Chapter 001 - Routine
(Going to write stories about the two protagonist and their friends in order to get in practice and fill any possible thread/ask voids with writing! Feel free to send asks or start threads based off of this and future events. Hope you enjoy! ^^)
Roll’s routine started the same way every day.
She’d wake up from a well-earned charge, and leave her bedroom to start making breakfast. She’d start making coffee just the way her father liked it, and whatever was left around the house from the latest shopping trip. There was some eggs and sausage left, so she cooked the sausage and made scrambled eggs.
Roll would clean a little while she waited, starting with the kitchen and going outward until her internal timers told her it was done. By then, Dr. Light was awake, so, despite former frustrations, would take the coffee and food to the lab instead of eating it in the kitchen.
Being who she was, she didn’t really mind the daily grind of things.
Holding the tray in her hand, she hummed a little tune as she walked down to the lab. She wasn’t quite sure what she would be doing today yet, but whatever it is was, she’d do with it her usual determination and cheerful demeanor.
The doors gilded open upon on her arrival, and she let out a cheerful greeting. “Good morning, Dr. Light!”
...But Dr. Light wasn’t there. Not even Auto, Rush, or her brother Rock. The room would’ve been devoid of life it hadn’t be a singular person. A girl with blonde hair, green eyes, and an outfit of pink tones with black accents sat on one of the operating tables.
The girl turned her head in Roll’s direction, her dull expression apparent on her face. And, without hesitation, the tray dropped to the floor, the coffee and cooked food spilling to the floor.
It took Roll a while to process all of it. This is was something to her. The routine of every morning, evening, and night was all orderly in her memory. The weekly or monthly events were easy to manage. Even the battles between Rock as Mega Man and Dr. Wily had become normal, even if they had their differences.
And yet… now here this robot was. Even their composition was hard to process, as it functioned like human cells. But it was all mechanical, no organic life to be found.
“Do you need help cleaning that up?”
The robot responded, jumping off the table and walking over to Roll. She wasn’t a threat, Roll confirmed. At least for the time being. It wasn’t the first time an enemy had been a friend, or vice versa. Roll shook her head. “No, no, I can clean it up.” She kneeled down to clean up the food-- of what she could do by hand, anyways- and the coffee mug that was luckily unshattered. After doing so, she stood back up to find the girl closer now, but still at a respectable distance. “But who are you?”
“I am Call, assistant to Dr. Sanda of Sanda Technologies.” Those names weren’t particularly familiar… but it still sparked a reaction in her mind that she had heard it before. “And your designation?”
Designation. Her expression and voice already confirmed it, but it was clear she was programmed without emotions; without empathy. She shook the feeling off. “I’m Roll… I do housekeeping and some assistant work here in the lab.”
Call nodded. “Roll. Understood.” And then she looked around in place before focusing her attention back on Roll. “A question, Roll-- where is here?”
“Oh, this is my home, and this is the lab we work out of here to build and repair robots.” She can’t help but smile, regardless if Call won’t share her sentiment. “Dr. Light works here, alongside Auto, and Rock if he’s around…” Her voice faded out, suddenly another question popping up in her mind. “Call, how did you get in here?”
The security was by no means perfect, and on a few occasions it had been just simply destroyed, but there was no sign of that. Call shook her head, confused. “I do not know how I got into the lab, I just reactivated here.”
More questions were appearing than answers, but for the time being, Roll listened for a moment to try to hear any voices or footsteps. But there wasn't still wasn't one peep. “Call, can you wait here? I need to check on the others.”
“Certainly.” And she went back to her spot on the table. Glad that Call was one to listen to instruction, she left the room without much concern. Her first stop was to drop the tray off at the kitchen, and when she did, she caught wind of a note on the fridge, stopping her in her tracks.
‘Reminder-- Science & Technology Expo this weekend. Have Rock and Auto ready by 6am for flight.’
So, they were gone, and she had been none the wiser. Was she really that blinded by routine? Maybe it was time to change things up, try to do something else that would be beneficial to the house and its residents. But for now, that could wait.
What was on the tray she trashed and cleaned thoroughly, and then swung by the closet to grab essentially her vacuum. She took it down to the lab with her, and when the doors gilded open again, Call was still sitting in the spot she was left in, observing her surroundings.
“Welcome back, Roll.” Roll just gave her a smile and went about plugging the vacuum in and taking a minute or two to clean up the mess, and thankfully it was all cleaned up with the thankful help of the fancy vacuum that Dr. Light had helped her invest in. She unplugged it and brushed off her new dress as Call spoke up again. “Question-- What did you find out?”
“You don’t need to emphasize that you have a question, just say it.” There was going to be a lot of Q&A between them, so it was important to just mention it. “And… they left on business, so nothing to be worried about.”
“Acknowledged.” Call seemed to understand the concept of worry, at least, because she nodded in understanding. “Do you want me to stay here?” And maybe, she understood the concept of bored.
“Hmm…” Roll glanced up, trying to recall. “I mean cleaning is first priority, so we’ll do what we can do there first.”
“We’ll?”
“You can come along with me.” The fridge was half-empty too, she remembered. “And maybe a little grocery shopping is order, too.”
Call nodded, jumping back off the table. “Of course. I’ll follow you, then.”
“Great!”
The two proceeded out of the room, and with the door gliding closed behind them, the lab became quiet once again, undisturbed by its usual residents.