Aperture's Guard Dog

Only children (closed rp)

K2, however, after recovering from the embarrassment of making such a careless mistake as to openly gawk at a scientist, didn’t seem too startled.  If anything, Caroline’s new, unusual attitude was a bit of a distraction from her current situation, which she subconsciously appreciated. “R...Really?”  Quietly, the ALPHA unit spoke up, tilting her head ever so slightly in confusion.  Not only was it bizarre to have someone apologizing to her, K2 seemed genuinely surprised, if not uncertain, at the idea of having the rest of the week off.  “Like... really off? No morning training?” For the first time since she had met Caroline, 157 seemed to be ever so slightly calmer, actually able to speak without completely hiding her face or mumbling it out under her breath.   Her eyes still looked slightly damp- unshed tears still needing to either fall, or be blinked away- but her head had been raised, and her body posture, while still curled up, relaxed just the tiniest bit.

K2 seemed surprised at Caroline’s persistence- having half expected the issue to be dropped then and there- and the fact that the CEO had no hesitation in touching her.  The ALPHA unit still remembered the other scientists, who only touched the ALPHA units if absolutely necessary, and even then, it was always cold, clinical, and kept as brief as possible. This, while not the most delicate touch in the world, felt purposefully warm. Like there was actual emotion behind it.  Still, that didn’t change the fact that what she was saying was not really what K2 wanted to hear. She wanted directions, orders. She needed her life to be laid out for her, that was how she was raised. “I... Ma’am... Caroline, I...Don’t think...”  She stumbled over her words for a moment, nothing sounding quite right as it started to leave her mouth, causing her to eventually shut her jaw and go quiet. She knew she wouldn’t be able to say anything close to insightful now. She’d think about it. Come up with a response for tomorrow.  And, apparently, come in for a haircut. “Oh uh... you... you don’t have to do that, I can handle it tonight if it’s too much trouble.”

K2 perked up, having been slightly worried that Pine’s first reaction would be negative. But, seeing that the android was curious, the ALPHA unit shot her a slightly sheepish grin. “Yeah! Well, I’d like to avoid doing too much damage on either end, I’ve still got work tomorrow. But I...Well I thought it might be fun.”  She paused, listening to Pine’s prompting, and letting her more sheepish smile shift into a more confident one.  “Are you sure you want to fight me? I don’t know what kind of fighting knowledge you’ve gotten written into your code, but I promise you have no idea just what it feels like to fight an ALPHA unit.” The teasing was playful, and the bragging attempted to be kept to a minimum.  K2 didn’t exactly have many chances to brag about her skills, but she was made to fight, and she had completed her training and lasted this long. That was something to be proud of. She unzipped her jacket and tossed it to the bed, leaving her in only her combat pants, bare feet, and a tank top.  In a heartbeat, her posture changed. Shifting from casual to battle ready. Fight alined just so, shoulders squared, and eyes attentive. “Whoever knocks the other to their back, wins.  Ready?”

Only children (closed rp)

Managing to squeak out a rather timid ‘thank you,’ K2 took the cup with both hands shaking, trying her best to hold onto it without spilling it, despite how clearly uncomfortable she was with her new robotic enhancements.  She could control them just fine, but the feeling was bizarre, if the look on the young unit’s face was any indicator, and it seemed that she didn’t quite trust herself or her grip, judging by how tightly she gripped the plastic cup. She took a few sips of water- broken up by sharp, shaky inhales of breath- before pausing, feeling the sudden warm and gentle pressure on her knee.   157 looked up, eyes still wet with tears cheeks still red, but her expression very briefly shifting from the frightened heartbreak that they had possessed until now to a very slight one of confusion. Not displeased confusion, but more of a stunned disbelief. As if she didn’t believe what was happening to be what it truly was.  As if she was just waiting for Caroline to retract her hand as soon as possible, stand up, and leave K2 in the room alone.   So she watched for a few moments, eyes wide and expression akin to a fawn in headlights, only stopping after at least a minute, suddenly realizing how rude she was being, and quickly looking away and trying to hide her face once more.

