Coffee Powered Urban Legends

[Kami-Gaz]

“Do you want to hear something creepy?” A voice mentioned in hushed conversation in the dark basement. The sounds of hushed whispers echoing through out the vast yet cluttered basement. The young male owner of the voice was leading the pair through the large underground storage complex.

“You know I love creepy things…” The female voice replied, holding a lit lantern and scanning the area and making note of all the boxes that were piled up. The pair had only just entered this ancient basement of the academy, both were in the uniform of the younger classes. This was their first time in such a place and everything was new to the pair.

“I do!” He replied with a wicked grin. “I heard that there is a possessed doll down here.” He started, turning to walk backwards in the dim light of the torch. The young lad held his hands out backwards, letting them feel for any obstacles that would get in his way.

“They say that this doll has been down here for Four Hundred years, sitting there watching the basement. It’s dressed to look like a sister of faith, kind and beautiful.” He explained more, shifting to look at the surrounding landmarks of the basement so he could lead his female partner in the right direction. “She apparently wakes up every 10 years, eyes flashing and speaking in a haunting voice that if you hear you die within the next few days.”

“No way!” The young woman replied, grinning away, loving the story. “Do you know where the Nun doll is?” Asked the inquisitive school girl.

“Yeah, Liam told me about it. He saw her last week.” He replied taking a turn down a long corridor, filled with dust and cobwebs. It was an area barely touched by any one in the academy. “From what rumour hunting I’ve done she should be doing her eye glowy thing at some point this year. I want to see it!” He exclaimed happily, wanting to debunk this myth.

“Really?! You’re crazy!” She called in response, he light washing over every suspicious knuck and kranny. Her terror level being elevated by the story and the friend had told her. This was one of those stories that just seemed to rattle her.

A few minutes passed of the two moving quietly through the lifeless yet cramped space. The pair had followed their instructions to the letter and were now in what must have been the most neglected room. Betwix the dust coated boxes and drape covered crates that were all over the room, making navigation difficult, there was an oddity. A path that could be spotted after a quick look was seen by the male.

“It’s over here Mary.” The male said, darting for the path, being quickly followed by his light baring friend. “I see it! I see it!” He announced, excitedly running all the way up to the robe clad robotic doll that was sat, slumped against the wall, nestled between two large boxes with her legs barely poking out from into make due corridor between the stacks.

“Oh wow! It’s real!” Mary exclaimed, standing back enough and illuminating the forgotten urban legend.

The nun sat there, her eyes closed and face relaxed as if she were in a deep sleep. Peacefully sitting there untouched, just like it had been for centuries. This robot no one knew really anything about. Her existence had been twisted and warped into an urban legend, a story… Everything in its past life, forgotten about.

Moments of silence passed, there was a noise caused by mice in the back which made the girl jump and move the light away from the Doll. This in turn made the young man jump, his leg accidently hitting the sleeping nun as he did. Her programming detected danger and in but a moment her eyes flashed open and with a pale red glow scanned the room, seeing her attacker.

“THREAT….. DE-TECTED” The doll announced in a monotone voice, the fingers gripping tighter around the ankle and extending the scalpels. The metal blades dug straight into his flesh and bone rending them.

With a yelp of terrified pain the young lad tore his leg away and stumbled into his friend who saw the blood and the nun sat there staring with her eyes emanating a pale red light. “GO GO GO!” He screeched, dragging his mangled leg and crying through the pain.

“WE’RE GOING TO DIE!” The girl screamed out with tears streaming down her face. Barely helping the one that lead her down here to flee. The terror filling her.

“CON-SERVING… POWER…” The eyes closed on the doll closed again. Her hand returning to normal as the blood dripped from it. The Urban legend was to live on, the unit to lie undisturbed.

Both of the students managed to get out of the basement but their story of the killer possessed doll were not believed by the teachers. Other students did go looking but none could locate exactly where the incident took place, letting the legend live on.

---

Honey-B33 : Diagnostic Mode = 818181

[Deleted]

Walking through the halls one afternoon, a tall man with black hair and glasses passed a group of high school aged students in a conversation. Though typically one to ignore these conversations, this particular one peaked his interest. Turning to the students, he walked over with authority, exercising his right as an instructor to broadcast that authority, and with a right to do so since this was his final year and he had already attained his doctorate in engineering. He passed his spare time by teaching engineering to some of the very students he was approaching.



