This piece of art was drawn by  Cero character copyright me

I wrote the story to go with it just for fun. Enjoy!

(20 points to whoever knows what show she's watching!!)

“I tell you Jacob, They just didn‘t make this place as well as they made me.” The black bunny said as she descended the ladder and down into the secret bunker. “That‘s the 4th time this week alone that I‘ve had to replace the fiber optic cable‘s in this section…of course I‘m replacing it right.” she brushes the dust off of her fur in the silence that followed. “Well, if you think you can do better you‘re welcome to try it for yourself.” She smiled at the human skull sitting in a pile of rubble.

“Please tell me your not talking to that skull again. It‘s bad enough that you keep it without talking to it too.” responded a droning male voice coming from the broken monitor on the wall.

Sitting heavily on the bench against the wall “Hey, can I help it if I was programmed this way? I‘m a social program. I need interaction with something more than just you.”

“I would be hurt if it was capable of my programming.”

She sighed. He was right of course. Her programming was far more inclusive than his. He was just a simple personality alarm and coordination system that she had later adapted to have more personality than just a monotone drone. Oh how her life had been so much more interesting when there were people around. Where she would interact with people on a daily basis. Now she’s stuck talking to the Security Assessment Monitoring System and a skull that she has to provide both halves of the conversation to. She already knew the Jacob’s name from when he was alive, but the alert system didn’t have a name. So she gave him one despite his protests. She called him Sam. It was better than calling him Computer like everyone else had.

“Holly? Are you still active?” Sam asked “You haven‘t made a sound in over 15 minutes. It‘s very unlike you to be silent for so long.”

“Of course I‘m still active. Can‘t a holographic girl be lost in thought for a little bit without being questioned?”

“Quite frankly?…No. You‘re nearly always making sounds of one kind or another. Besides, I wouldn‘t have to ask when you get lost in thought if you would fix the monitor in that room.”

She laughed “Well I have to do something to end the silence while I‘m working, and this is my private room. I don’t mind you talking to me, but having you watch me all the time kind of creeps me out. Speaking of which, what‘s the estimates for the most degraded cables? How long do I have before I have to go back out there again?”

“Calculating………The next cable will go out in section C, Sub Level 3, on floor 5 in approximately 4 days, 13 hours, and 37 minutes.” he said ignoring her comment.

“Good, that gives me plenty of time to do things I want to do. Watch my favorite show and work on my own mobile emitter.” She smiled and pulled a nearby small worktable towards her. On it are an assortment of small tools and electronic pieces in various states of dis assembly as well as a single cloth covering a single rectangular object. Using her foot she turns on the TV on the floor, which flickers to life and begins playing where it last left off.

“Enjoying that show again I hear. Which episode is it?” Sam asked without enthusiasm.

With far more enthusiasm she tells him “It‘s the episode where the doctor creates a family. I love this episode because in it he learns what it‘s truly like to have a family!”

By the silence that followed, she can tell Sam would be shaking his head in disbelief if he had one. But she didn’t care. All she wanted to do was watch the show and see her favorite character grow from a simple hologram into a full fledged being. She was happy to have found the show in the main computer system. She came across it while trying to find out how her own emitters worked. But the people that made her committed all their research into a separate computer off the system so as to keep her from being able to mess with her own programming. That didn’t stop her from messing with the holographic systems themselves however. The TV, the bench, even the tools were all created by her using the emitters. She even got the bright idea of trying to create a mobile emitter that she could wear from the show, which she’s also convinced was the spark for those that created her in the first place. If she can figure out how to make such a device, she’d be able to finally leave this place and see what the outside world is like with her own eyes. But so far, no luck. Maybe one day she’ll leave, but until then, she’s stuck here.

Hours passed while she worked on her personal project. The show she was watching had run through the rest of the 3rd season and was well into the 6th before Sam spoke over the noise of the show. “I hate to be the barer of bad news, but my systems have detected 3 humanoid beings entering the facility through the entrance leading to Level 1. It looks like you‘ll be getting your interaction after all.”

“Well it‘s about time someone else found a way in. I hope these three are more willing to talk than the last one‘s. I just wish they picked a better time to show up. I love this episode too. The doctor does all his wonderful singing in this one.” With a small sigh she pushed the table away and got up. She ascended the ladder coming out on the 3rd floor section A and took a right. “So what can you tell me about these three coming in?”

“Mostly that they‘re all in armor of some kind. One is a bear judging by his head structure, while the other two are smaller and have longer cat like tails. The bear and one of the felines are holding the doors shut while the other one seems to be searching for something to block it off. They also happen to be speaking in a language not in my database. I‘m running it through some filters now.”