K2 jumped a little at the sudden vigor showcased by the older woman, surprised to see such emotional intensity seemingly coming out of nowhere.  For a moment or two, K2 considered the thought that perhaps the CEO was merely sensitive about being over 100 years old, and by K2 insulting herself, she was, at the same time, insulting Caroline. But, judging by tone, the ALPHA unit found herself surprised to see that wasn’t the case.  Caroline seemed genuine in her insistence.  Almost like K2′s thought process mattered to her. Like she cared what K2 thought about herself. 157′s heart clenched a little as she tried not to think about her feelings towards herself for too long. The bitter, angry, disappointed taste of failure bubbling up in her throat like bile. “I... I’m sorry ma’am. It won’t happen again.” Nervously, K2 ran a hand through her hair, taking note of just how long and unruly it had gotten.  What was supposed to be a clean cut, sleek and intimidating, now looked more akin to a mangey zoo lion’s mane.  Just another way in which she failed herself, she supposed. “I promise I’ll do my best to be helpful, just point me in any direction, give me any orders, and I won’t stop until I accomplish it. I swear.”

In the days and weeks that passed, K2 made sure that she had never been as normal as she was now.  From the moment she woke up to the moment she came home at night, she was everything Aperture had made her to be. She walked with shoulders squared and eyes at full attention. She kept her face covered with her bandana, her appearance and menacing as she could possibly make it.  For every training chamber she entered, she gave it ten times more effort than it needed. She worked herself to the bone, because that was normal. That was the appearance of an ALPHA unit who had been scared straight by the scar on her face, that was what GLaDOS wanted to see. And so K2 gave it to her. But at night?  Every night K2 wondered if Pine would be able to visit. Sometimes, she’d get her hopes up for nothing, and merely spend the evening licking her wounds from the day and sleeping alone.  But on the lucky days, she was met by an android- occasionally blind- sneaking in to her room.  And her heart soared. It didn’t really matter what they did, even if they just lay on the bed together and talked, or if K2 got a good chuckle out of trying to make sure Pine didn’t trip over her own feet. No matter what they were doing, it was something. It wasn’t fighting, or training, or working herself until she couldn’t move. It was soft, and gentle, and K2 felt happy. She wasn’t sure if she had felt that before she met Pine, but now she knew she couldn’t get enough. Of course, that wasn’t to say that she only wanted to spend their evenings together sitting around idle. It was good to relax, but K2 was deadset on making sure that they did more with each other than simply lazily talking about nothing or sleeping.  And so that was how she ended up where she was right now, standing in the middle of her room,  with furniture pushed to the wall, facing Pine, with one question on her lips. “Train with me?”

Only children (closed rp)

K2 looked up a little at this, meeting Caroline’s eyes a bit nervously. A hint of shyness was to be expected. While perhaps there was an ALPHA unit or two who was a bit less strictly rule following as K2 was, all of them knew that they had to treat the scientists, the doctors, and any human in Aperture with utmost respect. With a shaky hand- that she looked at with unease one more time- K2 attempted to wipe her eyes, nodding ever so slightly.  A few sniffles left her, but it seemed that her tears had run out, even if her level of grief hadn’t. Slowly pushing herself into a seated position, K2 cast a longing look towards one of the glasses of water, silent for a few moments before cautiously turning her gaze towards Caroline, then promptly downwards to look at her bedsheets, so that the ‘I’d like some water please’ came out muffled and quiet. Her knees had come to press against her chest, and the young ALPHA unit had quickly taken to the position she had been in when she was pulled out of the burning chamber.  Holding herself.  Wrapping her arms around her knees and tucking herself inward, as if trying to gain comfort by retreating inwards like a turtle.

K2′s expression faltered, and she scuffed her shoe against the ground.  She wasn’t one to jump at the chance to argue with someone higher up, but she couldn’t help at least mentioning her suspicions. “I get that I just... I’m doing manual labor. I would’ve been helpful back in my time but... but what’s stopping them from just creating a dozen remote controlled robot arms to do the work? It don’t take a genius to move some rubble or replace a pipe.” She sighed, sinking back into her chair, and only momentarily meeting Caroline’s gaze.  “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the kind words, I really do. I just have a hard time feeling like I’m of any real use when everything else around me is this high tech.  Hell, I’m what, a hundred years old at this point? I’m outdated.”

