Chapter Text
“Tag! You’re it!”
The brown-haired girl giggled as she slapped the back of the white-eyed butler drone, instantly running away afterwards. The worker simply grinned in response, hands wiggling in front of him.
“In that case, here I come buddy!”
With that, he sped after her, bounding through the old, wood floored hallways as their laughter echoed all around. The girl bolted around corners, occasionally glancing behind her to see the drone in close pursuit. She stuck her tongue out, turning into another long hallway as their shoes beat against the floor.
“C’mon N! Ya gotta do better than that!”
N giggled, pushing his servos even harder. “I'm gonna get ya! Hehe, I’m gonna get ya Tessa!”
Dashing through a doorway, the aforementioned girl found herself in the manor library, bookshelves towering on either side of her. Running all the way to the other side of the room, she veered to the right, ducking between the shelves just as her playmate entered.
N only saw her disappearing to the right, and simply charged forth, turning the corner without any regard to whatever was in front.
Crash!
He slammed into another body, both of them falling to the floor as his head bounced off the soft carpet. The worker winced at the impact, just as another voice cut through the air.
“OW! WHAT WAS THAT, IDIOT?!”
N raised his head, eyes hollowing out in fear. Sitting on the ground was none other than his pigtailed boss, clutching her head as she gave him a nasty scowl.
“Oh biscuits! I-I’m so sorry J! I-I-I didn’t mean to!”
J groaned in pain and frustration, raising herself to her feet before reaching down and yanking at his uniform, pulling him up and against one of the shelves.
“You synergistic liability! What were you even thinking?! I ought to have you written up of this insuboridna-”
“N! J! Are you alright?!”
Both drones turned to see Tessa emerge from where she was hiding, brows furrowed in worry as she ran to them. J composed herself, though she didn’t release her iron grip on his uniform.
“I’m okay boss…it's that this moron almost made things worse!”
N gave her a sheepish grin, even as he was pressed against the shelf. “M-My bad guys! I should’ve been paying attention!”
“Oh N…”
Shaking her head, Tessa neared the butler, gently pulling J’s hand away before inspecting his visor for any damage. “You’ve got to be more careful, luv! You could’ve gotten J or yourself hurt!”
She switched her tone though, guiltily looking to the side. “Although it kinda is my fault for letting you chase me…”
“I-It’s fine Tessa! It’s my fault, I swear!” N raised his hands, giving apologetic glances to both her and J.
The girl released his head upon finding no damage and turned to the pigtailed maid, also inspecting her visor. “B-Boss…I told you, I’m fine…” She stammered, not used to close contact.
“Just making sure my favorite drones are alright, that's all! Can I not do that?”
Both drones nodded their heads, earning a warm smile from Tessa. “Good! Nothing serious! We’ll just be more careful next time!”
“You got it!” N remarked with a smile. The three of them fell into silence for a few seconds before he spoke up again. “...So I guess you’re it now, J!”
“W-What?!” J exclaimed in confusion. “What are you-wait. You two were playing tag?! In here?!”
Tessa and N exchanged nervous glances. “Yes…?”
“No wonder you were running so fast! T-That’s highly irresponsible! Did you damage anything?!”
“N-No, we didn’t! I swear!” N pleaded.
J only gave an annoyed grunt, turning to her master. “And you! What happens if corporate finds out?! You know how they are about stuff like this!”
Tessa rolled her eyes playfully. “Who cares what my parents think? They can honestly sod off! If I wanna have fun in this cramped manor with my friends, I will! Nothing more or less!”
“Boss, please don’t act like that! I…I don’t want you to get into trouble again…” The maid trailed off, head dropping as her tone switched to something melancholic. Sensing what was happening, Tessa gave her a hug, rubbing the drone’s back.
“Hey…it’s alright J. Nothing’s gonna happen…It’ll be fine…”
They stayed like this before eventually splitting off, J still looking down in worry for her master. A few more seconds passed before Tessa spoke up again, this time with a mischievous smirk in an attempt to raise her spirits.
