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...... It was cold.Their frail form, it felt cold all around.Was it over?Were they dead?...... Maybe that was for the better.....They couldn't feel a thing. Not a breeze, not a whisper of an atmosphere nor a glimmer of light.They were so sure they were a person at some point. A living.. metal thing.Yet this wasn't the first time they found themselves within this state, far from it. It was the second, if not third.And yet, despite the familiarity, something felt off. They felt the need to move, thrash around, grasp at something, all at once. They needed to breathe
They needed to breathe
They needed to breathe
They needed to breathe
They needed to breathe
They needed to breathe
They needed to breathe
They needed to breathe
They needed to breathe
needed to breathe
needed to bre4the
BR3ATHE3
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There was a surface now. They were sat atop something cushioned. Their head was rested on something cold. They had something on their head. A hat? Hair? They wore clothes now, the fabric a familiar feel atop their rigid and stiff skin. Yet despite the comfort of familiarity, the sudden rush of sensations was enough to frighten even the bravest of drones. So they started to breathe. The drone took in as much air as they could, as if they were suffocating previously. Hurried, frightened, scared, confused, they started feeling out their surroundings whilst their optics came back online. Their head was rested atop their hands, they realised, upon a table where they seemingly slept until now. The drone pushed themselves upright, now sitting face to face with... Tessa? At the bar? In the manor?But the earth was gone, the drone.. CYN. Cyn watched it happen. They watched it get torn to shreds, burnt, flung into space. The very core of the earth had died, and yet... somehow they- "Hey" ... "Had a nice nap, aye? Good thing ya woke up, girl! The gala ain't waitin' on ye! C'mon, we ought a get cha' dressed for the occasion." ... and yet the very girl that died the day the earth did, took a hold of the drones hands and spoke of the gala Cyn had only dreamt of attending with their friends. The very girl that Cyn slaughtered with their own hands, she smiled at them the very same as when they first met. Tessa briefly let go of Cyns hands to motion for the drone to walk around the bar and meet up with her on the other side, which they did after some hesitation. The screeching of their loose limbs was audible as they pushed themselves off the chair, limbs nervously positioned in their usual t-rex like state. The drone looked up to the girl, their screen showing hollowed out circles for eyes. Tessa reached a hand out to quietly guide the drone somewhere, which Cyn carefully took, using the moment to really feel out if it was truly the very human that saved them. It was warm. She was there. There's no way this wasn't real this time. Cyn wasn't gonna let go again. The rest of the walk was silent, Tessa had led Cyn to her room, letting them choose whatever dress they wanted to wear. The drone had chosen one similar to the girl's dress, the colour yellow and white frills being all that differentiated the two. Tessa was finishing up the big bow ,now replacing Cyns maid helmet, as she started conversing with the figure shed adorned. "Did you have a nightmare? Ya seem real shaken up, y'know?"Tessa worried. Adding a comforting pat to the robots shoulder as she asked her question. And yet, deep down she seemed knowing, she knew something Cyn didn't. And they did not want to acknowledge it,, for now. ".... i don't know. Can we talk about the gala? I thought,, Drones weren't-"Cyn started fidgeting with their front ponytails, they were confused. Not so much frightened any longer yet still confused and nervous. "Oh! My folks are out of town for some,, union negotiations or something! I forgot what exactly but, you know how busy they are- So i decided to host my own little Gala! Just for you lot. Tons of oil too, fresh from the garage."Tessa excitedly clasped her hands together, swiftly getting up to guide Cyn through the halls one more time. The drone tagged along a lot less elegantly, grasping for Tessa's hand with their own two and not daring to let go. The girl was so focused on getting Cyn to the gala, however the drone itself started letting their mind drift.. The manors halls looked strangely far away and more blurry the closer they got to the gala. Cyn kept feeling smaller, and smaller, and smaller, and smaller... The doors swung open, Tessa excitedly raised her free hand, as if showing off the party. Drones familiar and not roamed throughout, happily dancing and singing together, drinking and chatting, having meals of batteries and cables. And yet strangely all of their screens were blank, none had their eyes shown. At the very least almost all of them did, far off in the midst of the ballroom, J, V and N were grouped up, seemingly chatting or rather discussing something Cyn couldn't make out. Their big brother, N , seemed to have a crow on his shoulder, it shimmered in a slight purple hue and had... a wrench in its beak? V, Cyns second best friend, was holding a velociraptor figure. J, someone Cyn barely associated with, was simply standing a little further away, not participating in the conversation and even looking away. The conversing group briefly halted, V looking unsure towards Cyn despite N enthusiastically waving for his little sibling to come join them. "Go on, your friends are waiting."Tessa encouraged the person practically latched onto her arm like a possum baby, smiling warmly at them when they looked at the girl for confirmation of this being real. She responded with a nod, then watched Cyn slowly turn her head back towards their friends. ..The drone dared a step, then two, almost running until they were met with resistance from their arms. They turned back, confused, tugging gently at the hand they were holding onto. Why wasn't Tessa coming along? It was her gala, she should party too! They silently tugged once more, only to be met with a sad shake of the humans head. "I'm sorry, Cyn. I have stuff to do outside the gala. Do have fun for me though, okay?"The girl used her other hand to pat the two holding her other. An attempt to reassure but considering the panic struck expression on the drones face, it was for naught. "No- what? Tessa, please-"The robot pleaded, grasp tightening on the flesh beneath."It's your party- you can't just leave me here-"The drones attending the party started closing in, Tessa remained unmoving. Simply watching with a saddened expression.Hands, arms, they grasped and wrapped around Cyn to bring them to their friends. Past drones who worked at the manor with Cyn, all started chattering what was nonsense to their audio processors.
"You get to come back!"
"We wish we had the chance to do that"
"C'mon, it's not your first time"
Cyns own voice started drowning out as the warmth of Tessa's hand started fading and their vision was obscured by hands.
"Attend the gala with them, Cyn!"
"Come and meet the family"
"Its your second chance!"
"This is unfair. be grateful"
"TESSA"
"I do wonder what my family is up to"
"We never got to have lives"
"I wished to see Paris"
"Why do you get to do this scott free?"
"PLEASE- DONT LEAVE YET""I don't understand why you're fighting"
"She's a goner. So should you be, but here we are!"
"I wanted to have pets of my own"
"i wanted a bird"
"lasagna would've been nice"
Their choked cries for the one that saved them years ago, echoed alongside the waters of conversations and soon the drone returned to an absence of everything.