The Vespidian

Arc 3 All These Squares

Chapter 2

This whole quarantine thing wasn't so bad. I didn't have to do anything; I just couldn't leave this room. For a recluse like me, not so bad. I mean, nobody to yell at me. Look weird at me. Scream in terror and run off down the street. Not so bad. This peace and quiet... of course, Neon Nurse was always watching. It is nice to talk to somebody in person. This was basically a nice all-expenses-paid vacation, and I was damn well gonna enjoy it. Food was brought to me when I desired it. I don't know what else to wish for. My basement-dwelling mentality returned. Not sure if that was a good thing, though. It was best to be left alone.

Funnily enough, I had been missed. My stream on Spasm had taken a nose dive in viewers due to my… 4-month absence. However, those that recognized my Shattered Realm character named Malachite Queen were surprised to see me online again. Well, when you go ghost mode for almost half a year, people tend to think you died. I can't really blame them. I did almost die a few times. At any rate, my inbox was full. Not just full. I had been getting emails from people wondering what had happened or if I had quit the game. It was actually rather touching. I mean, people noticed that I had been gone. Kind of funny how something so innocuous could be so validating.

I decided to check in on my SRO account because I needed to be somewhat productive. As the game updated, I read through change logs and events that had happened so far. Sweeping patches had hit. The reset I had been dreading had occurred, and the God Quests had been reimplemented, allowing others to do the quest line again. However, oddly enough, there was nothing about the rewards being stripped from those that had received them. I suppose I would just have to log in to find out if I had been beaten with the nerf bat or not.

I stared at the helmet and visor. The bone-white face reflected in it. I tapped at it on the table, sighing. It was elongated. That was surprising since I was now a cone-headed wasp woman. Usually, these things were domed and fit snugly on the head, a round head. I take it Neon Nurse had customized one for me. I don’t think I deserve a friend like her, she is well… simply the best. It worked a little differently than a normal helmet. The back of my head was inserted first, and the face plate was a separate piece that was attached once the back part was in place. It fits very snugly.

The screen before me lit up, displaying all the familiar menus and options I was used to. My mind moved the cursor to where it needed to be. Integrating it into the computer, I began sifting through account information and logging into SRO and Spasm. I looked at the camera feed for the Spasm channel; not going live, but simply checking on it. The helmet looked pretty neato. It was a dark black with slight tones of blue; in other words, it matched my carapace. It almost looked like I was wearing some sort of hero outfit or some kind of robot outfit. I think it was actually passable for not being a wasp monster. Who woulda known? Just needed a helmet over my head and to keep my abdomen out of view.

I am a people! I think I might be able to start streaming again. That would be nice. That was something that I enjoyed.

Cracking my knuckles, I leaned back in my chair and started the stream. Spasm gave the rotating little red icon of a brain spinning. After a moment, it turned from red to green, and I was live. At first, well, it was a ghost town. Nobody. Zero viewers. Not surprising. Nothing to it, I suppose.

SRO loaded up and started broadcasting with me in the bottom right-hand corner. Hmm, with the dark blue lights glowing from the helmet was definitely giving off a robo vibe. The exoskeleton could pass for a suit. Not too bad. If anybody asks, I could just say it is a cosplay. Or better yet that I am re-branding or something. Will give it some more thought later.

The blinding light blue of the loading screen gave way, and it took a moment until the world lit up around me, Shattered Realms Online. I had missed this game. Now where the hell am I? It looked familiar, but something was off. This was certainly the Moon Goddess's Temple in the depths of the Shadow Realm. Ah, that is what was off. Luna, the Moon Goddess, was alive. The last time I played, she was well and dead due to players doing the god Slayer quest line. Her buff was the only one I never got since I didn't want to kill her. This also meant that the Goddess of Death had not invaded yet since the killing of the gods was a scheme set up by her to use the players to kill off all of her rivals.

I jumped off of the slab-like alter that I had logged out on, "I am alive!"

Players turned, glancing at me from the varied silver-winged angel npcs. One of the NPCs, Camelia, the Dawnbreaker, gave me a stern look, "Quiet in this holy place. You already soil it with your mere presence."

"What is with the attitude? We were pretty chummy chummy before-" I paused, looking through the reputations. Sure enough, the Lunari rep was reset, along with all the other god reps, which were nil, zilch. "Well that is fucking bullshit. Why did they reset the rep? Fuck me, that took like a full month of non stop grinding to get up."

I growled, sitting down and grumbling. Well, shit, if they can just strip me of my hard work. I kinda don't want to play this game. It's like getting my game crashed after beating all the achievements and not saving since the middle of the game. That is annoying.

It was weird seeing the Lunari npcs alive and well. This place was a graveyard the last I had been here. Being a ruined ghost town for months, I had started getting used to the somberness. I wonder if this is how time travelers feel? I would definitely prefer it to stay this way. I wonder if it would be possible to keep Luna alive this time around? Maybe there is a hidden quest to get the gods to help kill the Goddess of Death? Maybe not, though; the writers of this game are not that creative. I mean, that would be like next-level stuff.

