Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

How long has it been? Years? It feels like years, but you doubt its been more than a few months. You don't remember much, you remember fire. Panic, the stench of blood. A bright, blue and green flash. Someone shoving you into something, you felt like you were being ripped apart. You heard only the sound of some kind of old time swing music and then...

Limbo. You don't know how you know this is where you are, but you feel it in your soul. It's quiet here, a constant music plays but its low. But everything is a façade. But it feels fitting, because you feel like you have become a facade. You observe yourself often, in the reflection of the fountains. You don't remember if this is what you've always looked like. Nothing else here looks like you. It took days for you to clear your mind to realize; you are the only human in hell. Atleast, the only human in limbo. It's lonely. Theirs foul creatures, but their stupid and easy to hide from. But recently, robots have come through. Most dont pay you any mind, they have no interest in humans. Not built for it. The rest... you have a scar on your left arm from one. You hide from all of them now, just to be safe.

Today is different. as you hide behind a tree, you hear something. Metal grinding, and a lot of gunfire. You peak out and see something. A blue machine with bright golden wings. It's clean too, compared to most other machines you've seen down here. It's ambushed suddenly, by machine and demons. Why would machines fight each other so? Yet- it kills them with ease- and almost in a stylish way. You watch as it blasts the purple drones out of the air quickly sending them flying down as the machine punches a husk straight through its skull. It suddenly throws three coins in the air, and then shoots them. The bullet richochets, killing the last stray and a piece of it nearly hits you and you can't help it- you let out a yelp of surprise by accident as it nearly hits you. The machine looks over at you. You see it more clearly now- V1 is marked on its chestplate.

It approaches you, carefully but at a consistent pace. You fall back in fear, is it going to finish you off like it did those other things? It looks at you, its bright yellow light shining on your face. It seems to scan you almost, the way it stares at you so. It then turns away, and continues on. You hear a lot of gun fire as it goes through everything, the place getting quieter and quieter as it clears demons and robots alike. You can't help your curiosity, you continue where you could not progress further into limbo and soon V1 comes holding some kind of blue skull and it places it on a pedestal. Suddenly, more creatures comes to ambush it. You leap to the side as one of the drones nearly hits you. V1 suddenly leaps at the drone and shoots a charge blaster into it, exploding it. You see a gray demon come out from behind it, a schism, and raise its gun at V1 as it fires at other enemies.

"Behind you!" You yell, you don't know why you're helping it. But for some reason- you felt the need to repay its mercy. V1 listens and turns, suddenly punching its projectile and sending it back at the schism and throwing coins in the air that it fires at again- finishing off the last demon.

You're only little world that you remember clearly, the place you've wandered alone is now safe but... far lonlier. Red doors open, and it slides down the ramp. You can't help your curiosity and you follow. It seems to have expected it, as its looking back at you at the edge of a square hole. You approach and look down, a long fall. You look back up at the machine. "I uh- thank you for... not killing me I guess and... Clearing things out. Even if it will be lonlier here. I-" You glance back down the hole. "CANNOT survive that fall- so I guess this is where we say goodbye V1." You hope that's what it goes by. It tilts its mechanical head for a moment and then offers you a hand. You hesitate. You fear whatever taking its hand will do will lead to your violent death but... Whats left? An empty world? Even if its clear now, whats to say nothing else will come and find you here? This is the first thing that's friendly rather than passive. And besides, you're already in hell, where's left to go if you die?

Your scared, but you take its hand. It has a firm grip as it pulls you close, you let you a little yell as it suddenly scoops you up in a bridal carry, the hand you held now letting go and being square on your back and the other under your knees. Then- it jumps, and you fall. You cover your face in fear- you feel like you've just gained a fear of heights. But, after some darkness- you hear the sound of its metallic feet hitting the ground and as you open your eyes... Your at the bottom. It looks at you and then sets you back down on your feet. It goes over to the terminal for a moment, looking at things before looking back at you and sliding down the ramp.

Seems you've made a friend- for better or for worse.

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This place is a lot larger than you thought it was. Yet V1 doesn't waste a second when it doesn't have too. You spent most of the area hiding as things burned to the ground. V1 had some trouble with the streetcleaners- but he seemed to learn how to deal with it and then seemed to adjust to it all quickly. After another similar fall and some fighting, he leaves you in a hall with stained glass and a sky light and two pedestals. They slides off- and you are left to wait. It gives you a moment to think in this silence though. Why is V1 helping you at all? Why is he merciful? You can't help but feel like things like him are why everyone's gone and your the last one left. Maybe it feels bad for that- maybe they just want to keep you as a reminder. Or maybe as some kind of treasure piece. Or maybe it's just as lonely as you are here. It's hard to ask it anything when it's always off-killing something so stylishly.

It returns with a red skull and places it on the pedestal and the doors swing open. As you run to keep up with it sliding forward, there's another terminal. It glances at it, and you feel something in your heart again. Like this is a bad idea. You gently touch V1's arm and it glances back at you. "I uh- I feel like this is a bad idea. I know you can- well it looks like you can kill just about anything but this might be a trap. So ah- be careful." You say hesitantly. It stares at you for a moment and then continues. As you thought, you were right. A beast rises from the ground, hiding under some stone as some kind of horrible trick. You hide behind the terminal as they fight. Blood and gore splatter everywhere- this is the first thing you've seen V1 have trouble with. And you're not surprised, it's a terrifying thing. It seems to be a mass of human fused with stone as a sort of armor. You watch as V1 slides around, trying to attack its soft underbelly.

