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~ 🚥 ~
Unfortunate circumstances led Signolo to reside at Nickels when it had happened. He had been invited to hang out the night earlier, for a halloween movie binge- To celebrate the holiday which had passed 2 days earlier.
Who knew what couldve caused it? A computer virus- or a possible code bug, had leeched its way into Signolos operating system and wrecked him just overnight. It couldve been anything- from an infected outlet, to an infection through another robot. Alas, the matter of how it got into his code didnt matter- At least not to Signolo himself. He had issues of his own to focus on
Whatever was in his code was completely wearing him down. His functions were absolutely bugged- Nothing worked properly. He could hardly take in whatever Nickel had said to him, it went through one receiver and out the other for him. Not that he wasnt listening- he physically couldnt. He couldnt hold focus for more than a few seconds. It felt as if his wires had been replaced with cotton. Thick, fluffy cotton that made his head feel light and fluffy- in the worst way possible.
The heat was unbearable. He was trying so hard to keep himself running, and Lord knows his internals were. It seemed like the simplest tasks were too much for his body, as he was overheating far too easily. His faceplate was hot to the touch, his shell not much cooler. It was uncomfortable, truthfully. It felt awful. He couldnt keep his body from overworking itself- And worry of a forced shutdown would have overcome him, had he the mental awakeness to really consider it. All he knew, was that it was deathly hot.
Uncomfortable would be almost an understatement. Computer viruses were the worst, the bane of any robots existence. Left untreated for long enough, it could cause permanent damage to their coding and wires- Which, ultimately caused many robots perish, as they would be too out of it to even consider calling for help. Signolo certainly wouldnt have done so, he could barely keep one thought track for more than a sentence before his mind had either gone to static, or he had found something to worry about. Needless to say, aware or not, Signolo was in close to agony. It hurt.
~ .. ~
It was hard to fully remember, but the lead-up was clearer. One day in particular, Signolo had failed to keep himself charged overnight. Not many places have outlets, but Shimiso’s did. He usually stopped there to recharge himself while on his breaks. There was a danger in using public outlets, a glaring one.
It wasnt too long after he had plugged himself in that he found himself dozing off. He knew it’d be unprofessional (And generally, a bit odd) to fall asleep in a restaurant, but at a certain point, he had passed out without even realizing. He wasnt quite sure when it was, or how long he had been out for. He never did care to find out.
He remembered coming to, and feeling anxious. He could think back to it, and see Miso next to him, trying to speak. He, in a clear mindset, could remember the fear he had felt. It was fuzzy, sure, but there was a feeling attached to the memory that followed him every time he went back. Overheating, functions deteriorating, processing errors.. It was scarier to him. He had never contracted any sort of computer virus before, he didnt know what to expect. He felt his code collapsing, and it was intimidating- No, not intimidating. Frightful.
All he can think clearly about when going back on that memory is how thankful he was for Miso to be there with him. He didnt know much about whatd happened that day- What led her to become alerted to his state, or why she helped how she did- All he knows is that she is the one who didnt leave his side. He could remember being carried home, flown right under her arm. They didnt speak much, but there was a significant amount of respect placed onto Miso- Not just by Signolo himself, but by her employees and fellow customers.
~ 🚥 ~
In the moment, hes not as intimidated by the thought of a virus being in his system. Of course, he disliked it. It didnt feel the greatest to have your code get eaten at by a virus. Having said, it felt nowhere as awful as the last time. Anxiety riddled, Signolo felt as if he’d die. Now.. He just felt a bit discontented. Irritated, almost.
Ease coursed through his body as he could feel a cold washrag run gently down his back. It was how Nickel tried showing comfort- Knowing his claws would certainly feel awful scraping against Signolos body. The washrag, damp with cold water, provided Signolo with the comfort needed, in both a physical and mental sense. It felt good to have something cooler placed on his actively-heating body, keeping him from overheating into shutdown. It also felt relaxing- Knowing that Nickel was there, not just to babysit. He was there for Signolo, to help, to care. He sighed, folding his arms under his head as he lay there, helpless, on the couch. He had wanted to go home- to deal with this on his own, get better in his own way. Help himself, save Nickel the trouble. He knew now, though, from past incidents, that trying to be the brave one who solves his own issues, usually leads to more harm than good.
