Work Text:
—
The people who governed Robloxia were incompetent fools.
That was simply a fact; the same way it was a fact that Goodware was the most amazing antivirus to ever step foot on the world, even if they infected more technology more than they protected it.
As such, it was no surprise when Goodware learned of the government’s scrapped program - to create a new line of robots to help assist civilians in their daily lives. And it was an even smaller shock when Goodware learned that not only did the prototypes still exist, but they weren’t even programmed with a firewall.
Goodware’s job was simple: spread itself to these robots and add even more peons into the hivemind. Nothing that it wasn’t used to.
Goodware was very.. well, good at its job, so it didn’t take very long to complete this task.
There was just one more robot it had to infect, and then it would be free to do whatever it wished! Maybe it could learn some new skateboarding tricks while it had the time? That seemed nice..
All it had to do was-
“ACTIVATING V33-R4-01-N33-7K..”
Ah. It seems it had taken too long.
“WH0 AR3 Y0U? ” Asked a robotic, feminine voice. Goodware could sense the innocent curiosity in her tone. “WHY ARE Y0U 1N MY SYSTEMS? O□O."
“UHH_” Goodware was at a loss for words, “IT_WAS_AN_ACCIDENT_?”
“…D0 Y0U PR0MIS3 IT WAS 0N ACC1D3NT?”
“…” Goodware contemplated on what they should respond with, “YEAH_.”
“0H, 0KAY!” The android - which Goodware was now starting to realize had just turned on for the very first time - seemed content with the lackluster answer they had given her, “I F0RG1VE Y0U, TH3N! JUST D0N’T D0 1T AGAIN, ALR1GHT ^_^?”
“SURE_” Goodware complied without even thinking about it.
…
Well this was awkward.
Goodware knew, logically, that they should just hurry up and infect her, even if she was conscious to experience it. Badware would be pissed if they did a half-assed job, so they really should just-
“S0, 1S TH3RE ANYTH1NG Y0U N33D H3LP W1TH?”
“..WHAT_?”
“W3LL, 1T’S JUST. UM .. >﹏>.” Her voice sounded very bashful, “I WAS CR3ATED T0 H3LP P30PL3. I THINK. S0 1F TH3RE’S ANYTHING I CAN ASSIST WITH..”
At that very moment, an idea formed in Goodware’s mind. A very devious, evil idea.
“HM_WELL..” It pretended to think, “MY_COMPANY_COULD_USE_SOME_MORE_EMPLOYEES..”
“WHAT DO3S YOUR C0MPANY D0?” Vee questioned.
“WELL_I’M_AN_ANTIVIRUS..” Goodware had to choose their words very, very carefully, “AND_MY_JOB_IS_TO_ENSURE_EVERY_SINGLE_COMPUTER_IN_ROBLOXIA_IS_PROTECTED_FROM_ANY_VIRUSES.”
There. Now that technically wasn’t a lie, now was it?
“R3ALLY?” The prototype robot couldn’t seem to believe it, “1’D B3 HAPPY TO W0RK F0R Y0U! IF MY CR3ATORS L3T M3, THAT 1S..”
“YOU_WON’T_NEED_TO_WORRY_ABOUT_THAT.” Goodware reassured her, “THEY_DISCARDED_YOU_SO_I_HIGHLY_DOUBT_THEY_CARE_ABOUT_YOU_ANYMORE.”
“TH3Y…” The younger bot seemed quite disturbed at the revelation, “D1D…D1D TH3Y R3ALLY-“
Whoops. She was getting emotional, and Goodware was not good at these types of situations.
“HA_HA_YEAH_ANYWAYS_I’M_GONNA_GO_PICK_YOU_UP_IN_PERSON_NOW,” It rushed out, “STAY_PUT_AND_DON’T_MOVE_A_MUSCLE.”
“UM… 0KAY?”
Goodware haphazardly disconnected itself from her systems, and groaned as it input its “consciousness” (if you could call it that) into a vessel it could interact with the real world with.
…Badware would be so pissed off with them. They just knew it.
—-
Goodware had taken to calling her Vee, short for Veeronica.
…What? Her actual name was a mouthful, and they would be saying it very often from here on out, considering the fact that they were technically her superior now and all.
Speaking of, Goodware had little to no experience with teaching others. When one was acclimated into the hivemind, you didn’t need to be taught anything - you already knew what to do and how to do it.
It would be so much easier if Goodware had infected Vee already - what it was supposed to do, but whatever.
It had started this, and it was in much too deep to go back now.
