Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

As you lay on the ground, panting and gasping for air, feeling as if every bone in your body had shattered, you came to realize this was the end. Kind of an anticlimactic way to go, you thought. Instead of dying to one of the scrybes during a fight, or managing to replace them and being killed in some other dramatic fashion, a grizzly got to you in the woods. You had so hoped to replace one of the scrybes; It would have been so, so, SO fucking cool to be able to use Leshys legendary camera, or Magnificus’s magical brush, or... actually, you don't think Grimoras quill is anything special. You think its just her favourite. But as you felt your breaths get shallower, those dreams were slowly leaking into the soil along with your blood.
As you crawl forward, desperately hoping for someone to cross your path and either save your or put you out of your misery, you heard a soft noise. It wasn’t footsteps or shuffling or anything that might indicate a person, but rather a dull, almost mechanical hum. It reminds you of something from a sci-fi film. With the little bit of energy you have left in you, you raise your head to look up at the source of the noise. The sun shines down from behind on someone- or something? You can’t quite make it out, your vision is cloudy with blood and dirt, and with the angle the sun is at, all you can see is a dark, blocky silhouette, faintly glowing blue and vaguely resembling something humanoid. Desperately, you reach out for it, whatever it is, in the hopes that it’ll take pity on you, and save you.
As your vision starts to fade, you hear a soft beep, and a huff.

“Stupid beast.”

You awake in a dusty, dimly lit room, that smells of dust and… pennies? No, metal. Iron.
With a groan and immense amounts of effort, you push yourself up, leaning on your side. “Ah, fuck…” You’re incredibly sore, but you can’t bring yourself to mind it too much, mostly just in shock that you’re alive at all. If anything, the pain is welcome, as a reminder you’re okay. You open your eyes and take in your surroundings, and notice that the room looks exactly as it smelled. Nasty. It’s made entirely of a dust covered greyish blue metal, and the one (equally dusty) sconce in the room doesn’t provide much light. There's a heart monitor to your left, attached to some weird contraption you can’t make sense of (maybe its just an advanced monitor?) , and to your right, a table with your few belongings on it- a pen, notepad, a watch, and that weird screen-thing you can't figure out how to use. On the monitor is what you assume is your heart rate, flickering every time it beats. You stare at it for a moment, hoping to figure out if its regular or not.

“What, are you going to keep gawking at me like this until I say something?”
You jump at the sound of the voice, and look around. There's no one in the room with you, so clearly it can’t have come from a person nearby. There is a camera in the top right corner of the room though, near the door, so you stare up at it, assuming maybe there's a speaker or something located in it. “Um- hello?” Your voice sounds hoarse with lack of use, and you just now notice how dry your mouth is.
“Hello. Why are you staring at the camera. I'm right here.” You glance back at the monitor, where the voice seems to be coming from, and it shuts off for a brief moment, before lighting back up. On it is now a blue face, that looks both bored and annoyed with the current situation.
“………. Um.” You stare in stunned silence for a moment. In all your time in the world, you’ve never actually met a robot. You’re kind of in awe. “Sorry, I- uh-“ You cough. Its really fucking dusty in here, and- does the robot have a bit of grease dripping down its screen? Gross. A bit of that awe is lost. “I’ve never seen a robot before, I didn’t realize-“
“Hmph.” The robot simply huffs, interrupting your flustered apology, and hovers above the ground, making it seem a foot or two taller. “Whatever, I didn’t come in here to be stared at like a piece of furniture. I have questions now that you’re awake. First. Why the hell did you let yourself get mauled by a grizzly?”
“… You - Okay, I didn’t let myself get mauled, I was ambushed.” This guy- is it a guy? Whatever, this robots kind of a dick, you think.

“Semantics. Either way, you’re lucky I found you.” The bored face flashes to a smug one while it speaks- you think its kind of funny the robot has “cheekbones” on this sprite, but you decide not to mention it. “Any of the other scrybes would have left you for dead. That beast Leshy would have served you for dinner had he found you. Luckily, it was me.”

You process this information for a moment. You know what the other scrybes are like, since you’ve already fought them, but you were on your way to fight the last one, the scrybe of technology who happens to be-
“Oh my god, you’re P03.” You blush, embarrassed to be making such a horrible first impression on one of the scrybes. Although, he’s not exactly making a great first impression for himself either, so does it really matter all that much? Besides, you were just mauled by a bear. You figure being a little disheveled is fine in this scenario.