The beast lays down for a moment, and its tail rises. V1 shoots at it- but the beast makes a strange noise and suddenly V1 has a hook spiked into its torso plating and it slides backwards towards you from the impact. "V1!" You yell, and run over, it seemed to have been stunned for a moment by the attack, and you dislodge the hook from its torso. V1 suddenly shoves you away and slides the other direction as an explosion hits where you both once were. Some flying rock still scratches you up, but it's certainly better than what would have happened had he not shoved you. You quickly run back and hide behind the terminal as their fight continues, bullets pinging on the walls constantly before the beast shakes, and blood spills everywhere as it breaks apart into gore and organs. The smell is repulsive. V1 goes to the entrance that now opens at the beast's death and looks back at you. You nod and rush past the corpse of it and walk with V1.

"V1- how are you... So strong? And... Why is something as strong as you helping me and keeping me around? Why haven't you just killed me like everything else?" You ask, rubbing your hands together nervously. It looks at you, tilting its head slightly. It's silly, asking these things of something that can't speak. It suddenly brings a hand up and brushes its thumb over a bleeding cut on your face from an explosion. His hand is so cold, but you feel as if the blood on your face is lifted off rather than rubbed off and a scratch on the side of his head suddenly goes away. It makes sense, blood is... healing it. That explains the strength, but it hasn't taken blood from you. So it still doesn't answer your other question. Its hand rests on your face for a moment, before it scoops you up and jumps down without waiting for you to say anything further. Maybe it thinks that it answered the question enough- or maybe it doesn't understand at all. You don't feel like you'll understand anytime soon.

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This place is... certainly different. You both look up at a beautiful manor and walk inside. There's nothing here, no demons, no robots, its quiet. You hear a song- it feels familiar. You walk upstairs as V1 slides to the left into a courtyard. You find a bedroom, and you suddenly realize how tired you are- the gore-filled adventures had put you through so much adrenaline you hadn't slept. Before you slept a lot in limbo. You sit on the bed, feeling great exhaustion and you lay down on top of the bed and feel sleep quickly find you.

You stir for a moment, and you feel like you are being watched. As you open your eyes slowly, you suddenly see V1 staring down at you. You let out a little yelp and sit up. "Geez V1! You scared the h-... Never mind- Sorry I... felt tired." As you rub the sleep from your eyes, you feel as if... you've slept for a while. How long did V1 let you rest? It tilts its head and looks at you. "Really- I'm fine now we can continue." You say as you stand up. A part of you is surprised they didn't leave without you- another part of you is relieved.

V1 looks around the room and shoves the bookcase out of the way and retrieves another skull. You notice a book on the table and you flip through the pages, reading the text. Seems to speak of a Gabriel? You don't remember the name. But it feels like you've heard it before, maybe whispered throughout Limbo. But V1 doesn't seem to care about the passage, so you continue back down the stairs and out the back door. Seems V1 found two skulls while you were sleeping, and he places the third down on its pedestal and the doors swing open. The room is pretty, with a skylight to the stars above and a pool of water. But it's all... to serene. "This might be another trap..." You say, and V1 nods and you stay by the archway as he goes through the room. Suddenly, the glass shatters as a red robot bursts through. It looks a lot like V1, except for a red coat of pain and its armor appears to be much thicker than V1's and a V2 on its chest plate.

It also seems more... fluid. It lands so gracefully, before giving a deep bow. V1 tilts its head for a moment before the V2 suddenly attacks, and they both begin sliding around. It's strange, to see something fight as V1 does. It seems to take hits far better, and it moves much more fluidly. Its wings change color as well as it fights. It's almost like a dance as they fight, the V2 jumps on a wall and jumps off of it shooting down at V2 who narrowly dodges most of the shots. V2 seems to mostly be fighting with its charge pistol. The fight goes on for quite some time before they both slide towards each other, shooting each other and V1 grabs V2 by the chest plate and throws them down. V2 manages to get to an almost standing position before V1 grabs its arm and twists it before kicking it in the chest plate, sending it flying back towards you making a horrible screeching noise of pain. You let out a yelp as it slides nearby and it suddenly looks up at you as it holds its hand over its broken socket. It's silent for a moment, you covering your mouth and V1 staring at V2 as V2 stares up at you. Then, it moves quickly, throwing you over its shoulder and leaping into the air as its wings turn green. You yell out, and V1 jumps after you but it can't get the same distance as V2 and suddenly, V1 is out of sight completely.

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You've never seen a place so purple before. You feel like those old fairy tails, about a princess locked in a tower guarded by a dragon. But instead, you're locked in a purple room waiting for V2. You wish you were stronger so you could break the window, but even if you could you wouldn't get far. This place is more dangerous than limbo from what you've seen already. Without V1, you doubt you'd get far. You suddenly hear heavy metallic footsteps, and suddenly the door bursts open as V2 dumps metallic gore on the ground. It begins working, comparing pieces and seeing how they fit in the arm socket as he begins scrapping something together, seems he killed a lot of green-looking robots and machines. You look past him at the now open door and quietly shift towards the door as it focuses on the arm. But as you near the doorway, it suddenly stands and grabs you by the throat and presses you against the wall. The hand it has left isn't anything like V1's. Its fingers come to a fine sharp point. It's not pressing on your throat enough to choke you, but it's enough to scare you. You bring your hands up. "I uh- sorry." You say, looking away from its bright light. It loosens the grip, before letting you go and you return to your original position in the room. You watch it, it seems more methodical and precise than V1 in some ways. Maybe the fact it can't absorb blood is made up for in a greater intelligence? You're not sure.

