Circuit Breaker

Hello, It's Me. (Page Five)

by CyanidePrincess

Tags: #cw:gore #bondage #f/f #pov:bottom #scifi #sub:female #alien_invasion #bisexual_lead #dom:female #drug_play #Human_Domestication_Guide #mind_control #petplay #robots #sadomasochism #slow_burn #trans_egg #transgender_characters
See spoiler tags : #cw:protagonist_death
(Some Content Warning tags are spoilered. Click to show them) #cw:protagonist_death

Alcohol and paranoia. Plus, very friendly nerd plants! 

"You say that, Jalen, but you are like... So small." Lillina says with this stupid smile on her face, holding a glass of something. 


"Those are some big words coming from a girl I took apart then put back together yesterday!" I tease her. She blushes.... Wait, she blushes? Holy stars, I've never seen her blush like that before. I didn't even know she could.
 
We're currently sat at the front counter of an Affini bar in the south district. It's happy here, and fun, and the lighting is easy on my lenses. I'm half way through my second martini and feeling it. Alcohol does nothing to me, but I've been able to program a response to it in my coding just a little bit. I can let it lower my brain functions for a little while, it makes me a little bubbly when I do though. And a little... Way too confident.


The conversations changed topic without me noticing it, and now I've found myself gloating about how good I am at fighting
 
"I'm just like.. I'm like-" the motors in my lungs catch for a moment, causing me to hiccup "I'm like built different okay? I bet" I hiccup again, I should stop drinking. "I bet I could take any one of the adorable affini's in here!"
 
I down the rest of my drink like an alcoholic, setting the glass down with confidence.
Then I spin around in my chair like an idiot and call out to the rest of the jovial guests in the bar: "Now who wants to own me! Huh!" My eyes scan the room. A shy Affini at the back of the room shifts when I make eye contact with them. I point.
 
"You! The green one at the back! If you can-" hiccup "if you can beat me in a fight, I'll be your pet!" My smile is lopsided and janky. The Affini walks over to me, looking curiously interested with a flair of confidence.

"Oh? Is that so, little one? You're sure you want to keep that bet?" The affini comes over to me, smiling smugly. 
 
"I'm sure! Here, I have this!" I reach into my pocket clumsily, pulling out a lightly folded contract. I hand it to them. "We'll decide where and when we wanna uhm duel and stuff. Read over it and all that and like... consider it! You can find me at my handle here." I point to my messaging app username at the top right corner.
 
"Thank you, sweet little confident flower." They pat my head. "My name is Raynor Wellium, Second Bloom. My pronouns are he/they." A shy vine extends out to me, I happily latch onto it and shake it.
 
"Deal! My name is Jalen, I use He/him pronouns... I think." I say, leaning back into my chair. Raynor takes a seat on the other side of me. Oooh~ I'm all closed in. How dangerous.~ 
 
"What are you giggling about, cutie?" Lillina leans over to me. I go to turn around when I see someone watching me. At a table in the far back corner of the bar. In a booth all to themself. An angelically beautiful, long brown hair and big brown eyed Terran is watching me expectantly. I feel like I should say something.
 
"Jelan?" Lillina taps on my shoulder, I turn around. "You okay?" I nod.
 
"I just thought I saw-" I look at the booth again, they're gone. "...Someone familiar."
 
Raynor leans over and ruffles my hair a bit. I squirm. "Why don't you go and say hi to them hum?" I turn to him now. 
 
"It seems that they've already left, but I will next time!" I smile. I try my hardest not to let the strange feelings in my chest show on my face.
 
Then I lean down onto the table on the bar and rest my head on my hands. "So Raynor, mmmmnnh... What do you do for fun?" I ask him. I'd like to get to know my combatants beforehand. And he seems interesting, if a little bit shy. 
 
"I keep the records at the local historical library of Terra." My mouth opens for a minute before a big smile crosses my face.
 
"Thats awesome, Raynor! Thats really great!" I'm being genuine. Anyone who keeps care of the history of this planet is immediately cool to me. People need to know how stars-awful this place was before the Affini. I am still indebted to them for saving my life, if a little bit weirded out.
 
He seems to take great pride in it, relaxing a bit while I praise him for his work. "Thank you, little one. It means a lot to me to hear someone say they appreciate my work." I nod vigorously.
 
"It's incredibly important! People need to know this planet is... Objectively better off with the Affini's help. It was a dystopia here, you can take it from me."
 
