Chapter Text
“That isn’t what we’re training for,” Admin Four said, continuing with, “but I have proven that it is.”
“I think I have a theory as to why they keep coming back here.” Admin 3 tried to add, however Admin Four dismissed them, snapping their fingers; the light leaving Andre’s body as he turned into a lump on the floor.
“Leave him. We can make others,” Admin Four said, already turning and leaving for the doors back. Hesitantly, Admin Three followed, refraining from whatever statement they thought might be beneficial.
As for Andre, he had been deactivated for 28 days 6 hours and 52 seconds when Assimilation found him buried in the cold snow of the spruce forest.
“!!! I TOLD YOU I COULDNT DIE ANDRE!!!” Assimilation was angry. They felt betrayed and wronged, but when he actually looked at him— “?...andre...? andre why are you just laying there andre???” They pushed him up against a tree then moved back to study his face. His antenna things were not their usual bright colors, but were a dark black instead. His pupils also showed no reaction; not having their normal glowing rim to them. His limbs were at odd angles too, but Assimilation wasn’t sure if that was unusual for a …. robot’s ….range of movement. They were still uncomfortable with the lie they themself were and had yet to accept. So, they began to take Andre to someone more knowledgeable. Someone safer.
When the world generation finished, they were already a few blocks from the spawn as Assimilation barged into Collinlock16’s house, having no care for whatever his previous activity might’ve been. “collin what's wrong with andre collin”
He turned around, startled, “Woah, hey man ever heard of knocki- what the hell happened to him?”
“the admins collin”
“Right.” Collin seemed to accept that fairly easily which was odd, but there were many odd things about him. Especially with the bounds of his knowledge. “Just—why don't you put him over there? In that corner.” He gestured to the most empty part of his home, which wasn’t really saying much since he didn't seem to be one for decorating. Assimilation complied, as Collinlock16 reached into his chest once more, looking with a searching eye this time instead of a bored one. He pulled out some iron and some other mechanical looking items and walked over to where Andre then sat. “I don’t know exactly what he’s made out of, so I can’t promise this will fix anything.” Collin crouched in front of Andre’s body, observing carefully at the shell of the once bustling speedrunner.
“try collin.” Assimilation watched, wide-eyed and hovering over him.
“How’s that look?” Collin wiped his brow, taking a moment to look at the results. Andre looked mostly similar to how he did before—if you asked Collin. He only had a few, barely noticeable, changes. Like the faint redstone glow that illuminated from Andre’s joints, or how some of his screws seemed slightly slanted; but there weren't any major changes! He was proud of what he’d done. The real test was if he woke up again, though. He didn’t want to think what Assimilation would do if he messed this up.
“different collin”
“Well damn, sorry. I didn’t have much to work with.” He expressed, making sure to keep the leftover bits of redstone, iron, and metal parts clearly in Assimilations view. “Well? Aren’t you going to see if he works now?”
Nodding, Assimilation sat in front of Andre as Collin stood farther back, nearing the door to his home. They poked Andre a few times, but when nothing resulted, Assimilation began to shake him with fever.
“Don’t break him more than he already was,” Collin added, but was stopped when they heard a vague clicking sound as fans began to whir softly—though Andre made no movement. His antennas began to emit a small teal glow but his eyes still stayed a dark, dull color; showing no change.
“???Andre??? collin why is he broken collin”
“Why would I know? You’re the one who was shaking him!”
Assimilation ignored Collins comment, inspecting Andre; but nothing seemed evidently wrong.
“Unless you need something else, get out of my house.” Collin moved from the door, even giving Assimilation a little hand by opening it for them.
“hes not fixed collin.”
“I can’t do anything else for him. I don't know all this tech-y stuff.”
Assimilation looked at Andre on the floor, picking him up in a piggy-back like style. The moment Assimilation stepped onto the grass outside the door slammed behind them, forcing them into the rainy weather. Also effectively making them both feel very unwelcome. For a while, Assimilation just wandered. Carefully adjusting how he carried Andre ever so often. Around Collin’s house there wasn't much. There was, of course, the mountains with the teleporters; and where there wasn't a scarce amount of trees there was flat land far and wide. Assimilation settled for exploring the trees. It seemed safest. Coverage and materials, logically it made the most sense to reside there.
As the sun rose, Assimilation laid Andre down in a soft patch of grass in a clearing of the forest. They began breaking trees, collecting wood and other items to build a home. Should they have asked Collin first before building? Probably. Were they going to? No. As they collected items they could hear small buzzes or clicks coming from Andre; but were unsure of what it meant. Was it the rain? No, they ran through it perfectly fine before. Maybe it would be fixed if he booted up again. If? No, he would.
The house Assimilation made was—mediocore in kind words. They weren’t made for these kinds of mundane tasks, and it certainly showed! But it had walls, a roof, and a floor. That's all that mattered. Now, Assimilation didn’t need to eat, despite having natural organs; and they believed Andre didn’t either due to his mechanical nature, however Collin has a bed, shouldn’t their house have one? Assimilation didn’t exactly know what made a house a house—so at best, theirs was a shabby copy.
Before Assimilation went out to look for sheep, they dragged Andre inside to what would appear as gazing out the window. When that was done Assimilation went back into the forest. Though it was now day it wasn’t much brighter due to the ever-persistent rain. There also seemed to be a major lack of sheep. It had passed to almost mid-day when Assimilation realized that maybe those aren’t normal spawn rates. Instead of waiting for who knows how long, they went to ask Collin. It’s his world; he should know how to get wool, or at least let them borrow some.
Assimilation hadn’t travelled far from Colliin’s home; once breaking through the forest it was the only real eye-catching thing to see on the flat terrain. When they reached the door they assumed it would be more appropriate to knock this time, instead of rushing inside. It didn’t seem to have an affect on Collin’s attitude however, as when he opened the door his attitude still appeared fairly sour.
“Why are you still here Assimilation?”
“im building a house collin”
Collin poked his head out the door with an expression of disbelief, “Here? This is my world, there's already enough going on.”
“yes here collin”
He sighed, but gestured for the entity to continue so Assimilation began to speak again, “where are the sheep collin”
“Oh lol idk”
“what does that mean collin”
“It just means I don't know where they are.”
“then how do i get a bed collin”
“Well I might have some extra wool for you to make one. How much do you need?”
“how much do you need for a bed collin”
“You typically need like—three pieces, but you have Andre with you don’t you? I might have six pieces if you want.”
Two beds would be good, the house wasn’t large but could probably fit two, as well as giving Andre a comfortable space to recuperate. “Yes six pieces collin”
“Alright, give me a minute to look.” Collin returned into his home, shutting the door in Assimilation's face. Though, they still watched through the windows of the door as Collin searched. When Collin opened the door again he was fumbling with the soft red wool, awkwardly reaching out to hand it to the entity. “This should be enough to make beds for you guys. But also, don’t make me getting you everything a recurring thing.”
“okay collin” Assimilation nodded as they turned, feeling how soft the wool felt in their hands. As Assimilation returned home, they made sure to collect wood as well for the framework of the bed. They also made sure to grab some very important decoration items like flowers and leaves on their path.
When Assimilation got in view of the house, it looked slightly different. Though they could only see as much as the window allowed, they could see how the interior seemed much more marred than they had left it, and how there was a noticeable lack of an Andre in the window.