Chapter Text
Shelly didn't have a hateful bone in her body.
She would ALWAYS try her best to be positive and supportive of all the toons and people in her life, to be happy and keep the team's spirits up even when she herself was struggling
But Shelly hated Vee Version 2.
Shelly still thinks about the day before it all happened, The higher ups had been talking about "upgrading" Vee for a long while, Vee was horrified of the idea from the start but ratings were low and she was so popular, an upgrade would be just the thing they needed to boost viewers before the fiscal year ended
Shelly and Vee had spent the day together, sitting in Shelly's bed just holding one another, enjoying the other's company for as long they could
"i don't know who I'll be after they do this, if I'll still be...me" vee mumbled into Shelly's chest
They showed the plans to Vee like they were giving her a gift. a fancy new replacement body and recoding of her brain, a full system reset
Vee tried to ask questions, would she still have her memories? Her personality?
They told her not to worry about it, she would be BETTER that's all that mattered
Shelly had kissed the side of Vee's screen and held her close, for once in all her time supporting others with her words shelly was left not really knowing what to say
" w-well if you end up looking or behaving a little differently, I'd still love you. We'll get through it together" Shelly whispered. Resting her head on the top of Vee's
Shelly didn't know what to do. Of course she was right there by Vee's side trying to get the higher ups not to go through with the upgrade, even with Veronica's help, they were both just toons. They very rarely ever had a say in what happens at Gardenview
"I'm more than just my code..." Vee had tightened her grip on Shelly and fought back pixelated tears
"Of course you are."
"I just wish they could understand that, just because I'm a robot doesn't mean they can replace or change me like that"
Shelly readjusted their position so she could hold Vee by the side of her monitor and look her in the eyes "You're irreplaceable to me Vee"
"You always know how to make me feel better...thank you, I love you Shelly" vee said with half lidded eyes and green tinted blush on her display
"Love you to Vee" they both fell asleep shortly after that before waking up the next day and being escorted to Vee's rooms for her "upgrade" Shelly had given Vee one last hug and the technicians had taken her away to be upgraded. That was the last time Shelly saw HER vee.
V2 stomped confidently right out of the workshop door a few hours later, full swagger and a new shiny gloss finish, shelly had rushed over to give her a hug, only for it to be returned with far less enthusiasm than normal for her Vee, all she got was a simple pat on the back
"How are you feeling? Did it go okay?" Shelly had asked checking her up and down, Vee looked mostly the same. They had fixed her crinkled antenna, both of them now standing straight up and she appeared to be a slightly darker shade of sparkly green
"Of course Miss Fossilian, everything went great! As you can see" V2 had said it with her usual smile and a little spin, but she spoke with far more emotion than Shelly was used to, her Vee always said everything with the same monotone calmness. of course after a while Shelly could tell the subtle differences in Vee's voice not all the other toons could pick up on, she'd never forget the love she'd hear in that mechanical voice whenever Vee spoke her name, she didn't hear that now. And her vee certainly never called her by her last name before
"I- um you remember me, right vee?" Shelly was starting to feel sick to her stomach.
"Well yes! Shelly Fossilian the paleontologist, your segment is typically after my game show if I recall correctly, which I do. I look forward to working with you and the others, speaking of we should be heading to dinner by now, yeah?" V2 said it so casually, as if she didn't shatter Shelly's heart into a million pieces with one sentence. despite her confidence she clearly didn't remember. all the secret kisses in-between work, the late nights they would stay up in each other's rooms when they weren't supposed to, or the trying to hold hands discreetly in the hallway so their handlers wouldn't see
No, Shelly would later find out all of V2's memories were all carefully hand picked, if the technicians knew Vee was friends with someone they'd program her to act just the same way as ever, but if the toon handlers didn't know something about Vee, than V2 didn't know either.
