Right to Repair - SCP Foundation

Fragile by design, Epsilon thought as he picked his way through fused muscle to get at the shredded organ underneath it. Zeta was weak enough to be easily disassembled by Gamma should the situation call for it. A safety measure due to their psionic capabilities. Not like any of those psionics did them any good. Epsilon glanced over Zeta's exposed bone to Mother, who was weaving tissue back over the ribs she had just reconstructed. She made Zeta like this. He wasn't sure how to feel about that, but it also wasn't his place to feel much of anything about it.

Gamma leaned down and shoved her face in between Epsilon and the pectoral muscles he was working on, and he recoiled back and frowned. Now he knew how he was feeling. He shot a look at Delta, listening to music a reasonable distance away at the side of the room, but she acted like they hadn't made eye contact. It seems like she wouldn't be any help keeping Gamma away.

"Gamma, um-"

"She's fine, Epsilon," Mother said, resting her hands in her lap and tilting her head to the side slightly, shifting her attention from the task at hand to more pointless observation. "Do you need something?"

Gamma stood up to look at Zeta's face, still almost completely intact. Their eyes were open slightly, but there was no light behind them - they were unconscious. Their body's power and systems were being handled by the numerous external systems hooked up to them via a frustrating number of obstructive tubes and wires, the ensemble looking like an inverted mangrove tree stripped of its branches.

For a moment, it looked like Gamma was moving her jaw a little bit. "I should have…" She stopped as suddenly as she started, and Mother leaned in a little bit to better hear her. She didn't seem nearly as concerned about Zeta as the others were, but she probably just trusted her own craftsmanship to hold up.

"Yes?" Mother tried coaxing out Gamma's thoughts, though Epsilon was unsure that Gamma even formed particularly complex sentences in her head.

"I should have been faster." She turned away from the body and back to Mother.

Mother only smiled, seemingly pleased with the reaction. "You're already as strong as you need to be. Anything else would mean concessions in other areas." She tapped on Zeta's arm. "We're making good progress with repairs. They'll be good as new as soon as today."

We're making repairs, hm? Epsilon glowed at the stubborn mass of misshapen tissue in front of him that he had been chipping away at for the past ten minutes, unable to go any faster for fear of damaging the underlying organs.

As per usual, Epsilon had no idea how Gamma felt about Mother's response, so he decided not to concern himself with her for now. Or at least, he tried not to while she continued standing so close to him. He could tolerate Gamma and Delta intruding on his workspace at Mother's behest, but this was just too much. He could barely stand Mother's attention when working, let alone his sisters. But he also didn't want to be rude when Gamma was upset. He thought she was upset. According to Delta, she was.

He pursed his lips, then looked back to Delta again. To Epsilon's relief, she sighed and stood up but then stopped. Epsilon clenched his jaw, sighed, and looked back at the muscle to keep cutting into it. His hand twitched, and the cut came out jagged. He heard Gamma shift her weight. She must have heard.

Letting his momentary annoyance spur him forward, Epsilon asked "Gamma, can you, um…" He trailed off when Gamma turned to look at him. Not even his wounded pride could overcome Gamma's stare.

"Oh, come now, Epsilon, she's just worried about Zeta," Delta sighed, finally decided to throw her hat in the ring on the wrong side. Her eyes narrowed. "Besides, we'll need her soon enough."

Epsilon slumped down. "What do you-"

Thud. The heavy door to the workshop was pushed open, and sharp, consistent, and purposeful footsteps started getting closer to Epsilon. By the time he thought to turn around, Gamma was already stepping in front of the newcomer, her eyes hardening in an instant. It was Adrian, and he was looking straight past her and right at Delta

In response, Delta offered an exaggerated sigh. "Now, now, that's awfully unprofessional."

Adrian only stared back at her, with the same cold eyes he always had. He had stopped less than a foot in front of Gamma, whose stance suggested she was expecting a fight, but it seemed like he hadn't even noticed her.

