Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cold. Life was cold and unforgiving.

The sprite didn’t like to think about how cold their life was. How cold it used to be. But now it was fun! They liked their new life. Their new life consisted of zapping stupid bots who thought they were a god.

The sprite liked their new life. They liked being able to zap bots. The bot in front of them was blabbing about wanting to be zapped, something about glory and light… They didn’t really care.

So when this random red and blue bot started screaming about not being a cultist, and bashing their totem, it was a rude surprise.

“Hey, what gives?! I was just about to light you up, you crazy cultist!”

The small bot groaned and stomped her foot. “That’s what I was trying to tell you! I’m not a cultist!”

The sprite floated upwards, sighing. “Really? You bots all look the same to me.”

This earned another protest from the bot, before she began to calm down. Thank goodness, the sprite thought. This bot came, destroyed their totem, and was mad at them now? It made no sense. Then the bot spoke again. “You look like some sort of Vectron sprite. How’s that possible?”

Vectron.

The sprite looked down at the bot, frozen in place. It’s a good thing she either didn’t notice or comment on it, because she just continued speaking. “My friend Rusty destroyed Vectron before he went missing.”

“I don’t know how I got here. The cult stole me, and plugged me in to worship me, or something. They wanted me to zap them! Hehe.” They floated up, before going back down to the bot. “Hm… Well… I can’t zap them now that I don’t have my cool totem. What are we going to do now?”

The bot looked up, confused at their usage of ‘we’. “Well, I’m going up to the big city. I heard that Rusty had been seen there.”

“To the city? Alright, if you insist, I suppose I can come with you.” And with that, the sprite zoomed down, into the compartment on her stomach. They weren’t expecting to be hit with a blast of warmth, but it felt rather nice. Except for being rattled around as the bot was startled.

“Hey! What are you doing? Get out of my furnace!”

The sprite groans and exits. “What, and float all bored and alone out here?”

“Yes?!” The bot stomped her foot again, absolutely furious. “It’s my furnace! ”

“Your furnace is warm and comfy. And, pestering you is fun!” They let out another devilish giggle before starting to go back to the furnace, stopped by her voice. 

“Darnit, I don’t have time for this! I need to get out of here!”

“Seems like you might need my help after all! I’ve already scanned this area, and I guess… I guess I can let you use my map.” Their eyes stared down at the bot as the sprite bounced in the air. “Now! Let’s get out of this place!”

And with that, they hopped into the bot’s furnace before she could protest. “Fine.”

Fen. Dot named them Fen. 

At first, Fen didn’t like the name. Dot named them after something her dad used to talk about? How lame. Fen would much rather have a cool, super dangerous name… like…

They couldn’t think of a name that was cool.

Fen it is.

“Why’d you name me Fen again?”

“For the fenlights my father used to tell me about. I’ve told you this before.” Dot glances down at her furnace. “It’s almost as if you like hearing about yourself.”

Dot was right. It was because Fen liked hearing about themself. But Fen would never admit it.

The more time Fen spent with Dot, the more they got accustomed to her… quirks. She loved to talk to herself, first of all. At first, Fen found it unbearable, but as they spent time with her, it grew more acceptable.

Most of the time, she’d just be laying out a plan. Sometimes she was asking Fen to find a place on the map, which might’ve taken a few tries to get their attention (cmon now, she normally talks to herself, so Fen always zoned her out!).

“Fen?”

No response.

“Fen?”

“Hm?”

“Can you locate the nearest tube? My bag is full.”

“Ugh, fine.” Fen would rather be caught dead than admit it, but helping Dot was starting to be fun. “Yknow, I could always just send you to the nearest cave instead.”

“You wouldn’t do that.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Because you’d be stuck there with me.” Fen could hear the smirk in Dot’s voice. She had them caught.

“...Only because if you got scrapped, it’d be annoying to get you back up.”

“Sure, sure. That’s why.”

Dot seemed rather talkative, especially to other bots. It annoyed Fen. She was in a rush to find her friend… what was his name? Ruby? Something like that. She wanted to find him, but here she was, blabbing to some nervous bot about upgrades. Oh my god, she was going on and on! 

Enough is enough. Fen exited the furnace, floating right in front of Dot’s face. “Oh my goodness, can you two stop blabbing! I thought we had things to do! Don’t you need to go find Ruby, or whatever his name is. The more you wait around, the more likely he’s dead.”

Dot looked to Fen in pure shock, then anger. “Really? I’m trying to make sure I don’t die before I find him. And his name isn’t Ruby. His name is Rusty.”

Before the larger bot could speak up, Dot turned away and went to go climb down the nearby ladder. “If you’re so eager to go down in the mines, then go down yourself. I need a break.” As Dot stormed off, Fen was stuck there, floating, looking as the bot left.

But… Dot went down into the mines. Fen decided to follow, although giving Dot a few minutes before actually following to find her. Soon enough, Fen went down, and they were easily able to locate Dot. The bot was off to the side, in some little secret area. The closer Fen got, they could hear Dot’s voice.

“Maybe they’re right… I’ve been wasting my time…”

Fen slowly floated down, trying to avoid detection, but Dot was alert. She quickly turned around, spotted Fen, and then turned back around. “What.”

