(Audrey's point of view)
After upgrading her GENT pipe, Audrey went into the next room. It had several machines on the walls, like many of the rooms in the workshop, but unlike the other rooms, it had a large screen angled above the door, close to a couple of small televisions.
Suddenly, the screen lit up, and Audrey saw a...person? On the screens?
She hesitated to call them that, because it looked nothing like a person she'd seen before, even by the standards of which she'd become acquainted with upon entering the studio.
The screen was blurry, so she could hardly make them out, but they looked like they had the body of an ink monster, but had golden sludge on their arms and chest, cords wrapped around their arms, and their face completely obscured by golden light.
Suddenly, the strange person(?) spoke up.
"Anomaly...detected." Their voice sounded mechanical, and haggard, like they had to force every word out.
"New subject...designation required. What are you? What..is your purpose?" The strange person asked.
"My name is Audrey! I'm not here to cause you trouble. Look, I just want to go home." Audrey attempted to answer their question and reason with them. Maybe they could help her get out of this hell.
"Please, can you help me?" She asked.
"Feisty, erratic, dangerous. We've not seen one like this before." The person described her...like that?
She supposed could be called dangerous, judging by the weapon in her hand, but she wasn't feisty or erratic. She explained calmly that she didn't want trouble and that she just wanted help! How is that erratic?!
"I-I'm sure we can reach an agreement! Let's just talk." She tried to keep calm and reason with the stranger
"Who are you?" She asked
"We are...the Keepers. Order...control...eternal. We serve...the many...by serving the one. The Machine must endure. " The Keeper(s?) explained.
So this was a Keeper, the creatures Joey claimed were the worse of the worse. Or the Keepers? Was it multiple people on the screens? Or was it just one Keeper, but operating within one massive hive mind?
Nevermind, pondering the nature of the Keepers could wait for later, more important things were going on.
"Where did you come from? Who made you?" Audrey asked to get more answers.
"Wilson." The Keeper(s?) answered
'Someone from outside is messing with things in here', Joey had told her. Though there were plenty of things to suggest it was Wilson, this was the icing on the cake.
"Can you take me to him? He wanted me to find him." Audrey asked.
While she was...angry at him, to say the least, she also wanted answers, and she supposed Wilson was her best change, considering her other option was the word of Joey, and that was not a word she particularly trusted.
"Dangerous. Much too dangerous. This subject is without limits." The Keeper(s?) mumbled.
How was asking a couple of questions making her dangerous?!
"Please take me to see him!" She begged.
"This subject has been deemed hazardous. Toxic fumes should be activated..." The Keeper(s) muttered.
Wait, did they say toxic fumes?!
"No no no! Toxic fumes should NOT be activated! I don't have to see Wilson! I'll leave! I'll never come back!" Audrey desperately said to get them not to kill her.
YOU ARE READING
Breaking the Cycle
Fanfiction"But...orders from...the master...say to contain a subject...that matches this one...entirely..." The Keeper(s?) said, not really addressing Audrey. "Pardon?" She asked. "Subject must be...contained...until further orders...." The Keeper(s?) announc...