K2 smiled at that, letting out a small hum in response, having already closed her eyes again, and given another- albeit a much gentler- squeeze to the android in her arms, as the lights to her room shut off, and left them both in near complete darkness, save only for the small slivers of light that managed to sneak underneath the tiny crack under the door to the unnaturally lit hallway outside. She knew she’d feel the effects of tonight tomorrow morning- she hadn’t gotten a good look at her clock in a little while, but she reckoned she’d need to be awake in about five hours, six if she was lucky- she wouldn’t have traded this evening for all the sleep in the world.  Even if she was getting less sleep overall, K2 knew she’d be sleeping well in that time period. Her and Pine had shared a bed before, but not quite like this. K2 had never quite had the experience of a warm body in her arms, a consistent presence, someone to hold.  She was asleep in minutes, already drifting off into a pleasant sleep, filled with vague dreams of stars, and brilliant green fields.

Only children (closed rp)

K2 almost looked as if she couldn’t believe her eyes. Still feeling quite groggy, she wondered if perhaps, this was all a dream.  That was the woman, the scientist? From before.  Her presence was anything but expected, as 157 stared in a mixture of shock and confusion for a good few moments.   Sure, Caroline had said that she’d see K2 when this was all over, but the young ALPHA unit hadn’t actually expected that she’d keep that promise.  K2 had merely expected that, at most, there would be a doctor or one of the normal overseeing scientists there to simply poke their head in and tell her when she needed to get back to training, or if she could go back to her room. This though... this was anything but.  Caroline’s eyes weren’t distracted and distant, they looked... warm. Inviting, almost. She asked K2 how she was feeling? Did she really mean it? “...’m ok...” She mumbled out a response, seeming somewhat halfhearted in her answer.  She didn’t want to be any trouble, she didn’t want to complain.  This nice woman had already been so kind to her, she had done enough. Besides, K2 wasn’t in too much pain, so she couldn’t complain.  Most of her arms were numb, and any other burns on her skin or rawness in her throat was still better than the pain her hands had been in. Although that just acted as a reminder, as 157 brought both her hands in front of her face now, and stared at them.  Her chest felt tight and her throat constricted, and the longer she looked at them, the more her eyes seemed to burn with tears welling up within them.

K2 nearly bounced up and down in her seat.  A dull blue human eye suddenly sparking to life at the prospect of a job. A real one. Protecting somebody who mattered. Clearing rubble for a human’s sake, keeping on high alert to make sure that she kept a human safe, doing her purpose as an ALPHA unit as it was intended, instead of just going through the motions because a robot told her so, despite the fact that she could easily be replaced by any other android. “I won’t let you down ma’am, I promise you won’t regret having me around!”  157 spoke with excitement in her tone for once in a long time, momentarily meeting Caroline’s gaze with an actual smile on her face, although it was fleeting. “Uh I... pardon my outburst there.”  She deflated quite quickly, her demeanor shifting from excited to sheepish in a matter of seconds. “I just... I like the thought of being useful.  Like, really useful, for once.  Everything I do around the facility right now... I know they don’t really need me for it. Sure, I work just fine, but it’s like hammering a nail with the handle of a screwdriver. It might technically work, but I know GLaDOS probably has plenty of real hammers she could use instead.”

K2 stifled a yawn, not wanting it to seem as if she were disinterested in the conversation, but also becoming more and more aware just how tired she was. It had been a long day. She had definitely had worse days, and considering she only walked away from today with a bruise- one that she was thankful Pine’s body pressure wasn’t accidentally brushing up against- but it was exhausting nonetheless. A slight blush rose to her cheeks at Pine’s words, followed by a smile that seemed to be a mixture of affection and amusement.  “I’d say the same but... I don’t think it’d mean as much, coming from me.  My world’s quite small.” In comparison, Pine truly was a large part of her world. She was part of Aperture, after all, and Aperture was K2′s existence. It was her past, her present, her future. Her purpose, her reason for being, and eventually, her downfall.  The fact that the first person she had ever felt... like this towards was so closely tied with Aperture?  It was the closest thing K2 had seen that she’d call fate. A few moments passed, the ALPHA unit letting out a pleased hum in response to Pine’s agreement to her idea.  While K2 found it impossible, it was nice to pretend.  But with Pine having already closed her eyes, and K2 finding herself closer and closer to just falling asleep mid conversation, she spoke up, her voice soft, and slightly distant.   “You... are connected to the facility, right?  Is there any chance of you...” Her sentence was broken up by a yawn before she continued, “...Being able to automatically turn the lights off in here? I don’t want to get up.”