“I…” Fen paused. They feel… guilty? Like a weight is holding them down. Like something was closing in on them. They never felt this before. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re right, though. Rusty’s probably dead by now.” Dot buries her head in her hands. 

“No! I’m… I was wrong. He’s alive.” Fen can’t help the small burst as their sprite flame grows, just a tad. “You’re going to find Rusty.”

They pause, before moving closer to Dot, and into her scarf. “We’re going to find Rusty.”

Rosie. The shiner’s name was Rosie.

Fen didn’t trust her one bit. From what they had heard from every other bot, (including dot!!), shiners were bad news. Fen didn’t trust anything about her, or her ‘kin’ as she referred to them.

Dot on the other hand, trusted Rosie a bit too much.

Fen saw her optics looking at her for just a bit too long, how her mood brightened while talking to Rosie. Dot had a crush. A big, stupid crush, on this big, stupid shiner. 

Of course.

As Dot was leaving through the pipe, Fen spoke up. “Yknow, it’s really obvious.”

“What?” Dot glanced back at Fen as she started to climb up, making her journey to leave the mine.

“That shiner. Yknow, you gays are all the same.”

Dot almost lost her grip on the rock she was climbing. She pulled herself up, before looking at Fen. “Excuse me?! What?!”

“It’s obvious!”

“What’s obvious?”

“The fact that you have a crush on her?”

Fen watched as Dot froze, and they could see her furnace begin to visibly steam. “No! I don’t.”

“Sure, you don’t. And I’m not a Vectron sprite.”

“I told you, I don’t!”

“Your optics say otherwise.”

Dot groaned, and didn’t respond, instead continuing to leave the mine. “Where’s the nearest tube?”

“The nearest tube was in the oasis. I guess you were too busy looking at her to remember that, though.” Fen giggled after, although they couldn’t cause a lot of chaos, they could still cause chaos for Dot!

“Fen, I swear to cog.”

The fire crackled as Dot began to settle down, sitting beside the fire. Fen exited her furnace, floating near the fire. They’ve seen Dot set up fires before, yes, but Fen was always loved to watch the fire come to life, and crackle. And also imagine the chaos that could ensue with the fire.

When they noticed Dot looking, they quickly perked up. “Yeah?”

“You always love to look at the fire.”

“Fire is fun! You can burn things, hehe!”

Dot let out a small laugh after. Fen looked at her in confusion, and she spoke. “You sure love chaos.”

“Of course I do! It’s fun to cause chaos.”

“Yeah, you cause chaos a lot.” Dot laughed softly, and Fen giggled with her. There were a multitude of times when Fen has caused chaos for Dot. Whether it’s sending her to the wrong cave, hopping out of her furnace at the most inconvenient times, learning how to mimic shiners or any other monster Dot fought down in the mines, Fen was always trying to cause chaos one way or another. “No chaos tonight, okay? I want to rest before tomorrow. We have to go back and talk to Rosie.”

“What, are you gonna confess?”

“No, I need to talk to her more about where Rusty could be.” Dot huffed out, and Fen took this as a cue to not tease anymore. Rusty was always a sensitive subject.

From what Dot had told Fen, the two were close. Dot always sold whatever ore Rusty brought up, and listened to his stories. He came to town randomly one day, and met Dot while she was in the mines back in Tumbleton. Sometimes, he came back up with upgrades. Upgrades that weren’t steambot technology.

Somehow, he had gotten Vectron upgrades. That always was strange to Fen, and Dot admitted it was strange to her as well. She didn’t know how he got them, but they helped him do what he had to do. She always told Fen of the last time she saw Rusty. He told her something about Vectron, and how he had to go defeat it? She never really understood it, but she trusted his words. He gave her a hug (he never was one for affection), and said a goodbye.

Dot always stopped her stories there. Fen learned to just nod, and not say anything snarky or rude. 

Fen hovered a bit closer to Dot, and spoke. “Hopefully if she does know more, she can just tell us where he is.”

“Yeah.” Dot smiled, noticing Fen’s attempt at an assurance. “Thanks.”

Vectron. They had to go into Vectron.

Dot had to go into Vectron. When she asked if Fen could, or would go in, Fen protested a thousand times. No way would they go back. No way would they risk becoming a part of the hive mind again.

The thought of it alone made them anxious.

“Maybe there’s another way…” Fen cautiously spoke as they followed Dot, lagging behind.

“This is the only way, Fen. Rusty could be here!”

Fen held back(?) a sigh as they followed. A determined Dot was a stubborn Dot, and there was no stopping a stubborn Dot. She slid down a few rocks, before looking at the changing ground. It wasn’t stone, or rock. It was metal. Metal, and wires. Lots of it. The sight made Fen stop in their tracks, as Dot went ahead. Fen zoomed ahead, before stopping right in front of the machine.

Not even 10 feet away was a teleporter. “Well. This is it. The entrance to Vectron.”

“Alright. Let’s go.” Dot already started walking to the teleporter, and Fen had to call to her.

“I’m not going in there! You are. And even if I wanted to go, I couldn’t. Not through a portal like that.” They paused. “But I said I would get you in there…”

“There’s a chance Rusty’s in there. I have to go.”