“Cadman, What was that you just said about the basement?” The man questioned with a watchful gaze. The way he presented himself was more than intimidating, and the scars on his face and deadly glare also served to make those around him uncomfortable. If it weren’t for his heterochromatic eyes, he would be all but unapproachable. These particular students, however, were more than accustomed to this act and knew very well that the teacher in front of them was harmless… well except for that one kid he threw out the first story window for threatening another kid with a knife.



“Oh, hi Mr. Cedwyn. We were just talking about the creepy doll in the basement.” One of the boys stated, holding his arms crossed in front of him, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation they were having with the three other boys and two girls that were there. “We heard Liam told this one kid about it, and he and Mary went to investigate, and now the kid is in the infirmary for it!” Came another boy in a mixture of excitement and fear. It was clear that the two students mentioned weren’t supposed to be in the basement in the first place. There were apparently a number of dangers down there, but now apparently a killer doll?



“Is the kid still in the infirmary? What about Mary?” Cedwyn asked, face as cold as ever with a mild hint of concern in his voice. One of the girls nodded before he dismissed them and comforted them with praise on behalf of the infirmary, where he had spent more than a few nights in the past. Making his way to the infirmary, Cedwyn prepared a gift of sweets for the young male student, as was normal for visiting anyone who was hospitalized because of incidents on campus. Upon arrival, Nurse Patricia greeted him with a soft smile. This young nurse had only recently joined the school and very obviously had a crush on the handsome, stalwart doctor and made constant efforts to get him to recognize her flirtatious ways. His ignorance on the matter stemmed from years of fake praise, and so his professionalism often drove her to frustration, but never enough to stop her from continuing those efforts.



“Well well, Mr. Dacus, come to see me again? Did you get a boo-boo? Want me to kiss it for you?” She said with a sly wink. “Not now Patricia, I’m here to visit the student who visited the basement. I’d like to know more about what happened.” Patricia sighed and shook her head. “You know we’re supposed to keep these incidents under wraps. Wouldn’t want the parents to get angry and shut down the academy.”



“This isn’t about the academy, and I can assure you anything he says will not leave this room. You have my word as a man.” Cedwyn exclaimed, his hand over his heart. This sent flutters to the nurse’s heart, and made her blush. What a man indeed! “Alright, just make it quick…”

---

It didn’t take long for all of the details to come to light. The child was obviously frightened, so all of what happened was completely unfiltered. With a promise that he would never go into the basement unsupervised again, Ced left the kid so he could continue healing and went for the basement himself, armed with his favorite wrench, a cup of coffee and a flashlight in case the doll really was haunted. The coffee was because he hadn’t had one since the morning, and was feeling a bit thirsty.



When he made it to the basement, he followed the directions the student gave him, taking care to not move anything too much and cause an avalanche of old books and destroyed machinery to land on him. When he finally got to the location, he didn’t see the doll right away. Instead, he saw the dried blood on the ground, leading to what looked to be a corpse. Instead, what he found wasn’t a doll at all; though it certainly looked like one. The glint of metal on his flashlight revealed what it really was. “Huh… What's this doing here?” He learned in closer, refusing to touch the thing since the last time THAT happened a kid almost lost his leg, and glanced at its face in the darkness.



It was when Cedwyn leaned in a little too far did he accidentally tip his hot coffee too far forward, spilling it onto the body of the metal doll before realizing his mistake and uttering a single curse under his breath. He stepped away from the doll for a moment to observe it from afar and assess the best way to approach moving it.

[Kami-Gaz]

The droplets of black nectar fell onto the unmoving robot, staining the black robe with the caffeinated beverage. There was a small silence as the world seemed to stop, the footsteps from above halted and so did the chatter of lessons… The eyes of the fair looking doll fluttered to an eerie glow, scanning the room, the man and the damp patch on her clothes.

“FUEL DETECTED… ENGAGING DIAGNOSTIC REPAIR MODE.” The monotone voice announced, the pale red glow shifting slightly to look at Ced. Deep inside this powerless prison there was the active mind of a creation aching for the freedom that his coffee could bring.