"Can I take it from you, cutie? Do you want me to take it from you~?" He winks. It makes me feel strange, I giggle and my body temperature raises again. How come the Affini are so good at making me... warmer.
 
"You can if you claim me~" I coo back. "But you gotta do that in battle~" He reaches over and ruffles my hair again. The signature Affini move.
 
"I'm not much of a fighter, I don't think many of us are. But i'd love to see myself proven as your master~" Hes so flirtatious, how do I process this! 
 
"Mmmmm, don't get too confident, Lillina can tell you here that im definitely not a pushover." He smiles smugly at my words.
 
"Not yet you aren't" Ah!!! These plants! 
 
Lillina shifts awkwardly next to me, I think she's embarrassed that she lost. And is now more embarrassed that a librarian is challenging me to a duel. I feel so utterly confident, I could explode.
 
What if this guy beats me. That would be so funny! Entertaining the idea in my head for a while, I figure I'd end up as some kinda happy book worm who reads while their master pets them. Doesn't sound like too bad of a life, if it weren't for the fact that i'm wired as a fighter. 
 
My heart stutters for a bit, causing me to accidently knock over the martini glass on the table. It... Bounces? When it hits the ground? Thats strange, it felt like normal glass to me.
 
"Oops, sorry. Had a little hiccup there for a second.... I think I should get home soon. It was great meeting you Raynor!" I grab one of his vines and give it a little hug before I hop down off the high chair. He goes to catch me, but I hit the ground first, completely fine.
 
I turn back to the two of them. "Thank you for hanging out with me today Lillina...  I... I really liked it." I need to leave before I embarrass myself more. She starts to say something but I'm already halfway out the door. Its... Why is it so dark out? I check my clock app, its early in the morning, the sun hasn't risen yet. I didn't even notice it was so late when Lillina carried me here. I guess my mind was in other places.
 
Wandering around the Affini cities is fun, there's a shockingly large amount of open spaces and grass everywhere that isn't paved.
 
Grass...... oooouuhhh.... grass.... I wanna lay on it. My digitally drunken body wanders over to the grass off to the side of the path. I faceplant into it with a soft plop. mmmmmgrass... I am touching grass....
 
"Hey, you okay?" A voice calls out to me. I can tell that it's human. Struggling, I roll over onto my back. The....
 
The Terran.... The strange Terran I keep seeing everywhere is here. Squatting over me with a concerned look... Wow.... They're so beautiful. I wish I was that beautiful.
 
"Huh.. I uhm... Yeah, I'm good... The grass... It just looked uh... Comfy?" I don't remember how to form sentences like a competent being. Oh half my a human brain, give me more than this!
 
They sit down next to me. A look of mock surprise washes over them. "Oh wow Jalen, you're right."     Wait, Jalen? How do they know my name?
 
"H-how do you know my name, who are you?" I ask, the Terran looks a little taken aback. I don't think I was supposed to notice that. 
 
"I err... I overheard it in the bar...."  They admitted it, they've been watching me.
 
"Who are you... What do you want with me?" I'm feeling a little scared, are they stalking me? Do I have a stalker? How should I feel about this... I... Honestly, I feel kinda flattered. It's not like I'm all that interesting.
 
"Just some Terran who gets around I suppose." They take a deep and relaxed breath. I watch their face as they breathe. Fuck... They're so beautiful. I'm being stalked by a beautiful human.
 
I don't know what to say, they cut the silence for me. 
 
"I um... Heard from some friends that someone has started to.... Legally fight the Affini in these kinds of duels. I thought it was interesting, so I've honestly been following you around and trying to build up the confidence to speak with you... Then I saw you laying here and thought you might need help." 
 
Oh, well that's an interesting answer. "I- Okay. It still weirds me out that you've been stalking me... Can you not do that anymore?"
 
They look a little sad, turning to face me. "I can stop if you want me to."
 
My mind stutters. Do I want them to? Is it okay to want  a stalker? That would be weird right? "I- You..." I decide to go out on a limb here. "You should stop stalking me. But, how about you become my friend instead?" This gets them to immediately perk up.
 
"Oh thank you Jalen! Thank you!" They stand up giddily. "I have to go now, but I'll be in touch! See you later princess~" They say, turning on their heels and walking away.
 
P-.... Princess? Wh... What? Why would they.... Why would they call me that... I don't... I don't understand.
 
An alert focuses in the bottom right of my vision, my core body temperature has risen a notable amount. I- Why- Huh?
 
