Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

○○○ VEES POV ○○○

Vee hated Tisha.

Tisha hated Vee.

That's just how it was. That’s how it’s always been, and always will be. Vee was used to it, throwing insults, pranking one another, constantly griefing one another in runs, the usual. She would grab a twisted, hide behind a corner, and let them latch onto Tisha while she was in a corner doing a machine. She’d scowl in anger at Vee, making her laugh. It was some good times.
Lately, however, Tisha has been extra nice, which ticked Vee off. What happened to their griefing? Tisha would distract, stay way out of Vee’s way, use airhorns, and flash her a smile in the halls… it was off. Vee waltzed right up to Tisha, leaning on a wall.
“So, what are you plotting?” Vee casually dropped.
“Huh?” Tisha asked, looking up from the sink where she was doing dishes. “I don’t know what you're talking about.” She answered politely, looking back to the sink.
“Cmon,” Vee sneered, leaning over Tisha, “you know that I've noticed you're acting off.” She rolled her eyes, pushing Tisha teasingly, making her drop the plate she was washing. Tisha's eye twitched, her hands clenching.
“Vee Version 1. I am going to strangle you with my own hands, and I will enjoy every moment.” Tisha snarled, taking off her dishwashing gloves, facing Vee.
“Alright Ms. Cleanliness. Get with the new tech, you're still washing clothes with those.. boards. Machines are better, face it. You’re behind.” Vee hissed, stepping forward, challenging Tisha.
“Oh, yeaaahh, like you’re the best, uh huh. You–!” Tisha poked a finger at Vee, about to butt in with more insults, but she was cut off by Dandy.
“Enough, enough, you two. Calm down, we open soon! You two need to put on your game faces on, and get to the front of Gardenview! You especially, Vee.” He smiled, almost toxically, “and Tisha, mind sweeping the elevators? They look a bit dusty.” he continued, before strolling away.
“This isn't the end, Version 1.” Tisha hissed at Vee under her breath, before stomping away to the elevators.
Huh, Vee sneered in her mind, she's finally back to normal. A sigh escaped her soundbox, she wished they could’ve bickered a bit farther. Vee had wanted to try her new alarm sound effect. It would’ve annoyed Tisha, 100%. Vee’s screen flickered a little, as she stood idly, before remembering to scurry to the front of Gardenview.
She stood next to Astro, her mic tail swishing behind her. Vee watched as the train doors opened, tickets were clipped, and kids rushed in. Their toon handlers made sure no one was trampled, obviously having Pebble and Dandy be the stars of the show. Vee looked around at the kids around her, grinning as putting her gameface on.
“Alright you all! Who wants to do some trivia?” Vee hollered, popping the wheels out of her boots, skating slowly behind her. She let the kids trail behind her, her toon handler trotting beside her. Vee peacefully slid into the elevator, popping the wheels back into her boots. They waited for the elevator to get to her room, and she skated behind the stage.
Vee noticed Tisha come out of her backstage room, and she noticed her room was spotless. However, a note lay on the desk.
“Dear Vee, I sincerely hope you hate the way your room reeks of bleach.”, it read. Vee immediately knew it was Tisha by the handwriting, smooth and wispy. Vee chuckled to herself, as she stared at her mirror. Pictures, reminders, notes from kids, notes from adults.. ick. Along with that, it was full of photos of herself. Might as well add another trinket. She pinned the note to her mirror, text out, perhaps as a retort to Tisha if she comes back inside again. Vee fixed her suit, tightening her bow, fixing her collar, adjusting her Gardenview pin, all of the usual, before stepping on stage.
“Hello, boys, girls, and those in between! Welcome to VEES TRIVIA, where our lucky 4 contestants fight with their brains to come out on top and win the highest prize! Nooowww, who will we pick as our lucky 4 kiddos?” She announced, looking at the crowd, seeing plenty of hands shot up. “Alright, you, in the striped yellow shirt, you in the blue, you in the pink.. ah, you in the blue and red.. and our final contestant..” Vee emitted a drumroll from her speakers, which picked up on her microphone, “You, the audience! I wouldn't dare leave anyone out, so let your guardians raise their hand for you to answer!” Vee smiled warmly, turning to her contestants in the stands.
“Now, for our first question, when was Gardenview established?”