“That’s good thinking Sam. How long before the filters are able to translate?“

“I should be able to translate what they‘re saying in mere moments.”

“ Good. Can you show me what‘s happening.” she said as she stopped by a working monitor. It flickered to life after a few seconds, the screen hadn’t been turned on in years. What she saw was what Sam described, two smaller feline shaped people and a bear. All heavily armored in what looked like a mix between contemporary and medieval armor. They also had ballistic weapons but the feline holding the door seemed to favor blades as well. Within short order the searcher returns with a large pipe and hands it to the other feline.

Puzzled she asks “Do they actually think they‘ll be able to block off the doors with a single pipe? Can you give me audio with the translation Sam?”

“Yes I can.” was Sam’s only response before the sounds on the other end came through.

Sounds of growling and indistinct yelling was emanating from behind the doors “That‘s the only pipe I could find. This place looks like it‘s been cleaned out or something.” The second feline said.

“It‘ll be enough.” The first feline replied as he placed the pipe over the door handles. “Just keep your side shut.” He said to the bear, who nodded. Then, showing strength that belittled his size, he bent the pipe around the handles effectively locking the doors shut. “Alright guys, it won‘t be too long before they go down the other halls and find a way around to us. We need to find another way out of here before they can block us in.”

“Do you think we should split up?” asked the bear.

“Yeah. We‘ll find a way out of here faster that way. Turn on your radio‘s.”

“Are you sure?” asked the second feline “We don‘t exactly have a way to recharge these things.”

“It’s either that, or see if we can find something in this place we can use to communicate or get us out of here faster.” said the bear. “Though I doubt there‘s anything left of this place that’s useable.”

“Should we scour the place for usable tech to take with us as we go?” questioned the second feline.

“No.” answered the first feline “We take nothing but what we need to survive. If someone is living here, and I highly suspect there is, they won‘t be too pleased with us taking all their stuff. If we get caught with only a portable radio we found, than our story that we‘re just trying to get out will stick better.”

“Okay Sam, I‘ve heard enough.” The audio was cut at Holly’s request.

“Do you want me to help coordinate they‘re passage through the facility?” Questioned Sam.

“No. Not yet. I‘d like to find out whether or not these three are as violent as the creatures they flee from.” She responded while watching the three men split up. She had to admit these men held promise. The last 2 that came in simply started to tear things off the walls to take them. This time it seemed like they would be bypassing most of the technology in favor of finding communication tools. A notion which this time turned out to be true. None of the men even bothered to check the power stations, monitors, or even the holo projectors near the ceiling during the twenty minutes they were apart and searching. It was time for her to make her move.

Heading further right, Holly came to an elevator shaft. The doors were already pried open and the elevator itself had crashed at the bottom many years ago, it’s cables rusted and broken from time. She had no problem climbing up the two floors to level one, having simply walked up the vertical wall. Stepping out onto the first floor, she was greeted by the snarls of an insane inhabitant of the surface. It was a human male wearing nothing but the tattered remains of some dead animal he had found or killed as a trophy. His hands were covered in dried blood and his body was caked with dirt and grime. Without so much as a second glance at Holly he attacked her, only to fall to the ground dead a few moments later, having had his throat crushed in her grip. Two others had been behind the first male and had both been eager to join in the slaughter. Neither one dared approach her now. Animal instincts told them to flee from this dangerous creature that had killed their leader, and flee they did.

As she searched the first floor for the three men that had gotten inside, she had the chance to walk among the bones of all those that had come inside before now. Mostly the bones of the insane surface dwellers litter the halls. She had several times captured one or two of them to try and figure out why most of the normally docile people in the world went insane. Scientifically she had no answer other than it might be a pathogen that effects most intelligent beings. But seeing as she never found anything definitive, she was forced to cease researching it in favor of keeping the facility from exploding. She never did stop researching completely however. Now though, she had other things on her mind, most notably the three strangers in her den.

Consulting with Sam once or twice to pinpoint their position, she decided to head towards the closest one. The smaller feline was having the most problem with those chasing him. He kept getting cornered in dead ends and getting turned around. He wouldn’t last much longer without help. Not having the same troubles navigating the halls as he was, she managed to easily catch up to him, only to find that he was in serious trouble. He had managed to stop most of the insane, but three of them had gotten the upper hand. Snarling and grasping, they were attempting to gnaw and claw their way into any part of him they could reach while he lay on the floor defenseless. He was already bloody and loosing the fight. Wasting no time she stepped right up, grabbed the first one and tossed him like trash into the wall, leaving a bloody smear. The second was no less easy as she tossed the second into the same spot. The third was a tad trickier. He backed off from Holly after having seen his two partners get the boot and she missed the grab. However, he was in range of her foot, which she planted in his chest, breaking every single rib and stopping his heart cold.