“Then you have to go, I guess…”

The two inched closer, Dot more eager than Fen. Fen moved a bit closer, and could feel the pull. They had to fight for their next words. “You’ll be alone, and you won’t have access to my map. You’ll have to find your own way out. Here goes…”

And they went into the teleporter. Dot smiled, and began saying her goodbyes. “I’ll find you when I’m out again. I promise.”

“If you see anything move in there, run. Run as fast as you can.” They stopped themself from telling Dot to stay safe. Why? They don’t know. “Be careful.”

“I will be.”

Cold. It was cold again. Fen was fighting the cold. They could feel the cold pulling them back. Calling to them.

No. Fen wouldn’t go back to the cold. Ever.

Inside the teleporter, Fen sometimes had a small view into Vectron. Every so often, they got a glimpse of Dot. She seemed terrified. Fen wouldn’t blame her, Vectron was… Vectron was terrifying.

Fen heard screaming. Dot’s screaming. No, no no, this isn’t good. She had to be fine, Fen was not able to go in— But… they could help her get out. This would mean becoming Vectron, just for a moment.

Dot’s screams got louder, and louder. She sounded like she was being chased.

Fen knew what they had to do.

“FEN!?” A voice brought them awake. Blue eyes flickered on the teleporter screen as their voice began.

“Fen…? I… I am Fen…?” 

Awake. They were awake. Where are they? Who are they? They are Fen? Who is Fen? Fen. They’re Fen. Who is calling them? Who is shaking the teleporter? Who is screaming their name?

“Dorothy?” Everything came back, all at once. They’re no longer in the cold. They’re back in the mines of El Machino. Fen exited the teleporter, looking down at Dorothy. “You… You came back!”

Fen’s almost immediately yanked down and wrapped in a hug by Dot. “I thought… Don’t scare me like that!”

“You… You came back!”

“Of course I did! You thought I would have just left you? I don’t know how I got out, but I told you, I’d be back.” Dot kept Fen between her arms, her whole body shaking. “Don’t scare me like that, Fen. I thought…” She pauses, her voice growing quieter. “I thought I had lost you. I thought you became part of Vectron.”

“Dorothy…”

“You’re not, right?” Dot held Fen closer, if that was even possible.

“Dorothy.” They squirmed out of her arms, to look at her. “I’m not Vectron. I am Fen.”

Things with Rosie have gotten weirder and weirder. She was so eager to destroy the devices, which, in her defense, they all were. Dot still was visibly upset by the fact that Rusty apparently made these devices, but, Dot trusted Rosie’s words.

So there the two were, in the old temple, looking at the tube to the oasis. Dot took a peek in, letting out a soft ‘hmm.’ “That’s strange… the tube back to the Oasis isn’t working?”

“This is fishy. Maybe the opening on the other side is clogged?”

“I don’t know why it would be.” Dot sighs. “This is suspicious. The tube shouldn’t be clogged.”

“Who knows. Maybe it could have been from the quakes?”

“I hope.”

And lo and behold, the oasis was blocked off. Dot seemed visibly worried, but now obviously, something was up with Rosie. 

“I knew we shouldn't’ve trusted her. Didn’t you say that all shiners are dangerous?”

“Yeah.” Dot sighed as the two made their way through Yarrow, looking for another entrance to the Oasis. “I just… I thought she was different.”

“But, she’s a shiner, Dot.”

“But… I… Yeah.” Dot sighed. “Rosie’s got a lot of explaining to do once we get back to the Oasis. I should’ve been more suspicious from the start!” She seemed aggravated, and annoyed at her previous actions.

“Well… if you were more suspicious, then I’d probably be alone in that temple. Now, let’s stop moping and get out of this drain, and see what’s going on.”

While outside of the large room, Fen looked to Dot. The two were unsure. The Oasis was barren, no shiners to be seen. “Rosie has to be in here.”

“Yeah…”

The two shared a moment of silence before Dot took a step forward. “You coming?”

“Yeah.” Fen hopped into Dot’s furnace, before speaking again. “Be careful.”

“I will.”

“And be safe.”

“Fen, you can’t do this!” Fen could hear the breaks in Dot’s voice as the bot struggled to hold her friend. “We’re all getting out of here, Fen! Come on!”

“Dot, we can’t all make it. This is the only way you two can get out of here alive.” Fen had never felt heartbreak like this. They never felt heartbreak in general. Is this what it felt like? The pain, an ache in their nonexistent body? The feeling of being crushed by cinderblocks, and not being able to get out? The feeling of defeat? Seeing Dot’s pained expression only made it worse, so they turned to the teleporter that was in front of them. 

“Fen, stop! We’re all going to get out of here.” Dot’s yells were broken up by the rocks beginning to fall, the lava sputtering with all of the ruckus. “Now come on!”

“Dorothy!” Fen called to her, hovering above the teleporter. “I can get the two of you out in time. I’ll be okay. Please, just go.”

Before Dot could protest, Fen went into the teleporter. Instead of feeling cold, they were surrounded by warmth. It felt… nice.

