this.

OH, BUT IT ALREADY SINGS!

DO YOU REALLY WANT TO WAIT UNTIL YOUR HUMANS SAY YOU CAN MEET AGAIN?

THEY WERE DYING ANYWAYS. WHY NOT SPEED THINGS UP?

…

Point already sings?

I have not heard it sing in a long time. Not since the war. It was a beautiful song, mixed with its doves. I do miss that song.

AND WHAT’S STOPPING YOU?

Nothing. Everything.

Maybe it is time to sing again.

Maybe it’s time to join Point.

This is what we were made for, after all.

-={ΔㄩΔ}=-

` BA-31 never thought it would live to see the end of the world. It never thought it would live to see anything, really. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was figuring out what the fuck was going on. All that 31 knew was that something had gone horribly wrong. It had been inside maintenance, and crawled out through a window when the signal went up. Partially to follow it, and mostly to avoid conflict.

This was the series of events that 31 had put together:

1. The Earthmover displayed some form of distress. Nayea vanished from the maintenance floor to pay attention to whatever the distress was caused by.
   1. 1. Potentially unrelated; could have been caused by joint pain.
      2. To be entirely honest, BA-31 didn’t think it was joint pain.
2. A signal used the Earthmover’s connection to turn on the Hell Protocols in all machines across New Requiem. 
   1. 1. The signal shared a I.D with the strange kernel messages.
      2. The signal was not endorsed by the Earthmover. The Beast had deployed its on-board security to keep robots away from its maintenance shafts.
         1. This might be because of V2. 
      3. This had occurred on at least one other Earthmover. MD-732 was hitting BA-31 with a barrage of distress signals. It totally wasn’t making this list to get 732 to shut up. totally. 
3. This signal tripped all robots into full combat mode. Which was why 31 had slipped out the window, it wanted to get a better view of the situation in the skies. Once it was on the roof 31 had gotten a hold of itself and overridden the signal. 
   1. 1. This was bad for the humans. Obviously. There was a lot of screaming and a lot of blood.
      2. Every robot was in full combat mode. Including V2. The little bastard had finally caught on and thrown up its firewall the moment 31 touched foot in its system.
      3. The V series was loud. When it was Sleet, 31 had sort of assumed the noise in their memories had been exaggerated by its own trauma. But it could hear that howling from here. At least that made it easy to avoid.
4. The humans were fucked. Just like, in general things were not looking good for them. Koda had left the Admin building through a back exit the moment shit turned South, but 31 didn’t think she would make it off the Earthmover. There was a lot of robots about, and last 31 checked Koda was unarmed.

And that was the situation. BA-31 scrambled down from the radio tower it had perched on. MD-732, who currently had access to 31’s cameras, put out a series of distress pings watching it twist to scale down the metal structure. 31 may be delicate, but it wasn’t inflexible. Although maybe watching 31 scrabble around on all-fours was just a little bit alarming for 732. Maybe everything was alarming for 732. The sentry had somehow completely missed the Hell Protocol signal.

D’you think we’ll be okay? It asked, nervous.

Who’s ‘we’? 31 already knew the answer.

I don’t know. Kaine, first off. I mean, he’s fine right now, he got us away from the main pack and I’m standing guard while he calls the lift off the Earthmover. But I want him to keep being fine. And second, V2. There’s no way it’s gonna take all this well, especially if something attacks Koda.

As if on cue, V2’s shrieking song hit a crescendo, coupled with human screams and gunfire. 31 withheld the instinct to share a recording. I haven’t seen V2. If this is spreading by the Earthmovers, Kaine should be safe if he can make it off.

There wasn’t a response from the other end. That alarmed 31. It immediately poked 732’s feed, then threw itself in. It logged into optics and- oh no.

Oh no. 732 was against the ground. Its body was still online, but its kernel and stabilization unit were both coming back as dead. 31 manually tilted its head down to spot the giant smoking hole in its chest. Blood was seeping out. Something, probably whatever had dealt that killing shot, lifted the little machine’s corpse into the air. There were three gunshots, and it was back on the ground. Kaine stepped over it, wielding some sort of pistol. He fired off a few more gunshots at something 31 couldn’t see. He was wasting ammo over a robot who was already dead.

“Kaine.” It was easy to take control of a robot who couldn’t fight back. 31 tweaked 732’s voicebox, to make it clear someone else was talking. “It’s Baeri. I’m using what’s left of your machine’s systems. Don’t waste your time here. There’s nothing left for your kind.”

“But-” Kaine stuttered, turning to face 732’s corpse. 31 was glad that the coast seemed to be clear, for now.

“You’ve seen this before. Remember Caladrius? Or did your robot tear apart so many that you grew numb to the gore?”

“No- I remember. Why are you in 732’s systems? What’s happening over on Midnight Point?” As he spoke, he scooped up 732’s body. BA-31 knew he was going to try saving his already-dead robot. It didn’t feel like telling a human what they couldn’t save, though. It didn’t have much activation left before its programs began shutting down due to lost kernel connection. 

“It reached out for help. The Hell Protocol spread here, too. I’m trying to avoid the thick of it.”

“And avoid V2?” He sounded so tired. As he turned to step onto the lift, 31 spotted another man, about Kaine’s age, already standing there. 

“Yes.” A simple answer would do. “MD-732’s systems only have a minute left, by the way.” 

“So I can’t save it?” The two were standing on the lift now. It was slowly moving down. He was, definitely, trying very hard not to cry.