○○○

Vee fiddled with her antennae, fixing them to her liking. She adjusted her suit again, sighing as she noticed a minor stain. She’d have to ask Tisha.. ugh. Vee stood up, strolling out of her room, looking around until she spotted Tisha.
“Hey, Old Fashioned, I–” Vee started, looking at the stain before being inches away, face to face with Tisha.
“You have a stain, I know.” Tisha muttered, her eyes set on the stain. “Give me your suit. I’ll clean it. Do you have any extras to wear while it's being cleaned?”
“I mean.. tomorrow's Monday.. we’re closed.. so.. it shouldn't matter?” Vee replied, almost forgetting their bickering train as she backed away.
“Vee, are you going to stay cooped up in your room the entire day tomorrow?” Tisha sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose, “I guess. At least come out sometimes, whatever.” Tisha grumbled, “Ok. Suit. Hand it over.” She reached out her hand.
“Uhh.. can I at least hand it over when we’re not in a hallway?” Vee queried, fiddling with her mic tail.
“Yeah, hurry up, I need to clean Blot’s room.”
“Oh, alright.” Vee mumbled, popping her wheels back out and skating back to her room as fast as possible. Vee closed her door, unbuttoning her suit, her grey-metallic body and lime-green body panels revealing. She had a branded “V-V1” on her chest, on her left. She glanced at it, before throwing on another, darker, suit.
After getting out of her room, she passed on the suit to Tisha. Who, as per usual, seemed pissed to even be within the glow of Vee’s screen. Vee laughed out loud for a moment, thinking about it.
“What?” Tisha snapped, glaring at Vee.
“Nothing, oldie.” Vee sneered, crossing her arms. “You can handle a single thing being hidden from you.”
“Shut it, Version 1.” Tisha rolled her eyes, glancing at her spritz bottle. “..ooorr else I’ll use this.” She chuckled, spinning the bottle in her hand.
“You wouldn’t, you love me too much.” Vee mocked.
“Yeah, whatever. Get outta here.” Tisha frowned, nudging Vee in the ribs a little too hard.
“Yes Ma’am.” Vee grinned, rolling back on her wheels to skate back to her room.
Vee thought about their interactions as she prepared to go into charging mode. Oh, how glad she was that Tisha was the same old rude her. Her being that nice was uncomfortable.

○○○

“Morning, Vee!” Shelly chirped, bounding into Vee’s room.
“Mor-morning, Sh-shelly–shelly.” Vee’s voicebox glitched mildly, due to her still waking up.
Vee stepped out of her charging port, groggily walking over to Shelly and fistbumping her. She walked out of her room, automatically scanning for Tisha, just to do her usual routine of annoying her. She spotted her, strolling over and grabbing a cup of juice as she was on her way.
“Hey, oldie.”
“Hey, Version 1.”
They had a mutual, annoying nickname for each other. Vee held her juice innocently, doing the usual banter between the two before suddenly dumping the contents of the juice onto the carpeted floor.
“Oops, did I do that?” Vee chuckled, throwing the cup on the floor as an insult to injury. She grinned smugly at Tisha, who was fuming.
“Why, you little..” Tisha started, before taking a deep breath. “Version 1, respectfully, I hope you get Finn’s water on your motherboard.” She hissed, slapping Vee out of spite.
“You know that didn’t hurt.” Vee retorted, looking at her hands.
“Would you rather I smash your screen in?” Tisha growled, gripping Vee’s shoulder.
“Fair enough.” Vee sighed. She let Tisha calm down a little before going to annoy her again, before she was grabbed by Looey.
“Perfect timing! I’ll need you two in a run, ok? Vee, I need you to stay by the elevator, make sure no kids follow, and Tisha, stay with me, cuz you're SUPER strong, so I can get your help.” Looey rambled out in one breath, panting as he finished his sentences.

Vee looked at Tisha.

Tisha looked at Vee.

Begrudgingly, the two were forced to cooperate with one another on a run to get some more supplies for their handlers.

Chapter Text

○○○ TISHAS POV ○○○

     Tisha hated Vee.

     Vee hated Tisha.

