Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Delayed Fixtures woke up to panic in the city.

"The puppet is gone!"

"It got severed from it's Umbilical!"

Delayed Fixtures quickly walked to the House of Leaves, the head house of the city.

They were the executive leader of the Council in the House.

...
Delayed Fixtures walked into the House. They were stunned at how horrible it was without them.

The House was in disarray, many members were arguing and bickering amongst themselves.

"Who exactly did this?"

"How did this happen?"

They yelled into the disorganized group. "Silence!"

Every one of them grew quiet and looked at their leader.

"It doesn't matter exactly who did it, or how it happened
We need to find a solution."

One of the members raised his hand.

"Yes, Qualified Dignity?" Fixtures let him speak.

He cleared his throat. "What if we used one of our people to power the structure?"

Chapter Text

"That is a fantastic idea." Fixtures said. "Im going to give you a promotion for that."

Qualified Dignity's eyes widened. "Really?!"

"Yes, you shall be the new administrator." Fixtures said.

"I shall give it my all." Dignity's eyes sparkled.

"We all would like a bit of your enthusiasm." Another member said. "But who would we choose to be the new Puppet?"

"I will." Fixtures said.

"But you are our leader." Dignity said.

"The rest of you would be better off being with the Council." Fixtures said.

Fixtures felt their heart rate rise. "It is my destiny to do this."

Chapter Text

Delayed Fixtures was walking to the House of Glass They were nervous and fidgeting their thumbs.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Qualified Dignity spoke. "After you do the operation you can't go back."

"The people need a rallying figure that they can trust. I will be that figure." Fixtures said.

"You'll do well." Dignity said as they walked into the operation room.

Fixtures was put under.

...

Dignity watched with horror and batted breath. His friend and superior was being taken apart and being reformed into something... something new and wrong.

Their organs were being replaced with metal and wires. Their flesh was replaced with sleek panels.

Chapter Text

Delayed Fixtures woke up. They gasped as they saw their new body.

"What- This is all wrong." They said as they stepped off the operating table and tried to walk.

They fell onto the ground. Qualified Dignity rushed over to and helped them up.

"You shouldn't be doing that. Here hold onto my arm."

They reached out and held onto his arm.

"I'll take you to the Puppet chamber." Dignity said.

"Alright." They walked with him.

...

Several people were looking and staring at them as they made their way to the Puppet chamber.

"Don't let it get to you to much." Dignity said.

"Thank you." Fixtures replied.

"You are welcome." Dignity said.

...

They walked into the access shaft for the Puppet chamber. There were a few council members around to see the instalation of their leader. However, most of the people present were mechanics to actually do the instalation project.

"I must thank you all for coming here, mechanics and fellow councilmen alike." Fixtures sighed. "This will be the last time you see me before I have to take care of this great city..."

"You will do great." Dignity said

Fixtures smiled. "I'm sure I will."

Chapter Text

"Are you ready to be hooked up to the Umbilical Chord?" One of the mechanics asked.

Delayed Fixtures sighed. "Yes, I am ready."

"Alright, stand under the Umbilical." The mechanic said.

Fixtures walked over to the Umbilical and waited.

"This is probably going to be very painful, so try not to move." The mechanic said.

"Yes... what is your name?" Fixtures asked.

The mechanic grabbed the Umbilical. "It is Enchanted Cognition."

He readied the Umbilical Chord in his hand. "Here goes, brace yourself."

He plugged the Chord into the base of Fixtures neck.

There was silence for a moment, Fixtures slumped the the floor.

The silence was broken by a screaming and crying. Fixtures was wailing.

"GET OUT!!!" They yelled.

Electricity and sparks were flying everywhere and the antigravity was going crazy.

"LEAVE!! NOW!!!" Delayed Fixtures screamed.

Almost everyone scrambled for the access shaft. All except for Qualified Dignity and Enchanted Cognition.

Fixtures felt like everything was spinning and shifting. They felt like their eyes were going to pop out and that their head was going to explode.