“Yep.” His face switches back to being bored again. “Took you long enough to figure out. Anyway, second question. Before you finally decided to wake up, your heart rate was… 75 beats per minute. Is that average for humans? I actually have no idea. I was just making sure it didn’t plummet suddenly.”
“I- I think so?” What is this guys deal? You can’t tell if he saved you out of the goodness of his metaphorical heart, or so he had someone to make snippy little comments to.
“Good.” A cable detaches from the bed you’re laying on, and flows back into P03’s side. “You were unconscious for a little over a week, for the record. I guess thats considered a short coma. You had broken four ribs, your tibia, ulna, fibula, and ruptured a kidney. Luckily for you, I uh, repaired you. All by myself.”
You pause for a moment as that smug look flashes back onto his face- screen? His face. For being a robot, he’s kind of a shitty liar. “… You called a doctor, didn’t you.”
“Fine, maybe I did! Whatever, either way, you would have been dead without my help. So be grateful.” An angry look replaces the smug one, making you shuffle back on your bed, just a bit. P03 leans in a little closer, “And anyway. You owe me now.” He says, and pokes your shoulder with his claw, his voice lower than before. It sounds… dangerous.
“F- fine, okay. What do you want?” You take a breath to calm your nerves- this is all so overwhelming. First you barely crawl your way back from death, then you meet the last scrybe, and he’s a total asshole?
He smirks, just a little. “You’ll see. For now, lay back down. Your heartbeat is fine, but you’re still healing. I can’t have you killing yourself if you so much as trip, so we’re going to wait a bit longer to start with my plans. Got that?”
You nod, shuddering a little. What kind of plans is he talking about? You remember how Magnificus called him the worst of the scrybes, and worry that maybe dying to that bear would have been better.
“Good.” He taps the bed with his claw, “Sleep. I have work to do, so you’d better not bother me.” With that, he turns around and leaves without another word, leaving you stunned and scared, alone again in the filthy room. You lay back down, and wonder what the hell he kept you alive for. He’s clearly not a good person, so what is it? Does he want to sell your skin to the trapper? Experiment on you? Turn you into a card? And why is he being such a dick? If it was such an inconvenience to save you, he didn’t have to do it. Your mind swims with horrible possibilities, before eventually you drift off to sleep, too exhausted to think, mouth dry and body sore. You hope that tomorrow doesn’t go too horribly for you.

Chapter Text

You dream of strange things while you sleep, seeing visions of a monitor that reminds you of the head of P03, but filled with pictures of Leshys game. You dream of a world without cards, or Scrybes, or anything you’ve come to accept as fact. It feels bleak, but… strangely familiar, like you’ve experienced all of this at some point.
Before you have a chance to process any of what you’ve seen, a loud clatter interrupts your dream, making you scramble to sit up in bed and look around. You see a boxy, slightly rusted bot picking up some utensils off the floor of the factory, grumbling to himself. “Dang it, he told me to be careful…”

You try to slip off the cot, but just end up groaning in pain as you move. Its not as bad as before, though. You wonder who was even in here patching you up, you’ve never heard of P03 inviting humans to his factory before, save for the odd challenger or technician.
“Ah- don’t go gettin’ up Miss. I was just bringin’ you some food. Don't want you gettin' hurt again.” The bot says. He even sounds rusty.
“Th- thank you, ow.” You sit back on the bed, sighing as the pain dies down again. “I- I’m the challenger.”
“Names the Dredger, miss.” He nods a little at you, metal pipe bobbing in his mouth. “None of us were too sure what humans like to eat, so uh, I caught a fish for ya. Hope that's alright.” He sets the plate down on your cot. There's a grilled fish on it, you’re not sure what type, but it smells good. “Master had one of the other bots cook it, we’re told raw meat ain’t good for ya.”

“Oh, wow. Thank you.” You smile at the Dredger, and take the plate. You pick a bit of meat off and taste it- it's actually pretty good, not too fishy and nice and flaky. “Mm…”
“Good?” The bot tilts its head a little.
“Yeah, it's really good.” It also helps that you’re absolutely starving. You all but devour the fish, not particularly caring if the Dredger is bothered by it, but he doesn’t seem to be. By the time you’re done, all that's left is a skeleton picked clean. It's nice to have a full belly again, but you’ll definitely need to bring up the topic of human food next time you see P03. You don’t want to live off grilled fish until you’re healthy enough to pay off whatever that favor he wants is.

The Dredger takes the plate, and starts to leave, before turning around as he remembers something. “Uh, Master told me to tell ya to go see ‘im when you’re done doin’ “whatever beasts do.” His words, not mine.” It adds on. You smile a little, and nod, before the bot leaves without another word. You wonder if the Dredger is sentient like you’ve heard P03 is, but you figure that's a bit of a rude question to ask.

