Work Text:
The thirty-second day of work at Lobotomy Corporation was finally coming to an end. Angela observed patiently, as the manager ordered the same employee to enter the Queen Bee’s room over and over again for past hour or so now. The quota has already been reached quite some time ago, but the manager insisted they’d try to do some overtime to train employees and try to earn a few EGO gifts if possible.
It has been a very promising cycle. Very few agent deaths, the manager was doing a good job training and maintaining all of their subordinates and even went the extra mile every day to perform some extra abnormality works before ending the day. All good signs, but the AI has long learned that such success can easily be undone by a single mistake.
Finally, the agent the manager has been strongly focusing on this day, left T-04-50’s room with a new hat. With a satisfied sigh, the manager nodded towards their assistant, as they themselves got up from the chair and left the room. A sign for Angela to wrap up the day.
She leaned over the microphone, pressed the button and spoke in her usual, calm voice.
“I officially announce today’s workday has come to an end.” Angela’s words sounded through the intercom in every corner of the facility. “You may return to your private quarters for the day. Well done.”
The blue haired AI watched, as all employees scrambled from their respective main rooms and began heading towards the elevator leading to their place of rest for the night.
Well… Not all of them.
It didn’t escape her attention that one of the agents in Central Command, rather then run along with the rest of her colleagues, instead waited in the room, looking at others as they left. With her photogenic memory, Angela had no issue recognizing any of the hundreds of faces that came and went each cycle, but she was quite certain she’d recognize this one even without it. Don Quixote, currently equipped with a certain magical girl’s outfit and staff, captain of the Central Command (At least this cycle). An energetic, walking disaster, who quite often ended up being one of the manager’s favorite agents.
Angela continued to monitor the agent, who in turn monitored the rest of her department leaving for the night. Only when the final person had left, did the pink wearing girl get up and start moving.
But she wasn’t going towards the elevator. No, quite the opposite. The agent hastily made her way towards one of the abnormality corridors. Angela followed her through the cameras, but she was 99.7 percent sure she already knew the agent’s destination.
Unsurprisingly, she was right. Don reached the door of the abnormality she spent most of her workdays with. O-01-04, also referred to as “The Queen of Hatred” by most agents, or “The Magical Maiden of Love and Justice” by one person in particular.
The agent and the abnormality got along incredibly well practically every cycle they had the chance to meet, making sure there wasn’t a dull day around the facility. Don and her companion would often breach and “fight for love and justice”, even when the trumpet wasn’t sounding, their actions leaving a mess for someone else to take care of. Still, as troubling and annoying the two could be to handle, Don kept getting exceptionally good results with the abnormality, and the Queen hasn’t once entered the state hysteria with the other around, so them remaining together was somewhat justified.
That being said, whatever the agent was planning to do here couldn’t be good news for… anyone, really.
Don glanced to her left and right, ensuring her actions would remain unseen (Too late for that, young miss, Angela thought to herself) as the agent pulled out her employee card. With a swift motion, the agent put it up to the door’s card reader and…
“ACCESS: DENIED” The door sounded in a harsh, robotic voice, unlike that of the blue haired machine currently watching this unfold with a smug smile on her face.
The agent tried again, and once more, all attempts receive the same, cold response. Poor thing, much like most employees, she too was unaware that despite what her card clearance may state, no door in this facility would open to her. Not without Angela’s explicit permission.
Now, there was a certain curious side to her that simply wanted to see what would happen should the agent actually succeed in opening the door. But of course, she had no reason to…
“Dear magical door...” Suddenly, Angela’s train of though was derailed as the blonde girl knelled before the door, hands clasped, eyes looking up at it like a kicked puppy. “...I am most sorry for interrupting though at such late hour, but could you kindly allow me to visit my dearest, magical maiden? I hath made a promise, you see, a most important one, that I would come to visit her this very night. I mustn't fail her trust, so please, with all mine heart, I ask you to grant me entrance!”
Did she really believe that the door, an inanimate object, was alive, could hear her, and what’s more – would comply with her mad request? It was a pitiful attempt that would only get a smirk out of the observing machine.
And yet… The smallest hint of pity started to grow inside her metallic heart. The way the agent looked so utterly devastated by the fact she could not visit the abnormality… And what was that about a promise? Just what on Earth did she tell that magical freak of nature?
Angela considered it for a second, a second that for her was closer to a minute and a half. Opening the door would be foolish at best, completely mad at worst. Logically, she had zero reasons to allow this visit to happen.
But there was more within her metallic body then cold logic. There were also emotions, such as curiosity, boredom, and that tiny sting of pity, prompting her to do the illogical.
Don pulled out the card, pressed it one more time to the reader, and…
“ACCESS: GRANTED. OPENING DOOR.”