Only children (closed rp)

K2 had given a pitiful nod in response to Caroline’s words, and lifted her gaze just a little when she heard the older woman repeat her farewell.  A smile never reached her lips, it couldn’t, in a moment like this. But a hint of gratitude shone through watery blue eyes.  If nothing else, Caroline’s presence had given her the chance to breathe, to cry, and to try and prepare herself for what was coming. The anesthetics weren’t expected. 157 had never had a serious injury like this before, but she had heard stories. 147 had hit her head and split open a giant gash that needed stitches, and she had told K2 that they simply strapped her into the chair and did it.  She had said it felt like it was never going to end, and that it had been the longest day of her entire life. So, when K2-157 was given a mask and simply told to breathe, she hadn’t known what to expect. But she soon found her eyes struggling to stay open, and her mind turning to fog as she found it difficult, and then impossible to stay awake. Then... there was nothing.  She was asleep. No more aware or unaware of her surroundings and her current state than she ever was. No real understanding of pain, as her hands were severed at the wrist in sharp, swift motions, and no realization of the passage of time. When she slowly started to stir, she was hardly even aware that time had passed.  For all she knew, she had only closed her eyes for a few seconds, and she’d open them to see the doctors, in their crisp white coats and their rubber gloves.  But... she didn’t. She began to blink, to try and crack her eyes open.  She was in a bed, but it wasn’t her bed. It was bigger, and the lighting in the room was a bit harsher. The sheets smelled faintly of chemicals, but... she didn’t smell smoke anymore.  She was in clean, temporary garments.  Her body felt numb overall, and she couldn’t feel the pain in her hands anymore. But as her mind started to wake up more properly, she had the rather unsettling realization that she couldn’t feel her hands at all.  Groggily, she shifted enough to bring her hand up to her face, and stare at it.  Shining, brand new metal met her eye. She could just about see her reflection in them. Her hands, her real hands, were gone.  Without knowing it, tears threatened to well back up in her eyes, only stalled by the fact that as she woke up more and more, she noticed, out of the corner of her eye, a figure. Sitting next to her bed.  Slowly, she raised her head to look at them, no words finding their way out of her mouth.

K2 lingered for a moment or two, keeping her hand outstretched even after Caroline’s refusal, just in case.  Truly, she wouldn’t want to take experience all to herself, it just didn’t seem fair, nor was it in her nature.  Why, if... if the other units were still alive, she would’ve tripped over herself to make sure they all got to try at least some of it.  Sure, she might’ve insisted that she got the lion’s share, since it was given to her specifically, but they all deserved the chance to enjoy each other’s victories.  “Well... if you’re certain.  Thank you again, ma’am.”  She nodded her head in something that was almost a bow, but quickly veered off, as she remembered what Caroline had said about dropping some of the formalities.   She dug back into the peaches after that, savoring each bite, every drop of nearly sickly sweet syrup they were covered in, and holding herself back from trying to lick the inside of the can when she was done.  At the mention of there being possibly more of these, she perked up.  “I could go! I...I could help you look.  The older parts of Aperture aren’t... aren’t the best to travel in.  They’re dangerous in their current state and I wouldn’t be a good ALPHA unit if I just let you go around there alone.”

K2 wouldn’t have complained if she had. With every passing moment, K2 felt her body relaxing just a little bit more.  The weight of Pine against her body combined with the heat of their bodies together quickly became a comfort. Like a blanket, ten times warmer and thicker than the thin ones K2 was used to.  She closed her eyes for a moment, and if not for Pine’s voice, she knew she would’ve fallen asleep right there.  She was...peaceful. “I never would’ve expected to feel this way, I never would’ve even thought to long for something like this, but... you’re right. I never want to go back to what it was like, living a life alone. Not when I’ve experienced... this.” Her hand moved absentmindedly against Pine’s back, tracing gentle patterns that existed solely in her subconscious.  As Pine continued, a small, thoughtful chuckle left her lips, causing a rumble in her chest.  It was the pleasant sort, dreamy, entertained, but... fantastical.  She listened to her partner speak, and she imagined it, taking joy in the thought but seeing it as akin to seeing fairies and dragons.  Impossible. “I think... I think I’d like that. I’d... love it, in fact.”  157 smiled warmly, closing her eyes, as if to better help herself to picture it, based on what Pine had shown her. “We could sit... somewhere where it’s grassy and lush, and I could point out all those constellations you told me about. And I’d forget their names, and you could tease me about it”