My mind starts to wander. They called me princess.... It felt good... Do I... Should I- 
 
My train of thought immediately derails, my head tilts over under its own weight while my eyes un-focus as my brain clears itself of the idea I could have been forming.
 
My body raises itself. I don't remember why I'm on the ground. I should go home. 
 
A few punched in coordinates later and I'm off. Left to think about the strange absence of time in my head while I let my mechanical legs carry me home.

The moment I make it home, my legs give out. Barely able to make it to the door. Once again I don't have the energy to not give in to the demeaning door prompt. "Door, please open?" I ask drearily.
 
Door opens.

…

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…

13 days. It's been 13 days since my body has been liberated from the shackles of my fathers grasp. Physically, he cannot harm me anymore. Mentally, my mind is a shattered and broken mess. Something is wrong with me. I need to be fixed. My sensors do not move, do not register the world around them, and yet, sitting here in the chained throne that is my mind, I can see.
 
I've been placed in the care of a small plant creature, maybe only two times my size, which is different from the other plant creatures I've seen. Usually they are three to four times my size. This one is not. Its eyes are brown and red, they glow. Its vines are dark and mysterious, like living cinder wood. That's all I know, I've never gotten a good look at it in the darkness of this room I've been placed into. 
 
I do not know how, but I can feel the access port located at the back of my neck open. Something is placed into it, a cord, a drive, a USB. Something, I do not know.
 
Data packets are thrust into my mind like a jackhammer directly to my frontal cortex. Helpless and visceral. Though, it does not hurt. I can feel the barriers in my head slowly... Slowly being broken down. Every hour or so, a painful, genuinely painful error message displays into the vision of my unmoving eyes. "Access denied. Data locked from retrieval or edit by" my father's name is signed after.
 
I don't know what's happening to me. But someone, something, is trying to fix me. Trying to free me from the torturous grip of my coding.
 
They are failing. Repeatedly. And every time they fail, I feel my body inch ever so closer to the brink of total catastrophic failure. Somewhere among these locked codes is a phrase that will immediately shut down the life support within my body, killing me in mere minutes.
 
There's a gasp from behind me. I feel soft vines cradle me up before I'm turned around. I face two large reddish brown glowing eyes.
 
"Flower...." They say, concern and exhaustion in their voice. Along with surprise, like they just noticed an injured animal. "Flower, you're a xxxx!" The last word has been locked away from my memory completely. Unable to be remembered under any circumstances.
 
I cannot fret over what I do not know.

…

…

…

…

The next thing I know, I've woken up.  I don't remember making it to my bed. A precursory check of my logs says I've been asleep for several hours. There's a melancholy feeling pervading my entire being. I feel as if I am missing something....
 
With a groan, I roll over and grab one of my many pillows, holding it to me in a curled up grip. It makes me feel better, I don't know why. I feel pathetic. 
 
There's a little ping sound from my computer. Did I forget to turn it off? Well... I guess I should get up. 
 
My servos and joints whine as I put the pressure of my metal shell back onto them, groggily standing up on the warm floor and wobbling my way half asleep to my PC.


Plopping down into my little rolly chair, I check the notification pop-up. At some point, I really need to integrate myself into the PC... I'll do it later...  I always say that. 
 
Two message notifications... Two?  Both from accounts I haven't seen. Curiously, I push my mouse over to the first one, sent more recently.
 
Username: RainyDayBookworms
Sent: Five Minutes Ago
 
RainyDayBookworms: Hello Jalen! I hope I am reaching you at a good time, Lillina let me know you like to sleep in. I had fun meeting you yesterday and I'm happily looking forward to our duel. I happen to be busy for the next two days, but we can hold it on the third day from today. <3
 
A new message pops up after the first.
 
RainyDayBookworms: Be prepared, little flower. Your new master will have a lot of fun breaking you down. <3
 
then a third message.
 
RainyDayBookworms: Oh! And if you're interested~ You should come down to the library~! I would love to show you around the place personally. And hey, even if I lose, I'd love to make friends with a beautiful little Terran such as yourself. Take care, cutie. <3 <3 <3
 
I'm already sitting here, and I don't have plans. So I decide to reach out as well.
 
CrudeOilLimes: Hello Raynor! You got me at a perfect time actually. I happen to be free today if you're interested in having me come down to the library in an hour or two. 
 
CrudeOilLimes: I'd be more than happy to check the place out. I'll most likely end up as a regular visitor either way. Take care!
 
RainyDayBookworms Is Typing...
 
