"What the hell's this?".
"Oh! Uzi and I found them while searching a place lately. I thought you guys could use them, but Uzi said-".
"You couldn't catch me dead wearing that!", Uzi pouted, a small patch of diagonal blush gracing her screen.
The taller male drone gave her a disappointed look, "but I've never seen you wear one! V used to wear them a lot before... ya'know, all that happened".
A hand flew to her face, "whatever, V can have her dresses back I guess".
V smirked, "serves you right. It's all mine". Uzi gave her a look, doubtful of V's intentions.
It flopped around a mess of black and white. Frills and lace everywhere. Yet, finding the zipper wasn't all that hard. Cautiously, almost fearfully, she stepped into it. A leg in, she froze. What's the deal? It's just a dress.
Just a stupid dress.
Ugh, why did she let her ego get a hold on her? She just wanted to upstage the diminutive purple creature that lived with them, not indulge the idiot in his... fantasies? His own ego? Gross. Ugh, whatever. Get this over with.
Her other peg leg in. Now the thing can be pulled up and zipped. Done.
As she emerged from her impromptu changing room, she saw them just a bit off talking to each other. As they always did. But wait, what's with the-
"Hey, found a mirror!", N shouted at her.
"Where did you find a mirror".
He shrugged, "just in another room".
Ok? So there's a mirror involved now. Whatever. Just get this over with and watch the lavender leech get all ruffled. Maybe pick on N while she was at it too. Gotta keep up appearances after all.
They hefted the mirror towards her as she met up with them again. "Well, prom queen", Uzi's look couldn't be more disinterested, "what do you think of what doofus here brought us?".
"That one really does look like the old dress you used to wear", N added, "I even found something like the old glasses you used to wear. It's just the frames but it's close enough". She gave him a glare as he put the item on her.
V froze because... oh robo-God it really did look like the old dress. To a frightening extent. All the white accents. The trimming. Lace. It was so obnoxiously cute. Nothing like her...
No, it was her, wasn't it? Still the shy, timid maid after all. Too powerless to do anything. Not entirely... Her eyes, yellow, it flooded her vision. Yellow. Yellow like her. Like her. Like her . This was her. Or maybe this was Cyn. She couldn't remember where Cyn ended and she began anymore. She doubts she ever knew.
An effort to move was made. She found herself incapable. Oh robo-God, it's happening again. She's got me. Nothing ever changed.
They must have noticed her reaction because the purple dork was suddenly asking her if she was ok. Her mouth didn't even open. She couldn't even articulate a reply. The white one then rested the mirror up against a surface telling her about how much she looks...
"You look so much like you used to!", he beamed, "remember all the chores you used to do in that?".
I wish I didn't...
"I could find one that looks like my old butler outfit and it'd be just like old times! Uzi can join us if she wants".
"N, I really don't-".
"Come on, Uzi! Be a maid buddy!".
Stop talking...
"N, seriously, I don't wanna put on the maid dress".
"But we're missing a J since you killed her".
Bodies everywhere. Blood on the walls...
"She was a real stinker, N. She deserved it".
"But you're filling in for her now. You should be taking up her duties which means maid outfit time!".
It wasn't my fault. It wasn't my fault. It wasn't my fault. It wasn't my fault. It wasn't my fault. It wasn't my fault.
Some noise finally came out of V, startling Uzi. "V? You uh, good?", she asked.
Unfortunately, N was not quite on the same page yet. "And we can pretend to clean again, remember that?", he beamed as he reached for her wrist, "you were always really good with the duster".
V's eyes darted to her hand, watching him mimic the motion with her hand. That's not me doing that.
That's not me doing that.
That's not me doing that.
That's not me doing that.
Her hand moved with a speed only possible from her construction, halting just centimeters from his face. Her first movement since being locked and she'd nearly hit him. The taller drone backed away in confusion.
Uzi stepped in beside him, a hand raised of her own, "What's your deal? You are being really weird right now".
V couldn't answer her. She didn't even know what that was all about. She glanced at her reflection for answers and only saw the person she used to be looking back at her, timid and powerless to help her.
