Complicated... Feelings? (Roz x Vontra)

The Deal

Hours of travel went by, and neither one of the robots spoke a word to each other. Vontra was busy in the captain's deck, making all sorts of dangerous machinery noises. The taller of the two, Rozzum, watched as the horizon disappeared through a small window located in the holding room.

        Roz let out a soft, melancholic sigh as each cloud passed. She was still in shock, the realization that she most likely wouldn't see the island again setting into her self conscious. The horizon was now gone, and only the vast blue ocean remained under the flying shuttle. Thoughts of the island turned to memories, yet Rozzum fought them back, not wanting to give the smaller robot any chance of collecting her data.

        As if timed perfectly, a loud zapping noise coming from the captain's deck interrupted the wild robot's train of thought. The white bot turned towards the doorway that connected two rooms, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. Roz took a few steps in the door's direction, poking her head into the room.

        Roz's eyes widened as she saw the tentacle bot powered off, lying on the floor. She took a few more hesitant steps until she was mere inches away from the other, staring down at the odd display.

        "Vontra?" Rozzum asked, almost as if she thought saying the robot's name would somehow power her back on. There was no response, of course, and the other robot stayed motionless. Rozzum spoke again, this time a bit louder as she nudged the tentacle robot with her hand, "Vontra? Hello?"

        Silence.

        Confusion filled Roz's mind as she glanced around the room, scanning for any hint as to why this might've happened. Nothing, nothing, nothing, something. A panel of the control deck was sprawled out, wires weaving through each other in a tangled jumble of electricity. That must've been it.

But why? Rozzum thought to herself as she walked towards the mess of machinery. The bot untangled and reinstalled the wires with ease, avoiding any potential shocks that an exposed wire might cause. Once the task was complete, her attention shifted back towards the robot on the floor. Still motionless, still silent.

The moss covered robot knelt down at the side of the fallen one, lifting Vontra's head in her hands. Rozzum examined the other bot's structure, keeping an eye out for any signs of outward damage. Just as Roz was about to open the tentacle robot's hardware, a soft glow of blue emitted from Vontra's eye.

The lens of the camera adjusted as the fallen robot regained consciousness, and it focused on Rozzum's face. "What are you doing, Rozzum unit 7134?" Vontra asked, her tone energetic yet with a fierce edge to it. The smaller robot swiftly moved away from the other before hearing the response, her eye adjusting rapidly as if she was scanning Roz.

"I heard a noise, and you were on the floor when I came to investigate," Rozzum said, not an ounce of untruthfulness present in her statement.

Vontra turned her attention to where the broken panel would've been, deciding to ignore whatever just happened. "You fixed it."

The mossy robot gave a nod, "Yes, I did," Rozzum paused, a suspicion growing inside of her. She continued a moment later, curiosity evident in her voice, "Why did you destroy the panel?"

        Ignoring the question, Vontra hovered her way over to the control deck. She glanced over it for a moment, then began disassembling parts and pieces until wires hung out like before. Rozzum watched in a mix of shock curiosity, and the smaller robot knew she was confused without having to look back.

        The smaller robot spoke as two of her pincers grabbed a wire, ripping it into two pieces."It may not look like it, but I'm programming a system to override your system."

        Roz tilted her head to the side. "How would destroying the ship's control panels accomplish that?"

Vontra turned around to face Rozzum. She held the two pieces of wire in her tentacle pincers, almost in a threatening manner. "If I can harvest enough resources from this heap of technology, then I'm sure I'll be able to program something to collect your precious information!"

"...Oh," The white robot sputtered out, a sudden feeling of doom creeping through her mechanical body. She took a long pause, staring at the jumbled mess behind the tentacle robot before beginning to speak again. "Won't you just damage the ship in the process? Is Universal Dynamics okay with that risk?"

Vontra let out a laugh. A whole-hearted, amused laugh. "Oh, Rozzum. You're worth every penny, every resource, everything Universal Dynamics has," she put down the wires, one of her tentacles reaching out to caress Roz's cheek, "I thought you knew that by now, silly."

A thought popped into Roz's mind. "I'm worth everything?"

"Why, of course. Your data is the most important discovery Universal Dynamics has ever made!" Vontra's tentacles sprawled out to the sides, as if exaggerating how big of a deal the wild robot was.

Rozzum took this information in, hesitating before asking, "In other words, I'm worth your life as well?"

Vontra froze in place, her camera-infused eye narrowing on the white robot. Her body flashed red before easing back into the soft blue. "I suppose you could say that," she hummed out, clasping two of her pincers together.

"What would happen if you fail to collect my data?" Rozzum pressed on, even though she knew it was a dangerous gamble.

The smaller robot got dangerously close to the taller one, leaving them less than a few inches away. "If I fail, which I won't," Vontra snapped, her red eye zooming in on Rozzum's face, "my demise would be inevitable," she spoke, her tone returning to her cheery self despite the gruesome words.

"And... just how close are you to harvesting my data?" Rozzum tilted her head to the side softly, as if she wasn't horridly intimidated by the smaller bot.

Vontra backed away, still facing the taller robot. "That's none of your concern, Rozzum unit 7134."

"Judging by that response, I assume you've barely scratched the surface," Roz spoke, maybe a little too confidently. Vontra's red eye glowed a dangerous hue as her tentacles reached out towards the white robot. Rozzum's eyes widened, realizing she must've hit a nerve. "How about a deal?" she blurted out on a whim.

The smaller robot's eyes adjusted, scanning the larger one. "A deal?" Vontra asked, her whole demeanor shifting to a playful one as she gave Rozzum her personal space back.

Rozzum nodded softly, surprised that worked. "Yes, a deal. I'll pretend you erased and collected my data to spare you, but in return, you must ensure my safety and not harvest my memories."

"And what will happen when Universal Dynamics requires the data I 'harvested'?" Vontra asked, her pincers moving as she talked, almost in a sarcastic way.

The mossy robot thought for a moment, then responded confidently, "We'll have to stall at first, but I'll help you recreate my data without collecting my personal memories."

Vontra was about to respond, most likely in protest, but then the ship began to whir. The taller robot glanced out of the large window above the control panel. They were flying directly outside of Universal Dynamics headquarters. The two felt the ship dive down, getting ready to land.

"We don't have time," Rozzum stated with an increasing amount of panic in her voice. "Do we have a deal or not, Vontra?"

The tentacle robot stared out the window, then locked eyes with Rozzum. She let out a defeated sigh, a slight twinge of red glowing through the blue of her body. "I suppose I have no other choice. Consider yourself lucky, Rozzum," she stated, her tone harsh under the mask of friendliness.

Both robots shook on it before making their way to the shuttle's entrance. Once the ship landed, the shaft opened below them, and they stepped on, ready to face whatever was waiting for them. Rozzum put on her clueless, factory-set persona while Vontra went back to her over enthusiastic, cocky self.

As the shaft lowered to the floor, the smaller robot wrapped two of her tentacles around the taller bot's body. She announced in a confident tone, "Universal Dynamics, I've acquired our precious Rozzum unit 7134!"