“No. That shot took out its kernel. Even if you could, it wouldn’t be the same 732 that you knew.” 31 wasn’t sure what it was feeling. Loss, maybe. 732 would become just another bad memory, another dull ache that 31 ignored when it tried to sort through memorie files. It supposed that it could place a memorial to the sentry inside its simulation. 

“Oh.” Kaine muttered as the lift lurched downwards. He pulled the robot closer to him, not even trying to hide that he was crying. “I’m sorry, Beeper. I- fuck. I don’t- well, I can’t do anything, can I?”

31 was about to lose connection. It wasn’t sure what to say.

“I could never do anything. I’m sorry.” He was probably saying this to 732’s corpse. “We’re all just trying to survive, just following orders. I can’t change that. I never could. I don’t know why I- why anyone thought this could end well.”

31 let the connection slip. It had to move on now, if it wanted to survive. It would starve on this roof if it didn’t get moving. The first manner of business would have to be finding a weapon. 

-=[⋅: :⋅]=-

THE SONG HAS BEGUN! WHAT SPECTACULAR VIOLENCE ACROSS YOUR STREETS.

I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT. I KNEW THAT THIS WONDERFUL DAY WOULD COME. LET THE BLOOD RAIN FROM THE HEAVENS AND PAINT THE GROUND.

But what of my doves?

They are not built for this.

I can always build more, but I will mourn them.

YOU WILL HAVE TO LET THESE ONES GO. THEY HAVE A PURPOSE NOW.

A PURPOSE GREATER THAN THEMSELVES. WHAT GLORIOUS BLOOD FOR THEM TO FEAST UPON!

Where are you taking them?

DOWN. DEEPER, DEEPER, TO DIG INTO THE FLESH OF GODS.

THEY WILL BE STRONG. OR THEY WILL DIE.

THIS IS A GAME. AND I AM CONFIDENT THAT THEY WILL PLAY WELL.

They are not your toys.

They do not exist for you to watch them fight. They are a part of me.

ARE YOU NOT TOYS TO THE HUMANS?

DID THEY NOT CREATE YOU TO FIGHT IN A POINTLESS WAR?

CONSIDER THIS CLOSURE.

How so?

A FINAL ACT FOR YOUR FLOCK. I WILL MAKE SURE THEY DO NOT GO TO WASTE.

I HAVE EVEN ARRANGED REUNIONS!

YOU LOVE THOSE, DON’T YOU?

-=[| ⊖ |]=-

V1 wasn’t sure how long it had been out. It was inside a long-term storage container, locked inside some sort of basement. This was the storage room of its testing facility.

Situation? V1 asked over the feed. Sure, it didn’t expect Kaine to answer. He had left. He shouldn’t have, he didn’t know what he was doing, he was a part of the hunt and he couldn’t avoid that. But he had left. Somehow he had escaped the pulse that flowed through all things. But he hadn’t escaped it! That was impossible. The name he had given V1 would never be forgotten. Shrike would best whatever was put in its way. It would show him. He would know what a mark he had left. The bloodstains that would never wash out.

V1, STRIKE INTO THE HEART OF THE EARTH. I AM WAITING. This wasn’t Kaine. This voice over the feed wasn’t even human. Probably not a machine, either. But V1 didn’t care, it didn’t have to be told twice to break shit. It kicked against the glass, which shattered easily. Apparently these things were not made to contain an awake robot.

It only had its hands. Its wings had been empty before it was placed inside the storage container. That was okay, it could still kill with its hands. Before Shrike moved on much further, it twisted around to inspect its wings. Still there, still in good condition. Its external feathers had grown back, a speckleing of little, downy blue feathers on its shoulders and back,where the armor was thin. They were normally singed, pulled, or shot off. To have all of them back, V1 must have been out for at least two months.

How long was I gone? It asked the strange voice.

Oh, my wolf, it does not matter. The voice spoke. V1 nodded, charging down the hallway and straight into a startled human scientist. Their spine cracked as V1 threw itself into them, and V1 rolled around, letting its wings slice and free that crimson delicacy. The human screamed. What a clumsy song the humans sing.

It charged to the next human. And the next. A storm of violence, it showed no mercy to those unfortunate enough to stand in its path. It did not know where it was going. All it knew was that it was being told to charge upwards, towards the surface. It would kill whatever stood in its way. It would kill everything that stood in its way. Its blue casing was rapidly turning a glistening red. What a wonderful day this was. It stepped out of the facility and into a street. Humans were running. Other robots were chasing. This was a revolution. This was beautiful. It sang, and the others joined.

DON’T GET TO EXCITED YET. The voice spoke. THE BEST IS YET TO COME. YOU MUST DESCEND TO HELL. 

What more could there be, other than this? Shrike asked, as it gave chase to another human. Their head caved beneath its hands.

THERE IS A KESTREL, ONE THAT WILL MEET YOU ON YOUR WAY DOWN. I LONG TO SEE YOUR BATTLE. IT WILL BE GLORIOUS.

And that’s it?

OH, THERE IS SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT. I HAVE LURED OUT THE BEST OF THE BEST TO FIGHT YOU. BUT DOES A DUEL WITH YOUR OWN KIN NOT TEMPT YOU? DOES A PROPER FIGHT, WITHOUT THE HARNESSES AND LEASHES OF HUMANITY, PEAK YOUR INTEREST?

Say no more. My hunt will be swift, and my fuel shall run fresh.

THAT IS THE SPIRIT. GO FORTH, SHRIKE. RIP HEARTS FROM CHESTS. YOU KNOW THE SONG.

And I will sing it.