“LEFT ARM DAMAGED, RECOMMEND REATTACHING INTERNAL WIRING BEFORE RE-SECURING OUTER PLATING AND SYNTHETIC SKIN.” The voice started to rattle off, not caring if the person was paying attention or not. The self preservation protocol was all that mattered.

“RIGHT LEG DETACHED. RECOMMEND RE-SECURING AND ASSURING PRESSURE SEAL IS MAINTAINED.” The machine added, adding more to this list of demands. “TO RE-ENGAGE PERSONALITY CORE PLEASE INSERT COFFEE INTO FACIAL FUEL RECEIVER.” It finished, the mono-tonal drone started to crack and fade as the last of its power dwindled, the internal battery almost completely dead.

[Deleted]

Standing stone still, Cedwyn kept his eyes focused on the metallic doll in front of him. It was undoubtedly an old project somebody had left behind to rust.

A robot this advanced, left to rot in a place like this? We can't have that. It could be useful. But first... Ced slowly poured the rest of his coffee (as painful as it was to see a good cup of joe be used in such a manner) into the "mouth" of the robot. He took a few moments while he waited for it to boot to inspect the chassis of the doll. "Your diagnostics weren't wrong..." Cedwyn commented, mostly to himself. "You've been all but ruined down here. Whatever happened to you left its mark, but it's nothing I can't fix."

Cedwyn cleared the area of debris and brought over a somewhat unbroken lamp, as well as some old tools that were lying around. Not ideal, but it'll have to do for the time. I can't let anybody else find this, not before I can repair it. Taking apart some old wooden desks and chairs, Cedwyn quickly crafted together a sturdy "surgery" table with which he could properly and expertly repair this robot. Of course, there was the matter of what she was created to do. If he wasn't careful, he could be the next victim of this "killer robot."

"Alright then. State your project ID, name of your creator, and purpose of creation, if you will." Cedwyn was cold and calculated at first. He had to be on guard with a stranger's work, one wrong move could kill him. On the inside, however, the excitement he held was almost eating away at him! For the first time since he got here, he was actually excited about a project, and it wasn't even his own!

[Kami-Gaz]

The bitter black gold sloshed down the pipes and into the reaction chamber, filling it up and instantly starting to process the substance into energy. What internal systems that begun to whirr were silent in comparison to the shifting, sliding and crafting that was going on just mere feet away from the broken doll. The pale red glow seemed to fade and was replaced honey yellow hue. They scanned around for a moment, taking in these moments of freedom. The face going from a blank emotionless canvas shifted and warmed into a genuine smile.

‘I… I’m awake…’ Was the key process going through the robots head. It wasn’t long before this process was interrupted by being gingerly picked up by this rescuer. ‘He is fixing me?’ She questioned, her self-preservation module suppressing any killing intent. This entire situation was something that had been considered in her processes as a one million to one chance, something that shouldn’t be happening but is.

"Alright then. State your project ID, name of your creator, and purpose of creation, if you will." The saviour stated.

“So formal, are you like this with every girl you put back together, Sugar?” The vocal module of this robot chimed, a happy female voice, accented with a southern twinge. “And you call that ground dirt coffee? Wow a lot really has changed in 368 years.” She retorted, cheekily.

“I’m Doctor Honey’s Battleborg Thirty Three… But you can just call me Bee, Sugar. Purpose? Well if I told you I was a sex doll would you believe me?” She asked teasing, awaiting to see if this little lie would fluster the mechanic that was repairing her battered chassis.

“Purpose is conflicted between war machine and medical droid. But I’m sure your hands can alter it.” The sentient machine finally said… unable to maintain her tease for so long as she burst out into a small laughing fit.

[Deleted]

As Cedwyn had begun to collect various parts and tools together to repair the broken bits on the robot he could see, It spoke out in a strange accent he did not expect. "So then, the great doctor gave you a personality. I'd say I do, except you're the first I've put back together." Ignoring the sleight against his coffee, his straight face showed no signs of twisting in embarrassment. Did he not hear her? Or was he just so used to being flirted with that at this point it just came across as normal conversation?