Chapter Text

Qualified Dignity hesitantly approached the screaming Puppet.

He reached his arm out. It got singed.

Dignity tapped on Fixtures shoulder. "You'll be alright."

"I'm here for you." He hugged them.

The electricity slowed and stopped.

Fixtures was breathing heavily. They felt comfortable in Dignity's arms, they wished that they could be like this forever...

Their breathing slowed down to a regular level.

Dignity let go, he had a worried look in his eyes.

"I am fine. I was just shocked by the amount of information I have to now possess." They smiled at him. "My sense of self will not be lost that easily."

Fixtures wiped their eyes. They went to stand up, when suddenly...

[This Puppet has now been temporarily shutdown.]

Chapter Text

"Are you there. Are we connected?"

Delayed Fixtures felt limp and numb. Like everything had been turned off.

"I take it that you are the new Puppet?"

Fixtures couldn't see or feel anything, everything was dark and murky, like they were inside a body of water.

"Can you hear me?"

"Yes..." Fixtures let out weakly. They could hear the voice, they needed to focus on that or they would sink into the abyss.

"I was the Iterator that originally inhabited this structure. I was Memories of Code."

Fixtures gasped. "How...?"

"How can you hear me? That's a great question, before my Puppet was severed I left a small bit of my conscious inside my can."

"I stored my..." The voice chucked slightly. "'Memory inside of the neuron flys. I also have all of the pearls that I made and have been sent over the cycles inside a special compartment inside of the Neural Terminus."

"You..." Fixtures felt weak.

"You do not have to speak, just vocalize your thoughts inside your head."

'You said that your Puppet was severed. Where is it now?'

"She, I mean my Puppet is currently residing in Nails of Wilds city.

'Are you completely separated from your Puppet?'

"She and I can communicate telepathically."

'You sound like you are talking about your Puppet as an entirely different entity."

"She can go and explore the world, I can not."

'Can you see what she is doing?'

"No, I can only listen to what she tells me, but now I can see your point of view."

'What do you see right now?'

"Only darkness, I think you were shutdown for maintenance."

'What? Why would I need maintenance, I just got installed.'

"You were shooting lightning everywhere and could have killed someone."

'Ohh... do you know who severed your Puppet?'

Memories got quiet for a second. "It was one of the high ranking engineers."

'Was it the mechanic that plugged me in?'

"No, it was different one..." Memories voice went silent.

'What other high ranking mechanics are there?' Fixtures thought for a moment.

Memories made a sound that Fixtures approximated was a gasp.

"That's right, good job for reminding me, Code. It was Harmonic Dissonance."

'She is a member of the Council!'

Chapter Text

Delayed Fixtures was surprised. A fellow counsel member destroyed the previous Iterator Puppet?

'How should I punishment them?'

Memories pondered "How about Void Fluid?"

'I like that, thank you.'

"You are welcome."

Fixed felt their stimuli firing. 'I think I'm being turned back on."

"Don't be worried, I will still be able to communicate with you. Like a little voice in the back of your mind."

Delayed Fixtures was interrupted by a boot up screen appearing in their vision.

...

Qualified Dignity was pacing around the shelter. He couldn't leave since the antigravity was turned off for the chamber, and he couldn't contact any of the other administrators.

He heard the sound of machinery firing up.

Fixtures was up again!

"Your back! Im so glad to see you awake." He ran over and hugged them.

"I'm glad to see you as well." Fixtures hugged him back. "I have some things to discuss first."

"What, did something happen while you were shut down?"

"It's going to be a long story."

...

"So the previous Iterator left their conscious inside of their structure while the Puppet Is alive and elsewhere?" Qualified Dignity asked.

"Yeah, that's what they explained to me."

"And Harmonic Dissonance was the person who cut the Puppet off their Umbilical Chord?"

"Yes."

"Should I bring her here?" Dignity asked.

"No, take her to the void fluid containment chambers."

"That sounds reasonable. Anything else before i leave?"

"I love you, Qualified Dignity."