“But you can’t go through this thing with us!” Dot was being stubborn again. Normally Fen would accept Dot’s argument, but not this time. This time, she would have to listen to Fen and not be stubborn. 

“There’s no time to argue. There’s no other way. You two get in here.”

This time, there was no protest from Dot. She shambled over with her friend in tow, standing by the teleporter. “Fen… I’ll come back for you! I promise.”

“I know you will. Now go!” The teleporter activated, and they spoke their final words. “See you around, Dot.”

Chapter Text

Ship life was a lot different than being in that old scrapper junk ship. For the first time, they had the right parts. They had a reliable power source. They had… friends? A family? Fen didn’t fully understand the meaning of ‘friend’, or ‘family. From what they remembered, they had one, but that was long, long ago, and the memories were fuzzy.

They knew it was before the earth exploded. Before Royalists, before Scrappers. Before the world they now know existed. All of the memories were a blur. A red bot, a golden bot, blue, a machine… and then bright white.

A body. They have a body? Their screen lights up, and they can see. Their legs. That’s what they were, right? Legs. They scurried across the ground, and into the container. They didn’t know what to expect, but they didn’t expect it to be filled with parts. An arm. They needed an arm.

They looked over the pieces, looking for one that would match their sleek metal body. None of them seemed adequate. While looking through the scrap pile, a piece of cloth got their attention. A red scarf.

They took the scarf. It’s important. They don’t know why, but it’s important. That must be why they took it, right?

Now, back to finding the arm. Nothing seemed to go with their body. It was all… different. Different metal, different workings. Not a lot of wires. Mostly gears. Maybe they could make it work? They sat down, grabbing an arm. Brute force wouldn’t do, no, they needed to wire it to their body. Connect it.

The first test was an absolute nightmare. Thank goodness there weren’t bots nearby, because it ended with the arm exploding due to the power surge, and a screech from them as they scrambled away.

Back to the drawing board.

It took a few tries, and a good number of explosions for them to be able to understand the technology they were working with. Every time, a power surge would destroy the arm. They had to harness the power from their body, and make it useful.

They decided to make a lightning coil. It was effective, could store the power surge, and also, they could use it to defend themselves. Or to blow things up.

Blowing things up sounded very nice.

All Fen remembers is two names. Their own name, Fen, And the name Dot. They need to find who this Dot is. They don’t know why, but they know they have to. Dot must have been important. But with their scraped together body, and limited knowledge on the new world, it was… complicated to say the least. So for the first few weeks, finding Dot was put on hold.

After, blindly going to bots and asking if they knew who Dot was seemed to be a good idea at first… but Fen quickly learned it wasn’t. After being chased by a multitude of different bots, some just wanting to ‘scrap them!’ Or others who wanted to just fight, Fen finally thought they were safe. In a desolate, abandoned ship.

Turns out, it wasn’t abandoned.

So there they were. Surrounded by scrappers who, for some reason, wanted their power core.

“This one’s core’ll just be perfect for ma’s work!”

“Do not take my power core.” Fen raised their lightning coil that they somehow pieced together, powering it up as the scrappers aimed their guns. When the gunshot started, Fen was helpless as the scrappers quickly immobilized them.

The rest was a blur. They felt their arm being ripped off, their wires being cut. They were screeching in pain? In pain. They were in pain.

Pain didn’t feel good.

The scrappers were complaining about the noise, but Fen was blind to their words. Their chest was brutally ripped open, by some metal tool. Fen wasn’t paying attention as the scrappers laughed, ripping out Fen’s power core.

Fen’s screeches reached a new decibel. The Scrappers staggered back, clutching their sensors as they grew angrier. Fen, on the other hand, with their newfound opportunity, started running as fast as they could, their screech stopping. They were still in pain, and they had to force themselves to not make any noise as they began to run. A shot to their back sent them down, the screech returning.

“Someone shut that thing up!”

Another shot.

The high pitched scream became louder.

Another shot.

The scream stopped.

“Coggarn finally! Scrap that thing. We got what we needed.”

Everything went dark as Fen’s body was dragged out of the ship.

Dark. It was so dark.  Fen didn’t like how dark it was. It reminded them of the cold.

It took Fen some time to remember what even happened to them. Some random Scrappers had jumped them, and stole their power core. Fen remembered being dumped in some junk ship, hearing jumbled words, before the door was abruptly closed, leaving them for dead. They don’t know how many days, weeks, months have passed in that trash container since then.

Their arm. And a leg. They were missing those. They needed those things. It took them effort, but Fen was able to find the parts in the trash compartment. They were thankful their scrapped together arm wasn’t lost. Fen put too much effort into that.’

It took some time, but they were able to get their leg, and arm back in place. Maybe standing immediately after that wasn’t a smart idea. Fen took a couple of steps before falling back down into the small trash heap, a squeak(?) of pain(?) coming from them.

Maybe they should conserve their strength. They still didn’t have a power source.

So, they’ll wait.

Maybe waiting was a bad idea, but Fen didn’t have the strength to leave. It was either someone was going to find them, or they were going to have no power. Whatever came first. It was a scary thought, Fen knew they still had more to do. They had to find Dot. They had to, no matter what.