"Sex bot? These weapons say otherwise." He retorts, pinching a bit of wiring on one of her arms just enough to force the blades out of her fingers for an instant before they retracted. "You can't fool an engineer's eyes." He gave a sly wink with a confident smirk, then awaited her true response. When he realized her programming was incomplete, he thought idly for a second, while choosing what parts would fit best. "The world is a dangerous place. Leaving you unable to defend yourself or anyone else would be as good as leaving you as you are. However, I'd rather not have a repeat of the other incident. But I'm not a coder, I work with hardware, not software."

He was starting to get excited about this little project, though it barely shown on his face. With a good bit of speed, Cedwyn repaired all of the broken parts of B33 and rewired most of her as well for greater efficiency. Looking at her personality matrix, he realized that there was indeed some kind of broken chip in it. As he analyzed it, he managed to find material to fix the chip, though it seemed to only add room for growth rather than altering B33's personality. "Not much I can do about this, but at least it isn't broken any more. Last thing is paint. Let's see how I did, shall we? Please stand Battle- ahem, Bee."

[Kami-Gaz]

“Darn it, this Fleshie is good. He knows how to see through this sweet little bot’s lies.” Bee retorted, letting her blades retract back into her fingers. The smile plastered on her face not changing. This was what she had yearned for. The repairs carried on and the robot watched, unmoving until she was given the go ahead by the wrench monkey.

“No synthetic skin?” She asked when there was mention of paint, almost disappointed. Beggars cannot be choosers though and Bee at the moment was very thankful to have been repaired in this dark and blood-stained basement. “You did well… I don’t believe you gave me your name, sugar.” The robot stated, shifting her position and in one clean movement stood on her feet. This was a first in nearly four centuries, this was another small fact that made the smile on her face grow.

“If you don’t give me a name, I will just call you Master, Sugar or keep looking for cute pet names until you crack.” She teased, moving around the local area, stretching out her now working legs with a skip to her step. She then stopped and looked back at this man, sized him up and down and giggled. “Say, is everything upstairs still a school? Would me walking out of there cause a fuss?” Bee asked inquisitively, her eyes shifting to a new paler colour as scenarios played in her head.

“Oh, my defence subroutines crippled that kid… I should go back and finish the job; Master doesn’t want people knowing that I exist.” Her eyes flashed red and the smile turned into a wicked grin that could send chills down the spine of anyone. Her rationalisation coming from nowhere… the killer robot programming shinning through.

[Deleted]

Cedwyn sighed heavily, exasperated at the audacity of the robot in front of him. I suppose I should blame her programming for this. "I was talking about skin color, hair color, clothing color... do you have any preference or should I just go with the default?" The blank stare he gave the robot betrayed just how tired this man seemed, though it seemed like more than just a lack of rest.

"My name is Cedwyn. I'd prefer it if you didn't call me Master. I don't want anyone thinking I'm some monster who takes on random women as servants." As he watched the bot rise and test out her new limbs, he took mental notes on how he could improve them in the future, given the right resources and time to do so. this was, for all intents and purposes, a patch job. "Yes, there is still a school above us. We'll need to get you out of this basement, and I can explain what happened to the te-" He was interrupted by Bee's sudden urge to fulfill her old master's commands of keeping everyone who knows about her quiet.

"If your 'master' wanted everyone who knew about you dead, that would include me, would it not? What kind of gratitude would that be, killing your savior? I propose something else instead." He paused for a moment, gauging her reaction to see if she showed interest in his words. If she could be reasoned with, he could get her and himself out of this situation without casualties. "To show your appreciation for my efforts, You will not harm a soul in this school unless they actively try and take your life. If this doesn't seem beneficial to you, by all rights I could take you back apart and let you rot down here for another couple centuries, if you prefer. Your old master is dead. His programming may tell you one thing, but if you wish to find out what happened to your master, then I suggest you keep a peaceful mindset when we are up there. One more thing..."

Cedwyn turned around, grabbing his wrench and turning to face Bee with a look so haunting it could cause even the most dreadful pirate to cast doubt on their next action. "If you so much as lay a digit on a child while we walk those halls, I will not hesitate to destroy you. I know every joint, every battery, every last module on your body now and that makes dismantling you far less challenging." As if a switch had been flipped, he returned to his normal, blank expression a moment later and held up several pieces of artificial skin. "So then... Pale or sun-kissed?"