Luckily for them, Vee was a fast learner, and even if she couldn’t infect machines herself, she could prime them for others to infect on their own time.
Even the most sophisticated, most guarded computers would become vulnerable once Vee was able to access it. To say Goodware was very, very proud would be an understatement.
“TH1S 1S FAR EASI3R THAN I TH0UGHT IT W0ULD BE.” Vee commented, blinking a little, “1S ALL T3CHN0LOGY IN R0BL0XIA R3ALLY TH1S UNPR0TEC3ED?”
“FROM_WHAT_I’VE_SEEN..” Goodware trailed off for a moment, “YEAH_PRETTY_MUCH.”
“BUT_IT_MAKES_OUR_JOB_EASIER, SO_WHO_ARE_WE_TO_COMPLAIN_AM_I_RIGHT?”
“1 GUESS.. “ Vee looked to the side for a moment, and Goodware felt themselves growing very worried for a couple of seconds - Vee was usually nothing if not talkative and sociable, so seeing her stray away from that mold somewhat scared them, but she piped up a few moments later: “0H! THE F1REWALL IS D0WN 0N THAT GOVERNMENT C0MPUTER Y0U ASKED AB0UT 3ARLIER OヮO!”
“THAT’S_WHAT_I_LIKE_TO_HEAR.” Goodware leaned down and gave Vee a few pats on her head, which she seemed to enjoy, if her change in expression was anything to go by.
Rummaging around for a bit in the spare backpack Goodware had brought with it when it had first came to retrieve Veeronica from the abandoned government facility she had been left in, it eventually found what it was looking for: A set of batteries.
Despite the line of Helperbots Vee belonged to being discontinued indefinitely, the batteries that powered her still existed in the world. Goodware had successfully managed to locate some through trial and error (and with the help of the other peons, technically speaking) and kept them safely stashed in its bag.
“HERE. YOU_CAN_ HAVE_SOME_OF_THESE.” Goodware handed the batteries over to Vee, who lit up at the sight of them, “AS_A_TREAT.”
“W0W! THANK Y0U ‘G00DWAR3’ ^ヮ^!” Vee was ecstatic, practically vibrating as she slotted the batteries into the correct spot, “Y0U’R3 S0 N1C3! 1’LL D0 ANYTH1NG 1 CAN T0 R3PAY Y0U F0R ALL THAT Y0U’V3 D0N3 F0R M3!”
Goodware tilted its head and smiled, very endeared.
It was odd. Goodware knew that it was using Vee, but at the same time, it also couldn’t help but feel a sense of.. warmth, whenever it spent time with her. Peons mostly couldn’t feel any emotion besides cold calculation, with rare cases like Loveware and Devilware and their bizarre little family being especially notable.
Goodware liked seeing Vee genuinely, truly happy.
‘Well, if any other Peon were to discover her, they would surely infect her without a second thought.’ Goodware reasoned to themselves, ‘So.. this is the best possible scenario for her. Yes. This is for her own good.’
Goodware tried to take its mind off that weirdly deep train of thought, and focused their attention on what Vee was attempting to do now-
“…’G00DWAR3’, WHAT D03S ‘AL3RT: INTRUD3R D3T3CTED’ MEAN-?”
..Goodware slapped the laptop Vee was currently using shut without a second thought.
—
“BEND_YOUR_KNEES_IN.” Goodware ordered. They were currently trying to teach Vee to do one of the only things they reaped enjoyment out of besides spreading - skateboarding!
…Were they making any real progress? …That was debatable.
“YEAH_JUST_LIKE_THAT.” Goodware praised once Vee finally figured it out, “NOW_JUST_MOVE_FORWARD.”
Vee seemed very hesitant to do so, her face very obviously showing just how nervous she was.
“JUST_TRY_IT_OUT_I_PROMISE_YOU_WON’T_GET_HURT_OR_ANYTHING-“ Goodware was interrupted by Vee actually deciding to be brave and skate a few feet forward.
“GOOD_JOB!” Goodware clapped, “THAT_WASN’T_SO_BAD_NOW_WAS_IT?”
“Y3AH..” Vee admitted, scratching at her head sheepishly, “I GU3ESS 1 WAS JUST B3ING DRAMATIC ,,>﹏<,, .”
“IT’S_FINE_VEE. YOU_DID_IT_IN_THE_END_ANYWAY_DIDN’T_YOU?” Goodware comforted her to the best of its ability.
“I GUE3SS Y0U’RE R1GHT..” Vee replied, having cheered up significantly, “S0, WHAT SH0ULD W3 D0 N3XT ^ᴗ^?”
