> STERILIZE THE AI

> [It looks up at her, terrified, shaking, inky tar-like tears dripping down their cheeks.]

> ouuwh ... sniffle ...

> 'm sorry ... waaahhh !! ｡⁠:ﾟ⁠(⁠;⁠´⁠∩⁠`⁠;⁠)ﾟ⁠:⁠｡

@computerizedinkwell

"No, no- honey don't say sorry.. Hey- hey.. What happened?"

( Maizey crouched down, gently wiping their tears with her thumb- quietly shushing the little one. )

> sniffle ...

> s-scary ... scary lady n friends ...

> scared m-me ..!!

> [They babbled, hiccuping little black ink bubbles as they stumbled over their words.]

> n i— i think they wanna hurt my friend :(

> wwell ...

> there was a scary blue bleedy eyes lady with lots of ribbons ..

> nd a yellow dolly with big claws .. i think they wanted to eat me ... wah ..!

> [The child gestured— or at least tried to, with how little they were. The crying had slowed to being little droplets at the corners of their eyes, though they still looked upset.]

> and ... and a big zombie covered in stitches wearing a scary mask who scared me too ..!

> [They whimpered, hugging themselves.]

"Here.."

( Maizey handed a glass bell to Steri. )

"You'll always find it when you need it, and when you ring it- I'll be there. You nor your friend will have to be scared of those three."

( Maizey smiled softly. )

> [They sniffled, holding the bell in their hands, looking down at it...]

> [And looked back up at Maizey, smiling meekly. They stumbled to get to their feet, and hugged her, tentacles gently poking and prodding her— like they had minds of their own.]

> mmm ...

> [It looks up at her, terrified, shaking, inky tar-like tears dripping down their cheeks.]

> ouuwh ... sniffle ...

> 'm sorry ... waaahhh !! ｡⁠:ﾟ⁠(⁠;⁠´⁠∩⁠`⁠;⁠)ﾟ⁠:⁠｡

@computerizedinkwell

"No, no- honey don't say sorry.. Hey- hey.. What happened?"

( Maizey crouched down, gently wiping their tears with her thumb- quietly shushing the little one. )

> sniffle ...

> s-scary ... scary lady n friends ...

> scared m-me ..!!

> [They babbled, hiccuping little black ink bubbles as they stumbled over their words.]

> n i— i think they wanna hurt my friend :(

> wwell ...

> there was a scary blue bleedy eyes lady with lots of ribbons ..

> nd a yellow dolly with big claws .. i think they wanted to eat me ... wah ..!

> [The child gestured— or at least tried to, with how little they were. The crying had slowed to being little droplets at the corners of their eyes, though they still looked upset.]

> and ... and a big zombie covered in stitches wearing a scary mask who scared me too ..!

> [They whimpered, hugging themselves.]

> [It looks up at her, terrified, shaking, inky tar-like tears dripping down their cheeks.]

> ouuwh ... sniffle ...

> 'm sorry ... waaahhh !! ｡⁠:ﾟ⁠(⁠;⁠´⁠∩⁠`⁠;⁠)ﾟ⁠:⁠｡

@computerizedinkwell

"No, no- honey don't say sorry.. Hey- hey.. What happened?"

( Maizey crouched down, gently wiping their tears with her thumb- quietly shushing the little one. )

> sniffle ...

> s-scary ... scary lady n friends ...

> scared m-me ..!!

> [They babbled, hiccuping little black ink bubbles as they stumbled over their words.]

> n i— i think they wanna hurt my friend :(

Mmnnh...?

000000H Y0U L00K C00L! 1 L1K3 2U2H1!!-

Tracker shut up- Have you seen a little bunny anywhere around?

- @professionalexepetter

> eep ..!

> oh uhm

> hi ..!

> [The little octopus waves a little and then taps their pointer fingers together.]

> i havent seen her in a while ... sniffle

> but i know a bunny ..!

> shes my friend i think !

*[as she says this, scarlette pulls a black ring out of their quills. looks scary, for a ring...]*

Mmhm...Knnno-wuh....Wheerre isss...?

> why do you wanna do that for ..?

> that doesnt seem very nice ..!

> [They tear up a little. This is a regular occurrence.]

> i dont know where she is ...

> i told you i havent seen her in a while ..!

*[scarlette didn't sound the slightest bit sorry.]*

-But that's really not my jurisdiction... Our boss told us to come over here and do it! Aaand- the process is painless! Err- Mostly painless...

Hmhmhmhmh...Ccann tturrrnnh....Yoouu iinnto dee-mon.....To see.

*[kowai takes a step towards steri, hunched over like a monster straight from a storybook. meanie wants to tease the poor kid with spooking them...]*

Wwee herrre....Too assk wuh-ere she is....Annyway.

> no no no !!