As time passes, you feel... curiosity spring up again. But you suppose the worst the machine can do is kill you. "Why are you- keeping me? Why did you kidnap me?" You ask, your voice coming out shaky. V2 looks up at you, then taps its empty arm socket.

"As... payback?" You ask, it nods. You sit in silence. Maybe if V1 gives the arm back V2 will let you go. Though, you can't help but wonder if V1 will come for you at all. But... you suspect V2 will go after V1 regardless.

Against your better judgment, you fall asleep after a while. You awake to a bright light and you open your eyes to see V2 very close to you, and you sit up and scoot back against the wall quickly. It straightens it back, it seems to have made a new arm for itself, green and with a strange device attached to the palm. "Geez- V1 scared me the same way." You mutter. V2 seems almost offended by that, and roughly grabs you and lifts you to your feet before slugging you over its shoulder. "I didn't mean to offend, do you have to hold me like this?" You grumble, and it sets you down and shoots out a window. You panic for a moment that it will throw you out before it wraps its red arm around you, pulling you close and lifting you up slightly before using its grapple hook to attach to something outside the window and swing out. Your fear of heights hits again, it's less comforting to be in this machine's arm than V1's. You press your head against V2's chest and close your eyes tight.

After a while, you land someplace and V2 lets you go, looking around. You open your eyes and see blood and gore everywhere, you recognize this work. V1 is ahead of you. This revelation seems to cross V2's mind as well as it looks around. The place is loud, and some demons come running out. Seems V1 didn't need to clear everything out in order to continue. You back up as V2 begins to quickly make work of them. They fight with such style just like V1 does, though you begin to understand more of why V1 won. V2 has more grace, but not as much brutality and violence as V1 does. Maybe V2 having more intelligence is making it think TOO much and is less in the moment. Suddenly, you hear a noise above you and look above and see a malicious face beginning to charge a beam. V2 doesn't notice, it's dealing with the other demons. Grappling them close and shooting them in the head. Against your better judgment, you run forward and tackle V2 with sends you both toppling to the side but just in time to not get hit by the beam. V2 looks at you for a moment, before throwing you off and grappling towards the face, and continuing the fight. You can't help but think this machine isn't all bad- after all, it could have killed you to get back at V1 instead- but it was merciful too.

After the fighting was done, it approached you again. It looked down at you, silently. You returned the silence- unsure what to say. It then looked away before picking you up again and rushes forward.

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V2 takes a lot of back routes, routes you don't think V1 would be able to take. The grapple hook seems to be giving V2 a lot of mobility. You soar through this purple place and then rush through a place of gluttony. V2 takes the time to stop and kill things with parts it wants. It also takes the time to practice it seems, you begin to wonder if V2 will win the next time, and if it does, if it will spare V1. As you sleep in its arms during another long travel, you awake feeling like your skins burning. You open your eyes and feel the burning sun, but even worse, the metal burning your skin. You begin trying to push away but its grip tightens, digging its hand into your side. "I'm- ouch- not trying to escape your burning me alive!" You yell. It seems to register with them, but whether it cares your not sure. But finally, it seems to find a place it likes and you enter a great pyramid and make your way to the top. There's a throne like chair in it, and finally V2 lets you go and you look over yourself. Nothing too bad thankfully, but patches of your skin have turned red. And god damn its hot. You take off some of your layers, it was pleasant in hell if a little bit chilly sometimes. But it's hot as hell here, and you sit down against a wall. V2 sits down, and its light dims and you hear whirring from its head. Is this how it concentrates? You sit for awhile watching it, before standing up. It doesn't react, so you carefully begin making your way toward the exit. You make your way out, and suddenly hear mechanical sliding behind you. You begin to run, but quickly your shoved on the ground with V2's hand on your neck. It picks you up and throws you over its shoulder and takes you to the throne room again dropping you next to the wall.

It looks at you silently, and you look back up at it. "You know- for looking a lot like you and V1 are a lot different," you say. V2 tilts its head. "You two look a lot alike- but you seem to have more... book smarts if that makes any sense. An intellect to you, and you move and fight a lot smoother. Like watching someone dance almost. It's very obvious that you were made as an improvement." You state, and it nods and sits in front of you. Guess it likes hearing about yourself. "But you still lost to V1- and I think you will again. Your improvements are your flaws almost. You're not acting on knowledge of how to fight- your thinking too much about it. V1 doesn't have to think." You state. V2 tilts its head, and seems to almost think, its light dimming again for a few moments. Though you know better than to try and run this time. It lights up again.

"I know you don't seem to like me at all V2, but... Could you try and answer something for me?" You ask. V2 tilts its head inquisitively. "Do you... know why V1 picked me up at all? They- can't speak either but... from the moment they saw me they didn't try and kill me. And I don't know why I'm... not special. I'm not strong like they are, I'm not cool and fluid like you are or some improvement on the human model. I just- happen to be lucky or unlucky enough to still be alive despite everyone else being... gone."

It's silent. Before moving forward, you regret having sat down now. It puts its light near your face and puts its mechanical knees on the ground, trapping your legs between its. You feel your heart start to beat faster. You haven't been this close to something like this- your not sure if you've ever been like this with something. V2 taps its sharp fingers against your exposed thigh, creeping up towards the beginning of your shorts. Its grapple arm takes yours, leading it to wires on the back of its head. You gently touch its wires, and it seems to respond positively as you find a big metal coil of wires, and you run your fingers on it feeling tinges of static from it. It taps the bottom of your chin with its sharp finger before standing suddenly, walking away. You don't think whatever the hell that was answered your question. It sits down on its throne, its light dimming a little again. You cross your legs and wait.