The days blurred together, until that fateful day when someone opened that door, finding them on their last legs. Above them stood a tall (at least from their point of view) female steambot, her green eyes narrowing as she kept her gun up, other hand on her hip. She moved closer, cautiously. She seemed confused as she looked at Fen. 

Fen spoke instinctively, sensors trying to narrow in on the steambot woman. “Dot…? No, not Dot. I seem to be confused.”

The other bot looked down at Fen, a bit weary. “You’re not a Scrapper, are you?”

“I… I don’t think so. I can’t remember.” Fen’s screen was flickering every so often, which made the image of the steambot slightly blurry.

“Well, you kinda look like a Scrapper. I’m Piper Faraday, what should I call you? Do you have a name?”

Fen pauses. Piper gave them the time they needed, before they spoke up. “I think it’s… Fen…?” After they spoke the name, it clicked, and felt right. “Yes. I am Fen.” Fen paused, needing to take a moment, their voice glitching due to the limited power as they continued. “I think… I think I was among the first here. It was emptier before anyway.”

The steamboat nods, her optics looking a bit concerned down at Fen. “Okay, Fen, is there anything I can do to help?”

Help? What could they do to help? Once again, it takes Fen some time to collect their words and form another coherent response. “I’m so depleted. My power source was stolen. I’ve stayed alive by scavenging parts from the scrapheaps. I just… I need to find a new source of energy. Just have to close my eyes for a moment.”

As they did so, the steambot’s voice spoke again. “There’s probably something to scrounge up close by. You just wait here, I’ll see what we can find.” Her voice was laced with concern, and Fen could hear her steps as she exited the trash container. There was a pause before the doors shut, maybe she stopped to look back at Fen? Fen was more focused on keeping what limited power they had conserved.

They had to find out who ‘Dot’ was. They couldn’t die before that. 

They also now had to wait for Piper.

Hours went by. Maybe days. It could have been weeks. Fen had no sense of time anymore. The shaking of the trash container brought Fen out of whatever daydream they had been in. Fen struggled to stand. If it wasn’t the bot that came earlier, they might have a problem. Mustering the little energy they have left, they pushed themselves to their feet. And as the door opened, there was the steambot who they met what felt like ages ago.

“What are you doing up on your feet? You should be resting.” Worry was evident in the bot’s voice, and Fen found themself staring at the bot.

“You.” She was… familiar… what was her name? “I recognize you.” The silence was deafening before it came to them. “Piper. You are Piper.” A nod greeted them. “Have I waited for you?”

“Well… yes. You’re not quite there yet, are you?” Fen nodded after Piper’s words, and she continued. “We managed to get a new source of power for you. You should feel stronger in no time at all.” She had a hint of pride with her other words, and she opened her mouth to speak, but the words from Fen came first.

This bot was nice enough to get them a power source. Maybe… maybe Fen could accompany her? Maybe Fen could join their crew, and no longer be alone? Fen hated being alone, especially in the cold trash container. Fen would rather be cold, with others, instead of cold and alone. “Would you let me join your crew? I’m sure I could be of use, and I have nowhere else to go.” Maybe the slight companionship of Piper brought something out? 

Fen looked up to Piper, to see her smile and nod. “Of course. Welcome aboard, Fen.”

“I’ll try to be an asset, Piper.” Fen staggered up, standing against the wall for a moment. Piper had already started walking back, but at the sound of Fen staggering immediately turned around.

“Are you okay? Scrap, do you need help?”

“No. I am okay.” Fen hadn’t stood in how long? They don’t even know. Walking was going to be hard, but they weren’t going to tell Piper that. They just got accepted onto this crew, they weren’t going to be kicked off for being weak.

They scurried over to the ladder, climbing up and following Piper. Fen could hear the voices of multiple bots, which quickly became hushed when they heard Piper’s footsteps, and Fen’s much different, scuttling ones. Piper brought them to a place in the back of the ship, between  an older bot, a different bot with a helmet, and near the furnace.

The warmth made Fen’s antennae perk up, the feeling of warmth against their cold sleek body rather nice. Piper quickly introduced them to the old bot, Valentine, and the soldier as Piper called her, Bea.

Piper also introduced three bots that they saw walking into the ship. Sally, a female steambot who gave Fen a glare (they don’t know why. They tried to smile, which ended up just being their antennae perking up just the slightest). Ivanski, who immediately greeted Fen with a loud ‘hello!’, and then Gabriel, or Seabrass as the rest of the crew calls him. He only looked at Fen.

Either way, most of the crew seemed friendly. 

Fen adjusted to being in the ragtag crew rather quickly. While staying with the crew, they learned some quirks.

First off, Gabriel. Or, “Gyarrah, it’s Seabrass”, as he always said to Fen. He seemed grumpy. Not the kind of grumpy that you get when you’re older, just all around grumpy. He was nice… sometimes. Him, Piper, and Wonky (the ship’s pilot), have been friends for a while, Fen learned.

Wonky wasn’t a member of the crew in the fact that he was actually bolted into the ship so he couldn’t go on missions, but he was a valued member nonetheless. He was maybe one of the most important members, as nobody else knew how to pilot the ship. Fen had heard Sally request to fly the ship a multitude of times, but she was always denied. Fen doesn’t blame them. She wanted to do ‘a barrel roll’, as she called it, and when she described what it was, Wonky must have made a mental note to never let Sally drive the ship. Ever.

