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P03 and you were playing his game again and you came across a peculiar bounty hunter that had an awfully suspicious amount of characterization.
"My mission? Eliminate target. Collect bounty."
"After that? Maybe start a small business. A bed and breakfast... something nice. Settle down. Find a partner. Manufacture some children… Grow old. Pass the business on to my children. Rust away content with my life's work, surrounded by family."
"But first... Eliminate target."
You blinked up for a moment “Is that what robots do instead of giving birth? Just build the baby?”
P03 blinks to a surprised expression, then to an ellipsis as it stiffens up more than usual, slowly calculating its answer before swinging back into motion loosely to flash back to neutral. “I… suppose?” It’s the way of life for many machines afterall.
Smirking and leaning forward to the bot “And is this something they do when they love each other very much…?”
Now mimicking a huff, “Yes, this is a thing they do when they love each other very much” It flashes an irritable expression with an edited flush to its cheeks whilst trying to hide it behind mocking your tone.
Your eyes close for a few moments, now your lips reflecting a softer smile. You lower your face down to the board and breathe steadily. Your tone now lowered “Is this something you’d…want…?”
P03 now displaying that same surprised face for longer and completely stopping all motion as you continue.
Voice now apprehensive and eyes looking anywhere but him “Would…” you stop to try to sound gentler and straighten your eyes directly at its screen.
“Would you like to make children with me P03?”
“…What…” It asks without question behind a crackle of a speaker and sounding as if it just heard a cruel joke. Its screen continues to display surprise but he’s…. shaking now? Slowly vibrating? A wurr of the fan turning on within its casing and static begins to grow from the sides of the blue glow on its face.
“I know that…we share feelings for each other, right? We have for a while… I’ve lived at the factory for a pretty long time.” Your legs scoot the chair backwards as you stand and approach the trembling machine, board now abandoned. One of your hands reaching out and stopping to allow the other to make the next move. As you do this the sound of a door being rushed open and a very excited G0lly hovering up and down in a bouncing motion. Her voice calling out your name in a bubbly sing-song way “Reaaaadderrrrrrrr!!” Holding the last syllable out the longest.
“G0lly now's not the -Ack!” your waist is pulled up in an embrace and with a gleeful giggle she spins and floats you around the room. Her screen brushes your face ever so often making it tingle on contact. She’s now calling your name out over and over in a dream-like trance with little bubbles of tears drawn on the sides of closed pixelated eyes. Trying to snap her out by calling out to her proved fruitless as your vision gets more and more blurry with each rotation.
The door opens again, this time more calmly as two other androids with identical figures approached. Archivist being revealed and she hums out a tone reflectively. “So, the human wishes to create small ones with us? What a very…” She continues over G0lly who is now amplifying in volume “…special…and dear human we’ve come across.” She speaks to you in a praising manner. Finishing with her metallic arm over the front of herself in a gesturing motion. “I am blushing… But I accept this task.” Screen flickering and now drawing close to her twirls but still grasping you tightly, G0lly is unrestrained in the others agreement “Yes! Yes! Yes! We’ll make lots of adorable little bots!”
The other bot that wandered in now flickering to show the personality of The Photographer. A click heard within its body as they hover steadily near your form and halted. “Manufacturing a child with us. Is that your choice?” It pauses for your response.
“Yes. That is my choice.” Your brain feels like mush from G0llys pleasant assault but you still have the ability to answer steadily. With reactions like this from each of P03’s personalities, you owe it all you can to not leave room for any doubt. The Photographer now closer to your G0lly clutched frame who breathes out a “Golly…” as the other android rests its hand over your head and clicks affectionately. P03 who had bluescreened shortly after you ‘popped the question’ suddenly sprung back to life and its face flooded with the pale painted face of the Blank Canvas you’ve helped bring to fruition. They show up with a face bright and smiling until they realize their mistake. “Oops. Wrong body…Sorry.” It’s still getting used to coming and going through the personality matrix. “One moment…” They say before P03’s face returns, who now looks uncertain. The Blank Canvas now in the body of another empty android shell reared around the corner and back into the room.
