Against Her Programming [SHELLVISION]

Get It Together [6]

However, peering through the chainlink fence, she saw an unsightly figure approaching. Contradicting her prior conclusion, she, against her better judgement, sprinted out.

Immediately, Razzle and Dazzle bolted upwards, although they couldn't approach Vee. That didn't matter though, as a giant spike formed through the ground, heading directly towards the TV.

Shelly's eyes widened, "VEE WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU-" Vee leapt to Shelly, holding on to her as they both tumbled on to the ground. Quickly, Vee pulled off of Shelly, gesturing her to stay quiet as they both pulled off into the corner of the fenced area.

She hadn't got a good look at whoever it was, but she knew it wasn't any good to chance it. Taking Shelly by the wrist, they both hid behind a cluster of small, packed shelving racks, tightly packing themselves in the corner of them.

Glancing down at Shelly, it was clear she didn't understand what was going on, just taking Vee's word for it. As much as she wanted to explain the situation to the toon, it wasn't worth putting their hiding spot at risk.

Listening carefully, Razzle and Dazzle had sat back down. Okay, good, now who was the other one that they had to worry about? Fighting the urge to peek out, Vee kept quiet and listened.

Thank goodness she did, as a shadow was visible just on the other side of the shelf. Vee scooted herself up against the other shelf behind her, pulling Shelly backwards with her as well.

Shelly didn't say anything, a hand covering her mouth as to prevent her breathing from growing too loud. Placing an arm in front of her, Vee set a barricade between this figure and Shelly.

It seemed almost teasing, the shadow unmoving for seconds, yet seconds seemed like minutes. The two were still, extremely paranoid of the imminent danger.

After what Vee could only estimate to be around nine seconds,  the shadow turned and started to wander back the way it came. Once the thuds grew more distant, Shelly let out the breath she'd been holding.

"You okay?" Vee asked almost immediately, retracting her arm from its protective stance. She scanned Vee to see if she'd suffer any injuries, although it didn't seem so.

"Yeah, yeah," Shelly murmured, "I'm fine, just.. nervous." Vee could practically hear her heart pound out of her chest, "Deep breaths, relax your muscles."

Vee stared at Shelly, who was unsurprisingly not calming down, "Is it these twisted versions of our friends making you anxious?" Shelly flipped her hand, shaking it side to side signaling a 'kinda.'

She wasn't really ever used to comforting people, aside from offering help. Frozen for a moment, she stared at Shelly. It was almost like a sputter of monotone, flat words, "It'll be okay. Let's not focus on it right now."

She winced at her own words, those weren't helpful in the slightest. Obviously, Shelly was still on edge. Unsure what else to do, Vee gently slipped her hand between Shelly's interlocking limply. "..I don't know what to say, but.. I guess just squeeze if you need it?" Vee said, her voice faint.

She knew that fidgeting or having an outlet could reduce that nervousness, so maybe it'd help Shelly? Her warm fingers wrapped around Vee's fingers, tightly clutching it. Vee didn't notice any immediate effect, but hopefully it'd help calm her down slightly.

"Your hands are cold," Shelly muttered, lightheartedly scoffing. She'd continue to squeeze Vee's hand however, like that she didn't mind it. Taking notice of her pulse, Vee found that her it lowered at a slow pace. At least it was working somewhat.

".. You feeling a little better?" Vee asked in a delicate tone. Shelly still hadn't let go of her hand, but it didn't bother Vee; looking up at her, her eyes weren't as wide. "Yeah," Shelly nodded, starting to get up off the floor.

Vee followed, pushing herself upwards. "Ready?" Vee asked as she watched her reaction. Shelly seemed less anxious, at least available to continue the machines. "..Yeah, I am," she mumbled, her grip tightening on Vee's hand.

Vee stepped forward, leading them out of their hiding spot and back on track to get their tasks done. Shelly accompanied her closely, watching out for any other threats.

Maybe it was just the previous two twisteds? They could only hope. Anyhow, it didn't deter them from continuing onward with their journey.

"Hey Vee, there's a- oh, nevermind, it's completed," Shelly chirped, pointing at the machine before retracting her statement when she noticed the light was green. "Guess they already did it."

Vee gave a brief hum, glancing back and forth, "..I think they're doing the last machine," she paused, "Wanna go back to the elevator, or?"

Shelly nodded eagerly, Vee assumed she was just desperate to get out of here. "Alright, alright, let's go," she'd gently assure Shelly, taking a corner to loop backwards.

Vee mentally noted how Shelly refused to let go of her hand, becoming increasingly obvious as they traversed through the warehouse. "..Doing okay?" Vee asked, her screen expressing a face of concern.

Shelly shook her head, "I just- I don't want to believe any of this is real," Shelly admitted. Vee quietly droned, directly staring at Shelly. "It's not easy, but please, Shelly, it won't get better without trying to accept and adapt."

Vee could only pray her words didn't come off as harsh, as Shelly didn't respond for quite some time. The two walked side by side, holding hands as the TV looked out for any dangers.

"Vee, how could you be so.. carefree of this?"

The sudden question brought Vee's attention back to the toon. Carefree? Vee's free hand fidgeted. "I wouldn't say that, I think it's just- .. I don't- I, I adapted to the situation quickly," Vee muttered, she hated having questions that overloaded her thinking and caused a slur of words out her voicebox.

Shelly gulped, "How? Do you even know what could happen to us?" Shelly's grip tightened, maybe she was just nervous. But to Vee, she came off as almost accusatory.

"Shelly, I don't know anything," Vee swore, "Nobody does, and being upset about every single little thing won't help." Vee hummed a low tune, "We've got to keep our mind focused on everything else."

"..."

Oh, that didn't stick well with Shelly. Her mind elsewhere, she stopped asking questions. Quietly, she brought her hand back to her side. Neither of them said a word, not even once they made it outside the elevator door.

After what Vee could only estimate to be a minute, the elevator door opened. Glancing back at Shelly, she was just staring at the floor, poor girl. As much as Vee longed to comfort her, she knew that whatever she would say wouldn't come out the way she wanted — it never does.

She's not the emotional type.

The two stepped into the elevator, waiting for the rest of their crew to show up. Thankfully, the remaining toons showed up relatively unscathed.

As the elevator came to a close, Vee couldn't shake off that feeling. She couldn't ever get on Shelly's level, ever.

She's only following her programming.