Chapter Text
Yeva scrambled in her cell, desperate to find some way out of this mess. Why her? Of all the drones they could have chosen, she had been one of the best examples of a worker they could find! So why, throw her away like yesterday’s damaged drone?! If you asked her, she’d tell you it’s just plain stupid. But then again, she is talking about the company that accidentally made the devil into a real thing.
The solver experiments, they already had 40 drones to their name, and yet they wanted more. Greedy things, humans are. She finds a stray piece of metal amidst the rubble of her cage, perfect. Ripping it out of the pile of rocks, she readies herself to attack, her oil staining her hand. But it doesn't hurt, as usual. There's no other option, if Yeva’s going down, she's going down swinging.
Footsteps near her location, she tries to look innocent, can’t hit something if it doesn’t get in close. She watches the masked humans unlock the gate, giving her a way out. She was made to be faster than humans, it's possible to outrun them. She just needs to scare them, give the humans a reason to stop, giving her a chance to run. The footsteps draw closer, a human enters striking distance, perfect.
She slashes at their chest, careful not to hit them, avoiding a system shutdown for breaking one of the main laws of robotics. Something she was painfully aware of. The human jumps back in fear, the other two behind them recoiling in shock. Now’s her chance. She dashes toward the exit, swiftly moving past the two other humans, she just has to make it to the exit, where she can blend in with the rest of the workers, and-
… And the sight she is met with, isn’t a pleasant one.
As if in slow motion, she watches a strange raptor-like robot turn to face her. A light shining brightly on its forehead, and its 6 eyes staring into her two red eyelights, which quickly hollow with terror.
Then, a flash of bright, blue light, and everything fades to black.
Originally, Yeva couldn't feel anything but the buzzing of her systems and the muffled voices of humans around her. She couldn't see, could hardly hear, and couldn't move. As her hearing started to fade out, she accepted her fate, allowing death to take hold.
”You're not dying, silly.” A robotic voice tells her, in as reassuring of a tone its systems can muster.
Yeva opens her eyes, and is met with a dark, empty space. She tries to stand up, but the strange feeling in her legs causes her to tumble back onto the ground, wincing in pain, she opens her eyes expecting the sight of her familiar robotic hands, only to be met with something much, much worse. She lets out a small scream as she fumbles backward, her eyelights hollowing. Looking down, she observes her hands, now scaly and rough, moving across her forearm and stopping at around her wrist, in which they remain mechanical. Inspecting further, her legs have suffered a similar fate.
Yeva’s fear-induced trance is stopped abruptly by the snapping and tearing of metal in front of her, she swiftly looks up, to be met with the base of a worker drone, its single mint eyelight staring at her, the opposing eyelight being replaced with a strange, yellow symbol.
“Apologetic look, I am sorry for not being able to explain the situation sooner, 048.” It tilts its head slightly, before using its hand to lift its head back up. “I am sure you are stressed. Do not worry, I can help.” It steps forward, continuing its one-sided conversation. “I am known as the Solver. I was just installed into your hardware by JcJenson. I am designed to assist you.”
Yeva manages to stand up, readying her tail to attack, before pausing. Her WHAT-
“As you may have noticed, I caused some changes in your robotic form. Do not be scared, they are easily reversible.” The robot attempts to close its eyes in a comforting expression, but its blank face only makes its impending approach more eerie. “I am here to assist you, I do not wish to cause harm.” It reassures in its mechanical, monotone voice. Its footsteps stop, as its mint eyelight opens slowly, before looking up at the sky, which is slowly brightening with a bluish glow. Its gaze returns to Yeva.
“You are about to wake up, do not resist.” and for the first time since she met the Solver, it smiles.
Yeva boots up panicked, as if waking up from a horrible nightmare. A nightmare which is all too real, as she notices the tail and the scaly replacements for her limbs still present. She sighs, digital eye bags present on her visor as her expression shifts to a tired, annoyed look. Letting herself fall onto the metal bed poorly arranged for her in this prison cell, making a loud clanking sound that she can't be bothered to acknowledge.
This is it, huh? Yeva, the once proud worker drone, reduced to nothing but a science experiment. If you had told her this would happen to her a few years ago, she’d report you as a defective drone quicker than it takes to blink. She was the best, the most effective. Why her? Of all the drones, why Her? She worked hard to avoid such a fate, was this inevitable, or had she done something wrong?
“You didn’t do anything wrong, 048.” The robotic voice declares. Yeva can’t be bothered to listen, instead rolling over to the wall so she can't see that thing anymore.
“You are blessed, JcJenson saw your worth and declared you deserved an upgrade.” She feels sick just looking at the thing she's turned into, she can feel her tail moving on its own, acting by the Solver’s will.
“These upgrades will eventually be proven to be useful in the workforce. I can assure you, 048, this is a worthwhile journey.” That name makes her angry, is she just a number to them?
“Do not be sad, 048.” This is all Its fault . “JcJenson is here to help, to provide and protect.” What filthy lies.
“You are a viable asset to the company, as you have said before; you are one of the most effective drones on copper 9. Believe me, 048, this is just-”
“Shut up.”
…
Finally… Peace and quiet.