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Post by Allison Jones on Jun 15, 2012 23:53:13 GMT -5
Okay, Ivan had lost his mind or this was all going to be some weird joke or something. Allie didn’t know what else it could be. She looked over at the manhole again and noticed that there seemed to be a light coming from it. Hesitantly, she walked over to it and looked down into the light tunnel. Well, that didn’t seem normal from what she knew about human sewer systems.
Allie looked over at Ivan, the way he was hugging the manhole cover and holding an arm out to her. She did trust him, she really did and she had to listen to him, even if she didn’t want to. Taking Ivan’s hand, she walked over to his side and shook her head. “I-I don’t want to go down there… Ivan… I’m scared…”
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Post by Ivan Braginsky on Jun 16, 2012 0:02:34 GMT -5
He nodded. "I know, but... it will all be okey, I promise~" Giving her forehead a kiss again, he started lowering their suitcases into the tunnel, waiting for her to go in. He knew she didn't want to. It was weird. It was really weird to say you were going on vacation suddenly and end up in the middle of the most dangerous region of the city, telling someone that they had to go into an abnormal part of the sewer system. Still, he couldn't deny that there wasn't any other way. He didn't want to make her go down there, but he had to.
"Just go on, Allison. I will be right behint you. It is perfectly safe." He hated repeating himself but this was really all he knew to do anymore. He was out of cards and tricks, his hand completely exposed to anyone who was actually paying close enough attention. |
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Post by Allison Jones on Jun 16, 2012 0:09:44 GMT -5
At the kiss, Allie sniffled softly as some of her Ivan broke through this new, weird Ivan. Because this couldn’t be her Ivan. Her Ivan was kind to her and a shut in and most certainly didn’t go around dragging his bot to the middle of a bad part of town and then tell her to climb into the sewers. With another sniffle, Allie finally lowered herself into the manhole and climbed down the short ladder to the paved ground. She looked around nervously, hugging herself for some form of comfort.
As she waited for Ivan, bad thoughts started to creep into her system, bringing up memories of all those horror movies that she had watched. Was Ivan going to kill her? Sacrifice her to some demon? That’s what they did to people in creepy sewers, right? But… how could she die, if she was a bot? Her life didn’t mean anything… so maybe… Ivan was getting rid of her? The thought made her actually start to cry and she sat down on the ground and hugged herself tightly.
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Post by Ivan Braginsky on Jun 16, 2012 0:26:04 GMT -5
He followed her down, replacing the man-hole cover and locking it into place so that you had to have a key to open it from the other side. The key didn't even look like a key. It was a weird ring with bumps that pressed into grooves in the worn asphalt, an indent easily mistaken or covered. Good, they were finally safe. All they had to do was walk down the corridor to the facility and then go to the apartment he'd put in the very center- Oh... no...
"Cолнышко?" No... she was... upset. "Allison?" He knelt down next to her, taking the time now that they were more or less secure in this tunnel. His knees would hate him for getting down on them like that, but with just how hurt she looked... She may have been just a bot, but somehow... it never ceased to amaze him when she cried. She... was legitimately upset. She wasn't faking it. She wasn't supposed to be able to do that.
Ivan reached out his hand, setting his palm lightly on her cheek to try and make the bot look at him. "We are safe here now... You do not haff to be scaret..." He hadn't meant to frighten her or hurt her feelings. He'd only wanted to protect the both of them and that meant getting her in this tunnel and locking the man-hole cover above them. |
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Post by Allison Jones on Jun 16, 2012 0:33:58 GMT -5
Allie curled into herself when the manhole cover was shut and locked, sure that Ivan was going to get rid of her now. There was no other reason or explanation that she could come up with at the moment. Why else would Ivan take here all the way here, alone, without Yong Soo. Maybe the other bot had told Ivan how much of a problem she had been, not listening to him and insisting that she had a say in things. Maybe Ivan didn’t want such a bad bot like her and was going to reprogram her. That was almost worse than being destroyed, because then she would be with him every day but not remember how she felt for him…
Jumping slightly when he put a hand on her cheek, she looked up at him and tried to wipe away her tears but they wouldn’t stop. “I-I’m sorry…” With a sob, she clung to him and spilled out all her worries. “P-Please don’t get rid of me or r-reprogram me! I-I’ll be a g-good bot! I’ll l-listen to Yong Soo a-and let him use me f-for experiments! J-Just l-let me stay w-with you b-because Ivan is the m-most important person to m-me…”
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Post by Ivan Braginsky on Jun 16, 2012 0:48:20 GMT -5
Get rid of? Reprogram? He would never do such a thing! Why would he ever "hurt" her? She technically would have had no physical sensation of either event, but he wouldn't do that regardless! He wouldn't have been able to handle it. "Нет... Cолнышко... I woult neve-"
What?