Delta inhaled as though she were about to say something, but stopped. She seemed more interested in watching Adrian. He, on the other hand, didn't seem interested in talking. Epsilon saw Gamma's hand ball into a fist and looked at Mother. She seemed more interested than concerned.

The door opened again, and everyone except Gamma and Adrian looked up to see who came in. Mother's head tilted to the side. Delta rolled her eyes. The soft, measured clack of hard rubber boots on the tile floor. In the moment, Epsilon only recognized the woman they belonged to as Adrian's boss - both because she rarely spoke to him, and because that was the only thing he cared about her acting as at the time. Even though, he reminded himself, Gamma could handle Adrian if she needed to. He didn't doubt her at all, he thought as he stole a glance at Zeta's marred half-body.

Several moments passed, and Mother let out a small, childlike sigh, quiet enough that only Epsilon could hear it. Then, she sat up, projecting her voice to ask, "Do you intend to do anything about him, Bowe?"

Bowe nodded, smiling. She looked older than Mother, with more expensive clothes, and it gave her composure an air of legitimacy. "I'm sorry if he made you uncomfortable, Miss Aubert. Adrian wouldn't do anything rash, I can assure you. It's just the kind of posturing military men are fond of." She stepped forwards again, to Adrian. "I grew up with some in the family," she added by way of explanation.

"Mhm." Mother crossed her arms. "If you say so. If you could keep him from threatening his… companions I would appreciate it. Even better if you could somehow compel him to pull his weight when you field Gamma and the others," she added bitterly.

"Miss Aubert, you understand I can't make any guarantees in this line of work. That much has been clear since this partnership was proposed," Bowe quickly responded. When Mother narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, she softened her tone again. "But yes, I understand your concerns. They're important to me, too. I'll… take precautions in the future."

Satisfied, Mother nodded and remained silent, either trying to decide what to say next or decide if she should simply go back to working on Zeta. Aside from stealing quick glances at the two humans in the room, though, Epsilon still hadn't stopped staring at Gamma, who wasn't phased by Bowe's intrusion.

Like an instigating teenager, though, Delta just couldn't let the opportunity to get a jab in pass her by. "What was so important that our fearless leader had to make an appearance in the middle of the workday, hm? Having second thoughts after that little incident with the Foundation girl?"

"Incident?" Adrian was indignant as he chafed against Gamma, unyielding but unwilling to escalate things herself. Based on Delta's smirk, she was counting on that. Epsilon felt himself wince when he saw Gamma shift her shoulders despite the insignificance of the gesture. He hated it, but it seemed like both Mother and Bowe were content to let Adrian simply blow off steam. No, just have Gamma remind him of his place. Right. That sounded better.

Bowe took a deep breath. "I'm not going to say that the unfortunate turn of events had nothing to do with it." Epsilon detected an undercurrent of vexation in that sentence, and so had Delta, if her put-out expression was anything to go by. "But we're still in a position where we can look for other infovore candidates." It seemed like she was speaking more to Adrian than anyone else.

"Are you going to need them any time soon, Bowe?" Mother's voice projected more exasperation than Epsilon could tell she was feeling. "You asked for top-of-the-line products, but any material for repairs is very finite. Especially if I can expect this," she said as she gestured to Zeta, "on 'simple operations.'"

"No, I won't. Not in the immediate future." Bowe readjusted her posture, giving herself more of an authoritative stance. "I wanted to let you know that I'll be getting in contact with my associates in Marshall, Carter, and Dark, and due to the sensitivity of the proposed deals I'll need to be there personally ahead of the auction in a month."

Mother grimaced, doing little to hide her distaste. Epsilon's hands clutched Zeta's arms tighter - Why hadn't she sent Adrian and that woman away yet?