Oddly, I wasn't really in the mood to play. Which was very weird to me. I had already done all this stuff. Did I really want to go through and grind all that rep and stuff again? Not really; that was a drag. It felt like all my hard work had been for naught. Maybe it was just my shifting priorities? I mean, I was taking this hero thing seriously. The alternative was going back to Molotov and being a Villain, which entailed killing people, stealing and all around just being a bad person.

I shivered a bit at that thought. Definitely not doing that. As appealing as Boris might be, it well, it just didn't sit right with me. I would like to think that I was a good, well… sorta ok person. At the very least, I had some sort of morals. I am not an absolute deranged menace to society or anything. I mean, trying to help somebody is what got me into this predicament to begin with. I thought back to that night and immediately regretted it from the stabbing pain pulsing through my brain. Man, that fucking hole in my brain seems to only act up when I think about that stuff.

At any rate, I was gonna do my best on this hero stuff. Besides, Neon Nurse and the others had stuck their necks out on the line for me. It would be fucked up to betray that kind of hospitality. As for Molotov… I didn’t want to think about that at the moment.

"Enjoying your game?" asked Neon Nurse poking her head in.

I muted the stream, not like anybody was watching. Still if somebody did pop in didn’t want them hearing anything.

"Sort of." I replied, a little down.

Her head tilted as it always did when she was thinking, "Is there something wrong with the hardware?"

"No, it is all working great. Way better than my old stuff in fact."

She smiled, "That is good. I am glad that it is running optimally. If it is not the computer, then what is wrong?"

I frowned a bit, "I don't know. I just… it just feels off. It kind of just, doesn't feel important anymore. Got more important things to do, but I can't do them because I am stuck in here."

Neon Nursed nodded, her blond bob-cut swished a little, "Understandable. Until the Quarantine lifts you shouldn't worry about it, just try to be comfortable. You have already been through a lot so it is ok to take it a little easy."

"I, I suppose it has been rather, hectic."

She wagged her finger, "Now let me tell you, it is not everyday one resists the whiles of evil. It is, commendable."

"Thanks that means a lot," I smiled.

I nodded to myself; I did make the right call. If I had gone with Molotov would probably be getting my exoskeleton broken or boiled like a lobster. Or some other crazy shenanigans like running through a death dungeon or something. Knowing her well, nothing was off of the table.

"Ah come to think of it, is it ok if I stream?" I asked, looking to the muted stream.

"Sure, but just make sure that you don't tell anyone that you are a hero or any info about yourself, that sort of stuff can be used by a villain against you. After all gotta keep your identity a secret right? Oh and lastly never show your face, always wear that helmet if you are streaming since that would be part of the identity."

I thought about it, "You say that, but it not like I can really cover this up."

"Don't you worry about that, we are working on your super costume." Neon Nurse smiled, showing me a diagram of a suit.

If I was looking at this thing right, it had a lot of bells and whistles. Is that climate control? My suit has AC? That is pretty sweet. It was tall, about a foot higher than me, which stuck it well in the seven-foot range. For the size, it was rather slim, except in the boob and ass departments; this thing had some cake. Overall, it is a lot sexier than I was, so not really complaining. It had Neon Nurse's logo of a stylized half heart and a half cog fused together.

"Mecha Nurse?" I asked, reading the name of the file.

"Yeah it will be your super name."

I contemplated, "I don't know much about medical stuff."

"That is easy, I can teach you lots."

"This is, thoughtful of you, though I am not really sure I deserve it." I felt a bit guilty about it.

"Don't you worry about a thing, I will take care of you."

I gave her a long skeptical look; this was too good to be true, "What exactly are you getting out of being so nice to me? You are not like this for everyone are you?"

In her usual fashion, Neon Nurse tilted her head to one side, "Not everyone, only those I care about, which are very few."

"Why do you care about me?"

Her head tilted from side to side, thinking, "I am not entirely sure, logic would dictate that you are trouble and I should be avoiding you due to decreased productivity, but I find myself attracted to you. Honestly it is surprising to me to have a romantic interest in another being. This would be the first time in my life. This is not something I am accustomed to so I am trying my best through trial and error. The act of courtship that organics engage in is illogical and due to my dampened emotions I have trouble deciphering social cues. Due to your inquiry I assume I have made errors in my approach? If so would you kindly point them out so that I may adjust my parameters."

I looked at her, a little concerned, "Are you ok? Went all robo there."

"Ah, I am sorry." Neon Nurse replied, looking at the floor for a moment before she resumed talking, "I tend to do that when I am analyzing something that I am having more trouble with than usual. Did I cause you discomfort? If so I did not mean to."

