Chapter Text
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She's been planning for this. Months upon months of planning, all for this. It was highly theoretical, she knew, but it didn't mean impossible, and she was willing to bank on the hope that this would work. This hell that was all their presents, this kind of world wasn't worth salvaging., The world had collapsed on itself. But there was a chance. One chance to make this all right. She just needed to be confident. Her creator would want her to stand tall.
A deep breath, before typing something on the keyboard, writing out lines of execution code.
"Power output to maximum....Core temperature limit unlocked...."
That might have sound slightly concerning, and an basically insane thing to do. But it wouldn't matter, not if she got this just right, that is.
"Initiating energy surge...increasing power...70 percent, 80....100....200....260......500....760 percent..."
She could feel the energy surging through her systems, and she wondered if this is how pain felt to humans..She had to keep going. An alert on the display reading that going any further could cause harm to her systems...but it didn't matter.
"840....920....950....970....Hhhk—! 9...80...9...90...995....999. . .1000 percent...!"
Electricity crackled throughout the whole building. Dangerous for anyone organic to be near at all...One more step...
One final enter pressed on the keyboard.
ERROR, UNKNOWN OUTPUT ERROR UNKNOWN OUTPUT ERROR UNKNOWN OUTPUT ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR SYSTEM COLLAPSE IMMINENT, REBOOT REQUIRED—
And in an instant, Neuro was gone.
//////
Heavy pants. She could hear birds chirping. The bustling of people, the engines of cars passing by. Clean buildings, normal day to day life. This was what the world was meant to look like...
It had worked. She achieved the one thing said to be impossible, returning to the past. She couldn't explain the details to anyone if she wanted to, merely following her creator's research. Something about energy overflow and state destabilization...
She was sat in a alleyway, her back against the narrow wall. The displays in her eyes were a mess, but slowly sorting themselves out, correcting any wrong info and updating itself. Neuro slowly got up, dusting off her dirty cloak that covered her whole body, and adjust a metalic face mask. Now that she was thinking about it, continuing to wear it would only weird people out, better to ditch it here.
Not like she had any use for it anyway, in these times. Tearing the mask off and throwing it off somewhere, promptly exiting the alleyway. It was somewhere around midday..*They* had to have caught her little stunt by now. Only so much time until they caught her. But she just couldn't bring herself to care, not right now. not when the world, as it should be was right infront of her.
And her first act in this new present she brought herself to...was visiting a café. Walking in, the door made a small jingle. She sat somewhere, a two seater. It looked rather lonely, but she honestly didn't care too much. A server going over to take her order, to which she made a simple request of a latte. Being told it would be prepared in a few moments.
As she waited, Neuro took the chance to observe the people in this little cafe shop. They went on about their lives undisturbed. unshackled by any tyranny. they were simply free to live as they wanted. One was working on their laptop, another was texting on their phone....And that one...Huh?
She could have sworn she saw that blonde woman's purple eyes light up as soon as she made eye contact with her. Neuro watched as the girl in a purple hoodie made her way over to her small table. This was...rather odd. Were people of the old world this extroverted? No, that couldn't be right..Oh, The woman sat herself down infront of her. A small thing she noted, dog ears. Interesting.
"Hi!!! What's your name? You look so coolwan! You're like one of those cosplayers! You look a little young though, where's your parents?? Well, I guess if your here, they trust you to be on your own! Hmmm...what's your favorite color?? You look like a blue type of galwan, Am I right? Am I?"
This was...entirely way too much for her to system. For one, it was already the most interaction she's had in...forever. and for two, This woman was just...impossibly extroverted. an Abundance of energy. A deep breath. Maybe she could do this. It was just talking. And it was good practice!
"I'm Neuro! Cosplayer...do you mean my cloak? This is my normal clothes! ...Yeah, I do like blue a lot! What's your name?" Her order came as she spoke, to which she happily took. But then the server asked her to pay, which was a bit of an concern. But if she had her information right, the old world mostly relied on online transactions, so if she could just-
"Oh, You don't have any money?? Don't worry, I'll spot you! That's what friends are for, right?" ..Friends? After just one short interaction? She sure did warm up to people fast, it looked like. she watched as the blonde haired woman paid for her drink with ease. "Anyways, I'm Cerber! Nice to meet you Neuro-wan! Did..did you say those were your normal clothes? Oh, you poor soul...we gotta dress a pretty girl like you in some better clothing! Come on!!!"
Before she had time to even process what was said, she was being dragged by Cerber, to some destination unknown to Neuro. She sipped her latte while being dragged along. This wasn't what she was expecting for her first day back, But it's not like she was complaining. They shortly arrived to where Cerber had wanted...It looked like a clothing shop, or so Neuro thought.
Being pulled inside by the hand, The dog girl wandered the isles, piling clothes upon clothes on her forearm..Wait.. "Heeeey, Cerber..! You're uhm, not gonna make me try all of those on, right...?" She nervously asked, watching as the clothes kept increasing. "Huh? Of course, Silly! We need to find just the right style for you, Obviously!"
Oh no..
....
...
...
After a few ardously long hours, Cerber was finally content with all the clothes she had made her try. from frilly dresses, formal suits, gothic style, lolita, and even some anime cosplays...The blond haired woman looked happy throughout it all, much to Neuro's dismay.
"Hmmm...I think these should be okay! Time to pay for them~!" Cerber promptly walked up to the cash register, or would have, if she had not been stopped by Neuro. "W-wait! That's way too much clothes! I can't have you pay for all that!" The other girl tilted her head at her, as if she asked the most nonsensical question in existence.