With all three of them dead, she was able to turn her attention to the feline she saved. Only to find that he had lost consciousness. Checking over his body she found that he was wearing minimal heavy protection. He was obviously the runner of the group. By the time she stopped the bleeding he had lost so much blood that he wouldn’t survive without an infusion. Thankfully she had the supplies to help. Picking up his limp body she carried him away.

*******************************************

“Rick…Richard…come in…..damn it Richard, this isn‘t time for one of your games.” The bear was getting aggravated by the silence of his friend. “Boss, we got a problem.”

“I know, Rick isn‘t answering.” He let out a small sigh “Is he still alive?”

“I can‘t tell“ the bear said as he slowly looked around “there‘s too many people running about in here.”

“Then lets just assu…he‘s ju……..eep goi…” the signal was cutting out.

“Boss?…Boss?!……..DAMN IT!…No wonder they‘re acting nuts. Fucking automatons.” Without another word he headed off, deeper into the facility.

*******************************************

“Sam, do you have any idea what happened?” Holly asked while tapping the screen in front of her.

“No. I‘m scanning for the interference now. There seems to be a rather large and moving jamming signal that is messing with my audio and video capabilities. All conventional methods of countering it have thus far failed.”

Holly sighed, then instantly perked up. This was something new and it tickled her to the core. For the first time in years she had something substantial to look forward to. But for now she had other business to deal with. “What section is the bear in?”

“Section A of floor 3.”

“How did he get there so fast?” she asked as she started making her way towards the bear.

“He found an access route in the floor by falling through it.”

“Hmmm, guess I should have worked on those floor panels once in a while.” she shrugged “Oh well, no use crying over failed experiments. Lets change my program around a bit and become more suitable for when I meet the bear.”

“Of course. Are you going with the standard stranded attire or will you be going with something new for this encounter?”

“Standard.” she replied as her program started to change her appearance. The glowing connector lines on her body dimmed to nothing and she was clothed in a bullet proof vest, a pair of stitched together jeans, and a mismatched pair of combat boots. ”Better to look like I‘ve been living here rather than looking like I‘m a part of the building.” Holding her hands up in a firearm carry pose an M-4 Carbine assault rifle materialized in her grasp. “Speaking of fitting in, safety protocol on all firearms and personal tools off.”

“Are you sure you want to turn all safety protocol‘s off?”

“Yes I‘m sure,” she answered with a slight edge to her voice. “I have to seem normal don‘t I? That means bleeding and feeling pain.”

“Understood.” Was Sam’s only response.

On her way towards the bear she was met with far more of the animalistic surface dwellers than she had ever before seen at one time. It was a veritable flood of people pouring into the facility. Never before had she killed so many people. Never before had she allowed herself to become damaged by these same people. There were so many that even her program enhanced strength wasn’t enough to protect her completely. She winded up with scratches and cuts, bruises and matted fur. She was thoroughly enjoying the scientific aspect of feeling such pain, but wasn’t at all pleased with how it felt. She could only hope that it would be worth it. If that bear died than this would mostly be for nothing. Thankfully her worry was unfounded. While being pursued by a larger group than she was capable to manage alone she rounded the corner only to see the bear standing in a doorway leading to a dead end room.

“Hurry!” he shouted while waving her closer.

Sprinting the last 30 feet she dived into the room as the bear slammed the door shut behind her. Leaning against the metal door, the bear turned his head to look at her. “I don‘t suppose you know a way out of this room do you?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. But first, your going to have to explain to me what your doing in my home and why you brought all those crazy freaks here.” she replied angrily. She had seen enough movies and TV shows to know how to act in any situation.

“Calm down now.” he said coolly “We didn‘t bring them here. We ran into a problem on the surface and just wanted a place to lay low. We didn‘t know we were walking into a giant underground building. I can explain better once we get away from the mass of people outside. So…a way out please?”

She looked at him for a minute more before walking to the far wall and opening a hidden panel in the wall. Pushing a few buttons opened a panel in the ceiling and a ladder lowered down. She climbed up and waited for him. Moving quickly he jumped onto the ladder as she flipped a switch making him ascend. Seconds later the door burst open and a tide of people came rushing in trying to get at them. They were just too slow. They spent the next 20 minutes edging their way through the small passageways in silence. She had expected him to talk or ask questions, but he was being far too quiet for her liking.

