Just the Beginning, Part 2

 The base's labs weren't exactly the best. They had a few resting chambers for any stray reploids and enough tools for basic maintenance, but funding cuts and the fact that they were in maverick territory made it difficult to get any specialized equipment for more efficient work. All they really had money for was armor and weapons to defend themselves. Food supplies, too, since reploids typically had no need to "eat", and the mavericks weren't smart enough to take out their food sources. At least, not yet.

 Times had been tough since the Moon Base disaster. They had only recently began rebuilding on the Earth surface, after one of the space colonies collapsed on the planet and ravaged a huge chunk of resources and making it almost inhabitable to anyone and anything organic. Even after the Maverick Hunters did so much, mavericks were still roaming about, taking advantage of their prolonged absence. Humankind knew that if they wanted to survive, they had to get on their level and prioritize weaponry and armor that could withstand maverick attacks. They also had to genetically modify crops to make them capable of surviving harsh conditions, as well as any domesticated animal used as food sources.  They needed to produce reploids and robots to aid them in reclaiming areas and exploring new ones, and prayed that they didn't turn against them.

Even then... Even now, they lived in fear. Fear that all that they had worked for would be destroyed, and told that their planet was no longer their home. That they would lose everything.

 So it was odd that this child... Tina, was it? That Tina was just cheerful as she got a little pink toolbox and got to work. His own kind were responsible for all of the chaos and problems. The world was in ruins. Why was she so... happy?

As she hummed and started tinkering with his right arm, Pisces glanced around the lab with his one good eye. Pictures were plastered all over the place. Some were drawn in crayon, others with colored pencil, and still others with markers. Some were more well-drawn than the others. At least one of the drawings, he could tell, was a sketch of a young girl with curled hair, a woman with braids and armor befitting of a military woman, and a man with short hair and bright red armor, posing with a smirk on his face. All had the signature that was lovingly placed in the corner of the paper: Tina Faust.

 She's a pretty good artist, Pisces thought. I wonder how many people asked for a portrait.

She probably brings a lot of hope and happiness to everyone. A pretty big change from what I'm used to seeing.  The world needs more people like her: bright, inspiring minds that can lead to a brighter future. 

I hope all the problems we bring won't cloud that sunshine.

Things were quiet as the reploid was lost in thought, Tina working towards repairing his legs now. After a few minutes, she stopped and smiled at him.

"What do you like to do, Mr. Fishy?" she asked sweetly.

Oh, boy.  She's asking the tough questions. How long has it been since he did anything he liked? Think, think...

"Well, I like swimming!" he answered with a grin. "And I like going to the aquarium, which is like a place where all the sorts of types of fish are! And I like long walks on the beach, really romantic you know-"

Tina crossed her arms and stuck her lips out in a pout. "That's not fair!"

"Of course not, it's a beach. Fairs are differe-"

"Nooooo, it's not fair! You got to go to an aquarium! I never got to go to one!" She paused a moment and her pout intensified as she whined, "I never got to go to a fair, either! Everybody keeps talking about those 'good old days' where those were a thing, but I never got to go..."

 Pisces blinked. "How old are you?"

 Tina held up her tiny little hands, ten tiny little fingers standing right up.

 "Ow, that stings. I'm actually really old. You know how reploids can last longer than humans?"

"I know all about that. That's 'cuz you guyses don't need to eat or drink, you just need energy crystals and energy to do stuff! Which is kinda like your food and stuff! And we get all old and wrinkly while you guys just need a lot of oil and TLC to look like you never grew up!"

The reploid sighed, "Apparently, I didn't get enough of either. Now I'm just a rusty bucket."

  Tina puffed up her cheeks in defiance and shouted, "You're not a rusty bucket, Mr. Fishy! You're Mr. Fishy! A nice reploid! You just need lots of oil. Your legs nearly rusted over! And your arm needed an armor replacement, and I need you to go sleepy bye so I can fix your torso armor and your eye and your other arm!" She pointed to each as she spoke, gradually becoming more and more worried as she went along. When she stopped at his left arm, she gently picked it up and examined it, taking it apart almost like a surgeon dealing with a human patient: gentle, careful, and with no hesitation.

 This girl is more talented than I gave her credit for, the reploid thought, a smile forming on his lips. The world's in good hands... and so am I. A little rest won't hurt.

Initiate Sleep Mode.

SLEEP MODE ACTIVATED.

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Tina turned around and asked, "So, will you take me to an aquarium or a fair when we see one? Because I'd-"

 Then, she noticed his eyes were closed. He really did go sleepy-bye. She frowned. Sure, she'll be able to fix up the chest and eye, but she wanted someone to talk to! That and this arm is all weird and stuff. It's nothing like she's used to. Like, it shifted into one of those buster weapons when she messed around with it. And that's neat, but she doesn't know how to fix it!

Oh well. Mr. Fishy wouldn't mind if she only half-fixed it until she could find someone else who can really fixy-fixy the thing!

Still, all this was weird to her. Mr. Fishy was really, really banged up. He musta been sleeping for a long, long, long time, and his creator musta died. Sasha said that a lot of reploid makers put their creations in a sort of sta...sta.... a long sleepy when all the bad things happened, both so that the reploids didn't do any bad things, and so that they'll be nice and fresh when they woke up and had work to do! Mr. Fishy looked pretty bad, like he got into a bad fight or something. Maybe he walked a really long way but couldn't do anything about the rust cuz nobody brings oil with them anywhere. Either way, Mr. Fishy needed TLC, and she would give him that!

It took a long time, though. So while she worked on him, Tina plugged him into an energy resource so he could charge up and stop relying on the solar energy! He probably needed that to use his buster, anyway. She could hear the faint whirrs and hums as his systems began to work harder, motivating her to work even faster. When she was almost done, she heard the lab door open up and the sound of heels meeting steel.

 "Any progress?"

 Tina greeted the woman with a smile and a salute. "Everything's A-OK, Sasha! He's all fixied up, except for this arm."

 Sasha raised an eyebrow and walked over to her companion, taking a look at the arm herself. "What's wrong with it?"

"Like, I could fix up the whole wires disconnecting and all and some of the parts missing, but his buster is really weird, like X's, so I don't know how to fixxy, so I just went and fixied what I could and then we can find someone else who can fixy it better than I can fixy it!" Tina took a deep breath and added quickly, "Is that bad?"

 The military woman patted the girl on the head, smiling for the first time today. The kind of smile that made a pretty face even prettier and could light up a room. "No. You did what you could, Tina." Tina had to hold back from vibrating out of happiness, but couldn't once Sasha added, "Now, let's go enjoy some milk and cookies together, okay? As a reward. You need a little break, after all."

"YAAAAAY! MILK AND COOKIES!" Tina shouted, flailing about, the happiness in her tiny little heart intensifying.

The duo started to leave when the biggest mood killer of all blared throughout the building.

WARNING. WARNING. INTRUDERS DETECTED! IDENTIFIED AS MAVERICKS!  WARNING. WARNING.