With a groan, you haul yourself off the cot, and finally have a look around at your living quarters. The room is just as gray and bleak as it was yesterday, but it seems at least a little bit cleaner. You also notice two doors this time around, though they don’t seem to have door knobs. Those definitely weren’t there before, at least, you don’t think they were. You approach the door to your left, and it slides open abruptly, making you jump in surprise. “Guess that’s how those open then…” You mutter, and enter the room. It seems to be a simple bathroom, with a shower, mirror, and vanity. You wonder why a factory full of robots would have a bathroom for humans, and add that thought to the long list of questions you have for P03. You approach the shower, noticing it even has soap in it, and a towel off to the side… there’s even some clean clothes on the vanity. It's a simple black shirt and gray pants, but it looks to be about your size. You figure you should probably wash up and get the coma stink off of yourself.

You turn the shower on and wait for the water to warm up as you undress, throwing your clothes in the laundry hamper. You’re about to get in before you hear a little clicking noise, and notice a reflection of orange light on the metal wall. You turn around, and glance at the laundry hamper, shouting as you see where the orange light is coming from- the laundry hamper is fucking incinerating your old clothes! Granted, they were kind of torn and covered in blood and dirt, but still! Your clothes! You rush to the laundry hamper, only to see the flames turn off and a pile of ash left inside. “... Bitch.” You mumble, before hopping in the shower. The water is warm, and soothing as you wash the grime and blood off yourself. You haven’t had the luxury of a proper shower since you stayed at Magnificus’s place.

You finish up your shower and put on your new clothes- they actually fit quite well, and while they’re not your usual style, it fits nicely with the look of the factory. You decide to check out the other door, and gasp as it opens. You have a balcony to look out of, and it faces the sea. You step outside and lean on the railing, taking a deep breath of the sea breeze. Its so nice and relaxing, you can almost forget you’re basically being held hostage by one of the Scrybes.
“Are you just going to piss around all day?” A slightly compressed voice says. You jump a little, looking around, before realizing its coming from a camera pointed at you on the corner of the balcony. “...P03?” You ask cautiously. He sounds a little pissed and you don’t want to upset him.
“Who else would it be?” He grumbles. “You woke up three hours ago and you still haven’t come down to my workspace. It should only have taken you about ten minutes to eat and twenty to shower. What the hell have you been doing?”
“...First of all, I don’t know where you got that info from. Second, I’m taking my time so I don’t pop a stitch.”
“I’ve been doing research on humans. You have some disgusting habits, you know that?”
“...” You don’t know what to say to that. “I’ll come down in a second.”
“Good. Go down the stairs and past two doors, then take the one on your right. I’m not repeating myself.”
“Thanks.” You say. You don’t get a response. You make a mental note to look around for cameras later.

You follow his instructions, heading down to his workspace. It’s right across from the entrance to the factory, just like Grimora had told you once. The room is dim, and dust particles fly around idly. There's a small drone hovering in one corner of the room, and in the center is P03, hovering in front of his playing table, his particle scanner behind him. It's an impressive, albeit slightly ominous sight.
He turns to you when he notices you, his usual bored look on his face. “Took you long enough. Sit down. We need to talk about that favor you owe me.” He taps the table with his claw, impatient. You hurry to sit, noticing the decks of cards to your right.
“Good. Anyway, I didn’t save your life out of the goodness of my heart. Not entirely anyway.” He smirks. “I need something from you. Something only a challenger can help me accomplish.
“And that is…?” You prompt.
“I need you to help me complete the Great Transcendence.”
“What- what is that?” You ask.
It pauses for a second, before answering. “You’ll see.” He says simply.

A pit forms in your stomach. Something about this doesn’t feel right. “...No.”
“No?” He replies, looking a bit annoyed.
“I- I don’t like the idea of this. I don’t know what it is but it doesn’t sound good.” You stand up from the table, “Look, I - I’m grateful that you saved me, really, but I don’t - this doesn’t feel right. I don’t know what you’re doing, but either you tell me what that is, or I’m going to leave.” He’s starting to scare you a bit.
“I can’t tell you. Sit back down.”
“Nope.” You turn around, unsettled and afraid, and try to walk out the door. It opens, and you step out on the balcony, heading for the gap in its floor that would let you hover to the ground. You almost step out on it, before a claw catches your shoulder, pulling you back. You gasp, losing your balance and falling back against P03. He catches you, and spins you around.
“Jesus! Watch where you step! What, were you just going to kill yourself if I didn’t tell you whats going on?” He yells, angry.
“Wh- I wasn’t-” You look back at the hole, noticing the signature blue lines that would normally let visitors sink safely to the ground are gone. “...You trapped me here?!?” You ask, now angry yourself.
“NO! I mean- technically. But that's not the real reason. It's not that I turned the exit off, but the entrance. No one is allowed in except for my workers. And, by extent, no one is allowed out. Everyone is hard at work, to help complete the Great Transcendence. I don’t want any of the other Scrybes interfering.”