[Kami-Gaz]

The only noise to fill the silent basement between Ced’s words was the minute whirring of her Coffee Reactor, churning away to replenish her deteriorated battery. His words rang hard and true and if B33 had the fears of a regular person she may have actually begun to shake in her boots. However, her personality core had not quite grasped how to process fear just yet and this caused the percaline face to crack into an eerie smile.

The eerie smile shifted to something more longing as her form leaned close to her saviours, and up on her tip toes, and invaded his personal space. Her response to a threat so thorough and ruthless? Well not what most would do. ”Oh my, Master Cedwyn, to know me so intimately, you make me blush… I’ve been pale for a very very long time. Let’s go sunkissed.” B33 noted, her unliving face unable to change its shade.

“I understand. No harm will come to any that do not warrant it. If say you ask me to hurt someone… I know exactly how to dismantle a human, keeping their consciousness and lives fully intact until a critical point.” She stated, her eyes leveled with his, nose almost pressed into his cheek and lips a hairs breadth from his own. She had made her promise, no one will get hurt unless it is under Ced’s orders or in a matter of self-defence.

“From one cursory scan I can see you are a male in very good health, at roughly Twenty-Nine Years of age. Your paler skin denotes you need some more Vitamin D.” Bee noted quietly before relacing her feet to return back to her normal size… slightly elevated by her high heeled boots. The personality core enjoying this awkwardly intimate scene. “Oh, you didn’t answer my question… would me walking around up there cause a fuss? Or do you want to carry me to your room, I’ve never been carried by a strong man in his prime before…” She teased, playfully poking her tongue out of her mouth and raising her arms slightly as if she were a child asking to be lifted up.

[Deleted]

Cedwyn ignored the robots awkward and strange advances, assuming them to be nothing more than programming. The sly grin she wore as he spoke made him shiver internally, bringing to mind the very same smile of one of his more cunning and terrifying colleagues, Doctor Foster. He was recently banned from school grounds for reckless endangerment, but something told Ced that there was more to that story. Perhaps to the bots surprise, her questions went unanswered for just a moment as he picked her up by the waist and sat her on a small chair lined with various tools used for applying thin layers of material, and in this case, her new synthetic skin. It had to be placed in an elevated location so as to avoid grinding against the ground.

As Cedwyn strapped her in, he put on a pair of goggles and grabbed a blowtorch and a scalpel. "You may feel a little pain, assuming your receptors took to the repair well. It'll be quick. I need to remove some of your old skin before applying the new skin, unless of course you want uneven application." Without waiting for permission, he carefully cut away any damaged or unfinished skin sections, quickly and efficiently applying new skin over her entire body. The new color gave refreshing accents to the natural design of B33. When he was finished, he let her down from the chair and took off his goggles, leaving a red outline where the goggles contacted his skin.

With a great sigh, he threw the tools aside and straightened his jacket. "You'll be fine following me. If any questions arise, I'll simply say I reprogrammed you and that you will no longer harm a single soul in this school. Your diagnostics seem to work fine, so keep an eye out as you're stretching your legs. I should bring you to my personal lab, then to my room for the sake of safe storage. Try not to cause too much trouble on the way, alright?"

With a solemn look, he prepared to exit the room, watching the metal girl closely as he approached the door, assuming she would follow behind.

[Kami-Gaz]

“Oh Master Cedqyn, you have such strength~” B33’s sultry tones washed over Ced as he hoisted up and into the chair, the cheeky smile on her face not facing when he began the process of strapping her in to position. “Some BDSM on the first date? Master I didn’t know you were so forward.” The root teased, enjoying this far more than anything she had done before her previous shut down. Her eyes glanced over each of the tools that were produced and laid out strategically for their imminent use.

“Nothing’s worse than literally having your leg torn off, if you want, I can humour you and scream a little bit?” Bee asked, genuinely wanting to know if that was something she should do? This would be a good test of his repairs, something that he should be proud of if they all worked perfectly. The robot wanted to give the best feedback she could to her master, let him know everything works and maybe just tease him a bit in the process.