P03 keeps its distance as the Canvas joins the rest by your side. Their painted mouth twitching up and black eyes on you. It feels anxious and curious all the same, for you were the one who helped it come to life. What would this mean between the two of you? Their personality existed long since you’ve entered the factory, but the way they looked and how they played had all been up to you. They jostle out of their burning thoughts when you speak out to them “Canvas? You good buddy?”
They blink quickly a few times and tilt their monitor back at you. ‘You’re an enigma’ it decided. You came out of nowhere and blessed this cold unfeeling factory and helped light the paths of uncertainty for all of its inhabitants. Head twitching back and now up straight, they reach out with their full claw and press it on your cheek. Your eyebrows twitch at the odd gesture and lean into it. Humming at the cool feeling its appendage gave against your face that had flushed from all this attention. Canvas rumbles out from their chest in the scratchy tone you’ve grown to love. “I anticipate your ideas. Together we will create the perfect children. I trust your process.” Your eyes begin to glitter at their sincerity. “I mean, look how I turned out!” It beeps out a gleeful tone.
Tears now flooding over, the Blank Canvas android drew back and their voice audibly hitched “What is happening? Did I do something wrong?” You made an attempt to answer but your throat had begun to so you offered a shake of your head of deniability and a wave of your hand. The Archivist who had been hovering close offered a metallic pat on the Canvas’s back and sighed knowingly. “Your words appear to have overwhelmed her.” Shaking her monitor at the fearful expression on the Blank Canvas’s face. “What you’ve said to her must have struck her an exemplary amount. My word…” She trails off as G0lly takes note of your quivering form. “Oh Golly… You’re looking very tense…Hold on…” Her screen rubs against the side of your face and the miniscule dose of electricity manages to tickle a smile out of you. “There it is!” With a sugary giggle, she sets you down and rubs her claw over your shoulder as you dry your remaining tears on a sleeve. Over your sleeve you spot the lone android sulking alone.
“P03?” You call over with a wave. “You alright?” The bot doesn’t say anything and returns its face to an ellipsis. You’re calling out to it again now walking towards it with the others in tow. “...P03?” Now reaching towards him.
“Yes.” It speaks simply, then grabs your hand in his claw and holds it plainly with its face back to neutral. A moment passes without any other word and they haven’t let go. “Yes…?” You repeat back to the robot as a question. Does this mean…
“Yes.” he repeats, blinking its face to that of annoyance. “Did I lag?” Then back to neutral again. You're desperately searching its face for any indicators and breathing a sigh when you fail to completely understand. “Yes to you feeling alright or yes to… my other question?” P03 squeezes your hand at this. He quivers and its screen flickers for a few turns then continues its neutral expression. Its voice now sounds like it’s reaching onto anything it can to stop itself from showing weakness. “Yes… to both. Questions I mean.” irritation showing again as it silently curses itself. “Satisfied with my answer?” Your once perplexed lips lifted and you nod happily. “Yes I am.” “Cool.” It replies on beat as another moment of silence picks back up. You stand awkwardly and slowly begin swinging their appendage that had been attached to your hand and wait until somebody does something.
“So…you sure?” It’s now P03’s turn to ask as the familiar edited blush pops back up on its screen. You chuckle at this and watch as it turns its monitor away to hide it from your wandering eyes. Rubbing a thumb up and down its clawed grasp as you feel it tremble slightly.
“Of course I’m sure.”
“Good!” It’s brandishing a smug face now. “Because anyone else would be a trash tier choice. Your consideration on this was of little value anyway as I’m the only viable option for building-”
“Babys!” G0lly squeals giddily as the other androids rejoice.
The bot you’re hand-in-hand with shudders as those pixelated stains creep back up to where their cheeks would be. Figuring that this was as good a time as any, you lean right into him to press your lips against the glass screen and feel the light spark in reciprocation. You’re now awestruck at the sight before you. The mean-spirited and cynical bot that keeps to itself wearing a wobbly smile and lax eyes, ‘if only you could capture this moment…’
Click
Recalibrating its senses, P03 releases you and threateningly approaches The Photographer as they click comically in their great escape through another entrance as shouts follow behind.
“Delete that! Delete that now!”