Rebooting...
Rebooting...
Running Systems Check...
Self-Destruct Sequence: Deactivated
Powering On
"Assistant Steve?"
"...yes?"
"Please show me the last time you administered a sedative."
Computing...
Access Bloc- Override Activated
Video Feed Acquired:
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01000100 01100001 01111001 00100000 00110001 00110110
01000011 01100001 01101101 01100101 01110010 01100001 00100000 00110001
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"Assistant Steve?"
"Yes, Professor?"
Assistant Steve's mechanical eyes tint the dark room with a green hue that makes the Red Steve look brown. He's fiddling with his lab coat.
"Do we still have those healing supplies?" A brief pause in the conversation as Assistant Steve ran calculations.
"No, Professor." Beneath the lab coat, one of the Professor's legs was raised awkwardly off the ground. The one that was previously crushed under the cobblestone machine. The Red Steve hovered one hand over it, afraid to touch it.
"None at all?" A look of alarm. "I need this to heal, Assistant. The Red Leader is growing more and more agitated. I can't have an injured leg. Especially not if the non-steve is right. Could you go out to the kingdom and get me some?"
"My processors say that that would only raise suspicions. Additionally, my programming has forbidden me from interacting with Red Steves, to prevent kidnapping." The Professor cursed under his breath, running a hand over his goggles and through his messy red hair.
"Of all the times for the Leader's safeguards to get in my way- Can you teleport me up there yourself? I'll be quick!" Assistant Steve brought out a machine that looked like a little remote with only one button. However, his hand stalled in midair, warnings flashing across his screens.
"I cannot do anything that would put the Red Kingdom in danger." Assistant Steve grumbled. "Apologies, Professor Red."
"No... no. There has to be something I can do!" A feverish light shone in the steve's red eyes. "I can't be defenseless in here. Who knows what the Red Leader might do, not to mention that Green Steve!"
"I can protect you, Professor!" Assistant Steve said quickly. "I will not let them harm you."
"You can't stop the Red Leader, though. Your programming will override that." The Red Steve snapped back. "Come on, I just need some medical supplies! Maybe if..."
"Yes, Professor?"
"Assistant Steve, could you take me to that non-steve's home? The one the Red Apprentice always visits? I'm sure he has medical supplies. I've seen him with bandages." Calculations began to flash.
"Yes. Since it puts no Red Steves in-"
"No! You can't!" The voice was hoarse, but still clear. Both the professor and his robot turned to face the tired, anxious face of Green Steve. "The- the savior said not to leave!"
Professor Red hesitated, tilting his head slightly. Assistant Steve stood at the ready. That was the look the Professor gave when he was about to come up with an ingenious solution. The Red Steve turned back, and his face hardened into a determined, almost panicked expression.
"I need that medicine." he decided. "...And I don't trust you." The Green Steve frowned, his expression still hazy with illness.
"What?"
"Assistant Steve?"
"Yes, Professor?"
"Teleport me to the non-steve's home. I'll be back in a few hours. Make sure you don't tell the others a word. Especially not the Red Leader." Assistant Steve's eyes flickered over to the royal's restless form. "I don't want him trying to work out loopholes in your programming."
"No! What if you spread it?" The Green Steve pulled the Professor back, and Assistant Steve sprung into action, pulling the sick steve away.
"You cannot hurt the Professor." the robot said firmly. In front of them, the Red Steve studied the scene.
"Assistant Steve?"
"Yes Professor?"
"One more thing."
"Of course."
"Do... do we still have those sedatives?"
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Day 36
Sabre's P.O.V.
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"This is why we don't leave the stupid robot in charge!" I growl, feeling my anger growing hotter. Assistant Steve stares on blankly from his spot on the floor. "How did I overlook that?"
"Sabre? Sabre what's going on out there?" I can hear the Professor calling from the quarantine room. I'm just out of his sight, as is the reprogrammed robot. The voice makes me clench my fists. All this time, I really thought I could trust him! Why? He had the sickness, for Origin's sake!