     Thats how it was, it always will be, and always was. Tisha knew Vee's routine of choice, where she'd cause a mess, mock her, theyd argue, sometoon would intervene, and theyd seperate. Only if it was late at night could they fully argue. Tisha could only hope that she'd get a morsel of peace one day. However, since Looey had forced them to go on a run together, they had to peacefully interact.

     Lately, Tisha had noticed Shrimpo was missing.. for at least 3 days.. she hadnt cared much for the toon, at least she had noticed everytoons quality of life had improved with him gone. She had heard whispers that Shrimpo had gone too far with insulting Delilah, and Dandy had overheard. Dandy had seemed distant afterwards, he hadn't left his room much. However, Tisha just assumed it was just gossip. Maybe Shrimpo was just tucked away in his room.

     Tisha bumped into Vee, grunting as the robot and the tissue box collided. She gathered herself, brushing her dress off.

     "... Version 1." Tisha acknowledged. 

     "Old Fashioned." Vee replied.

     It was an awkward silence, Tisha hauling massive boxes on her strong arms, Vee taking smaller boxes and stacking them on her flat head and shoulders. Vee skated ahead of Tisha, spinning backwards and making a face at her. Tisha rolled her eyes, dropping the boxes in the elevator, grunting. Geez.. these are heavy, Tisha thought to herself. She put her hands on her hips, sighing. 

     Suddenly, she heard a loud crash. Tisha whipped around, wielding her broom as a weapon. No one had yelped out, or apologized, was it one of the people down here..? Tisha creeped closer to the source of the sound, seeing a broken, shattered box of.. bricks?

     A loud gargle came from behind her. Tisha turned around, staring down what was supposed to be Shrimpo.. but.. he was.. different. He had ichor over his mouth, his eyes were blood red, he had sharp claws.. Tisha thought it be best if she warned the others. She ran towards Looey, Shelly, and Goob.

     "Guys! I saw Shrimpo, but–"

     "Shrimpo? Where?" Looey exclaimed, looking around.

     "He isnt himself! He has.. ichor.. everywhere on him! He seems dangerous, we need to warn Dandy and—" Tisha rambled, hearing a loud yelp.

     "Looey, wheres Vee?" Tisha calmly asked. 

     "Hauling a few more screws for her toon handler to tighten a few bolts, why?" Looey responded.

     Tisha headed over to the source of the yelp, seeing Vee skate as fast as she could, holding her bicep. Tisha noticed ichor leaking from her hand. Suddenly, bright red alarms went off. Shit. A fire, probably Sprout and Cosmo. Not important, the elevators would shut down soon. No matter how much Tisha despised Vee, she couldnt let a Main Character die.

     Tisha ran towards Vee, helping her apply pressure to the wound. She tore off some of her tissue, wrapping it around Vee's wound, tying it somewhat tight.

     "Hurry up, would you Old Fashioned?" Vee managed to grunt out through the pain, still keeping her smug grin. 

     "Give me a minute, Vee." Tisha unconciously replied, before finishing the knot, pushing Vee forward so she could keep skating. She took out her broom, running beside Vee. Vee looked a bit flabbergasted, before she shook her head and skated towards the elevator. Tisha scowled behind Vee's back, wiping it off as she noticed Shrimpo behind her.

"THE ELEVATOR LEAVES IN 6.. 5.. 4.. 3.."

     "Tidy up!" She chirped, sweeping the floor, giving both her and Vee a speed boost. They slid into the elevator just in time, barely making it before the door shut. Looey pressed the ground floor button over and over again. They heard gargling, a barely audible "I HATE YOU!" and pounding on the elevator door, before they ascended. Luckily, the fire had been put out by Sam, so they were ok. Tisha helped call over Veronica to take care of Vee, and took out some of the boxes they had collected for the staff. Hopefully her toon handler would be proud she saved a Main Character.. oh well. 

○○○

     Tisha was minding her business, peacefully mopping the front where kids walked in late at night, before noticing a green glow behind her. Without turning around, she kept mopping and knew exact who it was. 

     "Hey, Version 1." Tisha said to Vee.

     "Tisha." Vee said, grabbing Tisha's shoulder. This scared Tisha, so she yelped, whipping around. "Tisha, why.. why did you save me? Why did you help? Furthermore, you didnt call me Version 1. Why?" Vee asked, looking concerned.