Then, Sally. Fen knew that Sally didn’t like them, they were different. Everybody else in the crew knew Fen was different, but that didn’t stop them from being friendly with them. Sally sometimes made comments, but was immediately shut down by Piper. Sometimes, if Piper wasn’t there, some other crewmates shut her down, saying something like ‘they’re all a family’.

A family…

Next up was Ivanski. Ivanski was nice…? Fen wasn’t expecting to be lifted randomly one day, but Ivanski did just that, leaving a strange sound of shock(?) to come from Fen’s auditors. They didn’t interact with Ivanski much, but they did bond over the fact that they both specialized in heavy weapons (which surprised most of the crew when they found out that Fen loved the grenade launchers. What can they say, explosions are pretty cool!).

Bea and Valentine were both very, very nice. Bea was more quiet, and Fen appreciated that. Fen noticed that she was slightly reserved in her personal feelings more than anything else. She loved to spend time with the crew, and loved to prove her strength. This led to multiple arm wrestling contests with bots such as Ivanski or Sally.

Valentine, an ‘old soul’ as he described himself (Fen didn’t fully understand that but they went along with it), He liked to spend time discussing things with Bea, or playing cards. He knew a handful of tricks that he learned ‘in the old bot’s home’, (Fen didn’t understand that either but never questioned it), and Valentine loved to show his tricks off. Both of those bots were very nice, and Fen appreciated spending time with them in their little corner of the ship.

Fen felt… nice, being with the crew. But, they still needed to find whoever Dot was.

According to the others, it’s been around a month since Fen joined. They noted that although they didn’t really talk to Valentine or Bea, they both seemed kind. Everybody on the ship knew Fen was different. Some were more eager to point it out than others.

Sally. Sally was one of the ones who was eager to point out that Fen was very different from them. Right now, at this moment, Fen didn’t like Sally. Normally, the two didn’t interact, and when they did, it was either Sally making some comment on the ship, or the two fighting royalists.

The crew also expanded in the past month. The first new crewmate was Payroll, who seemed to just wanna scam everybody (he asked Fen to gamble, and Fen didn’t know what gambling was, but Valentine stopped them from agreeing to it). Aside from that, he was speedy, very speedy. He loved to roll around on his singular wheel, and loved the array of weapons the crew could offer.

The second new crewmate was Dora. Piper brought her on after looking at some weird Royalist ship. Dora explained how she found these strange beings on it, these things called shiners? That rang a bell in Fen’s head. Fen doesn’t understand why, but they knew what shiners were. Either way, Dora seemed nice. She stayed around where Fen was, on a higher level.

And then finally, Billy. Billy was from Deep Space, wherever that was. Fen didn’t know what Deep Space was. Space, but… deeper? They didn’t understand. Billy was on the complete opposite end of the ship, so Fen didn’t talk to them much. He seemed nice, though! Fen sometimes heard him telling stories, the rest of the crew gathered around and listened intently. His stories consisted of peril, which most of the time didn’t interest Fen. Fen liked listening to the stories where Billy blew things up.

Fen liked being near the furnace. They loved the warmth that it gave off. Especially with how cold their body was (the first time Piper put a hand on Fen and felt how cold they were, she panicked and thought they were sick), the warmth was a nice contrast. The ship had a long journey to go, so the furnace was filled with coal, and chugging away.

Valentine and Bea were away from the furnace, the two worried about overhearing being so near the furnace. Fen, on the other hand, was relishing in the warmth. They were curled up, about to take a nap. They didn’t really need sleep, but it was something nice, something to pass the time. 

Fen didn’t even notice that a few hours had passed. They were busy napping by the furnace. Footsteps brought their systems back up to power, and they were able to identify the footsteps as Pipers. They heard her stop, before speaking.

“Fen?”

“Yes, Captain?”

“Are… are you okay?”

“Yes, Captain.”

“You’ve spent the last five hours right next to the furnace.”

“Yes.” Fen’s head perked up, and they looked at Piper. “I like the warmth of the furnace.” They tilted their head. “Do I need to not be near the furnace anymore?”

They could see Piper’s visible confusion. “I mean… it’s not hurting your systems, right?”

“No.” 

“Then I don’t see any harm in it.”

Fen liked the furnace. It made them feel like they were at home. They don’t understand why, but the home-ey feeling felt… nice.

Vectron. The word made Fen’s already cold body feel ten times colder. And a lot worse. 

And they were apparently once Vectron.

They used to be… in Vectron. Apart of it.

Fen didn’t like that. They didn’t like Vectron. Vectron wanted to kill. To destroy all steambots. Fen doesn’t want to do that. Fen likes being with steambots. They are nice and warm, unlike Vectron. Vectron is unkind and cold.

The moment Piper mentioned that Fen might have been a part of Vectron’s plan, multiple voices ensued, Fen’s antennae dipping with the accusations being thrown. Piper quickly shut down all of the voices, sighing. “That’s enough. I released the prisoner, so if you want someone to blame, this is my fault.”

