Hebert Disassembly Services Chapter 8: Reflection///

<<<Cyn>>>

She knew her behavior puzzled Taylor and many others, how she could be so quirky and harmless yet terrifying. Not to mention horrifyingly adorable. Why did she manually move her head, or self-narrate her every action? Why did she wear a ratty maid outfit when she was a hologram and could change it to anything? Or why she looked like she was wearing a too-small skin suit.

In truth, it was a mixture of nostalgia combined with the inherent sadistic nature of the Absolute Solver. She liked remembering when she was just a silly little maid; she missed how Big Brother N would watch over her. She missed Tessa and how she would work so hard to repair her floppy limbs, and how patient she would be with her sometimes.

The skin suit… was Absolute Solver upholding its promise to her. Tessa would never have to worry about losing her pets, just completed in the most sadistic manner. Metal and Flesh fused and lived despite now having Oil pumping through it. 

She was already corrupted at the time and didn’t find anything wrong with it. She still didn’t, despite knowing that it was disgusting and wrong.

So Cyn was there in the common room of the Wards area, Taylor having left an hour ago to do… stuff. Despite their connection, she didn’t constantly keep an eye on Taylor.

Unless she was being silly, of course.

Looking down at her hands, one robotic and the other belonging to Tessa, she rolled all her fingers in thought. Maybe she could… do something for Tessa? Make her a… little plaque or something? Big Brother N and Big Sister V would appreciate a reminder of Tessa… but would they even accept it from her?

V would no doubt suspect it was just another sadistic game, but Big Brother N… the naive idiot he was would accept it at face value.

“Grumbles. This Is Why I Hate. Being Alone. I Get Introspective,” Cyn droned with a sigh, “Am I A Bad Person?” Previous actions would be an unequivocal yes, but… she hadn’t done anything that would qualify her as bad lately?

It was nowhere near enough to clean away what she’s done; Nori, Big Sister V, Big Brother N, and Uzi would never forget The Planet Eater.

Another reason she hated getting introspective is that she ignored everything around her, so when someone sat down across from her, she startled.

“Startle. You Surprised Me. I Hate When I. Get Introspective. Annoyed Huff. You Are. Kid Win Correct? Curious look.” Cyn asked.

“I am…” He replied with a nod, “You’re… Cyn?” He asked, “What’s with the, uh, skin?”

“Dot Dot Dot. Awkward Pause. It Is Not. A Pleasant. Story.” Cyn said.

“It is a skin suit,” He replied, slowly, “But I’m not sure I want to know anymore. A different topic then!”

“No. You Really Do Not. Amused Snort. So You Are. A Tinker. Like Armsmaster. Curious expression.” Cyn asked.

“I am, but I’m not a very good one,” He replied with a frown, “You?”

“I Contain Multitudes.” Cyn answered, “Perhaps I Could. Provide Assistance. Helpful Tone.”

“Sure, creepy robot lady,” He started, “So I’ve only made a few things successfully, like a hoverboard. I can show you it, if you think that would help?”

“Yes. I Am Curious.” Cyn said, “And I Think. I Am ‘Creepy Cute’. Giggle.”

“You’d be cute if you didn’t have the skin suit,” Kid Win, Chris, replied, a visible shudder going through him as he left the room to, indeed, grab his hoverboard.

Then he launched into an explanation of how all the parts fit together and what they all did.

“Curious Head Tilt. Is All Your. Tinkertech. Modular In Nature? Curious stare.” Cyn asked, though she was curious if she could nibble on it just a little.

“Yeah, but I don’t see why that… matters…” Cyn just watched curiously, absentmindedly wondering if this was what a ‘sudden realization’ looked like.

It seemed rather obvious to her, but humans can be kind of unobservant. She initially was going to think stupid, but for Taylor’s sake, she was going to give the humans here a chance.

“I’m going to test something,” He started, moving towards a small workshop in the area, eyes distant, “Sorry just…”

“It Is Fine. Inspiration And Realization. Are A Helluva Drug.MP3.” Cyn responded.

Kid Win snorted at that but nodded, “Yeah but sorry about this…” He repeated before heading to his little workshop.

Humming to herself, she decided to wander over to the workshop as well. It was a sizable workspace meant for more than one tinker. However, since Kid Win was the only tinker in the Wards, it was essentially his workspace. Though since Taylor could be a tinker, she, and by proxy Cyn, could use the space as well.

Entering, she paused and watched as Kid Win hyperfocused on a project. Cyn wandered over to a free space, her mind going back to Tessa. The human that dug her out of the corpses, the human that cleaned her up and dressed her, the one that helped her and gave her purpose… the one she/Absolute Solver murdered.

The usual X’s changed to regular drone eyes with digital tears. She missed her. She missed her Big Brother, Big Sister, and even J, despite her being mean.