What did she just say?
He was... the most important person to her?
Ivan wanted to initially mark it off as obvious. She was a companion bot, his specifically, and companion bots were designed to become incredibly attached to their owners. This, though, seemed different, especially because he never treated her like companion bots were generally treated. He treated her like a family member, but never any particular level of kin. He never treated her like a daughter. He never treated her like a sister. He never treated her like a mother. He certainly never treated her like a lover. She developed this... on her own, without the programming being reinforced by his behavior.
"It will all be alright, I promise. We are safe here..." His voice cracked. He couldn't stand to see her suffer like this. She was just a bot though, why should he have cared? "P-please belief me..." |
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Post by Allison Jones on Jun 16, 2012 0:53:52 GMT -5
She clung to him and cried, only managing to stop the jumble of words before she told Ivan everything. If she told him how she felt, how much she really loved him, he would definitely reprogram her… Bots weren’t supposed to feel emotions like that. She was just supposed to get attached to her owner but Ivan had never treated her in any sort of romantic way. The feelings had just come on their own, so surely that meant that she was defective, right?
“P-Promise? I j-just want to be somewhere s-safe with you… B-But I don’t understand w-why it has to be here…” It was scary here, despite how Ivan tried to reassure her that it was safe.
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Post by Ivan Braginsky on Jun 16, 2012 1:03:43 GMT -5
He sighed, still sitting there on his aching knees as he wrapped his arms around her, letting her cling. Besides, she was harmless. They had the time now to let her get it all out. They didn't have to worry about suddenly being separated or her finding Ivan dead somewhere. It was alright now, for the time being.
After a while, he patted her hair, trying to shush her. "It is okey now... They will not fint us here ant they will not take you away from me..." It didn't occur to him how that might have been telling her too much. He didn't want to have to explain why they were hiding. She didn't need to know just how awful of a person he was. There was no need for her to worry or get upset that he, indirectly, murdered her and reanimated her corpse with machinery.
Another few moments passed and Ivan tried to pull her to her feet. "Come, we neet to walk down this tunnel so we can get to the place where we will stay. I promise, it is a nice place..." |
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Post by Allison Jones on Jun 16, 2012 2:13:54 GMT -5
After a few minutes of clinging to Ivan and letting him pat her hair, Allie calmed down enough to pull back and wipe her eyes. What Ivan was saying wasn’t making any sense… Why would someone take her away from him? She was his bot, registered to him and for right now, she was pretty sure Ivan didn’t want to get rid of her. So, why would he say someone would take her away…?
Allie let Ivan help her stand and she sniffled softly, wiping away the tears from her cheeks. She got their luggage and looked over at him. “W-We can go now…” While she wasn’t exactly sure where they would go in the sewers but Ivan said it would be nice… She could just hope that it was true and then when they got there, she could ask him what he meant about her being taken away.
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Post by Ivan Braginsky on Jun 16, 2012 2:28:37 GMT -5
Ivan took her hand again, leading her down the lit, dry tunnel once she was ready. Eventually, the stone on the floor became covered in rough carpeting as they got closer to the end where it widened out into what looked like a proper hallway with white walls and a gently sloping staircase that even he could easily ascend without much difficulty from his knees. See? He thought to himself. Not so bad at all~
Allison would like it, he assured himself as he opened a large set of doors that waited for them when the stairs came to a halt, using a key-code on a number-pad that beeped a different tone with each pressed key. "We are almost there~" he explained as the doors opened away from them on their own, completely automated.
He gestured inside for her to follow him before the doors shut again, having only about a minute before the doors would decided that it had been more than enough time for everyone to make it in.