The girl literally sprung up from the floor and jumped up excited into the air. She blurred out more thanks to the door then Angela received… probably ever. As soon as the door was open wide enough for her to fit through, she dashed into the cell. Angela quickly switched the camera to that inside to continue beholding what was about to unfold.
“Oh, Magical Maiden! I hath made my arrival!” Don announces, as she practically lunges at the abnormality.
“Don!” The Queen of Hatred welcomed the girl, grabbing her in a tight hug. The two remained in the embrace for around twenty-three seconds before letting go of one another. “Oh, I am so glad to see you. What brings you here? Isn’t it a bit late? Oh, wait… are we doing...”
“Indeed, today is the day we bring our idea most ingenious to life!” Don extended her hand towards the abnormality in a courteous gesture. “Now then, shall we, my magical maiden?”
The abnormality giggled excited, a little bit flustered by the act, but placed her hand within Don’s regardless. “Lead the way, Don!”
Lead the way? Oh, of course, that’s what the agent intended to do.
Well, no matter. The plan was a bust. The second the WAW abnormality took a step outside of the cell, the first trumpet would sound across the entire facility, waking up all other agents and ending the escape attempt.
Well, unless of course a certain bored AI was intrigued enough by such a bold plan to disable the alarm and observe a bit longer just how this situation would unfold.
…
The girls stepped out of the cell, no hellish instrument activated by the breach. They take a look left, then right, then Don bolts down the corridor, the magical girl barely able to keep up with her, the robotic observant however had no trouble keeping up.
Eventually, the agent leads them to the elevator her colleagues took twenty minutes ago - the entrance to the employee’s private quarters.
The duo gets into one of the W-corp’s finest inventions. Don selected a button, scanned her card, and not even a second later the two were transported to her apartment, Angela joining them a second later through the camera view.
The apartment looked just as anyone who knew Don for longer then ten minutes would imagine it. Shelves, the table and desk all featured a large number of various Fixer figurines. The walls and some of the ceiling were adorned in various posters. The bookshelf was full of fixer magazines, fantasy stories and other fixer related literature.
That being said, all of it was neatly organized, no rogue item could be found randomly laying on the floor, it even looked like the room was vacuumed recently. Did the Central Command’s captain have just enough self awareness to clean up before bringing over a guest? It would appear so.
Don wasted no time showing of her collection, regaling her guest with tales about her most prized possessions. To the AI’s surprise, the abnormality seemed genuinely interested in what the agent was saying, considering even other humans lost patience with the girl.
They continued talking about fixers, justice, and other topics for the next hour or so, to the point that Angela questioned why was this visit oh so important to both of them? The two already spent most of the day in each others company, be it in the cell, or patrolling the facility, or making a mess in the cafeteria. Didn’t they have enough time to discuss these topics during work hours? Surely, there would be more to this meeting then this.
Well, it appeared the AI was proven right soon enough.
The room was also furnished with a small TV and a bed large enough to fit two people: Luxuries granted to a team captain. Don brought the Queen to her bed, before pulling out a number of items from under it. Among them were snacks, drinks, two sets of pajamas adorned with star patterns and set of various, dvd boxes.
“As my honored guest, I will allow you to be the one to pick which of these fine tales of justice and grandeur we shall be witnesses to!” She placed the selection before the other girl.
“Oooh, all of these look so fun...” The Queen began tapping her chin, as she considered all her options. Eventually, one title managed to fully grab her attention. “Magical Girls of District 12”. “What about this one? The girls on the cover look just like us and my senpais! We have to see it!”
“Oh, has it been decided then?” She took the dvd and walked up towards the television. “I must say, I hath not yet watched this one, so it shall be an experience most memorable for the two of us!”
The disc was inserted, the girls seated comfortably in the pajamas, and a show of flashy lights and a myriad of colors played on the screen.
Angela didn’t exactly approve of the choice, if it were up to her she’d rather watch a documentary or thriller. That being said, due to a lack of better options on how to spend her time until morning, she still found herself watching alongside them.
The story was pretty typical, about various women finding a magical relics that transformed them into magical girls who had to stand up to an evil syndicate to save the district. That being said, the fight scenes weren’t half bad and the characters turned out way more complex then one would assume from the cover art. Angela had to say, she found herself just slightly invested. It was safe to say, that the other two were also having a blast, seeing them absorbed in the screen.
At some point in the show, the protagonist ended up seriously hurt after shielding her fellow magical girl from a devastating attack. The two got into an argument about her reckless behavior, both getting closer and closet to one another, until…
Suddenly, the argument broke into a passionate kiss between the two characters. Such intimacy did little to bother the AI, she witnessed such acts between real people multiple times across the cycles. However same could not be said for the other two observes.
“I… I h-hath seen engage in such an act many time in movie and book, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one as intense as this...” Don admitted, a strong blush painted on her face, her gaze avoiding the abnormality and the screen.