     "Goodness sake, have you some manners, first of all, do not touch a lady without her permission! Second of all, because why wouldnt I save a fellow toon? That'd simply be immoral of me to not do anything, along that youre a Main Character." Tisha intentionally ignored the last question, rolling her eyes. The robot didnt need to know everything. She can have some privacy. Vee's face lit up Tishas working space, along with reflecting her face. Vee's eyes were trying to figure out Tisha, and Tishas eyes were annoyed and exaughsted. 

     "..Fine. I'll drop it. Dont forget, I'll still bug you tomorrow." Vee faintly smiled, her tail swishing behind her.

     "Looking forward to throwing insults, Version 1. Your tech is too modern anyways." Tisha replied.

Vee let out a laugh. "Yeah, sure, Oldie."

Chapter Text

VEES POV

     Vee skated towards the elevator, plenty ahead of the others. She inspected her hands, picking out the dust from the grooves between her joints. 

     “Wait up!” Shelly panted, sprinting as fast as she could to catch up. Her goggles clinked and clanked as she pounded her feet into the floor. Vee screeched to a halt, smiling at Shelly. 

     “Slooowwpookee.” Vee teased, skating into the elevator and popping her wheels back into her boots. Shelly trotted beside her, standing by her. Looey next, then Goob, then Cosmo. Tisha lagged behind, sliding in and pressing the close button. Shelly and Vee started chatting, teasing each other and giggling as the elevator descended. Looey, and Goob chatted casually, and Cosmo and Tisha argued over the kitchen and whether she should clean it tonight.

     “Did you know? Argentinosaurus was the largest dinosaur — by weight, anyways. It was 124 tonnes!” Shelly chirped, her tail wagging joyfully. 

     “Interesting, added to my database.” Vee replied, grinning. Subtle whirring from her was audible if you really listened, the casual chatter in the elevator was mostly overpowering though. Vee gazed at the wall, zoning out. She wondered how Seedly was doing. Pfft, she’d be out to annoy him as soon as possible. She simply adored mocking him. Tisha was the priority, though. She preferred teasing her more, she was more easily irritable, and had bigger reactions. Vee laughed audibly to herself, catching a glance from Cosmo and Tisha. Vee made a face to Tisha, who rolled her eyes as she turned back to Cosmo. 

     The elevator finally landed, and Vee snapped out of her trance. She popped out the wheels in her boots again, skating over to the supplies and taking a few small boxes. Even if she was a machine, she wasn't built for heavy lifting. Sure, she could handle a bunch of kids, but a box of bags of flour? Leave it to Tisha and Cosmo, they're the strong ones. She dropped her small load on the floor carefully, repeating this until she bumped into Tisha. 

     “..Version One.”

     “Old Fashioned.” Vee addressed Tisha, picking up her stuff quickly and sticking her tongue out at Tisha as she skated back to the elevator. Vee scanned the area with her sensors, seeing a box full of bolts. She did need a fix-up..

     “Hey, Looey, tell the others I'm getting some screws and bolts. I need them for a repair on my arm.” Vee yelled out to Looey, before skating away. She whooshed past Goob, who was near the front, then Shelly, who was further back, and then Tisha, who was all the way back. She screeched to a halt, looking up. A box was on the very edge, but it was above the box she needed.. Vee swallowed hard, watching it teeter. Carefully, she grabbed the box from the shelf under the box, like a jenga game. She immediately stepped out of the way, hearing the box crash and break on the ground. She looked at the wooden splinters, carefully stepping around them. For some odd reason, it was filled with bricks. Some powder from the broken bricks lay on the floor along with the wood. Vee stepped into a smaller room, scanning the box to double check if it was what she needed. A loud beep confirmed her suspicions, it was the screws and bolts.

     She turned around to leave, before looking up from her box, seeing the feet of a toon, Shrimpo. 

     “Shrimpo? What are you–” Vee started, before hearing a gargle, and seeing Shrimpo lunge at her. She quickly dodged, watching his claws break the desk behind her with ease. Vee yelped at the loud sound, still clinging onto her box. Shrimpo made a growling sound, leaping at Vee again. Instinctively, she raised the box to protect herself, which shattered and sent bolts flying. One hit her screen, which left a scratch. She grunted, making a bolt for the exit. Shrimpo almost roared, running forward again and slashing at Vee’s bicep. She yelped again, clasping her hand over the wound, wanting to throw up at the amount of ichor spilling out of her arm. It was almost spurting out, she felt lightheaded. She popped out her wheels, hearing a loud siren. The lights on the walls started flashing, and Shrimpo seemed to get more aggravated. He seemed to gain a speedboost. Vee pushed her feet against the floor as fast as she could, looking behind her shoulder and seeing Shrimpo slowly lose her. She heard the elevator counting down.