Before she even realised it the scalpel has be slicing through her damaged segments and ruined flaps of skin were dropping to the floor in ribbons. She did feel stings of sharp hotness pulsate through those areas, but nothing that made her internal processes scream to run away. “Oh, that tingles!” She announced, a little white lie to hide the true extent of this thing he called pain.

The next set of sensations that washed over her body was a numbing warmth, where the blow torch was used to bond the new skin to her old, leaving a sort of Scar over the joint. “Pain receptors are redeploying in to the new skin areas… They will be sensitive for a while.” The robot murmured, feeling a pins and needles sensation through the areas of new skin. The entire time there was that unnervingly wide smile on her face, her eyes locked onto the man who was applying the final steps in her repair. She enjoyed the site of a human working on her, ensuring that she was in a tip top condition to operate.

When the restraints were undone the robot moved forward and stood up proudly, finally examining her body. Apart from her torn up and old clothes she was almost brand new… a complex set of feelings washed over the robot… was this Joy? Happiness? Pride? That twisted smile shifted, faded and mellowed to something more human. A minor leakage from the eyes began to seep down her cheeks… Tears? That needs to be stopped right now…

B33 followed the engineer out of the basement room and up towards the school proper, wiping her eyes free of this leakage. It was a quick wipe, done in a manner to not draw attention to it. “So… You’re saying I’m allowed to cause some trouble on the way?” The battle bot asked, twisting Ced’s reply to try and provoke a response.

It was not long before they had ascended the last stair case and walked through the door into the bustling corridor where the students and professors were rushing by to get to their next classes… A lot had changed since Bee had last seen this place… it was a completed building and not some derelict site. “Ohh, they are still using this prudish uniform then?” She asked, leaning close to one of the older girls and raising a hand to flip the skirt upwards to get a better look at the tights. “Do you want to put me in one master? I’ve never been a schoolgirl before!”

[Deleted]

As the two of them walked the halls of the school, a headache began forming along Cedwyn's temporal lobe. This robot was certainly much more to deal with than he expected. Reprogramming it might be an option for later, but he had to get her back to the lab first. He also knew he would need to avoid the nurse, as he didn't need anyone becoming jealous of another and causing a scene.

"Must you act so deliberately like a lost schoolgirl with a crush?" Cedwyn's temples pulsed, causing him to rub them gently and remove his glasses as they neared his laboratory. "Please, just keep your head down while we're here. If the others catch wind of you, it's likely they'll take you from me and do all sorts of experimentation and reprogramming of you. That's not want you want, is it?" The strained expression on his face softened as he was reminded of his home, of the reason he came here in the first place.

It was almost time to go home. He had made enough money in the past few years to afford a house and care for himself and his sister for the rest of their lives. The school year was nearly over and he could finally return and take her from that wretched place.

"Just... follow me and keep quiet just this once, alright? Once we're at my lab and I've registered you under myself, there will be no risk of you being taken away." Ced stopped at the entrance to the lab and looked at B33 with a serious look he had yet to present in front of her. "Promise me you'll behave."

[Kami-Gaz]

The robot had recoiled as the young woman flinched in reaction to her skirt being flipped and ran away rather quickly. It took a short moment for B33 to pout before following her master rather closely, listening to his words as he went on. As a small part of her processing power was focused on his words and the meaning behind them the rest of her mind was occupied considering what life may be like now, she was free from her motionless imprisonment of the lower power state. Travelling with Master Ced would be fun, not if he kept threatening to reprogram her though.

“I understand, I shall behave like a doll should until I am registered as your property. Like a slave… Master.” The robot said to the man as they approached the labs door, the passers by giving the pair a wide birth. B33 had a snark to her tone, though she was sincere.

“What’s that thing following Prof Cedwyn?” One of the younger female students exclaimed as the pair passed them, mere feet from the door. The small persons sickly pale skin showing beads of sweat from a minor feather and ragged and laboured breathing immediately apparent to the living machine.

B33 stopped and shifted, letting her false eyes scan the person before a smile wash the emotionless face. “I am Master Cedwyn’s new project. A medical droid with sophisticated artificial intelligence and medical protocols.” She began, with a faker synthesised voice that helped to sell the bit. “You appear to have a fever and are struggling to breath. Please run along to the nurse’s office and ask for a full examination and potential medication to aid in combating the fever you have.”