He knew Nickel had called on someone already. He wasnt much concerned with whoever was brought over, all he knew in the moment was that Nickel had stuck by him. What an inconvenience he was, to shut down in such a way, while at his friends house. Itd be so easy to run Signolo to his own house, dropping him off with a halfhearted “Get well soon”, just to avoid the chore. No, it was a conscious decision on Nickels end, to keep Signolo in his home and do what he could to make him feel better than he had. Nickel had never gone through a bug or virus, shockingly. Still, he chose to trust Signolo- Risking taking Sigs weakness and discomfort as an overreaction couldve led to worse symptoms. Nickel knew it was better to potentially waste his time than to harm his friend.
~ 🥽⚙️~
Odeko was an inventor- Not a coder.
..Okay, well, by definition, he was a coder. Just, not preferably. Odekos passion lay in creating. Blueprints, wiring, building and experimenting. He much preferred getting to create his own art from scratch.. Rather than build it into a computer. It was just how he had always thought- Coding was like filling in the blanks on something already made. Making the gadgets was the fun part- Coding them was the part he could do away with. It was the part he had to do. Everything else, he could look forward to.
Luckily, antivirus were easy to make, for Odeko atleast. It was like putting pills in a bottle. It was simple to operate too, which made his job easier. The quicker he gets this done, the quicker he can go on with his life- and enjoy it.
Of course he cared for Signolo. He was one of his greatest prides- As Signolos quick thinking and safety protocols had all been installed and tweaked by Odeko himself. Granted, it was said tweaking which led Signolos coded accent to go from Japanese to Australian. Being Japanese in origin, it peeved Signolo that he had to speak his main language in an accent which wasnt his, but over time, he adjusted to it. Had Odeko been able to code him further, it couldve been fixed.
Coding, as mentioned, is not what Odeko likes. When visiting Signolo for whatever reason, he desires one thing- to see Sigs inner workings. His wires, CPU, battery, sensors- It was enticing!! To get to see how this robot truly worked, to understand how such an intelligent being was made, it would teach him so much. But, alas, its not the easiest conversation to have when youre trying to ask someone if you can look at their insides. He had never really considered actually doing it- Just something he would imagine and speculate on.
But, for now, Odeko was stuck doing what he hated. Which, was debug. Pick at Signolos code, find the root of his symptoms- And find a way to get rid of it. If it was a virus, he would need the aforementioned antivirus to purge his system of it. If it were a simple bug in code, it could be easily fixed. Maybe Odeko would sneak in a quick tweak to the code determining Sigs accent.
He knew it was likely the difficult option. The one where he had to do something. Blugh. Itd take an irritating amount of time to try and remove whatever had embedded itself into Signolos coding, as an antivirus was a sort of last ditch effort, considering its side effects. Nothing too serious, of course, it was just very much so not preferred by the receiver.
~ 🚥 ~
He could hardly tell what was sitting in front of him, as he held his arms at his side, trying to steady himself. Swaying softly, sitting up, he felt worse than before. Like his head was too heavy for his body. He knew Odeko was there, he could hear him and Nickel speaking. Focusing was difficult. He had at some point given up any attempt at hearing what the two had been saying to eachother, finding that it was much less of a hassle to just let himself zone out, his head feeling heavy and yet light at once.
He hated to admit it, but he had trust issues with Odeko. Ever since he had his code tweaked and updated for better workflow, he spoke with an accent unknown to him. It felt fake, almost. But, he had no other choice,, The only debugger in the princedom was Velvet, who was too much of a ditz to trust with something this serious.
Code being poked at also felt bad, in general. It made Signolo feel a bit sick, seeing his insides and workings plastered on a small computer screen- Out and exposed for anyone to fuck with as they please. Hed prefer his code stay kept to himself, for the sake of his own safety and mental state.
Though, he hated antivirus even more. Having an unfamiliar USB jabbed into your side.. It never felt nice. Going in or out. The antivirus going into his system had also felt extremely unpleasant. It felt cold- like ice had been injected into his wires. It was horrible. Once the antivirus was in his system, itd force him to shut down- To prevent his functions and processes from being messed with, of course, but waking up from a forced shut down was rather displeasing. It left him feeling offbalance and woozy, as if he had been coming down from anesthesia. Not that he knew what it felt like- But, to compare, thats what it would be like.