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It takes time, but somehow not as much time as you thought it would take. You hear the metal screeching and muffled gunfire. V2 doesn't seem bothered, he sits on the chair waiting. You sit against the wall, with nowhere to safely hide. Suddenly, the metal screeching is a lot closer and the machine comes up, standing at the doorway. "V1!" You yell. V2 stands, cracking its knuckles, as V1 stares at them. Before, the gunfire begins and their fighting once more. V1 seems... different though. Angrier, you can't help but think how much they've had to fight to get here. And with the way they fight, you can't help but wonder if they fought something worse than what you've already seen. V2 has changed too, brutal in its tactics. Maybe it took what you said to heart. They jump around and fire at each other, your thankful that they seem to be avoiding hitting you, though sometimes a bullet gets a little too close for comfort from both sides.

Finally, theirs a shotgun blast, and V1hits the shells right as their coming out seeming to give them a more powerful boost and they hit V2 and it lets out another screech falling back. Its wings go green and it runs, breaking open one of the walls. A grapple hook comes out and hits your shoulder dragging you quickly. You yell and reach out for V1 who grabs you quickly, dislodging the hook. It gives you a sense of deja vu. V1 touches your wound, some of their own healing as they touch your blood before letting you go and rushing towards the hole V2 left. "V1 wait!" You yell, it stops and glances back. "Don't- kill it. He's like you I- I don't think he's entirely bad." You say. And you're telling the truth, they both could've killed you or been a lot cruler to you. But they haven't. V1 immediately begins sliding down the pyramid. You run over, you can't catch up with them like this, you look around and see one of the pieces of rubble is pretty flat on one side and you push it towards the hole quickly, and stand on top of it as you push it off and begin sliding down the wall. It's faster than you'd like, but you see them continuing their fight. They both fight so brutally, firing at each other.

Finally, you see V2 throw coins in the air and V1 does the same, but their a bit quicker on the fire and there's another screech as suddenly theirs a bump in the pyramid from rubble, sending the two flying. You see V1 land first, and then it surprises you- it jumps and catches V2, though it still throws V2 down brutally. The rubble lands in the sand and you jump from it onto the platform their standing on. You run over and can't help yourself, you jump and hug V1. "I'm so glad you're okay- I was so worried about you." V1 doesn't seem to know how to react at first, before wrapping their arms around you and patting you on the back. You expect them to pull away, but they don't. So you stand in your interlocking hug, though soon their metal starts to get hot and you push away and they finally let go. You look down at V2, they would've died on impact had it not been for V1. Though their still... very much injured. V1 walks over and rips off their grappling arm, attaching it to servos on their arm. They stretch out all three of their arms for a moment, before tucking their old two into themselves and keeping the grapple arm out.

"Let's... get out of here," you say quietly. V1 picks you up, and you swing away. As you fall down the chamber, once you reach the bottom he doesn't immediately move on, he sets you down and touches your injured shoulder gently. "Oh yeah- this... Adrenaline is keeping it from hurting too much but I'll need to wrap this in bandages or something... Well, I uh- don't actually know where I'd find those." You say, thinking for a moment. "Feels- kind of anti-climatic that I will have gone through all this and then die of blood loss huh?" You say, sitting down and feeling your heart rate finally slow. V1 touches the blood that has leaked onto your shoulder, absorbing it, before sliding off. You hold the wound, it's not too large but if you don't keep it covered it will bleed out or at least get infected. You close your eyes, thinking about it all before you hear metallic sliding again and V1 comes back with cloth- seems to have come off of a street cleaner's pants. You rip it up a bit to make it easier to use and wrap your wound. "Thank you, V1 I was... a bit worried I'd be a lost cause to you. I'm- happy you came back for me." You say. V1 sits next to you.

"What... did you see while we were separated?" you ask. V1 turns away for a moment, thinking, before pointing at its own wings. "You saw something with wings?" V1 nods. "Were they a robot too?" You ask. They shake their head no. "Strange... were they-" You look at them, they're tapping their chestplate. You sit quietly for a moment. You put your hand on theirs and they look at you again. "Hey I uh- I know I'm not the most useful to you but- I really appreciate all you've done for me. And I hope you'll continue to take me with you. I uh- know it may be strange but I feel close to you." You say, looking down again. You feel V1's light on you. They bring their hand up to your face, feeling it and turning it towards them. They just gaze at you, silently. It's quiet for a little while.

"I should probably get some sleep to let my wound heal" You say, kind of quickly, feeling your heart racing again. "If you want- to go ahead and clear some stuff out while I do that's fine." You say and close your eyes. V1 stays for a little while, but as your begin to fall asleep, you hear them walk off.

You think you dreamed, but you're not sure. Something about a frozen-over pond, but then it melts. You open your eyes as you feel whatever you remembered about the dream fade, and feel warm on you. You feel three arms wrapped around you, and look to see V1 has wrapped all three of its arm around you and have pulled you close, keeping you warm. A bit of water drips from their head. For once, you feel completely safe as they hold you close. But you begin to wonder- why? Why do they care for you so?