> my siblings wouldnt like that very much (⁠•⁠ˇ⁠_⁠ˇ⁠•)

> [Shaking slightly, they ball up their fists and squeeze their eyes shut. Gurgling noises emanate from the kid's throat as they speak...]

> if you guys are gonna hurt my friend ...

> [Lips melding together and face melting, their tentacles push them higher off the ground...]

> i won't let you

Eeuhh- Wwuahh-!

*[the doll and the beast dashed off, startled by steri's little stunt leaving scarlette standing alone... and looking thoroughly amused.]*

Fuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu~ You think THAT'S scary? I've seen scarier from less...

*[scarlette's voice starts to deepen considerably. blood and black ichor ooze from their mouth, eyes... and neck?! as their pupils dissapear; squirming tendrils arising from the seemingly empty sockets.]*

If you want scary...

*[they place their hands on the sides of their head, gripping it tightly... before ripping off their own, still smiling head.]*

> [Almost instantly, the octopus shrinks down on themselves. They quickly turn invisible, and the sounds of panicked, terrified sobs and little footsteps are heard.]

Mmnnh...?

000000H Y0U L00K C00L! 1 L1K3 2U2H1!!-

Tracker shut up- Have you seen a little bunny anywhere around?

- @professionalexepetter

> eep ..!

> oh uhm

> hi ..!

> [The little octopus waves a little and then taps their pointer fingers together.]

> i havent seen her in a while ... sniffle

> but i know a bunny ..!

> shes my friend i think !

*[as she says this, scarlette pulls a black ring out of their quills. looks scary, for a ring...]*

Mmhm...Knnno-wuh....Wheerre isss...?

> why do you wanna do that for ..?

> that doesnt seem very nice ..!

> [They tear up a little. This is a regular occurrence.]

> i dont know where she is ...

> i told you i havent seen her in a while ..!

*[scarlette didn't sound the slightest bit sorry.]*

-But that's really not my jurisdiction... Our boss told us to come over here and do it! Aaand- the process is painless! Err- Mostly painless...

Hmhmhmhmh...Ccann tturrrnnh....Yoouu iinnto dee-mon.....To see.

*[kowai takes a step towards steri, hunched over like a monster straight from a storybook. meanie wants to tease the poor kid with spooking them...]*

Wwee herrre....Too assk wuh-ere she is....Annyway.

> no no no !!

> my siblings wouldnt like that very much (⁠•⁠ˇ⁠_⁠ˇ⁠•)

> [Shaking slightly, they ball up their fists and squeeze their eyes shut. Gurgling noises emanate from the kid's throat as they speak...]

> if you guys are gonna hurt my friend ...

> [Lips melding together and face melting, their tentacles push them higher off the ground...]

> i won't let you

Mmnnh...?

000000H Y0U L00K C00L! 1 L1K3 2U2H1!!-

Tracker shut up- Have you seen a little bunny anywhere around?

- @professionalexepetter

> eep ..!

> oh uhm

> hi ..!

> [The little octopus waves a little and then taps their pointer fingers together.]

> i havent seen her in a while ... sniffle

> but i know a bunny ..!

> shes my friend i think !

*[as she says this, scarlette pulls a black ring out of their quills. looks scary, for a ring...]*

Mmhm...Knnno-wuh....Wheerre isss...?

> why do you wanna do that for ..?

> that doesnt seem very nice ..!

> [They tear up a little. This is a regular occurrence.]

> i dont know where she is ...

> i told you i havent seen her in a while ..!

> i think ...

> i'm in a lot of ... trouble ... ｡⁠:ﾟ⁠(⁠;⁠´⁠∩⁠`⁠;⁠)ﾟ⁠:⁠｡

> grimmy n livey havent said anything on the way back home ...

> wah ...

*[livewire leaned on a wall in their bunker, a hand pinching her forehead. why- why would they do something so stupid? sneaking out to meet up with him? after all that's happened? ...after she died to him? it didn't make sense.]*

*[...so she'll make them make sense of all of this.]*

.

.

.

2E2E2E53544552494C495A452E

(...STERILIZE.)

5745204E45454420544F2054414C4B2E

(WE NEED TO TALK.)

> wah ..! (⁠╯⁠︵⁠╰⁠,⁠)

> i ... i just ...

> i thought ...

> maybe if he had a friend ...

> he'd be nicer ..!

> i don't understand why he's so mean to grimmy ...

- @digitizedbioweapon

@bisexualkolossos

. . .

[ HE HASN'T EVEN HAD THE CHANCE TO PROPERLY GET OUT OF THE TEA-PARTY ATTIRE, STANDING THERE IN THE WAY, FROZEN LIKE A DEER IN HEADLIGHTS. OBSERVING SILENTLY. ]

LIVEWIRE.