RainyDayBookworms: I'd love to have you down here! Let me clean the place up a bit, but you're more than happy to make your way over! See you in a bit, petal~
 
Mnh..... The affection... It's so fluffy. I'm not beautiful, but I guess I appreciate the compliments. Not that I don't wish I was beautiful. But alas, I am a work of cogs and machinery, not art.
 
I almost forgot I had messages from another user waiting for me. Well a message.
 
Something feels strange about the message. I feel like opening it and actually reading it is going to unlock some strange information that I'm probably just better off not knowing.
 
I click the notification anyway.
 
Username: Soot&Salt
Sent: four hours ago 
 
Soot&Salt: Hiya Jalen, it's me Aether! Well... I guess you wouldn't know my name since I've never gotten the chance to really properly introduce myself. But hi! We met outside the bar in the grass the other day. I hope you're doing well and uhmmm I'm really interested in meeting you again some time soon, if you're interested... Hit me up here when you get the chance >~<; I'll be seeing you around! :3
 
-Oh and fyi, my pronouns are she/they 
 
My glass and wire eyes lay focused intently on the strange message in front of me. She seems kind. Aether. She puts off an aura of someone who is strange and shy but overall harmless. I don't feel an ounce of worry even though I feel like I should. Because... How the hell did she get my messaging handle.
 
Maybe I'm not really the best at judging aura's.... Since that's not really a... Real thing, to my knowledge as a computerized... Person.
 
What does she even mean by she'll be "seeing me around" is that literal? Will she still be stalking me... I guess I don't really mind but oh.. I... I don't feel like thinking about this right now. I'll think about this later, definitely.
 
I'm dressed and ready to go before I know it. Checking the maps in the area while charging a small static charge in my energy banks leads me to see that the library isn't very far away actually. Only about a twenty minute walk, nice.
 
I'm starting to feel really good. Really good. Like my generator's giving me extra energy, I'm feeling awake and alert and... Excited.
 
I feel... I feel the edges of the manic half of my mood cycling cut into me like happy little electric razor blades. I need to get out of here. My teeth have already started chattering.
 
I'm half way out the door when I realize that my mood cycles shouldn't have been this quick. This short and abrupt.
 
No matter! No worries! I'm good! I just need to... To go! 
 
I'm down the sidewalk before I realize it, keeping my consciousness in the very front of my mind. I feel jittery and I need to be doing something, so that something will be walking. A single minded goal to get from Point H to point L. Hab unit to library. I can do this.
 
A stray ray of light shines off a nearby window. My eyes catch on the glimmering almost instantly. A sparkly blue companion dress in the front of a store window. Are they even stores if everything's free? Slowly and curiously I make my way over. The dress is... So sparkly and ornate. Objectively, it's the most beautiful piece of clothing I've seen so far. Blue and black patterns lace around it in ornate patterns and shapes. It almost looks like... The wires on a circuit board. It feels like it was somehow made to attract my eyes. Over and over, my cameras scan the entire piece. But the moment I compare it to my own shape, I see something else in the glass. Firstly, my reflection. Who the hell am I kidding, thinking I could ever look good in this. Then.
 
A pair of brown and red eyes are floating just above my right shoulder. Looking into my soul and giving me the impression that everything is okay. It's deeply unnerving. I spin around faster than I've ever spun around, nearly tearing up the ground beneath me and there's-
 
Nothing. Again. There's nothing there.
 
My teeth continue to chatter incessantly. Venting the overflow of energy I'm not actually having. I need to leave. Now. I need to go to that library.
 
The next fifteen minutes of the walk, I'm convinced I keep seeing things. Red and brown eyes in reflections. Faces sometimes, framed in brown hair. I'm hallucinating. What is wrong with me. My pace quickened and quickened. Every time I see a strange reflection, my brain halts, crashing between the automatic reaction of unnerving fear alongside the pervasive feelings of comfort.
 
It only serves to fuel my already manic mood. My hands are trembling and my teeth would be chipped by now if they weren't made of alloys. I'm full on sprinting now.

Just at the end of the street, I see it. Salvation. Light at the end of the tunnel. "Sweet Words library." Bursting through the front door like a rhino, my body is swept up almost immediately.

(End Of Page Five)

Chapter title comes from "If You Want It, You Got It" by TVgirl

Kala 2022-07-25 at 09:39 (UTC+00)

Oh noes was she turned into a cyborg as some sort of fucked up punishment / control mechanism when she told her dad she felt like a girl?

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