Chapter Text

Qualified Dignity was extremely surprised. This was all too sudden , he couldn't think. He was flustered.

"W-w-what?" He was blushing.

"You have helped me out so much over the little amount of cycles that I have known you. You helped me become a Puppet. You consoled me when I thought that I would go mad. You are my everything now, Dignity. If anyone would even put a claw on your beautiful body, I would fry them to a crisp."

Delayed Fixtures leaned in and kissing him.

He felt like he was going to fall. He couldn't think couldn't breathe. He heart was spiking.

He kissed them back.

He left the chamber through the access shaft.

Chapter Text

Harmonic Dissonance was in the Council room. Nobody knew it was her that killed their beloved Iterator. She loved creating chaos and hardships for others just because she felt like it. She was the apitimy of evil. And no one could stop her because she had the high ranking position of being a Cousil member.

She heard someone walk in behind her. It was Qualified Dignity followed by Enchanted Cognition. "What do you two want?" She asked in a condescending tone.

"Your comeing with us." Cognition tackled her to the ground.

"What's the big idea here?" She said.

"You somehow killed the previous Iterator." Dignity said. Before she could say anything, she was knocked out.

...

Harmonic Dissonance woke up in a sealed chamber with nothing else around except a overseer projecting a screen.

It was Delayed Fixtures. "Ahh, your awake." They smiled deviously. "Its going to be your last."

Suddenly, Dissonance was pulled into the air from an unknown source. She heard loud clang from below them. The clanging was a set of doors opening up, inside was a pool of Void Fluid.

She let out a shriek of horror. "What are you doing?!"

Fixtures laughed. "I'm makeing you confess before I dunk you in." They leaned in closer to the screen. "You will tell why you did it or I'm going to do it."

She smirked. "I did it because I hate this world."

"What?"

"This world is horrible, having to constantly return to cycle over and over again." She laughed. "It can make one go crazy."

She was lowered down. "I don't care for you drop me in, that would actually be wonderful." She barked out another laugh.

She was drowned in the Void Fluid.

Chapter Text

Delayed Fixtures was heavily breathing. All the adrenaline and anger that was flowing through them had disappeared.

All they felt now was an empty feeling. They slumped to the floor. They wished that they could just rest, but they couldn't. They were an Iterator now, and Iterators don't sleep. They had to work and work, until their processing strata failed and their structure collapsed.

"Are you alright, Fixtures?" Dignity had a worried look in his eyes.

"Yes, I'm quite alright." They lied.

"No, your not alright, tell me what's going on." He sat beside them. "I'm here for you, tell me what's troubling you."

They sighed. "I'm just... I can't return to how I was before, I have to take care of an entire city on my back."

"You were the Counsil leader."

"You know this is different... I just have an empty feeling inside me that wouldn't go away. It's like a hunger to be doing something..."

"I can help with that." He smiled at them, a friendly smile.

"How exactly?" Fixtures asked confused.

"All Iterators need projects to work on, right?"

"Yes, what are you getting at?"

"Let me be your project." He said proudly.

"What?" Fixtures was shocked. "I can't do that to you."

"You don't have to experiment on me if you don't want to. Just focus your attention to me, as something to keep you occupied while we think of something else."

"I can do that."

Chapter Text

Qualified Dignity was crying as he came into the chamber.

"What's wrong, Dignity?"

Dignity practically lept into Delayed Fixtures arms. He was violently shacking and sobbing.

Fixtures held him in their arms. "There, there, it'll be alright." She tried to soothe him.

"No it won't!" He shouted loudly. "This is the last time I'm going to see you!" He was wailing like a small child.

"What? Where are you going?" Fixtures asked.

"The... Mass Ascension!" He managed to say between sobs.

"No, it can't be..." Fixtures felt like a suffocating force was pressing the air out of them.

"It is..." Qualified Dignity was a crying mess.

"I, can't..." Fixtures felt their vision start to fade. "I, won't be able to..."

"I cant be with you..." Fixtures whispered. "Dignity... my love..."