"Huh? Of course I'll pay! Silly, we're friends! Neuro-wan, you should learn to rely on them more~" Sure, if it was some simple favor, but this was just way too much! But she was a little too powerless to stop her, it seemed, watching Cerber hand over the card, the transaction being made easily. She didn't even want to imagine the price...After getting a bag to put all the clothes in, Cerber walked back over to the smaller girl.
"All done! What should we do now?? Hmm...It's getting pretty late! We should go home. I'll walk you home, Neuro-wan! Where's your address?" Uh oh. This was a little bit of a situation. She didn't quite have a home to go to, so she weighed her options...She could lie to her, say some random address and have her leave when they're close by...But she'd feel extremely guilty doing so. Especially to such a pure hearted woman..the other option was to just be upfront, which she also didn't want to do, not wanting to rely on the dog girl so much.
looks like she took too long in responding, considering that Neuro could see the worry build In her eyes, Crap...Most people would have gave an answer by now. She was approximately 18 seconds far too late for that now. "Neeeeuro-wan?"
Swallowing thickly. She was way out of her depth here. No amount of processing or running simulations could ever hope to prepare herself for human interaction. the feeling of connecting to one another so easily...Neuro knew what she had to say..
"I uh, Don't have a home." She analyzed Cerber's expression as she said that. a face of concern, turned into pity...then a smile. she walked forward, wrapping her arms around the shorter of the two. "Okay then! You'll just have to go to my home for today! Or maybe even longer! Hehe, I've never had a Roommate before!" Bouncing on the heels of her shoes excitingly. "I- What? No, I couldn't impos-"
Cerber quickly shushed her, not having any of it. "Nuh uh, little missy! You're going with me, got it! It'll be nice and warm, You'll love it Neuro-wan! Please?? Friends help friends!" Looking at her earnest expression, Neuro couldn't help feel endeared. To have someone worry about her like this. She hadn't felt this feeling in a long time. Now that she had it, she didn't...know what to do. Maybe...maybe it'd be okay to accept. She'd feel rather bad if she rejected her now, too...
"..Okay, I'll go stay at your home, Cerber." At that sentence, Cerber had made a loud 'YIPPIE!' sound in triumph. "Yes! Okay, let's go! Oh, you'll just love my place!" And so, the two of them walked, Neuro mostly following her lead. It didn't take too long, though the place they were infront of was..a little surprising, but also slightly expected.
The building just...exuded a sense of fanciness to it. A tall, sleek structure with large windows that reflected the bright afternoon sun. The marble pillars flanking the entrance gleamed, and the door had a polished, golden handle. Cerber walked in with confidence, Neuro shiftily following behind, feeling a little out of place. "Oh hi John-wan! Hard at work as always, huh?"
Referring to the doorman, which was a sign of 'this place was absolutely meant for rich people.' He seemed to light up a little, seeing Cerber's bubbly self. "Of course. Is this a new friend of yours? It's nice to meet you miss. Welcome to the 'Hound's Hearth.'"
It even had a title? Well, this certainly explained how Cerber easily paid for all those clothes, she must be loaded! Not that she cared much for how rich someone was. It was definitely nice though. "Yeah, This is Neuro-wan! Alright, I'm heading up! Bye bye John-wan, see you again!" He nodded with a smile, and the two went on their way to the elevator. She watched as Cerber clicked the highest button. It only took a few seconds for the elevator to arrive at the very top of the building.
After swiping a card against a keycard access, Cerber pushed open the door to her 'apartment', if it could be called that... "Come on, enter in!" Neuro slowly made her way in. She was expecting rich, sure, she wasn't expecting...this much space. A luxurious suite. Various doors, a large kitchen and living room space.
"Wow, Uh...this is really something!" She said, not knowing what much else to say..Cerber simply giggled in response, before dragging her towards some windows that stretched the entire length of a normal wall. "Look, look! Isn't the view wonderful up here?" And as Neuro looked, She couldn't help but agree.
The building overlooked a large portion of the city they were in. everything was so radiant and pretty, even at night. She watched the sunset, Cerber joining her in such. "It's beauitful, isn't it? I can't help but be in awe every time I watch it go down. And I've lived here for awhile!"
Neuro giggled at that, the sun just barely passing the horizon now. She turned to face Cerber. "Thank you, really. I don't know if I've ever met a nicer person then you." Which was true, considering there was...little interaction she had with anyone in that wasteland...
"Awww, you don't have to thank me! It's just the natural thing to do!" She must have been brought up with some deep morals, Neuro mused.. "Well, I still feel like I have to." The dog girl fondly shook her head, before motioning for her to follow.
She led her to one of the doors, opening it up to reveal what looked like a guest room. Everything looked perfect, and comfy at that. "Here's where you'll sleep, Neuro-wan! you'll be falling asleep in no time! It's getting pretty late, So I think you should get to sleeping now! I'm glad I met you today, Neuro-wan!" With that said, Cerber hugged her. A sudden motion, but not one she minded, Happily reciprocating the hug back. "Goodnight Neuro-wan!"
"Goodnight." She watched as Cerber walked off to her own room. She entered the guest room, observing everything in it. drawers on either side of the room, the bed had those things that were like curtains, but for beds, stretching downwards. directly parallel was a large TV mounted to the wall. Another room was connected to this guest room, which upon inspecting was revealed to be a bathroom, also equally as fancy.
She slowly climbed onto the bed, lying down on the bed and sighing. This was one hell of a day. But those interactions with Cerber...It made her resolve stronger. That such a world like this didn't deserve to get ruined. And Neuro would make sure that what had happened before, wouldn't come to reality again.
She had a mission,
And she would succeed at all costs.