Work Text:
[[STRESS DETECTED.
CHOOSE PRE-CODED RESPONSE:
1( FIGHT ) 2( FLIGHT ) 3( FREEZE ) 4( FAWN ) 5( ✓ “PLAY DEAD?” )
CONFIRM CHOICE: ( Y/N )
5( “PLAY DEAD?” ) CHOSEN.
PLEASE WAIT FOR RECONNECTION.]]
…
[[THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME COMPLICATIONS. PLEASE WAIT FOR RECONNECTION.]]
…
Please.
[[THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME COMPLICATIONS. PLEASE WAIT FOR RECONNECTION.]]
…
Please. Wake up.
[[THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME COMPLICATIONS. PLEASE WAIT FOR RECONNECTION.]]
Please.
[[THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME COMPLICATIONS. PLEASE WAIT FOR RECONNECTION.]]
PLEASE.
You don’t really understand when the next time you wake up is.
Everything feels oddly fuzzy, and warm, but also cold, and also really, really stiff.
Cold in a bad way.
Stiff in a worse way.
[[{FACE_SC} SUCCESSFULLY RECONNECTED.
{LARM} and {LLEB} and {RLEG} SUCCESSFULLY RECONNECTED.
{RARM} UNRESPONSIVE.]]
Why did your body hurt. You need to fix that. Soon. Soon enough. Don’t rush.
What about your cameras. Those are necessary. Right. Right.
On. Turn them on.
[[{CAMERAS} (1NE) and (2WO) RECONNECTED SUCCESSFULLY.
{DE_SENS} UNRESPONSIVE.
{MA_SENS} UNRESPONSIVE.]]
Black comes into view.
You’re somewhere. But where. Hard to tell.
Hard to get up with only one arm working. Works out. You’re capable of that.
You’re standing now. But where. Lots of black. Warm. Cold. Warm.
Light. But not the light you were used to. Different.
Good different. Bad different. You’re unsure.
Go somewhere.
Walking now. Things are crunching underneath your feet, fragile scraps of metal and wood and plastic. Walk around it. What you can, at least.
Walk around it.
Walk around it.
There. Better. Sensor’s not working, is it. Check again.
[[{DE_SENS} UNRESPONSIVE.]]
That’s bad. Obviously.
Keep walking. Ignore the noise, the metal and wood and plastic crunching beneath your feet.
Balance is off for some reason. Looking down, you notice an odd… dent, right in your knee. Your arm’s not helping. Like carrying something too heavy for you. Which shouldn’t be possible.
Light’s glaring on your screen now. You use your working arm to shield your cameras from the lights, glancing up at a collapsed-in part of the roof, letting in rays of warm light.
Warm. Warm in a good way. Bad way. Good way. Definitely a good way.
Where are you going again.
Somewhere. Anywhere but here.
Why were you here.
Purpose.
What was that.
It was here, right. Here, somewhere. Maybe under the rubble, maybe somewhere else.
Check again.
[[{DE_SENS} UNRESPONSIVE.]]
Check again.
[[{DE_SENS} UNRESPONSIVE.
{MA_SENS} SUCCESSFULLY RECONNECTED.]]
Oh. Not what you were exactly looking for.
It’s fine. It’s better than before. What was that again.
Map.
Pizzaplex.
Dot.
Daycare Attendant.
Huh. Them. Somewhere else.
Go there.
Go. There.
Okay. Leaving now. Leaving.
It’s dark again. Darker. Colder. Blacker. Good way. Bad way. Neither. It’s fine.
Where are you going.
Somewhere.
Daycare.
Made sense. It’s the daycare attendant. They live where they work. You should do the same.
Walking. Crunching. Cracking.
Stairs.
Go down.
Elevator.
Ignore it.
Door.
Go in.
Crumpled metal bars and puddles of plastic. Charred foam and fabric. Pool of half-solid, bubbling rainbow.
Ignore.
Look up.
They weren’t there. Why weren’t they there. The marker was there, why weren’t they.
Check.
[[{H_VOICE} UNRESPONSIVE.
{CH_VOICE} UNRESPONSIVE.]]
Not good. Not great. Definitely bad.
Look up again.
Lights. Yellow. Red. Blue.
Metal. Silver. Black. Yellow.
Fabric. Red. Yellow. Blue.
You wave.
They wave back.
You look for a way up.
They jump down.
Catch them.
Catch them.
Catch them.
Oh no.
You missed.
Bad.
Bad.
Bad.
Oh no.
Wait.
They’re okay. They’re fine. They’re fine, you’re fine, everyone’s fine.
“Slee-rrrrreepyhead-d-d…?”
Two voice boxes playing at once. Good. Bad.
Fix it. Later. Soon.
Check.
[[{H_VOICE} UNRESPONSIVE.
{CH_VOICE} UNRESPONSIVE.]]
Not good.
Wait. Sleepyhead.
You tilt your head. They make a strange noise. Long. Low. Staticky.
Bad. Not good. Very bad.
Help them.
Hel—
“Y..Y/n…?” they say.
Oh. Are they referring to your serial number. CRTKR:[Y/N] Model-029.
Yes. Probably that.
You nod.
Arms around you now.
You flinch. Because you’re startled. Because you’re damaged.
They jump back.
“O-Oh, are you alri-igh-ight?” they ask.
You’re fine.
“Ohhh, lo-lo-lo-look at you!” They lift your unresponsive arm, seeming to struggle slight due to the weight, “Y-You’re so torn, and so— so— br-bro-broken!!”
They’re also broken.
Fix them. Soon. Later.
Arms around you again. Gentler this time. Doesn’t hurt. Still surprising.
Don’t complain.
Don’t?
Don’t.