"I'm not fond of dealing with their ilk, but needs must," Bowe continued after a short pause. "I'll be there to make sure anyone I, um…" She waved her hands in circles as if struggling for words, which seemed to amuse Delta. "…Take custody of is treated with respect. I'll make sure you have whatever materials you need, and then some, soon after. I apologize, but I can't delay with the auction, otherwise I'd be right on that."

Adrian made a sound somewhere between a groan and a sigh, and Epsilon jumped slightly, then going red in embarrassment. He didn't have anything to be afraid of in the first place, he reminded himself. "It won't mean anything if we can't get ahold of a Bloom fragment." He stood up, taking a step back from Gamma, who still hadn't moved. "The intel was shit. There was never a piece of the Bloom at that conference, the Foundation doesn't even know what the hell's going on." Despite his sharp words, neither his tone nor his face showed much emotion.

"We have things to do in the meantime. I'm not just going to sit on my hands now." There was an edge to Bowe's voice that Epsilon hadn't been expecting, and he found himself staring at her. Maybe Delta had already figured out what it was supposed to mean, but that never came easy to Epsilon. Bowe caught him staring, and although he looked away, she clearly noticed. "…And Adrian will be coming with me."

Taking the hint, Adrian made his way back to the door. As he passed by Bowe, she lowered her head slightly and whispered something to him. I'm sorry about Iris, her lips read.

"It's fine. It won't matter, right?" Adrian made no attempt to lower his voice. "I know where to get a piece of the Bloom." He shot a glance at Zeta, and Epsilon felt his muscles tighten as he moved in front of them without thinking. "When we're ready."

"Don't let the door hit you on your way out," Delta called half-heartedly as Adrian left the room. He didn't seem to notice. Epsilon relaxed, and shrunk back down to Zeta's side again, still close. Mother was smiling gently at him.

Bowe bit the inside of her lip, as if unsure if she should speak. "Is there anything you can do about that one's attitude? It's liable to get us all in trouble."

"You asked for a more socially intelligent unit, and that requires some learning opportunities," Mother responded, polite yet forceful.

Bowe sighed gently, then nodded. "As long as it's the only one," she said as she nodded to Gamma. As she began to make her way back out of the room, she called over her shoulder "I'll be back in contact in the next few weeks. Take care until then, Miss Aubert." Mother did not return the farewell as Bowe's footsteps shrank to nothing down the hall.

Delta rolled her eyes and sat back down to continue listening to music, which Epsilon took as his cue to return to repairing his sibling. He didn't get ten seconds without getting interrupted again, this time by Mother gently clearing her throat. Epsilon suppressed a groan and looked up to see her silently gesturing to Gamma, who had returned to milling about just a little too close to Epsilon for comfort.

What was she - oh. Right. He'd hastily asked Mother for help making something for Gamma after she had been hurt, but now he felt a little silly once she had been repaired so easily. Honestly, he was hoping to just sweep it under the rug.

Epsilon mumbled into Zeta. "Um, no, I think it's fine-"

"Gamma, your brother has something he wants to give you," Mother said as loudly as if she was attempting to gain the attention of a crowded room before a speech.

Epsilon recited the curses he'd heard from Adrian under his breath as he flinched once with Mother's declaration, then twice, then three times as Gamma took two loud steps over to his side. He wanted to curse someone, but really, he did this to himself.

Better to get it done quickly. Without a word, he slid out of his chair, and away from Gamma, and quickly slinked across the room to a pile of scrap used for his sibling's bones and dug out a flat, machined piece of the stuff that was almost three feet tall and a good six inches across. With the treated metallic body and sharpened edge, it looked more like an oversized lawnmower blade than a sword. Epsilon suddenly felt embarrassed as he crossed the room holding the hunk of metal in silence as everyone stared at him.

"Here." Epsilon awkwardly thrust the cleaver out in front of him, suddenly very aware of the awkward angle he was keeping his arms at. Gamma looked at it, then back to him, hesitated a moment, then slowly picked up the cleaver and looked at it. Her blank expression made Epsilon want to say she didn't know what to make of it, but he wasn't sure.