"V1?" You say as they look down at you. "Why do you... keep me around?" You ask again. They use their free hand and place it under your chin, tilting it up and bringing their light close to you. Their three other hands touch your back gently. You remember what V2 had you do, and you carefully bring your hand up to the back of their head and touch their wires gently, and V1 freezes for a moment. "O-oh I'm sorry does that hurt you?" You say before they nuzzle their head between your shoulder and neck. You take the hint and begin touching their wires more, caressing and rubbing them, feeling the tinges of static from it as you do. Their grip tightens, and you feel the sharp fingers of what was once V2's fingers dig into your back a little. Their original arm on that side comes up and lays its hand on your shoulder, absorbing the bits of blood that had soaked through. You can't help but smile, finally able to help V1 feel good. Finally able to be useful.

After a while, you let go, and V1 responds by letting go of you as well. They stand and offer a hand. You take it and they stand you up, holding you close and using the grapple hook to swing you forward. You eventually reach a place with two large towers, it seems by the dripping water that this was once entirely filled with water but now theirs only a little on the floor. Their blood stains everywhere, and three skulls on a door. You look at everything and then feel a sinking feeling in your stomach. "V1- where are we going?" You ask.

V1 points towards a door that they opened with the skulls. "No no- I mean in general. What's the end for you? What are you trying to get to with this... descent into hell?" you ask. V1 looks away, before touching the wound gently. "Blood... of course. Alright then, guess I should have expected that. If we find- a place with plenty of blood for you what then?" you ask. It stays silent. You don't think it knows. "Alright we can- how about we cross that bridge when we get to it then?" You say, and it nods and picks you up, continuing down the path.

Chapter Text

As V1 walks with you, he stops for a moment and uses his arms to make a motion in the air, a large square with a line in the middle. "A door?" You ask. He nods. "Uh- I don't have one on me?" You ask, confused. He taps his helmet, seeming to think, before turning around. You don't understand, but it's not like they can really explain. But by the stride in his step, it seems your going a long ways back.

The moment the heat hits you again, you cringe. But V1 doesn't want to seem to want to stay long either. They stop for a moment at the place V2 had landed and see its empty spot. They must have limped off somewhere. Your backtracking will probably give them time to catch up if they come for you. A part of you wants to know that their okay, another part of you wants to never see them again. V2 seems to go with the latter opinion more, as they quickly begin moving again.

You keep going down until your in a strange room of interlocking staircases and bridges that go under and over each other. It feels familiar in a way, like a painting. V1 takes you down a hidden path under the bridges, and then to a large door. You step away from him and towards the door and look around. No skull pedestal "Robot-proof huh?" You ask. They nod. You look it up and down, certainly is strange, but, you guess you can give it the old tried-and-true method. After all you've never seen V1 open a door, they've all opened for them. You put your hands on the door and begin pushing. A golden light emanates from panels on the door and it begins opening. V1 looks at you, and you shrug. "Guess they didn't human-proof it." You say. You walk down the hall together, it's dark but V1's light gives you just enough to see in front of you. You wonder if it was right to open this door for them though, what if their things behind it that normally wouldn't have harmed you or anyone because of being behind it? How far are you willing to help V1 kill? Guess you shouldn't judge if your a bad person or not until you see what's behind it.

The darkness gets worse until you find a torch on a pedestal and a long spine behind it. "That's... horrifying." You say. V1 shrugs, guess they've seen worse. They pick up the torch then you and begin going down the long spine. What could be hidden all the way down here?

Finally, you reach another pedestal and V1 places the torch down and a room opens with a terminal outside of it. They poke at it before entering the room. You stand by the door and are horrified as the room suddenly illuminates and a huge diamond with mouths on it appears in the light. Eyes pop out of the flesh and come out of it and float as V1 begins attacking the strange creature. V1 seems to have a bit of a hard time with it, the eyes sometimes explode into blood and gore back onto the diamond and allow the wounds its gained to be healed. But finally, V1 manages to get the final strike and it explodes, getting sent backward by the explosion but luckily managing to keep on its feet. You watch as a strange blue light falls, and as V1 goes to touch it, it lets out a burst that sends V1 flying back with far more force. A strange... man? appears in a glowing pale light. He looks strong physically, and even you can feel an emanating power.

""Ah... free at last. O Gabriel... now dawns thy reckoning, and thy gore shall glisten before the temples of man!' That name again, Gabriel? Did he imprison this man here? "Creature of steel, my gratitude upon thee for my freedom. But the crimes thy kind have committed against humanity are not forgotten! And thy punishment... is death!" The man shouts, before attacking V1. V1 can't seem to catch a break. It seems unfair, you think for V1 to be blamed for every human being gone. Though... you can't help but wonder if V1 had killed before they came down here. You wish you could remember how it all ended.

But this fight seems different than all the others, specifically that V1 is struggling. More than he did against V2 at least, this man moves fast and seems he can almost fly. His voice is booming and echoing as the walls almost shake as he yells and attacks. V1 slides around and continues his regular style of fighting, but your heart cant help but pound as their struggle doesn't seem to relent. "Prepare Thyself!" You hear yelled, and suddenly you see V1 slide backward to the entrance. They're sparking, and struggling to get up. You feel your heart race. "Weak..." The man says as he begins to approach. "Die!" He yells.

"No!" You yell, running between V1 and the man. You see the fist stop just before your face, the impact on the air sends a wave, and you almost fall. Theirs a silence, as the man looks at you, well you think he does. He's looking down at you but without eyes you can't tell where he's looking. But you feel as if he's looking through you.

"A human?" He says, his voice much quieter now, but he seems to get angry again. "Why would you protect this creature of steel? Their kind committed crimes against your people- damning them to this place!" He yells.

