The Little Robot that Could

SCP-2785 sat in his room. It was a small room, and there was not much to do, but SCP-2785 didn't mind. He knew that if he just sat in his room, eventually, he'd be let out again. He'd get to Transform again, and he'd get to be with his friends again. Just the thought made him happier than the happiest clam on Earth.

But something was not right here.

Normally, SCP-2785 could hear his friends talking outside. What they talked about, SCP-2785 could only guess. Maybe they were talking about letting SCP-2785 out. Maybe they were talking about cats and dogs. However, SCP-2785 didn't hear his friends talking. He heard them screaming instead.

SCP-2785 had confusion when it came to screaming. Some of his friends told him that it meant that they were scared. SCP-2785 didn't understand "scared". After all, if you were nice enough, why would anybody hurt you? Some of them also told him that it meant that they were having so much fun, they were exhilarated. SCP-2785 also had confusion about that. How could you be having so much fun, you were scared of it?

SCP-2785 had heard of roller coasters, cars attached to train tracks that zipped you around so fast, you became exhilarated. Did that mean that his friends built a roller coaster? Were they going to show it to him as a surprise? SCP-2785 simply could not wait to get out!

However, SCP-2785 did have to wait. So he waited. He waited and listened to the screaming.

SCP-2785 was sitting in his room, imagining what he would do if he got out, when all of a sudden, it became dark. Normally, SCP-2785 would not have been able to see in the dark. He would have been as blind as a schoolgirl who had gone blind! But a few Transformations back, he had acquired the ability to see in the dark. So he saw in the dark, and he saw something strange. There was a door in his room, a door that stayed shut no matter what. And today, the door had opened.

If SCP-2785 could have, he would have passed out from exhilaration.

SCP-2785 walked out, and he saw that it was a mess! Tables were flipped over, the objects that were formerly resting upon them scattered across the ground. Fluids of almost every type covered the walls and floor. Lights were smashed, doors were detached from their hinges, and paintings that had given SCP-2785 curiosity in the past were defaced to the point where they no longer gave him a curiosity. SCP-2785 almost passed out from not-exhilaration.

And where were all of SCP-2785's friends?

Were they… on vacation?

Sometimes, when his friends were gone, his other friends said that they had taken a vacation. And, soon enough, they came back. Maybe all of them had taken a vacation?

SCP-2785 got an idea. The place was a mess, and all of his friends were on vacation. What if he cleaned up the place, and made it spick and span? When his friends came back, they'd be so happy, they'd make the happiest man alive look sad!

But first, SCP-2785 had *one* thing to take care of.

After his Transformation (during which he had acquired better see-in-the-dark and better tools for his hand), SCP-2785 decided to listen to the air. He found that, inside his room, he couldn't listen to the air, even if he wanted to! SCP-2785 began to read… and he saw those that were melting. That was strange. Maybe they were having their Transformations, too? That would explain why they were on vacation.

SCP-2785 found a stash of books that looked useful. If only he could read.

Of course, SCP-2785 could read in his native language. But in English? He only really learned a handful of words. He was almost as illiterate as somebody who could not read! That just wouldn't do. He had to learn a little. Maybe a lot.

He picked up the first book and got started.

SCP-2785 decided to start with the main foyer. He had found a mop and a (somewhat) clean bucket of water to clean up the goop on the floor. He had found some perfectly good glass panes to replace the broken windows. In addition to grabbing some old furniture from the storage closet, SCP-2785 had read through *Carpentry 101* and (mostly) understood how it worked.

As SCP-2785 started mopping, he thought how about what he would do when his friends got back. Maybe he would have a party? A party would be nice. SCP-2785 had been allowed to attend only a couple of the staff parties. They had good people, good talk, and amazing decoration. His friends would love it if he set up a party all by himself!

The thought excited SCP-2785. But he couldn't have a party with goop all over the floor. So he mopped. And mopped. And mopped. And mopped a little more.

One of the hallways, a couple of hallways over from his old room, had a part of the ceiling that had completely caved in. A massive pile of dirt took up the room, with bits of steel, rebar, and stone mixed in. The pile was soaked from the broken pipes above it, which had since gone dry.

It would take a long time to remove this pile. All SCP-2785 had was a shovel and a place to put it (Researcher Caroline's dormitory on the fifth floor, SCP-2785 figured that she wouldn't mind). SCP-2785 shoveled up a small pile and began carrying it.

After all, he had nothing better to do.

SCP-2785 was replacing a light bulb near the second-floor break room when a thought came to him like a bullet out of a gun.

*Your friends have been on vacation for a long time now.*

How long was it since he had been let out of his room? SCP-2785 hadn't been keeping track. A week? A month? It couldn't have been that long. He had made some progress on the first three floors, but he wouldn't even show a pig anything above that. He didn't even have the lights working!

SCP-2785 put the thought away in his mind, to be thought of later. For now, there was work to be done.

SCP-2785 put the manual down for a second. He examined the generator until he found a switch labeled `ON/OFF`. He found the switch pointing towards the `ON` side. SCP-2785 put the switch into the `OFF` position before returning to the manual.

After opening up the panel, SCP-2785 visually identified several wires that had burnt out, as well as one of the motors. SCP-2785 had a screwdriver attached to his hand, so he removed those components, quickly replacing them with the ones he had found in the storage room. Once everything looked intact, he closed the panel and switched the generator `ON`.

After a few seconds of delay, the lights above flickered, then came on. As SCP-2785 turned off his see-in-the-dark, he heard many other lights in the building flicker, then come on. He also heard… beeping? Did he forget to unplug a few things?

Darn.

*How long has it been?*

SCP-2785 had to remember since he wasn't keeping track. He usually counted by the number of Transformations that had gone by. He counted; *1, 2, 3… 24?* That was quite a few. But how much time was in between each transformation? SCP-2785 remembered that he had used to have a year in between each Transformation, but he had been Transforming an awful lot lately.

Maybe there was a week between?

SCP-2785 decided to go with that answer, to keep his sanity.

*I'm not alone, am I?* The thought kept racing inside of SCP-2785's head. Of course, he wasn't alone. But he hadn't seen any people lately. He hadn't even seen as much as a mouse, or even a housefly!

But he wasn't alone. SCP-2785 remembered learning about Bacteria, microscopic little buggers that were everywhere. He couldn't see them, but they were there. They were there. He kept that thought in his head.

*You're alone.*

The thought came out of the dark, like a bat coming out of a shadow. The thought even made SCP-2785 drop the table leg he was carrying, and sit down on the green, tilted couch in the break room. His friends were going to be back from their vacation soon, right?

They'd been gone for so long though. What if, just what if, they weren't coming back? Well, he had the bacteria, right? But could he talk to the bacteria? Could he have friendly conversations with the bacteria? Could he even be friends with the bacteria?

SCP-2785 sat down. He thought he'd never be alone, but here he was.

Alone.

SCP-2785 picked the table leg back up and started to attach it to the couch.