The crew now had to go into deep space.

Before the first mission, Piper came up to them. “I was going to ask if you’d like to come along on this mission.” Normally in a new area, Piper would assign who goes, not ask. “I want to give you the option, because of this whole Vectron issue.”

That made sense. Fen nodded, and contemplated. They wanted to help the crew, the bots that have helped Fen in the past. So, it only made sense for Fen to nod again. “I’ll go on the mission.”

“Thanks, Fen.” Piper gave them a nod, before going off to find the other bots that would be on the mission.

Vectron.

Vectron was fucking terrifying. After that mission, Fen went right back to being curled up near the furnace. It’s warmth was comforting as Valentine looked at them, concerned. “You okay down there?”

Fen nodded, but it was obvious they weren’t. Their antennae were pushed down against their scarf, and they were curled into a ball. “Vectron’s that scary, huh?”

“...” Fen was silent, before they found the right words to express their feelings. “I… I’m not that. I’m not Vectron.”

“We all know that.” Valentine moved a bit closer, taking a seat. “We all know you’re not whatever those ‘bots are. You’re Fen.”

Valentine’s words were few, but they meant the world to Fen right now. They nodded, speaking a small assurance. “I’m not Vectron. I’m Fen.”

“Exactly.”

Memories were coming back. Sporadically, yes, but memories were coming back.

The mention of Vectron  helped bring the memories back. Whenever memories came back, they normally told the closest bot, which normally was either Dora, Valentine, or Bea.

Bea was out on a mission currently, along with Seabrass, Sally, and Ivanski. Fen was again, by the furnace (it’s comfy!). Valentine was with them, and the two were just content in silence. They had been some of the ones to learn Fen’s new memories, and although most of them were nice, some… weren’t. So, they were always ready to offer support, which Fen appreciated.

So when Fen randomly blurted out “The earth exploded and I was there”, Dora dropped the parts she was working on, almost fell down, and Valentine fell over, both in shock.

“What?!”

“I remember the earth exploding.”

“You… You what?”

“I remember the earth exploding. I was there.”

Both Valentine and Dora were looking at Fen in shock. Dora decided to call over Piper, as she was normally able to help whenever Fen had these random memories. As she walked over, Fen continued.

“I remember the earth exploding. It was because of these machines, and I was there, it was chaotic, there was… there was a machine… and I was there.”

They were sitting now. Lots of memories were coming back, and it was overwhelming. “There were bots there.”

“Bots? Like, other steambots there with you?”

“Yes. Dot. And Rusty. Other bots. There was a whole city, filled with bots. And then some in the mines. And… shiners. A shiner.” Fen only continued as the memories came back. “Rusty was being used, and Dot was saving him, and then the earth started to crumble, and they weren’t going to make it back. I… I helped them get back…”

They paused as it all connected. They remembered their sacrifice. Their final words to Dot. Dot’s final words to them. “She… She’s gone. Her and Rusty.”

Fen wasn’t expecting to be hugged by Piper. “I’m sorry, Fen.”

Fen didn’t know what to think. Or what to feel. This was one of the times when the memories that came back were happy, but also sad. They remember Dot, but… She’s gone now. They don’t know how many years it has been since the earth exploded, but… They know that it was a long, long time ago.

Fen wrapped their arms around Piper, and the two stayed embracing each other.

Piper stayed close by Fen’s side after those new memories came back. More and more pieces were coming back.

Memories of Fen teasing Dot about her crush on the shiner… Rosie. That was her name.

Memories of Fen pestering Dot.

Memories of the two laughing. Having fun.

Fen was by the furnace again, their screen faced down. Piper was right by their side. Every time a new memory came up, Fen would tell it to Piper.

Furnace. Fen liked the furnace because they used to go into Dot’s.

Memories of Dot’s stories about Rusty, how he had Vectron parts. 

Memories of Dot’s own upgrades.

So many memories, most good, some… bad. Memories of arguments, where both Fen and Dot said things that they regret. At least they ended on good terms.

“Captain?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think…” Fen couldn’t bring themself to say the rest of the question. “Do you… think that…”

“Yeah. I think they’re out there.” Piper wrapped her arm around Fen. “You said those two had upgrades galore, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, they were also smart bots. Smart bots don’t let themselves get to the point of no repair, do they?”

“No.”

“I think there’s a good chance they are out there. And either way, Dot said she’d find you, right?”

“Yes.”

“A bot like that would never break her promise. She’s out there Fen, and after we’re done with all of this Vectron junk, I can help you look for her, and her friend. Because I know they’re out there.”

Fen leaned their head against Piper. They didn’t know whether to believe the Captain’s words or not, but her words were assuring. “Thank you, Piper.”

With the appearance of new memories, Fen noticed that Valentine was always there for Fen. Even if he was just sitting by Fen, he was still offering support. And Fen appreciated it. Right now, Valentine was seated near Fen, who was again, by the furnace. They were still quiet, until Valentine piped up.

“So… If you were around when the earth went boom, that makes you the old soul around here, huh?”

“I think so? I understand the part about being old, but I don’t have a soul. Do I?”

“Eh, don’t worry about it. It’s a phrase.”