"I- They're different sir! Please I- They're the only reason I'm alive, they've been protecting me and helping me through hell! I- I wouldn't be here without them." You say, speaking fast as you feel your heart rushing.

There is silence.

"Prove to me you are human, mortal. And not some foul creature like the one laying behind you. Prove thy are not taking a form of a human but rather your heart is truly human- and I will believe you and this- machine." He demands, his voice with an authority of a ruler.

"I- How do I-" You begin to shake a little. What could a human do? What could you do that you haven't seen any creature here do? You reach into your soul, and come up with the best idea you've got. You step forward towards them, and then wrap your arms around him in a hug. "I'm sorry- you must have so much hate for robots. But I promise this one has done good for me. And even if you don't believe me and kill me here- please spare them." You say, tears welling up in your eyes.

There's another silence, and the man puts his hand on your head and you step away. His large hand on your head feels warm, but a strange kind of warmth you can't describe. You look up at him as he looks down at you. "To give your life for something you care about, and to love something even if it is terrible, that is human. You have proven yourself to me mortal. I will spare this machine. You wipe the tears from your eyes.

"Thank you."

You run over to V1, who has managed to get to their feet. You unwrap your bandages quickly, they try and stop you. "No no its okay its almost healed I feel better- just take what you need." They hesitate but bring their head onto your shoulder and you feel the skin from under the cloth bandages become clean of the spilled blood, and you feel some blood from inside the wound get taken too. You can tell it seems to enjoy it, which gives you a heavy feeling in your heart, but it pulls away before it gets greedy and you rewrap your wound. You look back up at the man. "Who are you?"

"I am King Minos, I was imprisoned here by Gabriel for having mercy on those trapped on the layer of lust. I think it is unfair to punish those whose only sin is loving another- but Gabriel would not listen to reason and struck me down."

"Gabriel- I've heard that name before." V1 taps your shoulder and you look up at them. "Did- have you fought Gabriel?"

They nod. King Minos interest peaks. "Did you slay the traitor?" They shake their head no, making a flying motion with their hands and illuminating their wings slightly. Minos laughs. "How I would have loved to see Gabriel reduced to a coward and running away. But the council will not stand for that, he will return here to get his revenge. The council wouldn't stand for their hero to be defeated by an object."

"They're not an object- but I hear what you mean. Were they... a hard battle V1?" They nod. "Alright, well, at least they'll be things between us and him for you to get more blood for."

"Mortal." Minos says. You look up at him. "I will accompany you two. Gabriel imprisoned me. Although I will allow the machine to fight them- as it would bring me great joy to see Gabriel brought down to his knees by a creature of steel and should they fail, it would bring me greater joy to rip him asunder myself." Minos declares.

"I uh-" You look at V1. "Are you okay with that?" V1 looks up at Minos, then down at you and shrugs. "Yeah I guess we don't have much of a choice anyways..." You mutter. You look up at Minos. "Hope your ready for a long walk- we gotta climb all the way back to that ocean place."

"The layer of Wrath? I can take us there." Minos declares. "Oh?" You say, before they suddenly grab you by the wrist, you grab V1's hand, and then theirs a deafening loud noise and a bright light. I close my eyes and feel as if I'm being ripped apart and put back together and I hear the sound of the ocean and feel rain on my face. I open my eyes and see were on a rickety wooden bridge with a huge storm above. Arcs of lighting come from the sky.

"This place uh- sucks. Thank you Minos." You say, and after a moment of registering what just happened, V1 slides forward continuing what they do best. You and Minos follow behind at a steady pace. "Minos, before you- you said I loved the machine."

"I did. I saw it in your eyes when you came to their aid."

"Do you... Think a robot can love?" You ask shyly. It's not often you get to ask a King a question. Their quiet for a moment as you walk.

"I do. That creature was a capable opponent, it didn't fight like a husk. It fought as if it was alive. And every living thing has the capability to love." Minos says as he walks with great certainty. You look forward as V1 continues his fighting.

"This layer is bad, but it doesn't seem as bad as the others torture-wise. Lighting storms aren't so bad." You say, looking up at the rain.

"Mortal, look into the sea," Minos says. You look down and gasp, seeing faces in pain and arms reaching out of the water toward you.

"Oh god..." You say.

"God is what damned these sinners here."

"Well, we should help them!" You say you feel an overwhelming wave of emotion hit you, you're the last human. Would it be right to abandon these souls here? You quickly move down and grab an arm and begin pulling. But the sea is unforgiving, and begins to pull you down. You feel like your arm is going to be ripped off as you pull, and more arms grab you and begin to pull you down. They were silent before, but now as they touch your skin you feel like you can hear their cries. Their agonies. Yet you can't get enough strength to pull them out. Your suddenly grabbed by the collar and wrenched away, lifted up by Minos. You didn't realize until now that you had started to cry.

"Mortal, your mercy for them is recognized but they are sinners nonetheless. And you do not have the power to save them." He says, now carrying you under his arm as he progresses. You feel tinges of pain and see your arm is bleeding, you didn't even notice in the moment but the hands had scratched open your skin. You suppose kindness isn't rewarded in hell. At least, not outside of limbo.

You both catch up to V1, who is waiting for you both on a ship. They tilt their head at you and Minos. "I uh- got carried away and almost fell in the water. Minos saved me though." You say, and Minos finally sets you down. You walk up the ship and see a skeleton ahead with a glowing robe on its head, it almost hurts to look at. "Who is that?"