He launched into his rehearsed explanation regardless. "That woman had a knife, and you didn't, and she hurt you, so…" He hadn't rehearsed it like that. He hated that he didn't know why he was stumbling, and he hated that Delta and Mother were smiling like they did. He pushed on, trying to look at Gamma's feet instead of those two. "This is as strong as you are. Even stronger. So you can kill her next time." He looked up, to meet Gamma's wide eyes. "So if it breaks, it's your fault!"

After a moment of consideration, Gamma nodded. She then stood up and swung the sword a good few times, as hard as she could, before looking back at it again and letting it rest at her side. "It's well-made. It'll work." Epsilon nodded in response and quickly returned to finishing repairs on Zeta, thankful that ordeal was over.

Delta cleared her throat and gave Gamma a look. Epsilon pretended not to notice and let Gamma add in a hasty "Thank you" before she returned to her normal position in front of him. He stole a small glance to the side to see that she was still holding the cleaver. Good, good.

The remaining repairs went as smoothly as Epsilon could have hoped, even if they had taken longer than he had wanted. Constructing a chassis from the ground up was one thing, but the challenge of building around a partial, damaged base was something else entirely - with the shrapnel and fused tissue, Epsilon had half a mind to throw out everything below the neck and restart from there, but Mother had been clear about their material constraints.

Regardless of how long it had taken in the end, Zeta was up and running again, and they were right back to staring at Epsilon with those big old eyes of theirs. He wasn't fond of it, but he was at least more used to it than Gamma and Delta's looks. He looked up to see their vacuous face, unperturbed by the silence he left it in.

"We're done. Everything's fine. You can go now." It was the first thing Epsilon had said to them since bringing them back online, but they should have been able to keep up with what was happening. They were used to watching Epsilon work in silence, anyhow.

"Thank you."

Epsilon squinted at their sibling. Suddenly, Zeta's stare felt just as uncomfortable as Gamma's. "…I'm supposed to fix you. Don't… you don't need to do that," he reprimanded. "Mother helped too."

Zeta looked down without so much as a nod. They were clenching and unclenching their hands around nothing, as though they could feel any part of the cold metal anyways. Epsilon sighed. Zeta was more simple-minded than even Gamma and took to habits quite strongly, and rarely were they without something to hold onto. "Gamma and Delta were just getting all your belongings ready. You've been out for a while."

Zeta blinked.

"…So they'll be here with your spear in a moment," Epsilon added.

In response, Zeta decided to wrap their hands around their legs and stay seated in the chair Epsilon was using to run the tests. They were as still as the unused wires that dangled around the two of them now that Zeta was no longer connected to them, which made the room feel as though it were just large enough for the pair in the low light. For once, Epsilon found that he was the one staring a Zeta, who was as motionless as they had been when they were dead - were being repaired.

There wasn't much time to ruminate on that, thankfully. Light flooded into the room from its door opening as Gamma and Delta returned. Zeta's head shot up to look at them as they approached, and Epsilon shook his head and followed their gaze.

"Oh, Gamma, Zeta wanted…" He trailed off when he saw Delta. She was the only one whose expressions he could reliably read, but even if he was as clueless as Zeta, he'd be able to tell something was off. She almost never looked so concerned.

"Gamma, please wait a moment, this really isn't anything worth your concern." Delta's hushed tone did little to mask her worry. When Gamma wasn't stopped, she grabbed her arm. "You'll only be making things worse by-

Delta's pleas fell on deaf hears, and Gamma didn't so much as slow her pace when she was grabbed. Epsilon started to say something, but Gamma brushed past him and tossed something small to Zeta, whose arm snapped up to catch it immediately. Their hand opened to reveal a small, iridescent crystal, made of delicate concentric rectangles. Zeta's cold hands held it gently, carefully, as they relaxed for the first time since they had woken up.