My blood runs cold.
He had gone to the Rainbow Kingdom.
He had gone to the Rainbow Kingdom.
"Professor RED!" I storm into the room, shoving the scientist out of the way. Assistant Steve is still rebooting, unable to come to his rescue. His orange goggles clatter to the floor and he stares at me in shock. Even the Red Leader, who was acting the same way only half an hour ago, seems surprised. "What did you do!?"
Without even waiting for a response, I start tearing through the vines and branches to reach Green. I may be mad, but I know that if I hurt the crazy old Red Steve, I'll regret it later.
"I- what are you talking about?" His voice raises an octave, making the lie obvious. I hack through faster, making toward the bright green light that emanates from the unconscious Green Steve.
"You know what I'm talking about!"
"You weren't supposed to find out..."
"I picked up on that."
"Listen, Sabre! I didn't realize... I didn't realize there were so many steves where you lived! I thought you lived on the outskirts, not in the middle of a freakin' kingdom! Besides, I was careful! I left once I had the supplies!"
I stared through the tangled vines at his healed leg.
"Wait, what happened?" The Red Leader instantly jumps in.
I purse my lips, just continuing on to where Green is still sleeping, shifting around and mumbling as he dreams. I guess now that the sedatives are out, he's coming closer to waking up. I cut away the last of the vines and scoop up the steve, who is disturbingly light. His face is ashen, and even his hair seems to have faded to a pale gray-green. Tears prick at my eyes.
"There wasn't even anyone there! Just those guards!"
"Those guards just went to prison!" I snap back, carrying Green out of the room. It's a good thing I built the machine beforehand, or I would definitely mess it up. My mind keeps spinning with worries and anger and implications. Anybody might be sick. There are hundreds of steves over there.
Reminding myself to be gentle, I carefully prop Green into an upright position. Just as I do so, I hear a beeping sound, followed by metal footsteps. Assistant Steve still looks out of it, but he's awake.
"What did you do to me?" he accuses.
"I reprogrammed you." I reply easily. "I have exclusive access to all your overrides now."
"What!? You can't do that! Only the Professor and Red Leader can give me new commands."
"Assistant Steve, get the potion to remove the sedative effects from Green." Immediately, the robot's wheels start to turn. He protests loudly, but his programming quickly drives him away. I wait patiently until he comes back with a splash potion. I don't recognize the color, but I trust what I've done with his coding. I splash it at the sleeping steve's feet.
"You shouldn't be able to change my code!" The robot huffs as Green starts to stir. "The Red Leader put in a self destruct mode if the Professor even tried!"
"I'm a better coder than the Red Leader." I say simply, taking a step forward to help support Green. His eyes blink open slowly, and I can see that they, too, are dull. Nearly gray.
"Savior?" he coughs, his entire body shaking with the effort.
"Nice to see you awake, bud." I carefully nudge him back into the machine. "Listen, I've got a new machine to help you. Is that okay?"
"I don't- I don't want to-" His brow furrows as he catches sight of the pistons and glass. "You're going to leave me!" I wince.
"No, this'll be quick, I promise. You'll feel better soon!"
"That's what you said last time!"
"Here, look!" I help him out, showing him the different parts of the machine. "I've got rainbow stone in here, and this is where the extra colors will go." I point to a chest on the right. "It's only for a little bit, and I'll be right here the whole time." I fish a rainbow stone out of the hopper and give it to him. "Doesn't that make you feel better?" I assume it does. Rainbow Steve always said that rainbow trees and rainbow stone made him feel both safe and powerful. I hope he's not the only one.
I also wish that worked on me.
"I guess..." Green Steve hugged the stone to his chest, and a flurry of green particles shimmered on it, reacting to his energy. "If you promise not to leave until I'm out."
"I won't." I breathe a sigh of relief, happy to have convinced him. "Come on."
Green still looks uneasy, but once the pistons lock around him, his body is frozen into place and his expression falls neutral. Lightning begins to rain down.
I forgot about the lightning!