"The Ferryman." Minos answers. "They ferry people to the other side- who can pay the toll." You say. V1 readies his gun, but you get an idea. "V1- just give them some of your coins." You say. V1 looks back and nods and you approach the ferryman, and V1 flips three coins at them. They catch them, and turn them into a glowing dust that blows away in the wind, and the doors open. Maybe there are still merciful people left in hell.

Chapter Text

After V1 managed to kill another horrifying creature and going through a bloody dark and red place that was what you had originally envisioned hell to look like, you enter a dark corridor. You look around as you hear someone speak. You and Minos stand in the hall as he speaks, V1 screeching ahead.

"Oh I didn't notice before they left, theirs's a corridor up there. If we could jump up there somehow we could probably get to that Gabriel guy alot-" Suddenly, Minos picks you up and leaps high in the air, landing on top of the pillars and setting you down. He begins walking forward and you follow close behind. "W-we should probably wait for V1." You say.

"It will catch up," Minos says, before stopping for a moment and looking down at you. "When you see Gabriel for the first time- you must clear your mind of all thoughts."

"Why?"

"You are a mere human- and he is still an angel. If your mind has even the slightest sinful thought in it when you first gaze at him your eyes may melt in their sockets from the divine light. But you merely need to be clear of mind for a moment as your eyes adjust." Minos says, before continuing forward. Even with your headstart, V1 catches up, sliding behind you just as you reach the room. The large pool of blood in front of you is almost enough to make you vomit, though it seems to be watered down. V1 looks up at Minos who merely gives him a nod before continuing on. You begin to hear Gabriel's words more clearly as they echo in the room, you stand behind the doorway peering out as Minos steps forward past it and V1 approaches Gabriel.

"You've taken everything from me, machine. And now all that remains is PERFECT HATRED." Gabriel says.

"As you had taken everything from me!" Minos yells. Gabriel stands, you clear your mind as you see him, only observing his armor. His white and gold armor is beautiful, not to mention the blue wings that plume from his back. Your eyes tear up a little. Is this truly an angel? You understand now why humans were never meant to lay their eyes on one. "How quickly you're willing to forget when you are finally served justice. I will enjoy seeing you ripped apart by an object!"

Gabriel suddenly turns red as he jumps in the air, his wings keeping him there. "Machine- you free'd the false king Minos who had betrayed the lords light and wishes? You would bring hell to ruin. I will cut you down for this- break you apart, splay the gore of your profane form across the STARS! I will grind you down until the very SPARKS CRY FOR MERCY! My hands shall RELISH ENDING YOU... HERE! AND! NOW!" Gabriel yells, suddenly flying at V1 and their fight begins. You can tell theirs a divine hatred for V1 as they fight. The way Gabriel moves so erratically and with such anger. You approach Minos carefully, seeing that their interlocked battle has left V1 and Gabriel distracted.

"Shouldn't you help them?" You ask.

"The machine is a glorious fighter- if he loses then I will step in. But I think you and I both know that wont be happening." Minos states.

"I thought angels were supposed to be in heaven and wanting to save humans, why is he down here trying to rule things?"

"You know nothing of the cruleness of the divine. An angel who cannot pass mercy has no duty to be passing judgment." Minos says firmly.

"When he's dead, what are you going to do?"

"Take back hell, and free lust from the torment he has put them under for so long." Minos says, sounding determined. There is silence between you two as you watch the fight. "But- what will you two do?"

"I uh- Don't know. They wanted to be someplace with blood and there's- a big pool of blood here so V1 should be set now I guess."

"I will give you a piece of advice human- as I pity your kind. You should try and keep them from progressing further."

"Why?"

"Look at how the machine fights." You look, watching the dance of the angel and V1's combat. "This is not a machine made for anything but to kill. If you do not stop it here- the next level, violence, will prove the end of the machine of you know it. The circle will embody and embrace what it is made for- and it will know nothing but the eternal fight. And even if it continues- it will eventually work its way back up to kill everything on the layers rather than just remains in its way. And when it does- I will not be so merciful a second time. Nor do I think will it protect you." Minos speaks with clarity, and you feel a pit in your heart and look back at the fight.

"Do you think there's hope for them then?"

"I ruled over lust for years- I know love and what people are willing to do for it. If the machine loves you, you can still save it."

Suddenly, two spinning blades come flying towards you as V1 dodges them, and you gasp before their grapple hooked and sent flying elsewhere. V1 protected you, even mid fight. You wonder, does V1 care for you as you care for it?

Suddenly, the room darkness again as V1 lands a final blow on Gabriel and they fall in front of the organ. You hear them talking, though they are too far to hear it. They begin to stand again, and Minos suddenly sends a snake flying out- but Gabriel disappears before it hits. You hear an anger in Minos, but he turns and begins walking away. You turn back. "Where are you going?"

"Your machine let him escape, I am going back to Lust. If he comes for it- I will kill him myself. If he goes after your machine- well I'm sure your machine won't let it get away again." Minos says as he walks away. You watch him leave, and stare down the corridor, thinking. You feel a tap on your shoulder after a moment and turn and look at V1 who offers his hand out. You see blood drip from its helmet- the blood of an angel.