"Why do you have this?" Gamma demanded. Epsilon flinched at her harsh tone and looked to Delta for some clarification. They made eye contact, but she simply pursed her lips and looked at the ground.

There was no response from Zeta, but unlike their usual vacant silence, they appeared to be biting their lip. They didn't meet Gamma's eyes.

"Gamma." Delta tried to sound stern, but their voice was ever so slightly shaking. "They probably just think it looks nice. I - I think it looks nice."

"Is she right?" Gamma didn't look back at Delta or so much as acknowledge Epsilon as he slowly moved closer to Zeta's side, for reasons he wasn't entirely sure of. But looking at Gamma, he found it very hard to move his legs.

It took several seconds for Zeta to react at all. They nodded, so slow and stilted that Epsilon wasn't sure that he was seeing it properly at first. "Mm." A soft grunt was the only vocal confirmation they offered.

Delta shivered and exhaled an unsure breath. She took a moment to figure out what to say. "Gamma. It's nothing to worry about. I, I mean, I think it looks nice too." Her eyes went back to Epsilon. "And I'm sure - Epsilon does too. Right?"

"Yes!" Epsilon answered quickly and loudly despite his nerves, and the fact he hadn't taken a good look at the crystal. He still wasn't sure what was happening, but looking at Delta's expression gave him an awful feeling.

"Zeta isn't like either of you," Gamma said. "They can't be."

Epsilon's mouth fell open. Zeta had been granted less emotional development in order to make sure such a unique product wouldn't be beholden to any illogical outbursts - they were supposed to be closer to an autonomous system than an individual like Delta. That meant no interests. And no concept of beauty.

Delta grinded her teeth. "Gamma, dear, we all have similar neural architecture, right, Epsilon?" She turned to him, and he nodded hastily, as Gamma didn't even bother to look at him. "See? So what if we like the same things."

"Bowe was unhappy with you." Gamma's flat intonation did little to hide her invective. Delta visibly cringed. "She won't tolerate defects like this from Zeta."

"For god's sake, it's a rock!" Delta was yelling now, and Epsilon winced and moved a step closer to Zeta, his hand reaching out and squeezing their shoulder of its own accord. Zeta's head shifted towards him slightly, but he couldn't make out their face. "Nothing is going to happen to us!"

Gamma whipped around to face Delta with such speed that she staggered backwards. "They will have Zeta decommissioned as a defective product. Either Epsilon will deactivate them or I will kill them."

It was hard to breathe. Epsilon's stomach churned. Images of Zeta's innards came to his mind, then the idea of plugging them back into those coils and slicing each of their organs apart while they watched. His hand squeezed them harder as his hand went down to the cleaver he had just given Gamma. It was more than strong enough to cut any of them into chunks. He'd made sure of that.

Delta looked like she was choking. She was hunched backwards as if attempting to flee from Gamma with her feet rooted in place. Her mouth was open, and her eyes were wide, and almost angry. "You…" she spat. "You wouldn't do that."

"…No. I wouldn't. I'll protect you all." Gamma's expression hardened as she turned back to Zeta. "This will stop now. Give me the crystal, Zeta."

"Don't do that." Delta's words were terse, like a warning. "It's just-"

"I don't care if it's small. It won't get any further." Gamma held her hand out expectantly. Epsilon couldn't see if Zeta was even moving as he looked down at them, curled up on the chair. Delta looked as though she wanted to say something, but the simple fact of the matter was that she was little more than an experimental AI and a basic body, and Gamma was built to rip steel beams in half.

Slowly, like a reptile that was afraid of giving away its camouflaged position, Zeta expended their arm, hand in a light fist. Their hand opened next, as slowly as a blooming flower. Then, wordlessly, Gamma seized the crystal and crushed it into dust in her hands. The glittering remains filtered through the open skeletal structure of Zeta's unfeeling hands and onto the floor.