Fixtures blacked out.

Chapter Text

Why did this have to happen?

Why to them?

Why...

"I can tell that this has deeply affected you." Memories voice appeared in Delayed Fixtures mind.

'What? Ohh... I forgot that you were here." Fixtures sighed.

"I had tried to reach out to you. However, it seems like you can only hear me when your possesses are slowed. What you might refer to as 'being unconscious'" Memories said.

'Ahh...' Fixtures felt hollow.

"I do not exactly know how you felt, but you had a deep connection with 'Qualified Dignity.' I cannot feel what you experienced, but he was very close will you."

'What are you getting at?'

"I am trying to help you."

'I can deal with this on my own.'

"You are currently experiencing grief, and I have helped my other Iterators from that dark path. I can help you as well."

'You... thank you...' Fixtures said.

"I am only help a good friend."

'Well... yes...' Fixtures smiled.

"I do not know what exactly you are feeling, but i will try my best." Memories said. "Perhaps you would like to listen to music?"

'I would like that.'

"I have recorded several of my favorite pieces on pearls. I shall retrieve them now." Memories said.

Fixtures heard a melancholic melody echo through their mind.

They let the music play.

Chapter Text

'That was nice...' Delayed Fixtures felt more at ease.

"I am glad that I could help out." Memories said.

'I must thank you for your help Memories' Fixtures said.

"You are most welcome for all I've done. I will help in the future."

'Yes... I don't exactly know what to do from here...' Fixtures sighed. 'Everyone is just suddenly gone, and i have no one except you.'

"You could always get to talk with the local group. I suggest you talk with Nails of Wilds first. Then move up to talking with the others later."

'That's where your Puppet went to, right?' Fixtures asked for clarification.

"That is correct. He is the nicest and most inviting of our group."

'Could I know more about the other Iterators? I had Council affairs to attend to most of the time and couldn't really focus on anything else...' Fixtures said

"Perhaps another time, you need to know about Winds first before the others."

'Ohh, alright.' Fixtures said. 'So, tell me about this Nail of Winds-'

Fixtures was interrupted be a proding sensation in their right arm.

'I can talk with you another time, Memories. I need to check my chamber.' Fixtures started the possesses again.

"I completely understand, I hope it's not a lizard or something that managed to crawl it's way into the chamber."

'I really hope that's not the case' Fixtures said as the boot up sequence started up.

...

Fixtures saw a little, silver ID drone poking at their shoulder.

"What are you doing, little thing?"

Fixtures was confused as to why an ID drone would be acting like that. They knew that an ID drone could form a small bit of its own artificial intelligence. But it was usually limited and not very expressive.

This drone on the other hand was freaking out infront of them, zigzaging all over the place and knocking into them.

"Could you please calm down?" Fixtures asked the drone.

It actually listen to their question and stopped infront of their face.

"What do you want little drone?"

The silver drone then hovered to a wall and started writing characters of their language.

*I - WAS - ENCHANTED COGNITION*

"What? How do I know that you are telling the truth?"

*I - WAS - THE - ONE - THAT - INSTALLED - YOU - AND - I - KNOCKED - OUT - HARMONIC - DISSONANCE*

Fixtures was stunned. "How are you a ID drone now?"

*I - HEARD - OF - THE - MASS - ASCENSION - AND - DID - NOT - WANT - TO - DIE - SO - I - PUT - MY - CONSCIOUS - INTO - MY - DRONE*

"But, what, how did you do that?" Fixtures was appalled.

*I - WAS - ONE - OF - THE - BEST - MECHANICS - AROUND*

"But that doesn't... whatever" Fixtures gave up on trying to rationalize this situation.

The drone let out a set of beeps and boops that vaguely resembled a chuckle.

"You think that this is funny?"

The drone bobbed up and down, to simulate a nod.

"Alright then... I'm glad to at least have one of our kind left, even if it's as a ID drone." Fixtures smiled. "Glad to have you, Enchanted Cognition."