She wasn't a little bit different, they didn't just give her Vee a new coat of paint and send her on her way, they dismantled and reassemble her into a whole new toon Shelly didn't recognize
Nearly everyone else took to V2 fairly quickly, she was meticulously programed to be endlessly charismatic and charming, as soon as she showed up to dinner that night she was the life of the party, the toons who only knew Vee on a surface level before could barely tell the difference, besides V2 clearly being more energetic and emotionally intelligent
And Shelly couldn't stand her, she knew it wasn't V2's fault this had happened, she really shouldn't blame her for taking away her partner, but Shelly couldn't help feeling that way regardless. She couldn't even properly mourn her Vee, they put V2 and Shelly right back to work together like everything was the same
in Shelly's grief a tiny bitter part of her brain couldn't stop comparing the two, keeping a tally of everytime V2 did or said something her Vee would never in a million years
Vee version 1 obviously struggled a bit socially with the lack of emotion in her voice and her tendency to be unintentionally rude, Vee was perfect on camera or on stage, when there's a layer of separation between her and the audience, but up close and personal she never knew how to act quite right, looking awkward when forced to hug a fan or needing to run and get someone better with kids whenever a child would get overwhelmed and cry around her, and her relationships with the other toons wasn't much better, besides the few she trusted enough to let her guard down, the few who could understand her quirks, like Brightney and Astro
All of that considered, they took special care to have V2 be a total social butterfly. She could regulate all her emotions perfectly, never jealous, or bratty, or impatient, She even had pleasant conversations with Dandy. Other toons started coming to her for social advice or to vent when they were having a bad day, V2 could instantly calculate the perfect thing to say to make everyone feel good, listened to and cared for, Shelly thought it all came across rather disingenuous
Her Vee was always attention hungry, she didn't just WANT a spotlight and a crowd cheering her name, she NEEDED it. It was the thing that got her out of bed in the morning and the reason she plugged herself in to charge at night, and she knew how to get that attention as well. With Shelly often being forgotten, they evened each other out in a way, both adoring to be the center of the other one's attention
V2 walked around not just hoping, but KNOWING that every head would turn her way when she walked into a room and she would be on everyone's minds for hours after she left. She was confident, self assured, Thought she was the best thing since sliced bread. But with her perfect persona she would never let anyone think she had an ego, that she was better than any other toon, Shelly wished they had remembered to program honesty into her code, that was a starkest contrast between V2 and Vee
Vee might not have had an organic body, but she did sound like she had one, pistons popped like joints and gears would click like she had a heartbeat. If you said just the right thing and made her blush, you'd hear her fans switch on. If you were lucky and the room was quiet, she would make a happy rumbling TV static noise like a cats purr, that was one of Shelly's favorite sounds
V2 was an eerily quiet piece of machinery, with a fancy OLED screen. She didn't make a peep when she moved, or a single noise unintentionally for that matter. The clank of her footsteps was the only warning she gave she was heading your way
Vee knew a lot sure, she was programmed to know the answers to all her trivia questions and far beyond, but she could only know so much, and she still needed to get regular updates to keep all that knowledge reliable and relevant
V2 was always connected to the internet, and had a constantly expanding database of facts and resources to take from, You could ask her any question, ask her for a fact about any subject and she'd have an answer. You could even ask her what the weather was going to be that day, and she'd let you know the forecast
It was just awful if you asked Shelly, she didn't know she was capable of hating someone as much as she hated V2. She would actively avoid V2 in the halls, in the communal rooms, not look her in the eyes when forced to say something to her, she just couldn't bring herself to do so. It was like looking at a warped fun house mirror version of her partner with all the things she loved about her scrubbed away in the futile pursuit for perfection
Shelly didn't think something like this would come from that upgrade, that her Vee would just be gone like that. How was she supposed to move on when there was a stranger walking around gardenview wearing Vee's face, speaking in her voice, living her life, like nothing had happened
It certainly didn't help that V2 kept trying to talk to her. As if they had anything to say to one another, as if Shelly wanted anything to do with her
One day they had ended up in the elevator alone together, going up to their rooms for the night after a long day. V2 ever talkative started with a "hello fossilian, how are you?"
Her chipper tone sounded so wrong to Shelly
"Fine" she mumbled, playing with the buttons on her dress and looking at the floor
"Mm. Well that's good. I was wondering if you're free here soon, you'd be willing to help me with-"
"I'd really rather not. Sorry" Shelly had cut her off. She swore she saw V2 suddenly twitch and pause, a slight tightening of her shoulders and a narrowing of her digital eyes, like nobody ever had the nerve to interrupt her before, as fast as it happened she recovered though, her mask back on and a carefree sound to her robotic voice
"Of course. Not a problem at all" the elevator doors FINALLY opened and Shelly rushed out without saying anything else
"Have a good evening!" V2 yelled after her, before continuing her walk to her own room, Shelly didn't reply
The worst part for Shelly was as time went on people seemed to just forget Vee was ever upgraded to begin with, they fully rebranded to have V2 in Vee's place on the all the posters, T-shirts and remade her plushie and merchandise, and the kids all loved her of course
Not to mention her name, at first they all called her "V2" because that's what she was, a secondary, she would never be number 1. But the children couldn't tell the difference, and the other toons and staff thought just saying "Vee" was easier. They started calling the real Vee "Vee classic" like version 2 was even close to a suitable replacement. Shelly would never call her that, she wasn't Vee, at least not to her, she was a pale imitation
It was all so unfair, Shelly would never forget Vee, and how amazing she was, how much love and joy she brought her, and all her wonderful flaws
Shelly knew she would always hate Vee Version 2