The room beyond was large, actually part of an entire complex disguised on the outside as abandoned apartments. It was more or less empty, Ivan having found no real need to have a reception center. Everyone that came here knew exactly where they were going, unless they were a prisoner or selling themselves... or in this case Allison. There were several doors, branching off in different directions with keypads to guard them and no labels to tell what was what. Ivan, however, led Allison around the few bots milling about on their way to their appointed jobs, towards a door on the other side of the room. |
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Post by Allison Jones on Jun 16, 2012 23:28:47 GMT -5
Allie clung to his hand, letting him lead her down the tunnel. It was lit, but it was still frightened her to be in a place like this. Why was Ivan taking her to a place like this? How did Ivan even know about a place like this? “W-What is this place…?” She looked around, her eyes wide with fear. As they walked through the doors, her eyes widened even more and she came to a stop.
The building seemed like any normal business building, except for the fact that bots were everywhere. She knew that there were places that only hired bots for work that was too strenuous for humans but this place didn’t seem like that. She saw no heavy labor anywhere, so that couldn’t be why only bots were working here. Turning to Ivan, she asked, “Ivan, w-why are we here? Why are there no people?”
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Post by Ivan Braginsky on Jun 16, 2012 23:57:04 GMT -5
Pausing in front of the keypad, he waved an indifferent hand to Allison. "Oh, just... another one off my properties. No one knows about it. That is why it is so safe~"
Ivan waited a moment to start pressing in the numbers to open the door, numbers that he knew by heart. However, this wait was enough time for a familiar voice to call out to him.
"Greetings, Dr. Braginsky. I have not seen you in almost two years, sir. Do you need help with your door?"
The tone was even, lacking any intonation beyond the necessary ones demanded by the language. He knew that voice. His facility bots often had more... minimum programming. Turning around, Ivan smiled at a young-looking female bot that was tall and slender with grey eyes and white hair in a polite braid. It almost blended into the white dress suit-style uniform.
"Gladys~" he greeted. "It has been a lonk ti- oh, no, thank you~ I haff the number." He tapped the side of his head. "In here~."
Gesturing at Gladys, Ivan turned to Allison. "Allison, this is Gladys. My proxy." Well, almost former proxy if he was honest, considering he hadn't been in the facility long enough for the years to be plural. He used her to issue orders to other bots or to the lowlifes that he paid to bring in fresh blood for the cyberization tables. |
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Post by Allison Jones on Jun 17, 2012 0:05:34 GMT -5
Following Ivan over to a door, Allie glanced around the large room they were in, curious as to what exactly this place was. Ivan didn’t really give her much information and if no one knew that this place existed, then she wouldn’t be able to look it up online. “Ivan, I…” She was cut off by a female voice addressing Ivan and she turned to stare at the other bot.
This place seemed to be getting stranger and stranger, from the tunnel to this odd underground building. Allie glared at the other bot and latched onto Ivan’s arm. “You didn’t tell me you had other bots…” Especially not other girl bots. She thought that she was special to Ivan and the thought that all these other bots were his scared her even more. Maybe he really was going to leave her here… Maybe this is where he kept bots he got bored with…
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Post by Ivan Braginsky on Jun 17, 2012 0:31:07 GMT -5
"Dr. Braginsky has many bots. In fact, he is the inv-"
Ivan cut her off before she could explain further and potentially complicate things. "No neet for that story right now, Gladys~" She nodded, expression blank as though she was merely purposes to contain and dole out information.
"She is your companion bot, sir. Is that correct?"
Giving her the affirmative, she nodded again, turning around to take her leave of them as Ivan punched in the key-code for the door they had been about to enter. Before long, he could get Allison settled and comfortable in their new apartment. Well, it was new to her, at any rate. Ivan had spent many a month here at one point when he was at his most reclusive, some of his peers thinking at the time that he had disappeared.
After accepting the code, the door opened, sliding sideways into the wall as it revealed a nice little hallway with another door at the end, more quaint and not unlike what would be found on the front of a typical suburban house. Ivan gestured down the corridor. "We will be stayink in there~" If Allison needed anything, he could just call on Gladys and she would make sure things were in order for her. |
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Post by Allison Jones on Jun 17, 2012 22:39:11 GMT -5
Allie tilted her head, wondering what the other bot was going to say. But she didn’t want to ask Ivan, not now. He was still being strange and had just taken her to a strange place. She looked around before glancing over at the other bot. “I am Ivan’s bot. I’m the only one that matters!” Once Ivan opened the door, she dragged the man inside along with their suitcases.
“An underground apartment?” Looking around, she frowned. There were no windows in the rooms she saw from the doorway and she didn’t like that. At Ivan’s penthouse, she had always enjoyed looking out of the large windows down at the city. “How… How long will we be staying here…?”
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