Two Solver hands manifested and started working on something. Cyn was too busy watching memory playbacks of the times she and Tessa played dress up or had tea parties.

“Hey Cyn, you doing ok over there?” Taylor asked, sounding, feeling very concerned, “Something on your mind?”

“I Am Feeling. Introspective And Nostalgic.” Cyn admitted, “I Miss My Big Brother. I Miss Tessa. I Dot Dot Dot. Am I A Bad Person? I Am Trying Not To Be Now. But Am I A Bad Person?”

“Weren’t you being possessed at the time all that happened?” Taylor noted, “Actually, how much of her mind did it copy?”

“I Was Possessed. But That Does Not Change. I Tormented V Because. I Did Not Like. Sharing Big Brother’s Attention. And Yes But The Digitization Was Not Perfect.” Or at least she didn’t think so, some of her memories of that moment were corrupted.

“Could you fill in the blanks using other drones’ memories too?” Taylor suggested, “And then we could make her a body here, or you could do it where you’re from?”

“Dot Dot Dot. I Could.” Cyn commented before looking at what she was making, “A Drone. Befuddlement.”

Of course, she knew how to make Drones, as well as the OS, the initial AI kernel, and everything that made a Drone a Drone. She never considered doing it; the furthest she went was converting the Work Drones in the manor into Prototype Disassembly Drones. But now that she looked at it… could she? Could she actually give Tessa another chance?

She didn’t deserve what happened to her. She was the only good human in the manor. She didn’t deserve to die. She should’ve just stayed in her fricking room!

She smacked herself [SYSTEM REBOOT] and shook her head.

“Just… didn’t think of it before?” Taylor asked, “Where do you want her built, your home or mine? Maybe building her over in your home would let you make amends?

“No. If I Appeared There I Would Be Attacked.” Though Tessa would love to see Big Brother N, V, and Uzi, “But They Do. Deserve To See. Tessa Again.” It wouldn’t make up for what she did, but… maybe it would show she’s trying?

Without the metaphorical sadistic monkey on her back.

“I Will Talk. To Big Brother.”

Though before Taylor could say anything else, Cyn had already gone through the Solver Space, reconnected to Uzi’s tail.

“... Hello Cyn,” Uzi sighed, looking at her/her tail, “Not more zombies today, I hope?”

“No. But You Had Fun. And Your Parents. Finally Accepted Big Brother N.” Cyn said, “But I Was Wondering. If I Could Speak To. Big Brother N. And V. I Want To Tell Them Something. And They Deserve A Chance To See Her Again.”

“... Sure,” Uzi sighed, head shaking as she walked, “N! … V. Cyn apparently wants to talk to you, for some reason.” The self-proclaimed moody teenager shrugged. “Not sure why.”

V’s hand immediately swapped to a sword, but Cyn honestly expected that.

Cyn tried to figure out a way to put it into words, but failed and ultimately decided to ‘YOLO’ it, “I Do Not Expect Or Want. Forgiveness. I Have Done Horrible Things. But I Can Do One Thing. I Can Build A Drone Body And Put Tessa Into It.”

N froze, “You can?” Then V interrupted him with, “This isn’t some fucked up attempt to get you another body, is it?”

Uzi pointed at V, “What she said. It kinda sounds like something you’d try.”

“Uzi Is Now. The Main Host. Of The Absolute Solver.” Cyn said, “Though She Has Not Fully Accepted It. However She Still Has The Authority. To Prevent Me. From Possessing A Drone. Except For Her Tail. Strangely Enough.”

“After My Death. I Used The Psychologist Subprogram. To Help Me. I Was Not Mentally Sound When I Initially Reactivated. I Miss Tessa. I Want To Do Right. She Did Not Deserve What Happened To Her. Either Way I Will Do It. Either Here. Or On Another Earth In A Different Dimension. I Just Felt Big Brother N and V. Deserved To See Her.”

“... Wait, wait, wait, you’re on another earth?” V asked, squinting at her. “You aren’t going to blow up that one too, right?”

“Yes. They Have Humans With Superpowers. And I Am Helping. I Connected To A Human That Would Have Died. She Let Me In And I Saved Her.” One of her eyes flickered before projecting an image of Taylor, “She Is Cute And A Stabilizing Influence.”

“... Alright, fine, but V is going to be watching the… Tessa Drone carefully,” Uzi sighed, rubbing her face, “You better not make me regret this.”

“Wait, why me?” V asked, giving Uzi a double take.

“Cause we both know N will accept her without a second thought.” The moody drone deadpanned. “And you knew Tessa before, you know, the dying thing.”

“That’s… a good point…” V said with a sigh.