“ELEVATOR CLOSING IN 20, 19, 18, 17..”

Vee shook like crazy, her loss of ichor dizzying. She finally saw the elevator, and Tisha stood around the corner. She bolted towards Vee, ripping off some of her tissue to wrap around Vee’s wound.

     “Hurry up, Old Fashioned, I have a show to get to.” Vee managed to crack as she grinned through the pain, wincing when Tisha tied the makeshift bandage tight around her arm.

     “Hold on, Vee. I'm trying. Just give me a moment..” Tisha muttered, pulling the knot tight. Vee’s heart stopped, Tisha had just called her by her name. She didn't quite realize how insane it was, having to take a moment. She stared at Tisha, wanting to say something, something to retort to Tisha, but she only felt her heart start racing and her GPU start overheating. Tisha looked so.. caring? It was hard to explain. Vee just knew that she wanted to– wait. What was she fucking thinking? It's Tisha. You can’t just act like that around her. You two fight all the time, she has literally threatened to kill you.. Vee blinked, still staring into Tisha’s eyes. Tisha frowned, leaping forward, pushing Vee forward. 

     “Hurry! Get a move on!” Tisha yelled over the sirens. She started running beside Vee, wielding her broom. Vee still cast glances at Tisha, feeling her heart skip beats. Why was she thinking like this? Tisha was probably just doing this for her own benefit. Saving a Main Character would definitely score you some points with your Toon Handler. Tisha probably didn’t care.. but for the small sliver of a chance that she did, Vee might've been falling for that chance.

“6.. 5.. 4.. 3.. 2..” 

     The elevator kept counting down. Vee was skating as fast as she could, panting. Tisha was running as fast as she could, keeping a steady breath. Vee just kept stealing glances, shaking her head before looking forward again. She held her breath, seeing the timer hit 2 seconds left. She didn't think she’d make it. Suddenly, Tisha swept the floor, calling out “Tidy up!” and giving both her and Vee a speed boost. They barely made it before the elevator closed, Vee’s mic tail barely not getting crushed. Vee looked at Tisha. Tisha looked at Vee. They held eye contact for a few moments, before Vee broke it and started to fiddle with her antennae.

She didn’t think her toon handler would believe that a .. weird .. version ..? .. of Shrimpo had attacked her. She groaned, laying her head back as she clasped her hand over her wound again. Ichor was all over her arms and torso. She shook, looking down and bringing her legs up to her torso. She just wanted to sleep.

○○○

     Late at night, Vee couldn't sleep, so she got up, looking for Tisha. Turning a corner, she saw Tisha mopping the floors. Carefully, she stood behind Tisha.

     “Hello, Version 1.” 

     “Tisha, why.. Why did you save me?” Vee asked, putting a hand on Tisha's shoulder. Tisha yelped, turning around.

     “First of all, always ask to touch a lady! Second of all, why wouldn't I save a fellow toon? That would be simply immoral of me. Third of all, you're a Main Character. How would kids react if you were just gone one day? I don't think Delilah can revive us.. at least not easily.” Tisha replied, turning around. They were uncomfortably close to each other, Vee especially. She stepped a few feet away.

     “..Alright. See you tomorrow, remember that I’ll still bug you tomorrow."

     “Looking forward to it, Version 1.” Tisha replied monotonely.

Vee was stupidly in love with that girl. And she thought that she was maybe.. repressing it with all that teasing. Vee spent the rest of her night thinking of her near death experience, having a nightmare about it.

Fuck you, Astro.

Chapter Text

HI.UM. ILL GET TO WORK EVENTUALLY!!!! IM SO SORRY FOR THOSR WHO HAVE BEEN WAITING A MONTH FOR CHAPTER 4 ^3^"

I HAVE LIKE NO IDEAS. IM SORRY. OK BYE FOR ANOTHER MONTH.