“Yea… and k-kissing on the lips? I would always go for someones forehead, maybe cheek, never… there” The Queen added, her face showed a similar blush to the agent.
The moment awkward silence was torture enough for living creatures, let alone the person perceiving time one-hundred times slower. But how it often was in the facility, it was Don to break the silence.
“Would thou... Like to try?” To say she asked sheepishly would an understatement of the century.
Both abnormality and the AI looked at the captain, eyes wide open. According to Angela’s calculations, this would be the moment the abnormality loses it and turns Don into minced meat.
“I… I’d love to, if it’s with you…” The abnormality’s face was practically burning red as she brought her lips to the agent’s.
“My maiden…” The agent did little to fight back.
Mirroring the actors in the movie, the two women pushed eagerly into the other’s mouth. A display of the two women desperately trying to push as deep as possible unto the other unfolded. Don was caught off guard for half a second when the queen’s tongue breached her mouth, but judging by the satisfied hum
Not allowing her hands to be idle, Don began playing with the abnormality’s hair. She grabbed ample locks of the blue hair, using it to pull the abnormality even further into herself, letting her know there was no escape from the grasp. The Magical Maiden let out a muffled, satisfied moan, overwhelmed by the stimulation.
In response, the abnormality went on to grab the agent’s behind. The blonde girl jolts up in surprise, as a hand is suddenly placed on her cheek, but does nothing to fight back against it.
Angela didn’t pay exact attention to how much time has passed since the exchange of affection started, but she could tell it was a long moment before the two needed to stop and gasp for air.
The two looked like an absolute mess, hair in dissaray, faces red, tears in eyes.
“Though art… a most skilled partner… at such….” Don managed to say between gasps, before the abnormality grabs her by the shoulders.
“That… Was... Incredible!” She spoke the last word loud, and full of energy while literally shaking her fellow maiden. “I never had an idea a kiss could feel so great!”
“I am most glad you have enjoyed it, my magical maiden. I am quite satisfied myself.”
“Enjoyed it? I loved it! I loved it with all my heart and body and soul! Can we do it again? Pretty please?”
“I see no reason as to why not!” Don said, before being pulled once more into the other’s lips.
The went for a second kiss with an equal amount of eagerness and passion. And then another, And another. Angela must have witnessed at least twenty more minutes of the two making out before finally deciding she’s seen more then she should have and switching off the camera view, her curiosity about their activities more then satisfied.
It left the AI alone, feeling… weird. Even here, the domain of despair, suffering and death, some people managed to find and express love. Would she ever have that privilege? Would she get even the slightest amount of closure from her creator once the task was done?
Chances are, she won’t.
The thought of sending someone to re-capture O-01-04 and ruin their night crossed her mind. A petty act, quite appealing for a second, but she settled on letting them be. She ultimately had nothing to gain from doing so, and seeing the two actually find some sort of joy in themselves…
It left the tiniest spark of warmth within her otherwise cold heart.
***
The following morning, few minutes before everyone else woke up, Don and her lover made a dash for her containment cell, ensuring no trace of their little adventure was left behind. Once again, they remained oblivious to just how spectacularly their attempt would fail if not for Angela’s interference. As the agent deposited the abnormality back at her cell, she gave her a goodbye kiss one the lips, admittedly undoing some of her concealment efforts in the process, before heading back to the elevator to keep up the appearance.
The manager arrived into the office, greeted Angela with a nod, Angela greeted him back, and began the thirty-third workday of the cycle. The workday started and agents were sent to their respective works. All as it should be.
But after an hour of working away in silence, the manager turned their head towards their assistant, confusion painted on their face.
“Um, Angela? Would you remind me, what is the maximum amount of boxes that can extracted from the Queen of Hatred in a single work?”
What an odd question, the AI thought to itself. The manager did work on this abnormality numerous times this cycle, and yet he has forgotten? Besides, the information is written within the logs.
Nonetheless, it was her job to answer him. “Twenty-two, manager.”
“Are you certain? I swear, I just saw them produce twenty-eight twice in a row.” The manager said before turning his gaze back to the screen. “Look, they are doing it again.”
That… should not be possible. She never witnessed such an outcome. Her perfect memory had no right to fail her, there was no way she’d misremember. She opened her eyes and looked at the managers screen, where she could see the cartoony rendition of no other then the blonde agent, working away on the magical girl. Sure enough, the enkaphalin counter on the left indicated she has generated three boxes over the maximum, working on the fourth.
Just what in the Wings…
Angela went up to her own computer, where she could access the actual, non-filtered camera feed. She navigated her way into the abnormalities cell and…
...Well, what was she expecting, really?
“So? Is something wrong with the counter? Should we do something about this?”
“No the counter is correct, the agent has simply found a more efficient method of performing attachment work.” Angela stated. “I would however hope for one thing.”
“And that is?”
“That they realize there’s a camera in there, before they find a way to generate more.”