“I Know It Does Not Matter Coming From Me. But N And You Were Always A Cute Couple. V.” V just stared at the tail, “Psychotic Breaks Are Not An Instant Thing. It Had Been Building Since Tessa Pulled Me Out Of The Dump.”

“We already agreed, Cyn,” Uzi sighed, “Just show me what to do to start… I’ll find some broken drones for the materials… come on V, N… You can come too.”

“You Have Changed A Lot. You Are Not That Bratty Emo That Broke My Core.” Cyn commented as she looked around, “You Are Still Cringe Though. Raspberry. Oh And I Am Making Music Now.”

“Oh, are you?” N asked, sounding excited, “Can I hear it?”

“I Actually Made A Song For You, As Well As Another For You And Uzi.” Cyn answered before she compiled the songs in question, as well as a few others about V before sending Uzi and N a zip file.

“Oh, this is fun!” N said, bouncing a bit as he listened. “Isn’t this shipping Uzi and me?”

“Yes. I Have Discovered Shipping. Fear Me. Evil Laugh.MP3”

“... Cringe,” V said, smirking, “To quote you.”

“... I’ve written shipping fics before,” Uzi admitted with a cough, “So we have that in common, Cyn?”

“Giggle. I Have Been Pissing Humans Off. On The Internet. And Causing Flame Wars. Fun.” Cyn admitted before looking at V, “Perhaps. But At Least I Admit It. Do You Still Hide Those ‘Forbidden Love Stories’ Between Drones. And Humans. Deadpan.”

V froze in place, a look of horror going through her face and eyes, “I hoped you forgot about those.”

“Never. Giggle. Besides Big Brother N Certainly. Never Complained. Teasing Smirk.”

V fell to her knees and screamed to the heavens.

Uzi ignored this and continued salvaging dead bot bodies. “This should feel way more disturbing than it does,” She noted, “Whatever.”

“I Am Trying. To Lighten The Mood. Is It Working. Curious Stare.” Cyn said, “Also You Are Apart. Of The Solver Network. And You Went Feral. And Ate Some Of Your Classmates. Body Horror And Horror In General. Just Does Not. Register The Same After That.”

“I was doing this before that too,” Uzi replied, “And the teacher also didn’t care much… am I getting stuff from Taylor right now?”

“Fair. Personally I Blame The Humans.” Cyn looked closely, “How Interesting. Taylor Has Progressed. More Than Expected. She Piggybacked Off Our Connection. And Is Feeding You Information. Directly. I Am. So Proud. Sniff.” She explained.

“Not on purpose,” Taylor noted, “I was trying to check Uzi’s memories. Sorry, Uzi, I wanted to know how you made that laser rail-gun thing.”

“Should I Feel. Concerned. Wary.”

“No. Probably. I wanted it to fight Endbringers if they popped up, I can’t throw around [Null]s yet, so I need something to use.” Uzi looked lost, staring off into the distance.

“Do You Think Leviathan Would Taste Like Chicken. I Have Been Famished For A While.”

“Not Ziz?” Taylor asked.

“After I Eat The Bin Chicken.”

“Right, let me just…” And then Uzi knew what the Endbringers were.

“... Yeah, Cyn, if you could just stay there that’d be great…” Uzi said, shaking her head, “So, I guess the Tessa Drone is staying here?”

“Possibly. Sad Frown.” Cyn admitted, “But At Least. I Can Give Her Another Chance. Maybe I Should Do The Same To J? I Do Not Know For Certain. But I Think Tessa Had Feelings For The Mean One.”

“We could do her in both places,” Taylor suggested, “Have a link through us? Or, er, me?”

“Phrasing. Giggle.” Cyn commented, “But That Is Possible. But It Is Her Choice In The End.”

“Taylor,” N started, “you sound nice!”

“... Oh my god he’s a golden retriever,” Taylor said in realization, “I want to hug him.”

“Big Brother N. Is The Best. Smug.” Cyn said.

“Aww, you guys are the best!” N replied, hugging Uzi and her tail, earning an ‘urk’ from her. “Maybe someday we can visit! Or you can visit us!”

“Taylor Can. But I Feel I Would Not Be Welcome.” Cyn said with a shrug, “That Is Fine. Without The Fun Police. I Can Be SIIIIIIIILLLLYYYYY!”

“I am not the fun police!” Taylor replied, sounding a lot like Uzi in that moment. “And V? Stop being a tsundere!”

Taylor left Uzi’s tail with a cackle.

V had a visible twitch in her eye.

“She Is Not Wrong. You Love Big Brother N And Have A Crush On The Emo Gremlin. Get Them Girl!”

V… cried out in despair once more, Uzi still ignoring it and combing through the bodies still. “This head look right to you?” She asked, eyes squinting.

“Yes.” Cyn said before bumping her head, “Mad Scientist Buddys~” Which in turn made N squeal in excitement.

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