"I am sorry," I replied, giving her a hug, "This is all new to me so I am a little sensitive to everything. The robo stuff is weirding me out, but so is a lot of stuff these days so just give me some time to adjust. You have been more than kind to me so I will try my best to be your friend."

"Only friends?" she replied, "What if I wished to pursue you as my partner?"

I should have been expecting that due to her browbeating me with her intentions, but I was still taken a bit aback, "I… I don't really think I am ready to even consider that sort of thing at the moment. I am still getting used to what I am and what all that means."

"I see, so you are not rejecting me. In that case, I have a gift for you. I believe it will show you my honest and earnest intentions. I hope you will enjoy it." Neon Nurse smiled brightly as she pulled away from me and exited the room.

As always, in her wake, the doors shut, trapping me inside here. I sat contemplating it. This seems kind of personal, so I switched off my stream and logged out. If she was going to be this honest, I should be as well, right?

I sat on my bed, waiting for her. I wonder what she was going to give me? With the stillness of the room, Mr. Bubbles had emerged from his lair, scooting along the bottom of his tank.

Minutes passed before Neon Nurse returned; she held something behind her back as she entered my enclosure. She stood before me, gazing down with a big warm smile; she seemed exceedingly excited about this.

"Close your eyes and put your hands out." She said mysteriously.

I raised an eye ridge at her but closed my eyes and set my hands out with open palms. After a moment, something hard was deposited into my hands. My fingers felt about; it appeared to be a box, a rectangular box. The real question was, what was in the box?

"Ok you can open your eyes."

I did so, and it wasn't just a box in my hands; it was a fancy box. It had Neon Nurse's logo on the top, laser etched into the cold durable steel of the case. I looked between her and the mystery case. She nodded, looking at me expectantly. Whatever is in here must be really nice. I lifted the top off, looking deep into the padded confines. It… I looked between her and it questioningly. Her usually stoic and indecipherable face started becoming shy and distressed as I looked back and forth between her and it. It seemed even an emotionally stunted cyborg could feel uncertain.

"Is… is- is it not to your satisfaction?" She asked with growing concern as I wasn't even touching it.

What it was started to sink in, and I became embarrassed, "Umm. I. Hmm. I am a girl you know?"

"Yes, but you do have an ovipositor, so technically you are hermaphroditic." She replied, pushing her fingers together coyly, "Did I make another mistake? Do you not like it?"

"I don't know. It is the first time anybody ever gave me this sort of thing. This is very thoughtful of you? I think?"

She looked at the floor, clearly beating herself up over it, "Oh, I suppose this sort of thing isn't commonly exchanged is it? I have been selling a lot of them lately so it didn't really cross my mind of the social implications. Thinking on it, I am a bit desensitized. If it makes you uncomfortable I can get you something else?"

I mean, it is weird, but she didn't have bad intentions about it, and as far as I can tell, she was frank, if not too upfront. "I will take it, the least I can do. Never used one before or even really considered it so took me a little bit to make sense of it. Thank you for gift, I will use it if I ever feel the need."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I am sure. Is there anything I need to know about it?"

Neon Nurse's eyes seemed to gleam as she got in close, explaining all the intricacies of it, "This is the latest model, hasn't even been released for sales yet. It is very special. This remote controls the functions. It has vibration, suction, self lubrication, heating, gyration, tightness and muscle grip are adjustable. It can grow or shrink to accommodate the user's measurements ensuring a perfect fit. The synthetic material is durable, but also supple for maximum comfort. When you are finished it even has a self cleaning function."

"Doesn't have bluetooth?"

"Not bluetooth, but it can be remotely controlled from other devices, however for privacy that function is disabled by default. With this button here," she pressed a blue button on the lower section of the controller. "Currently the only connected systems would be mine."

I was lost for words for a bit. Processing all that. There was only one real question that came to mind, "Who was it modeled after?"

"Oh it is completely artificial so it was digitally molded and sculpted as such it is not based on any one person. It does however use my synthetic flesh composite."

"I see." I said vaguely, "I will, eh deal with it later."

Her head tilted to one side, "Not going to try it out? If you require help using it I would not mind helping you. I have ample experience due to the testing of models and can say with certainty that I am positively proficient in the use of these devices."

"With you here, watching me? No."

I could see the realization cross her face. She must really be desensitized or really into me, likely both. "Oh! I was too forward. I see, my apologies, let me give you some nice quiet quality time to yourself."

Saying that she backpedaled out of the room, leaving me alone with the box. I gazed down at the fleshy tube within. This was certainly a memorable gift; it is not every day a friend gives you a cocksleeve, and not just that… like the deluxe Lamborghini special edition of Robopuss. What the hell am I even going to do with this thing?

These were questions for another day. I closed the box and tucked it under the bed. I am a bit dumbfounded over this. I mean, I get she wants me, but this is beyond unsubtle; it is almost kinda cute in a very weird pervy way. I didn't really think anybody would be attracted to my fugly bug ass. This was going to take some getting used to.

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