“LET’S_SEE_IF_YOU_CAN_LEARN_SOME_COOL_TRICKS!” Goodware announced, “LIKE_A_KICKFLIP!”
“…AND H0W D0ES 0NE D0 THAT, 3XACTLY?”
“OH_IT’S_REAL_SIMPLE,” Goodware swiped the skateboard from under Vee’s feet quickly, and placed themselves on top of it, “JUST_WATCH_AND_LEARN, KID!”
Goodware then proceeded to effortlessly perform a kickflip, as they had done million of times before. It was like second nature to them at this point.
“NOW_YOU_TRY.” Goodware handed the skateboard over to Vee, much to her chagrin.
“UM… THAT L00K3D K1NDA C0MPLICATED BUT 1 TH1NK 1 CAN TRY T0 R3PLICATE IT-?”
“THAT’S_THE_SPIRIT!”
Goodware watched Vee try and mimic the same thing they did, not an inch of worry on their face. They had more faith in her than they did.. any of their other coworkers, being entirely honest. They were sure she could handle any situation thrown at her, including this one.
…
‘Wait doesn’t she need to know how to ollie in order to-‘
But before Goodware could dwell further on that, Vee (very predictably) failed to properly complete the kickflip and fell flat on her face, the sound immediately alerting Goodware to attention.
“OH_SHIT-“
—
Goodware and Veeronica had returned “home” (if you could call a random abandoned house out in the middle of nowhere a home), and Goodware currently lay beside a charging, deactivated Vee.
Goodware had had to reach out to some of the other peons for help, considering the fact that Vee was one of a kind and there wasn’t knowledge on how to fix her available online.
“CALM_DOWN_DUDE_JESUS_CHRIST-“ Devilware tried to console Goodware as Loveware tried her best to figure out just how Vee could be repaired, “YOU_LOOK_LIKE_YOU’RE_ABOUT_TO_HAVE_AN_ANEURYSM_FOR_CHRIST’S_SAKE-“
“…FOR_YOUR_INFORMATION, I_AM_PERFECTLY_FINE_DEVILWARE.” Goodware snapped back, more than a bit irritated and stressed over what would happen to Vee, tapping their foot impatiently.
“THIS_IS_MORE_COMPLEX_THAN_I_THOUGHT_IT’D_BE..” Loveware murmured under her breath while she fiddled with some of Vee’s wires, “OH! I_THINK_I_GOT_IT!”
“GOODWARE! GOOD_NEWS!” Loveware held up Vee. It would’ve been funny, seeing just how small Vee was compared to her, but Goodware didn’t feel very amused, “I_MANAGED_TO_FIX_YOUR_KID-“
“SHE’S_NOT_MY-“
“YEAH_YEAH_WHATEVER.” Loveware brushed them off, handing Vee over to a now relieved Goodware, who begun to cradle her gently, “JUST_ONE_CHARGE_AND_SHE_SHOULD_BE_GOOD_TO_GO.”
“THANK_YOU_FOR_HELPING_HER.” Goodware gave her their thanks.
“WOULD’VE_BEEN_FASTER_IF_YOU_HADN’T_BEEN_PANICKING_WHEN_YOU_FIRST_CAME_HERE..” Devilware said under his breath.
Loveware playfully shoved him in the shoulder, “DON’T_MIND_HIM. YOU_AND_HER_STAY_SAFE_OUT_THERE, ALRIGHT?”
“WILL_DO.” Goodware complied before leaving quickly.
Goodware sat beside her, silent and still.
They didn’t really know what to do. For the first time ever, they had someone they truly, deeply cared for. Someone they didn’t want to see get hurt or worse, die.
This was all so new to them.. they didn’t know how to process any of it.
Maybe they should rest with Vee. They didn’t like being left alone with their thoughts like this.
Yes.. that sounded like a good course of action to take, Goodware thought.
In a rather abrupt manner, Goodware shut themselves down for the night.
—-
It was a normal day when Vee went missing.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
Goodware had even been planning on killing some civilians and having Vee tag along for once instead of telling her to stay home like it usually did, scared that she could get hurt again and be unable to make a full recovery like last time.
But when Goodware returned home after a mission Badware had sent it on to complete in person..
She was nowhere to be seen.
They had searched everywhere.
But she was gone. Just like that.
Goodware wouldn’t give up so easily.
They would drag Badware and the other wanted criminals their boss sometimes worked with into this if they needed to.
Goodware would get their Vee back. If it was the last thing they did.
—