“Well…from what N said, you’re it Jaybird! You better catch us!”
J’s head snapped up wide-eyed. “B-But I was in the middle of work! I-I can't just drop what I’m doing just to fool around!”
“Yes You can! In fact, I order you to play with us!”
The pigtailed drone processed this, eventually letting out a loud, defeated groan.
“F-Fine! Guess I’ll be using my vacation time for this!”
Tessa grinned, and N cheered. “Yaaay! J’s joining us!”
He received a burning glare in return, silencing any joy as she growled her next words.
“I'm coming for you, moron!”
N only had seconds to react before J blitzed forward, the butler already running away as she proceeded to swipe at him, yelling at him to “come back”. The pair ran around one of the bookshelves as Tessa stood off to the side, a bemused grin on her face. Honestly it was cute watching her drones play like this, even if these moments were rare.
And she hoped it could stay like this forev-
“TESSA JAMES ELLIOT!”
Almost simultaneously the world stopped, both drones frozen in place as they stared at her with stricken expressions. The girl herself felt the air chill around her, already dreading the next words.
“GET DOWN HERE NOW! AND BRING YOUR DUMPSTER PETS!”
… That was not good.
She stood there for a few more seconds before letting out a shaky sigh, glancing apologetically at her drones.
“C-Come on guys…let’s see what they want.”
Both drones slowly nodded, shuffling to her sides as she trudged out of the library and into the corridor, preparing herself to face the oppressive adults who called themselves her parents.
-
James and Louise Elliot were standing in the dining room when she finally arrived with J and N in tow. A few other workers and maids also stood nearby, including the bespeckled V who was trying her best not to sweat through her visor. Upon seeing them enter, she shuffled over to them, trying to get as close to N as possible. He tried smiling at her, but the Elliots’ cold gazes prevented him from doing so.
Tessa smoothed out her dress and kept her face as neutral as she could, nodding at her parents. “You called for me?”
“We did,” Louisa sneered, fanning herself. “Mainly because of how much time you waste during the day…with your pets?”
“What…What do you mean?”
“Don’t play stupid with me girl! We heard you running around up there like a bunch of neanderthals! What the hell were you doing?!”
Silence as Tessa glanced down.
“ANSWER ME!”
She didn’t have a choice.
“We…We were playing t-tag during break…that’s all.”
“Really?”
“Y-Yes…We didn’t break anything, I swear!”
Louisa grunted, turning away to fan herself as James spoke in her place. “It doesn’t matter if you were on your ‘break’, fooling around in general is beneath you as an Elliot. You are expected to know better…”
He turned his glare to the trio of drones standing nearby. “... All of you.”
They shrank even further from his gaze.
“Too many times your dumpster pets would rather fool around than actually do their jobs-and they don’t even do them correctly half the time! It doesn’t help when one is half blind, and the other can’t walk properly! All of these units you pulled from the dump are flawed, bumbling, lazy machines!”
Tessa winced at her father’s hateful words. A part of her wanted to fight back and defend…but she couldn’t. It wasn’t expected of her and would result in more punishment. She simply had to wait it out.
Lousia spoke up next. “That's why we decided to come up with a solution to this problem…a lesson for your horseplay and their incompetence.”
Tessa perked up in curiosity as her mother moved aside…curiosity that quickly turned to dread.
Standing behind her was a man in a grey jumpsuit, holding a toolbox in one hand while carrying a strange, gun-like device in the other. His cap and uniform were both emblazoned in a black and red company logo, one all in the room were familiar with.
JcJenson Robotics.
Her heart froze, unable to conjure a single thought as the technician stepped forward, looking around with a neutral, almost bored expression, locking eyes on the drones standing around the girl.
“Are these the defective units you were calling about, madam?” He dully asked.