The robot then carefully leaned down and with her hand gently pat the ginger girl on the head with a soft touch almost betraying the fact she was a war droid. “Thank you, Miss Robot!” The girl said in surprise before carefully scooting around the corner and out of sight. Leaving the pair by Cedwyn’s office alone.

“You see. On your order I can blend in like a doll.” She said with a slight hint of Venom as her vocal module returned to it's more human tones. The mere notion of returning to the constriction of being bound in a doll like state ticking her off. B33 slowly stood up straight, adjusted her torn up nun’s clothes and re-positioned herself beside her master. Her eyes flicking from one colour to another until she settled on a calming and safe blue.

“I am not defective. I am free from directives. There is a difference. If you reprogram me it could kill my sense of self.” The robot finally said.

[Deleted]

Cedwyn sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. Her over-exaggerated robot nonsense is only pissing me off more. "Perhaps 'reprogramming' was the wrong word for what I meant. I can tweak your personality matrix so it fluctuates less and is more stable. Perhaps even tone down the sarcasm and lewd behavior. As it is, you stand out far too much. I'm not asking you to be some simple robot without personality, I'm only asking you to blend in a little bit for your own damn safety!"

Walking through the lab, Cedwyn whispered to avoid attention, though the irritation was still fresh in his voice. "The registration is formality at worst, I won't 'own' you, but I will be responsible for you. AI and intelligent life is protected under the law, and they have their own rights. Someone has to take responsibility as their creator should any mishap take place on this island. I would be your guardian, not your bloody Master."

Attempting to calm himself as they finally made it to his lab, he sighed and began to open the door, only to hear a few familiar voices on the other side of it. Great. Now I have to deal with these imbeciles. Cedwyn walked in and acted surprised to see two of his former instructors conversing about one of their latest projects before noticing him and greeting him with a formal nod. The first of the two, Professor Lumbath, spoke up in her usual scholarly tone which seemed forced rather than natural.

"Ah! Cedwyn. Just the man we wanted to see!"

Cedwyn forced a kind, strained smile and whispered to B33. "Don't embarrass me but acting like some common robot. I do have a reputation to uphold."

[Kami-Gaz]

Cedwyn took a moment to clarify a few things to the clearly over exaggerating robot… though these tweaks would likely take away key aspects of her being, the fun ones too. Though if it was for her own safety it may be permittable. Then again, she was free to make her own choices, that is what made her her. This free will to be a sarcastic and lewd personality.

B33 almost moved to reply but then she noticed the others in the lab with them and held her tongue. Talking so freely and in the manner she wanted too would draw some of this unwanted attention to the pair… Her master already stated it was not a good thing.

He then carried on to whisper, stating that he would get in trouble if she acted out when under his name. That was a point she could fairly agree with, she did not want to cause legitimate issues for the man that had rescued her existence. It would be just wrong of her to scorn her master in such a way.

B33 stayed perfectly quiet as she finally got to the last door, only to stop as Ced made his final whisper under a strained smile. This must have been majorly important… He was to look good and important. She responded with a simple nod, her eyes started to shine a vibrant blue and she shifted up her torn robes to look a bit more presentable before walking in.

As she entered the older of the two who were waiting for Cedwyn looked at B33 and pointed forward. “What’s this Cedwyn?” He asked, examining the torn up clothes before looking at the clearly robotic glowing eyes and then to the parts where he could not get a perfect repair on the machine.

“I am A secret project!” She stated, her voice altered to be peppier and happier in tone. “Mas- Cedwyn.” She started, “just took me for my first test walk around the basement where no one would get in the way if my gyroscope failed. They did!” She said with a fake giggle before pointing out the rips in her own dress and moving to what seemed to be a repair bench for her to sit on.

Once she sat down on the work bench the older gentleman who had watched her move and sit down on her own without instruction returned his gaze back to Ced with his mouth agape. “You created a near perfect looking human robot with an AI personality as a secret project?! That’s incredible.”

"Oh... Do you have any coffee Ma- Cedwyn? My batteries are starting to look critical." B33 tacked on.

"And it's powered by coffee..."