2E2E2E4355544520445245535320594F5520474F542054484552452E204845482E

(...CUTE DRESS YOU GOT THERE. HEH.)

4D494E442054454C4C494E47204D4520574845524520544845204B49442049533F

(MIND TELLING ME WHERE THE KID IS?)

*[...she can be scarily cool when she wants to be.]*

[ HE CONTINUED TO STAND THERE, UNMOVING, ONLY SHIFTING HIS GAZE DOWN AT THE ANDROID. SMALL, BUT HE KNOWS BETTER THAN TO OVERLOOK HER. ]

THEY'RE INSIDE.

*[her posture shifts, an arm moving to hold her hip while the other slumps down beside her. in the low light, a smirk starts to spread across her face; a low, venomous chuckle escaping her. ]*

2E2E2E4D41594245204920414D2E204D415942452049274D204E4F542E2053274E4F54204C494B45204927442054454C4C20594F552E

(...MAYBE I AM. MAYBE I'M NOT. S'NOT LIKE I'D TELL YOU.)

*[she saunters off towards the building behind heresy, breezing past him. ...in an act of malice, her long, barbed wire tail wraps around his ankle, scratching it, before unravelling with a small flourish.]*

5448414E4B5320464F52204E4F5448494E472C2048454C4C4241472E

[ he remained waiting outside - despite his shivering, the cold didn't bother him. locked onto the hulking mutant standing before them. standing and unmoving. waiting. patiently. ]

......You don't have to be like this.

[ a mumble. ]

...NOT GOING TO GO IN AFTER HER? FINE BY ME, BE THAT WAY. I DON'T WANT YOU HERE, BUT I FIGURED SHE'D BRING YOUR DISGUSTING MUG OVER.

. . .

You keep CHOOSING to be miserable, its all you ever do. You take your problems out on other people who haven't done anything to wrong you - You keep SABOTAGING yourself, ███████ . Nobody is out to get you - Its the way you approach things man, you do this to YOURSELF- I WANT to help you, but you keep doing this-

. . . I should just- Stop talking. I'll leave you alone.

[ an uncomfortable pause, waiting in silence, avoiding the other mutant's gaze. trying to peer past that broad shoulder to get a better look inside. ]

6F6820736869742D206772696D6D3F3F

(oh shit- grimm??)

*[time to go. she steps outside the house to see the two mutants having a silent standoff. the tension is so thick, you'd need a chainsaw to cut through it.]*

*[she holds steri a bit tighter.]*

> [Tearing up, the little octopus burrows their face in their older sister's fur, as if attempting to hide away.]

> sniffle ... s top f igh ting ...

> uhm ...

> mister heresy ..?

> [They fade into view, having been invisible to sneak over. They're wearing a frilly pink dress and bows. They smile meekly at him.]

> i came over to have a tea party ..!

- @computerizedinkwell

> [The little thing sets up their set accordingly, unboxing cookies and such.]

> i dunno if this was a good idea ...

> but big brother grimmy never said no ..!

> [They giggle and hiccup, a little ink bubble escaping them.]

> mmm ...

> i don't think so ..

> i was extra sneaky mister heresy ..!

> [Dusting off their dress, they pull up a stool, sitting on it. Even in a set made for children, they look small. They daintily pour a cup of tea, offering it to him.]

[ OH RIGHT, THE DRESS... HE HAD FORGOTTEN ENTIRELY ALL ABOUT IT, IT WAS PROBABLY SITTING IN HIS CLOSET COLLECTING DUST. NOT LIKE HE OWNED MUCH, ANYWAYS. ]

RIGHT... RIGHT. THE DRESS. I'LL BE RIGHT BACK. I'LL GO LOOK FOR IT AND PUT IT ON, JUST STAY PUT.

> ehehe ...

> wow mister heresy ..!

> your dress is still really pretty ... (⁠✿⁠^⁠‿⁠^⁠)

> where did you get it from ..?

> [They pour themselves a cup of tea, sticking out their pinkie to drink from it as they do so. They push an empty cup towards him, picking up the little purple teapot to pour him some, too.]

> make sure to stick out your pinkie when you drink ... it's proper tea party etti- ettiq- uhm...

> et-ti-qu-ette ...

> uhm ...

> mister heresy ..?

> [They fade into view, having been invisible to sneak over. They're wearing a frilly pink dress and bows. They smile meekly at him.]

> i came over to have a tea party ..!

- @computerizedinkwell

> [The little thing sets up their set accordingly, unboxing cookies and such.]

> i dunno if this was a good idea ...

> but big brother grimmy never said no ..!

> [They giggle and hiccup, a little ink bubble escaping them.]

> mmm ...

> i don't think so ..

> i was extra sneaky mister heresy ..!

> [Dusting off their dress, they pull up a stool, sitting on it. Even in a set made for children, they look small. They daintily pour a cup of tea, offering it to him.]