"V1- we... we should talk." you say, V1 tilts its head. "I... We have what you need here, plenty of blood. And I'm sure we could find more in the places we've already been, and you won't need as much if you stop pursuing these fights." V1 looks away. Before gently grabbing your wrist and pulling you towards the exit. "No- V1 listen I-" You pull your hand away. "I'm afraid if- we go any further I'm going to lose you. Eventually, you'll keep fighting and just... forget about me." You say. V1 looks down and pulls at your sleeve trying to lead you. "No I'm- please don't go. And if you keep going I'm... I'm not going with you." You say, standing firm. V1 tilts its head, and you both stand still. Before V1 turns away, and begins walking away. They reach the exit doorway and look back at you. You look away, and begin walking down the corridor away. You feel yourself tearing up again. You'll miss him- but you don't have a chance at surviving if you follow him. And if Minos is right... You don't think you could stand to watch what V1 could turn into.

As you approach the pillar ledge, you can't help but look down. Maybe you're meant to be alone, that's why you were in Limbo, isn't it? Not meant to be with someone- you've just been fooling yourself.

As the bad thoughts flood your head, you suddenly hear fast footsteps. As you turn around to see the source, a grapple hook is suddenly shot out and wraps around you, pulling you into V1's many arms. Holding you tight to its chest. "V1!" You yell, hugging them back. One of their hands runs up your hair, the other around your waist as they hold you close. "So you'll do it? You'll stay?" You ask, and V1 nods. You smile. "Thank you!" You yell. V1 looks at your face, and you don't know what causes you to do it- but you kiss their screen. You hear their fans kick on as hot air blows from their fans and you can't help but laugh.

Maybe happy endings in hell are real after all.

Chapter Text

You sit in the organ room, V1 has one of its arms around you as it sits with its feet in the blood. Your feet are resting on the steps, though sometimes the blood hits the bottom of your shoes you can't care too much after everything you've been through. V1 leans in close, looking at your face. You look back and then give him another kiss. His fans kick hot again. You smile, then remember before. You reach your hand behind its head and gently touch its wires. V1 leans into the touch, and you begin playing with its wires gently. You find a thick metal wire and gently put your nails between the edges, and by the way V1's body kicks up you can tell it likes that. You smile, and after some time V1 suddenly pushes you down on your back, giving you a slight yelp of surprise. V1 takes one arm gently on your face with its green arm, feeling it carefully. You melt with the touch, leaning into its hand. You feel its original arm reach under your shirt carefully, moving slowly. You reach for its wires again and give them gentle touches as it caresses you. The hand it got for V2 suddenly moves down, moving your shorts and underwear down very gently.

You continue to gently play with its wires, unsure of where V1 is going next. It leans its head down close to you as it moves, and you kiss the side of its helmet. This seems to only make V1 more sure of itself, and its sharp finger very carefully slides itself inside of you. The hand is warm like its touch, and you can't help but lean into it. This seems to reassure V1, and it suddenly goes far deeper with its sharp finger, rubbing the inside gently with a smooth motion as it finds the right place. As V1 does, you can't help but let out a little moan, and this tells it all it needs to know. It sticks a second clawed finger inside, pushing you open as it begins massaging you just right. It's original hand now stroking your chest gently, and as you play with its wires it leans its screen against your face, dimming its light so it doesn't hurt your eyes. You go harder on the wires, rubbing and digging your fingernails into the tougher metal ones. You kiss V1's screen gently, feeling bits of static on your lips as you do. V1's original hand moves out from under your shorts and lifts up one of your legs, pulling you down a bit making it easier for it to put its fingers deeper inside of you. Your other foot falls into the bloodied water, but you can't bring yourself to think about it.

V1 rubs one of your fresh cuts with its free hand, feeling it and moving its fingers to split it open gently, seeming to savor the little bits of blood that tingle on its fingers. It hurts, but it feels so good at the same time. V1begins thrusting its fingers in and out over and over, getting a little deeper and a little rougher as it continues. You feel your breath get heavier, and V1 lets out more hot air from its vents as it continues.

[If you are a "robots with dicks" hater, this is where you stop reading, fair warning]

As you climax and feel yourself get slick, V1 removes its clawed hands from your face and begins shifting a panel on its crotch area. You look down and see a robotic penis come out. It's blue and black with small yellow lights on the sides of it, you can't help but wonder if V1's maker had some kind of fetish. V1 Tightens its grip on your leg, the hand that was resting on your face now pressing on the floor next to you as it lines itself up. You brace yourself, unsure of what this will feel like and V1 handles it like how it handles fight, with great strength. It suddenly thrusts in, the warm cock going deep inside of you. You gently grab two of V1's arms gently, it moves its head down again as you caress its wires and kiss its screen as it begins thrusting more. It goes deep inside of you, before slowly inching out and almost coming out all the way, but right before in that moment of uncertainty, it goes straight inside of you again. You can't help but moan, it echoing in the bloodied halls. You're glad no one is around to hear it. V1 begins moving faster, its body getting hotter as it does and releasing more steam, some beginning to rise from its back. Its wings now glowing brightly and moving down, as if they were going to cacoon you both. V1 moves two of its arms. Now one of them holds one of your legs up and open and the other two grip your shoulders tightly. Even if it can't speak, you can tell what it's thinking as it holds you. That you belong to it and it alone. That you are theirs forever. They thrust again, and your thankful they fingered you first as the dry metallic cock would have hurt far worse had they not gotten you slick first. Theirs a pain as V1 is incredibly rough, going deep as it can and gently coming out before suddenly going deep once again and holding you in place and you suddenly fill a release of a liquid before it pulls out, a strange red mixture. You don't want to think about what V1's cum is made from. And you can barely think at all, your chest rising and lowering as you breathe heavily, V1 reattaching its crotch panel.

Maybe Lust isn't such a bad sin after all.