Against Her Programming [SHELLVISION]

 [AUTHOR'S NOTE: There's really small blood/minor gore at the end. Please read at your own discretion!]

She'd never thought she'd ever question her creators, let alone their choices. After all, she was made in the image of perfection, right? Yet, something about her seemed off, and it was more than apparent when she looked at Shelly; the tears streaming down her cheeks, her reddened eyes, the way she seemed so unapologetically alive.

Her raw, genuine emotion was a nagging reminder to her lack of humanity, eating away at Vee's consciousness. Such a stark contrast her own emotions, which were far more faint than Shelly's, almost indiscernible at times. Sure, she could feel something, but it was always artificial; it felt scripted, never out of her own will.

Once she read the room, it only added to her sense of isolation. Everyone had their own unique, individual personalities and reactions. It was natural for them, why not her? If she was made by humans, why did she feel so inhuman?

Glancing back to Shelly, she let her earlier words sink in.

'Carefree.'

Before her thoughts could gnaw away at her anymore, her attention was diverted behind her. A creaking rumbled underneath the hazardous trapdoor, pushing its doors upwards. As she expected, Dandy popped up on his platform with his shop. He garnished his brick plates with items — the same ones she saw earlier on the floor!

His scandalous choice of goods didn't surprise Vee, his suspicious behavior had already been an indicator that he didn't have good intentions. With a glare, she noticed he seemed odd, his expression starting to falter. Oddly enough, he didn't say anything either, his eyes bore into Vee's. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought he'd turn rabid right then and there and tore her to pieces.

What did he want again? Tapes?

Her suspicions were confirmed once he pulled the lever, dragging his shop back downwards. "Those tapes don't belong to you," he spat bitterly, his gaze hateful; this brought the elevator's attention to him as the toons watched him drop back down, hiding behind the trapdoors. His ominous, threatening tone offset some toons, visibly making them anxious. Not many of them had tapes either, finding the useless film a hassle to carry around.

Regardless of Dandy's intentions with the tapes, it was clear he'd been peeved with everyone's hesitancy. Unsure of what he was planning, they gave each other confused glances. Whatever he wanted with those tapes, however, wasn't as important once the elevator came to a complete stop.

Once the elevator became still, Vee's eyes shot right at the door. She waited patiently for it to open, but it seemed stuck in time: okay.. odd. She figured it'd just be an elevator malfunction, nothing that couldn't be fixed in a few seconds — but she was so wrong. After a moment, the realization of their situation dawned on the others, letting panic set in.

As she glanced upwards, it seemed that the elevator was possibly stuck, maybe experiencing a fault in the lift. Following the safety procedures programmed into her, she trudged to the elevator's panel, clicking the door's open and close button; nothing. Didn't deter her much, pressing the emergency button instead.

Although she didn't expect a reaction, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment when she was met with a buzzing static instead of a message to help. Looking at the ceiling, she contemplated what her next plan of action was. Directing her focus back on to her peers, they mostly seemed either panicked or confused, just as unsure as what to do as her. Some ideas were spurred, but Vee mentally shot them down for their risky, dangerous nature.