“What‘s your name big guy?” she asked in an attempt to break the sharp silence. “Mine‘s Holly.”

“Jake.” he said bluntly.

“Why are you being so silent?”

“I‘m worried about a couple friends of mine. Lost contact with them about 45 minutes ago.”

She knew instantly he was lying. Her program was equipped with subroutines meant to detect lying. The only problem was that she didn’t know what he was trying to cover up. So rather than trying to figure it out, she decided to be direct. “That‘s a lie you know. Might be true that you‘re worried, but that‘s not the reason your being so silent.” she turned back to look at him and was met with a look of shock from him.

“Alright, I‘m going to go on a limb here and say your talent is telling when someone‘s not being fully truthful. So I might as well be honest.” he said while scratching the back of his head “You make me nervous.”

“I make you nervous?” she asked shocked.

He nodded “My talent is being able to sense the emotions of others, and I can‘t feels yours at all. So you‘re either a very advanced automaton, or there‘s something wrong inside your head and you‘re disconnected from your emotions completely. Either way it makes me nervous to be around you.”

She shrugged “I don‘t have a clue what an automaton is, so we‘ll just say I‘m disconnected from my emotions. Otherwise, why don‘t you tell me what an automaton is. I‘ve never seen anything other than those crazy people”

He still sounded nervous as he explained to her what an automaton was. His description was that certain people became poisoned by living technology, it corrupted their minds and forced them to fight and kill in order to dominate the surrounding area’s. No one knows why or how it happens or what they really want. All anyone knows is that they become leaders and basically make all the others follow their command. They also tend to be faster, stronger, and much harder to kill. Even Jake, with all his strength and size, admits to barely being able to handle a single automaton. Holly though already knew what it was based on the description alone. She knew the technology that was used by her creators had evolved into a pseudo life. It was originally designed to be injected into a body to speed healing, increase strength and speed, and make a body much more durable and resistant to injury. It was programmed for those purposes only. To have had it evolve into a transferable virus like mutagen would take some time to figure out. She had to hide it, but she was getting very excited at the prospect of finding out exactly what this technology had grown into.

Jake spoke up interrupting her thoughts “Do you happen to know where my friends are? I‘d really like to meet up with them and get the hell out of this place.”

“I know where your little feline friend is. He was in trouble and I saved him. I moved him to somewhere safe. He‘s recuperating at the moment. He lost a lot of blood so I gave him a transfusion.”

“Isn‘t it dangerous to give him blood without knowing his type?”

“Not if you have the right kind. The blood here is synthetic.”

“Sin what-ick?” he asked confused.

“Synthetic. It means it‘s basically fake but just as good as the real thing. It won‘t hurt him any.”

“Look…Just, just take me to him please.”

She nodded and decided not to respond. He seemed to prefer walking in silence and she was more than happy to just lead the way. When they got to the exit she was looking for she slowly opened the panel and peered out. “Looks like there‘s a couple of them milling around. We‘ll have to kill them by hand so they don‘t alert the others.”

“We‘re not going to kill them.”

She had to fight to keep from raising her voice “Not going to kill them? What else is there to do when they want to kill us?”

“It‘s not their fault. They‘re being led by the automaton. If it wasn‘t for that thing these people would be more like docile animals than monsters.” He held up his gun. Holly could see that it had been modified from what it used to be. But it didn’t help her place what the weapon used to be “We use tranq darts and only use live ammo if we have no other choice.”

“Fine, we‘ll do things your way. How do you want to deal with those two?”

Jake responded by edging his gun out of the panel and taking two shots at the two in the room. Seconds later they were out. He stepped out of the wall. “We‘re safe now. I can‘t feel anyone close by. But I feel Rick. Take me to him would you? I‘ll get lost in this place.”

She starts to lead him towards the door when a garbled voice crackles from the monitor on the wall “Ho…it‘s cl…..full.” than nothing but static.

“Sam? Damn it. That thing you mentioned is getting close. It‘s messing up my friend.”

“Your friend? I thought you were alone.” he asked confused

“I am…but it‘s complicated.” she tried to explain

“I don‘t think-” was all he got out before the left wall burst apart and a large wolf came crashing through it. It wasn’t moving.

Sam’s voice came back as the beast fell still “All systems are operating normally.”

Looking into the hole in the wall stood a figure that she recognized. “You‘re still alive?” was all she was able to say.

“Hello Holly. Computer, deactivate the holographic Assistant Program, authorization Craxis Zeta 9 3 Troy.”

Before she could protest her entire world went black.