"Please think it's just the Professor." I mumble to myself, hoping I'm not about to see a swarm of concerned Red Steves break into the lab. "Please think it's just another experiment."
Either the Red Steves are used to it, or Professor Red has a better security system than I thought, because even as the lightning continues, no more steves race down into the lab.
The lightning starts to fizzle out, leaving me a clearer view of Green. My heart leaps in my chest. It's hard to tell through the glass, but I think his color is brighter.
Crossing my fingers, I flick off the lever to the machine. The pistons unlock, and Green's eyes open again, a much brighter hue than before. He seems more steady as he takes a cautious step out.
"Wait, wait!" I warn him, holding a hand out. "Over there." I point to the far corner of the room, and he obligingly crams himself over there. With bated breath, I go over to the chest. All the other colors should have filtered out into here, and with luck...
Ignoring the brightly colored rocks in the chest, I pull out a vial. The substance inside glows dully, swirling in a dark gray hue. Like all machine-made potions, it comes with a generated label.
Energy Infection
"Yes!" I whisper, then repeat it louder. "YES!" Green peers around the machine at me, curious. "Green we did it!" I beam over at him, and he gives me a small smile back. "We freaking did it!"
"Yay!" He bounces a little, and tiny flowers sprout all over the machine. The chest of rainbow-colored rocks pops open as peonies spill out. I laugh, delighted with my success.
"You're cured." I whisper, running my hands through my hair. "After a month of trying..."
Some of the tension disappears from inside of me. I definitely needed a win. Especially after what the Professor did.
Oh Origin, the Professor.
I stare at Green, suddenly alarmed.
"We need to get you out of here." His happy expression falls.
"What?"
"There are still infected steves close by. Your energy..." I stare at the flowers sprawling over the machine. "You'll catch it again within the hour if you get too close."
"What!"
"I can't teleport." I hit my palm against my forehead. "You can't teleport. M's not here!"
"Why are you talking about letters?"
"How are we supposed to leave!?"
"For Origin's sake! Some of us are trying to reprogram ourselves!" Assistant Steve wheels in, lights and screens across his body flashing angrily. Green Steve screams.
"COPPER STEVE!" He quickly runs to hide behind the machine. Despite the serious situation, I nearly crack up at Assistant Steve's bewildered expression.
"Assistant Steve, do you know how to teleport us out of here without asking a Red Steve for help?" I plead. "Or transport us without teleportation?" I'm not sure what I'm hoping for, but Assistant Steve huffs.
"Well of course, moron. How do you think I get around?" He presses a panel on his arm, and out comes a remote-control looking thing. A single red button adorns the device, oddly cartoonish.
"...Seriously?" I'm not sure whether to be excited or skeptical. Green's face peeks out from behind a piston.
"Yes, seriously! It's a highly-complicated device that only Professor Red can comprehend!"
"Sure it is." I carefully take the device, inspecting it from all angles.
"Careful, savior!" Green hisses. "It could be a trap! You can't trust infected steves, they're not in their right mind."
"It's okay, Green. I know what I'm doing." I murmur. "Come over here." Cautiously, the Sagian steve makes his way closer, staring distrustfully at the copper robot.
"Don't break it." Assistant Steve warns, before rolling off. "I'm going to see if I can override these safety features." I ignore him. I trust my own coding.
"What does it do?" Green asks me.
"It's a teleporter, I guess." I respond. I don't want to trust the device, especially since I know Professor Red made it, but we have to leave quickly. I cast a quick glance at Green. "Can you do something for me?"
"...okay?"
"Put this on." I hold out a cloak, and Green quickly throws it over his shoulders, blocking out his unusual features and clothing. At a glance, he looks no different from M. The marks on his face have stopped glowing, so there's nothing to indicate who he is. "Perfect."
I wrap an arm around the steve and look down to the device. I gulp, then close my eyes, concentrating hard as I press the button. I need a place where there aren't any infected steves. A place I had friends who wouldn't mind watching after Green for a little bit.
"Take us to Thera's house."
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Word Count: 2,203