“Indeed they are.” Lousia snarked, glaring at the drones. “They were improperly disposed of, and my daughter was foolish enough to bring them back online. I have tried giving her the benefit of the doubt, but it is clear that some of these units are unfit for service.”
“M-Mother…” Tessa stammered, stepping forward in front of the drones. “What…What are you doing?”
“What I should’ve done a long time ago!” The older woman snarled, pointing at the now-terrified trio. “I am tired of you playing house with those incompetent rust buckets! You should be thinking about your future instead of those lowlifes! Perhaps this will give you incentive!”
“Mother! Please don’t!” Tears streamed down her face as she ran to her, grasping her arm. “T-They’re my friends! They work hard, they haven't done a-anything wrong! You-You can’t do thi-”
“SILENCE!”
Slap!
Tessa collapsed to the floor, her right cheek red after her mother backhanded her. She caught sight of her drones, staring back with hollow eyes. J was trying to reach her, while N remained stiff as a board and V covered her mouth with both hands-none of them could believe what was happening.
Her father and the JcJenson technician pretended not to notice-the former used to this behavior while the latter wasn’t paid enough to care. Family matters were none of his business.
“Get up!” Louisa pulled Tessa by her hair, forcing her to stand despite the pain. She made her look at the trio she recovered from the dump so long ago, having formed unbroken bonds with them afterwards…and now she was about to witness them being ripped from her life.
The technician turned to James with the same expression, unbothered by the whole affair. “Do you want me to take them all, sir?”
James stared at the trio long and hard, about to agree yet something made him pause.
What if only one of the drones needed to be taken away? Maybe if he did that, it would incentivise the others to actually work like the machines they were. He really didn’t feel like taking all three of them away if he was honest-it would be time consuming and cost him some free labour.
Yes…that would do. But who?
“No, no…only one.”
“But sir, their warranties are expired-”
“I know that. I can still get some use from the rest though before they inevitably break down. I only need the most problematic one removed…” He scanned their faces, wondering who to pick, who was the most incompetent at their jobs.
And with that, he made his decision.
“That one.”
Everyone stared at the pointed finger, leading all the way to the foremost drone.
N gazed at it with a worried expression, gesturing to himself. “...Me?”
“Yes, you.” James snapped. “Your pigtailed coworker always complains about you messing up anyways, so as of today you are relieved from service.”
For the second time today, Tessa’s world froze as she stared in pure shock and horror, watching as her favorite butler attempted to process this information, his eyes hollowing further and mouth hanging open.
No sound emerged from his voice box.
The technician’s monotone voice broke the thick silence. “Very well sir, I’ll take this unit off your hands.”
He walked forward, closer and closer to N. V and J stood behind him, equally frozen in place as the magnitude of what was happening slammed through their heads, yet finding themselves unable to move or prevent it.
Tessa was different, snapping out of it as she immediately struggled in her mother’s iron grip.
“No!”
“Stay still!”
The man was now in front of N, raising the device to his head.
“N-No!”
His fingers curled around the trigger, as the drone gazed at the stoic face with a confused and nervous expression, settling on the struggling girl behind him.
“G-Guys…?”
“Knock it off , young lady!"
“NO!”
Chunk!
And with that, it was done.
N’s eyes fizzled out, and his body collapsed to the floor, a virus implant embedded through his visor.
For Tessa, J, and V…everything seemed to be in slow motion, the fall taking an eternity until he finally landed headfirst on the hard, wooden floor with a thud.
Silence followed…before a shrill, mournful scream cut through the air, jolting all present.
“EEEEEENNNNN-”
Thump!
Something sharp pricked Tessa’s neck, and her voice instantly dissipated as her vision began turning dark, arms and legs falling limp as she collapsed to the floor. A ringing sound echoed through her ears, and although it was hard to see, she could still view what was happening.
She could see J rushing to her, a panic-stricken expression etched onto her visor.
She could see V sitting on her knees, mouth agape as her eye lights were completely hollowed out, seemingly unable to comprehend what happened in front of her.