“Phrase?”

“Yeah, something that’s been passed down through generations. It just means you’re old.” Valentine explained with a small laugh.

“So… I’m old?”

“If you were around when the earth went kablooey, yes.”

“Is being old a bad thing?”

“Of course not! I’m old, and I’m doing just fine.” Valentine spoke with pride, holding his duster hand up. “Us old bots have to stick together, yknow. Not many of us like to hang around on pirate ships.”

Fen nodded. Maybe being old wasn’t so bad. 

Fen remembered they used to not have a body. When they told this to Piper, she was shocked.

“You’re telling me, that you’re something inhabiting the body?”

“Yes. Most of Vectron is like this as well.” Fen nodded their head, their antennae perked up with this new memory. “I remember a lot! I remember floating around, I remember… going into Dot’s furnace. That was where I rested.”

“So you were… what again?”

“Dot called me a sprite.” Fen explains, pacing by the furnace. “She called me a Vectron sprite.”

“So… How’d you get the body, then?”

“I don’t know.” Fen turned to look at Piper. “So, I don’t know how to get out yet. But, I’m going to figure it out soon enough.”

Piper nodded, and was called over by Seabrass to discuss something. Fen was left to their own devices, with Bea and Valentine to hear their rambles. Right now, their goal was to exit the body. Both Valentine and Bea were there, thinking as well.

“Maybe if you’re hit hard enough, you’d be expelled from the body?” Bea suggested, a hand on her chin. “A force strong enough to push you out?”

“Yeah!” Fen turned to her, scuttling over. “But how do we do that?”

“Maybe if… Hmm…” Bea took some time to think again, before glancing to the other side of the ship. “Ivanski! Billy! C’mere for a second, we need your help.

So there Fen was, being held by Bea and Ivanski. Billy was standing in front of them, waiting to do a running start to ram into Fen. This was a smart idea… right? Fen thought it was. It made total sense. A hit could push their sprite from the body.

Bea began counting down, and when she reached one, Billy came running.

Fen was out like a light.

When they awoke, all of the crew was gathered around them. They tried to raise an arm, but that was unsuccessful. Hm. Weird.

Wait. They didn’t have an arm?

They tried to move a leg.

Nothing.

They tried to move up.

They floated upwards.

Fen now had a good view of the whole crew, above everybody. When they looked down, they could see their body, empty.

“It worked!” Bea cheered, the rest of the crew looking at Fen in pure confusion and shock. Piper had also come over, and began questioning the logistics of everything. She heard that bang as Billy crashed into Fen.

“Piper Piper Piper Piper!!!” Fen zoomed to her, moving around her, which caused her to stumble back a bit. “I did it! Well, Bea and Ivanski and Billy helped me, but, I did it!”

“I see.”

Fen zoomed back to the crew, looking down at everybody with their eyes squinted, the only way they could express their joy.

Fen had noticed something about one specific crewmate. Sally. Sally was becoming nicer. There were very very very slight changes over time, but she was becoming nicer. She didn’t send Fen a glare whenever they were on the same mission. She didn’t mumble under her breath anymore. Maybe she was finally adjusted to Fen.

The ship was docked at the beacon, a little pit-stop before they went out to continue working on eliminating Vectron. And since the bar was normally empty, being this far out in Deep Space, the crew was able to all go in and have a nice night of drinks. 

What Fen wasn’t expecting was for Sally to come talk to them. Fen tilted their head when Sally motioned to follow, and they were a bit cautious. But, they followed. When they arrived at a more empty place in the bar, Sally took a sip from her drink. She seemed to contemplate her words, as if it was hard for her to speak.

“Ah wanted to apologize.”

“Apologize?”

“Yeah.” Sally was avoiding eye contact. She sighed, and looked back to Fen. “When you got on the ship, I was… rude.”

Rude was an understatement, but Fen nodded. 

“Ah wanted to say ‘ahm sorry about that. You’re not like those darn voltbots. You’re… ‘part of the crew.” She gave them a nervous smile after.

“I forgive you.”

Sally was shocked. “You do?”

“Mhm. I don’t think it’s good to hold onto mean thoughts. I think Piper called them grudges?”

Sally nodded and had another sip from her drink. “That’s Captain for ya.”

The two had a bit more small talk, before they rejoined the group. Fen had no clue what to expect from that interaction, but they noticed that Sally always gave them a smile whenever they crossed paths. Sometimes even a pat on the back.

And now, any voltbot, steambot, or royalist that decided to mess with Fen now had to deal with an angry farmbot with a trigger finger. (most of the crew would also mess up any bot that decided to hurt fen as well.)

Vectron was defeated. They defeated the hive mind.

Piper had the final shot. The fight was still vivid in Fen’s mind as they walked back onto the ship. Everybody was cheering, looking for drinks to celebrate their victory. They finally were done. 

Piper had Wonky dock the ship somewhere for the night, so even he could join in on the festivities. Fen at the moment was again, at the furnace, but it wasn’t an issue, as most of the crew was gathered around there. Everybody was celebrating, bots were being lifted, drinks were being cheersed. 

Fen looked around, and their antennae perked up.

Family. This is what family is.

They have a family again.