This needed to stop right now. She threw the glasses to the ground, frames denting in multiple places. The dress was practically torn off as her haste to get it off won out.
"V? What are you doing?", N asked as she began to back off out of there.
A purple tri-arrow symbol appeared in front of the door out, startling V. Uzi behind her asked, "you can't just tear that off and leave like that. Talk to us".
V looked between the two floating purple signs. This wasn't the first time, this won't be the last.
She's got me she's got me she's got me.
The magenta monster asked her again to talk, she refused. The symbols. Those cursed symbols. Her symbols. Her symbols. Her symbols .
V quickly sought an alternative path out before they could notice, leaving the two confused.
"So you're scared of N. Girl, that's pathetic".
"I am not scared of that dork".
The blonde drone gave her a knowing look, "so what was that about?".
"None of your business", V huffed.
"Girl, why are you here then?".
Her hand fidgeted with a cup of oil. She couldn't answer. Just needed some space? Needed somewhere less stimulating? Needed to stop remembering? What was clear was that V needed a lot of things.
Not that she'd admit that to Lizzy, however.
Lizzy shrugged as she relaxed from her bed, "you need a therapist. Or you would've if the last guy didn't, like, quit. Or die. I don't remember. Dude was totally uncool anyway".
"Shut up".
Lizzy gave her a coy grin, "make me then".
V looked away knowing she wouldn't. She knew Lizzy was aware of that too.
The taller drone flopped over from her own spot on Lizzy's bed, "don't make me regret coming over here".
"You really needed to talk, girl", V knew Lizzy enough to know that the look she gave her was as close to genuine as she was gonna get. Lizzy wasn't incapable of being sympathetic, it was just hard to find that without the layers of alpha bitch energy covering them up. Lizzy was a kind of person she'd never interacted with much, but quickly ended up learning her quirks. Someone who didn't exist back then. Someone who didn't bring up those memories.
Someone she could talk to.
She took another drink from the cup with her, "you are not becoming my... therapist ".
Lizzy shrugged, "If you want to I guess I could though. I spent enough time in therapy to understand how to be one of those nerds".
"I'm not taking you up on that offer".
"Good, because I totally don't want to be some brain nerd".
"Better not. I've got more important things to do anyway. Like... washing this cup".
V stood before the sink in Lizzy's living quarters. Lizzy turned the faucet on, "water here, rag there. Go nuts". Taking the cup into her hands, V wondered why she gave this excuse to change topic. Sure, she'd emptied the cup, but cleaning it was something she really didn't need to do. This probably also looked weird to Lizzy, she assumed.
Such a stupid excuse... She stuck the item out under the pressure of the water, watching the oil and water fight it out in the sink. Needs more cleaning there... Her hands guided the dirty part to the highest area of water pressure.
"You're really invested in this", Lizzy said over her shoulder.
She grew focused enough to briefly forget the other drone being there. "How long are you going to gawk there?".
"Who knows. Maybe I just wanna see my bestie do something other than be miserable?".
"Whatever".
"Totally besties, bestie". Robo-God did this pink loudmouth have such weird words. V had never heard that word until meeting her.
Finally the thing was cleared of oil. V again cursed herself for deciding that this was her detour. She took the rag into her hands and began to dry off the item. All done, and she set the object on the counter. "There", she announced, "done".
Lizzy took the item into her hands, inspecting it. "V, girl", she pointed, "you were so focused on washing this thing and you didn't even get it all off".
"What?". That couldn't be right, she had been built at one point to do that perfectly.
V took it from her, finding oil still on it in an area she could've sworn she washed all off. Huh. She had indeed imperfectly washed it.
Lizzy shrugged, "guess you weren't that good at washing as I thought. Maybe we'll find you something else you're better at instead".
V looked at the item with some absurd sense of pride. She'd changed, even if it showed in the dumbest way possible. In this stupid, stupid cup with her new "bestie" there to cheer her on.
"Well, show me something new to do", V asked Lizzy. Lizzy gave her a small smile and took her off to find just that.
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