But most importantly…she could see N, face down on the floor unmoving as the technician bent down and lifted her arms up, slowly dragging him away.
Tears fell from her eyes, even as she slipped further into unconsciousness with a single word.
“No…”
-
Tessa gasped awake with a start, sitting up on her large bed. She was breathing erratically, unable to slow down as the nightmare seemingly replayed in her head.
That was all it was after all. Just a nightmare…so why couldn’t she stop panicking?!
“Boss…Boss! Calm down! BOSS!”
The words snapped her out, turning to see a stressed J sitting besides her, hand on her shoulder. It took several seconds before she got her breathing under control, her pants dying down with a shudder.
Looking around, she saw her room just as she left it…outside of the two drones present. While J remained by her side, she noticed a curled up maid lying near the charging station, her bob cut barely visible in the darkened room.
One was missing though, the panic rising in her chest once again.
Tessa turned back to the pigtailed drone, eyes wide with fear. “W-Where’s N? I…I just had a real bad nightmare…I need him, I need all of you!”
J stared at her with a mixture of remorse and nervousness but said nothing, agitating the girl. “J where is he?! I-I need to see him! Please J, where is my N?!”
A choked sob was heard from the form lying on the floor, yet her eyes remained locked onto the maid before her.
She stayed silent for a long time, eyes drifting down and back as her lips quivered. Finally, she decided to speak.
“N…N’s gone, boss…”
She sniffed once.
“He’s gone.”
Tessa felt like yelling out the opposite. That her N was still here, simply playing another game or doing chores. She was this close to shutting her down and denying what she heard…but she couldn’t.
Because at that moment, she knew. The “nightmare” she just woke from…was all too real. Down to when he collapsed lifelessly onto the floor and dragged away.
Her lovely, joyous N would never return home.
A low wail emerged from Tessa’s throat, tears blurring her vision as she fell to the side, her much-delayed sorrow finally catching up. J caught her, pressing her face in her chestplate just as she began howling, arms instinctively wrapping around each other. All the girl could do was sob over and over again, the images of N’s last moments repeatedly flashing into her head and eliciting a stronger response.
J hugged her tightly, rubbing her back the entire time. She did not sob herself yet digital tears ran down her screen, unable to keep back the immense sorrow she felt for her master…and her male co worker she once considered useless.
Tessa’s cries were soon joined by V, lying unmoving from her spot as she hugged herself. No one was there to comfort her-or more specifically, N wasn’t at her side, always ready for hugs and cuddles. She had seen everything, down to when the technician finally dragged his deactivated body out the front door like an unwanted toy, another drone simply discarded by the household.
A large piece of her core followed the kind worker…and now she didn’t know what to do.
Two floors below, a small, broken maid sat in an old chair, her yellow eye lights flickering as her processor whirred, attempting to rationalize everything she had seen. Although she was supposed to be locked in the basement, she had her ways of viewing everything inside and outside the manor-it was part of her “gifts”, after all.
Nothing prepared her for what she saw in that dining room, too stunned to move or even think as she watched the butler shut down before being carried away.
She watched as Tessa fell to the floor, her mother towering over with a needle in hand.
She watched as J attempted to aid her, only to be yelled at by James to return to work, subsequently ordering two other workers to drag the girl to her room.
She watched as V simply sat there, forgotten by everyone yet somehow catching her attention as the bespeckled drone remained alone, trembling wide-eyed at where her crush once lay.
Cyn saw all of this…and did nothing. For once, she was too stunned to say or do anything-this was not supposed to happen. It was impossible.
And yet…it did. And for everything she was capable of…she just watched as the one drone who actually cared for was removed from her life.
She felt useless. Broken. Defective, for not being there after he stood up for her so many times in this rotten place.
She failed him.
Nobody heard Cyn cry that night, as she supposedly didn’t feel anything. Perhaps that was for the better…or not.