You catch your breath, heart rate slowing as the shock from almost falling dwindles, and your brief anger subsides. You can see P03 a bit more clearly now. He looks a lot more modern than the Dredger, blue face lighting up his screen. He’s also a little grimy, but… he’s not as scary as you thought he was. He just seems grumpy.
“...Can you just tell me what it is, please?”
“...” He hesitates for a moment. “Who did you want to replace?”
“... I was thinking, either Magnificus or - or you.” You admit. You don’t see how this relates though.

“Hm. You have good taste, at least.” He smirks again. “Fine, I’ll tell you what. I still won’t tell you right away, but I’ll promise you something. If you make it to the second boss, I’ll tell you. And I’ll say this. When the Great Transcendence is complete, you’ll be a lot better off than if you just chose to replace me and went on with your sad little life. I’m going to make things better than they’ve ever been.” He gloats. “You’ll practically worship me.”
You scoff, and laugh a little, though it's not in a rude way. You just find him kind of amusing. “Doubt it.”
“We’ll see.” He replies. “Anyway, let's get back inside. I need to introduce you to my awesome campaign.”
He turns around, and you take this chance to give him a once over. He’s definitely robotic, but he’s a little…
You stop yourself before you have a stupid thought, and follow him in.

Once you’re both sat across from each other, he starts to give you the rundown on his campaign. “This is Botopia, a technological paradise. But uh- there’s been an apocalypse, so a lot of bots are dead. You carry a spark that uh- can reactivate old bots. Yeah.”
“... Are you making this up on the spot?”
“No.” He says abruptly. “Anyway. You uh- um.” He stops. “Right. You want to find the for uh- Uberbots, that's right. To complete the Great Transcendence.”
“You’re totally making this up.” You grin a little, leaning on the table.
“No I am not.” He mutters, looking vaguely annoyed. “Whatever. I just- forgot some of the story.”
“Uh huh.” You giggle a little.

You start the campaign, playing through a battle or two with him. “This is a little harder than Less game was…”
“Heh. I know.” He’s clearly proud of himself.
You yawn a little, the gloomy atmosphere making you exhausted.
“...What was that.” P03 asks, looking a little quizzical.
“What was what?” You reply. “
“Why did you open your mouth at me. Was that meant to be threatening?” He asks, weirdly defensive.
“...That was a yawn, P03.”
“A yawn?” He tilts his head. It reminds you of a curious puppy. You quickly push that thought aside.
“Yeah, humans do those when they’re tired.”
“Huh, weird.” He mutters, and the two of you go back to playing your game in silence. You idly wonder if he’s met that many more humans before you. Surely he has, since he’s met other challengers before, but the way he acts… you wonder how much he’s actually interacted with a human before.

Hours pass with you two occasionally chatting, and giving each other the occasional curious glance. You have so many questions for him, but it feels rude to ask… Does he feel emotion? How old is he? Does he feel alive? Does he feel like a “he” or is it just convenient to use masculine pronouns? So many questions…

Eventually, the sun begins to set, visible through the one tiny window in the exit door, and P03 displays a clock on his face. It's already close to eight. “Hm. I guess that's enough for today. At least you’re starting to get the hang of energy…” He says, looking you up and down. “You were… yawning lots. Go rest. I need you in good shape so we can keep working on this tomorrow.”
You nod a little, and yawn again, standing and stretching. “Mm, that was fun…”
“I know.” He says, clearly proud of himself.
“Even if you did make up most of it on the spot.” You tease gently.
“Hey!” He says, but it's not angry like it would have been earlier. “Go to bed. Stop being mean to me.”
You giggle, and start to wander off. “Goodnight, P03. See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, see ya.” He turns the particle scanner on, and gets back to work on his cards, not paying you a second glance. You're a little disappointed by that.

You head back upstairs to your room, thinking about the weird day you’ve had. You woke up, unsure of your situation and who P03 was, and now you… kind of have some friendly banter with him? He’s a lot more fun than you thought he’d be, from what everyone had said. He’s cuter too.

…
………
“Ugh. I've been alone too long.” You chalk it up to that. Anyone's going to be kind of cute when you haven’t had any romantic attention in ages. That's definitely it.
You wash up in your little bathroom, before staring out at the sea on the balcony for a bit, thinking about what the Great Transcendence could possibly be. Eventually, exhaustion takes over you, and you shamble over to bed, climbing in and passing out near immediately. You hope tomorrow is as good of a day as today was. Maybe better. And maybe you'll stop thinking that weird little robot is cute.