He was doing his best to stop himself from worrying about Odeko. Seeing him down and weak like this, didnt do much for his deteriorating ego. He had already gone through the “reliable figure seen weak” song and dance not too long ago, Nickel being there to accompany him was a good reminder of such. He knew his best bet was to just stop worrying about it- since it wasnt doing much for his already frazzled mind state. Stress only worsened how he felt. He knew he wasnt going to be able to use his overconfidence in himself, Odeko had already seen him weak- And, truthfully, Signolo hardly felt like he could speak. He couldnt get out much more than a few drained “uh-huh”s, so ultimately, it was useless to try and solve this on his own. He knew it was the best for him.
~ 🥽⚙️~
He held his finger in place, watching as Signolos middle face panel dimmed, his face disappearing as his posture slumped. He removed his finger, brushing a hand against the top of the robots forehead- In an almost pitiful way. He didnt know the extent of which this guy could feel emotions and physical pain, but by looks alone, he seemed very uncomfortable. Grimacing down at the ground with a completely blank look in his eyes, and going off of what Nickel had said, it seemed like he felt enough to be miserable. After plugging Signolo into his computer to ensure he was turned off, Odeko opened the needed file to begin his picking and digging.
He couldve done this with Signolo powered on, it wouldnt have changed much. It felt cruel, however, to keep the sickly robot awake for something he could easily be asleep for. He considered it further, just how aware Signolo was. He didnt seem much like a robot when compared to any other cosmic- He seemed to be more than that. Realizing it now, Odeko had never actually thought much past Signolo being a machine. His awareness, ability to feel, and senses. He stared longer at Signolos unconscious body, feeling a pang of guilt just for how the guy had felt a few minutes prior. It was upsetting the more he thought about it, how many people go by not even seeing him, or Nickel, or, hell, even Charlie as much more than gimmicks. Even he himself hadnt thought about it much past that.
As much as he disliked coding, he knew this was a case where he needed to put effort towards it. Yes, it was irritating to dig through every file just to find one simple rotten application, but he knew what was at stake. This were no different than any other medical crisis- As the virus, being unknown to him now, could be anything ranging from a bad file sticking itself to a program, to a harmful parasite worming its way through Signolos codes and files, destroying him inside. Being able to see Signolo as his usual self would be the payoff Odeko needed for going through the trouble of dabbling in his least favorite subject.
~ 🥽⚙️~
He gently slid the USB stick into one of Signolos side ports, sighing as he did so. A bad virus is one embedded well enough that it wont allow simple deletion. Whatever led this into Signolos system, it was good.
He lifted Signolo back up onto the couch, sitting him so that he wouldnt be [as] uncomfortable when he awoke. He stared again at Signolos body, frowning as he held his hand against the side of Signolos head. It was still warm. He glanced back at Nickel, who had been silently observing.
“Make sure he doesnt overheat.. Okay? Power him down if you gotta. Its the best way to keep him from damaging his battery.” Nickel gave a silent nod, waddling over to the two, as a sort of gesture to show he could take over for Odeko. “Ive got my eye on him.. Um, question about.. This all, though..”
Odeko backed up, keeping his eye contact with Nickel as he shut his laptop and resleeved it. “Alright, shoot.” Nickel turned himself, laying a new, cold washrag over Signolos forehead.
“Shutting him down harms him.. It makes him feel worse when he wakes up, why.. Why would i do it? Is there no other way to keep him from overheating?” Odeko huffs, turning his head to face his bag and cords. He reels up a cord on his hand, closing his eyes as he thinks. “How do i explain it. When hes shut off, hes not wasting his energy running applications and attempting to process stuff hes unable to. It helps his recovery, even if he feels bad waking up..” He looks back at Nickel, his face softened from the impending guilt. “It seems harmful, but its better for him.”
“Thats all that matters. Is the recovery. And im sure he will do fine.”
Nickel glanced at Signolo, a sympathetic frown plastered on his face. He sighed, nodding his head as he folded his legs, sitting down on the ground next to the couch. “..ill take your word. You know more about this than i do.”
Odeko gives a soft smile, pushing the door open as he turns to head out. He pauses on the way out, turning for one last look at Signolo. He sighs softly, looking back at Nickel.
“Give him my best wishes when he wakes up.”