Hi there! My name is Cocoran, but everyone calls me Coco. I'm a cleaning rep turned Maverick turned Hunter. Gee, that sounds weird doesn't it? But that's what happened. (inane giggle) Well, you might think that a reploid wouldn't be happy as a cleaning bot, but gee I was. I was a good cleaning bot. Scrubbing and humming all day long… although a human working there told me I sounded like a demented refrigerator, which wasn't nice, but then I was cleaning the vents near him for thirty minutes so I guess he had a right not to like it….
Where was I? Am I boring you? You look a little glazed. Oh right, I was talking about cleaning. Well, the company I was cleaning for was making a super-duper-ooper fighting reploid, and I was cleaning up the lab when the Mavericks tried to get it. Big oops. I'm kinda a klutz, so I got in the way when they shot this little dart at it. Bigger oops….
Why am I talking to you like this though? 1'st person narratives suck…. Oh shut up…. Can it! (sounds of a small scuffle) That's better… but I must be boring you. Or confusing you. Or maybe you just don't like me…. (sniff) A lot of people don't like me… maybe I'm annoying you now. Let's just go to third person, shall we? Here it is…
"Ah lowa lowa, woah baby, we got it goin'… yayayayayya…." The cleaning bot sang softly as she polished the mirrors. She grinned at her reflection, taking pride in the perfect shine. Her eyes were a velvety aqua, her face cute in a pert little way, but her hair was… odd. Pulled into two pony tails, she looked like she had come straight out of Sailor Moon. The little cleaning bot's eyes dimmed as she thought of all the teasing she endured… but then she perked up as she thought about her next job to do.
"Go clean the nursery, all right!" And she skipped her way out, tripping occasionally. The human and reploid employees ignored her. They all knew Coco. One human caught her as she stumbled a bit too far, and she burbled out thanks, which he smiled and accepted. Coco giggled as she reached the nursery, hearing the children's voices.
"Hee-eey!" She poked her head through the door, singing her words. "I'm baaaack!" Most of the children laughed, and some of them groaned. Like the adults, they all knew Coco.
"How's everything been?" She burbled out, kneeling down and holding out her arms to a tiny toddler, who clutched her with a big, toothless grin. "Hi Danny, you little sweetie!" She tickled him a little, smiling brightly, and the child laughed, grabbing her hair, which eeled away.
"Nuh unh!" She giggled, her hair pulling itself back into a little ball behind her head. Several other children started clamoring for her attention, while the older ones stayed as far away as possible. Coco loved them up freely and impartially. She adored human children. Cleaning the nursery just made her day…
"Oh." She sighed a little, her hair drooping. She was here to clean, not babysit. With one child getting a ride on her shoulders, she started vacuuming. She hummed happily, getting every speck of dirt.
"Cocoran!" A loud male voice sounded behind her, making her squeak and jump, almost unseating the child from her shoulders, who squalled. She pulled him into her arms, turning around guiltily to see her supervisor glaring at her.
"Aren't you finished yet?" He asked irritably. He was a middle-aged, handsome man, but Coco had trouble appreciating that in the slightest bit. He was her idea of purgatory. "You're supposed to clean up the lab! The techs need clean space!"
"Yes sir!" She chirped, looking at him with slight panic. She was the best cleaning bot in the whole company, but nothing she did was good enough for him. Not fast enough, thorough enough… he always had some complaint. She sighed unhappily, putting down the child. She would have liked to stay, but she knew he wanted her to do the lab first… it mattered, children didn't. They never do, or someone would be at home with them! Coco thought, a little resentful. If I had a child I wouldn't put them in a place like this…
"Coco, are you listening?" He barked at her impatiently. She came back to herself very quickly.
"Yes sir!" She replied. He scowled harshly.
"Don't mess with the Reploid on the workbench, all right? Clean everything else. Got that?" She almost sprained her neck nodding. "Good. Now go."
"Yes sir!" And she was rushing through the halls, when she happened to stumble into a dark green and orange Reploid, with spiky red hair. He caught her, stopping her fall, and laughed at her.
"Ehh Coco, you in a hurry?" He asked good-naturedly, righting her with his large, strong hands. Coco gurgled in joy, hugging him.
"Malcolm, it's good to see you!" She giggled as the lab bot, Malcolm, flushed a little.
"Yah, good to see you too. Where you goin' in such a hurry?" He asked, patting her on the head. She giggled a little, not resenting it in the slightest.
"Oh, I gotta go clean out the lab!" She chirruped, then looked downcast. "I wanted to stay in the nursery but he wouldn't let me…" Malcolm didn't have to ask who "he" was.
"Oh, old bossy boots." He dismissed his human superior with a wave of his hand. "In business, it isn't the cream that comes to the top, is it?" He grinned at her giggle. "Nosirree." Then he patted her gently on the back. "Well, you run along, and don't mess up the project in there or bossy boots will nail you up by the pig tails." Malcolm tugged on one of them affectionately, and she rubbed her face against his arm for a moment, smiling.
"I won't!" And she tumbled on down the corridor, revitalized by that brief meeting. There was always something to keep her spirits up…
Her eyes widened as she opened the door to the lab. It was a horrible mess! The new 'bot was sprawled out, surrounded by tools everywhere… and there were other things like candy wrappers, coke cans…
I have my work cut out for me here… Coco sighed to herself, pulling out her DustBuster VII vacuum. She started by throwing all the wrappers and cans into the trash and recycling, which took at least thirty minutes. Why can't they do this themselves…? She felt more than a little resentful that her time with the children was being pre-empted for a bunch of slobs who did have working legs… Coco sighed quietly to herself. It didn't really matter, she could always slip into the nursery later, during her break.
She finished that, and started her vacuuming. She smiled to herself, getting every bit of dust she could find. When I'm finished, this room will sparkle! She boasted to herself with pride.
Cocoran nearly jumped out of her skin when the door slammed open. There was soundproofing around the lab room, so she hadn't had the slightest clue… and she squeaked in dismay as she saw the invaders. Those aren't lab bots, are they? She stood still for a moment, watching wide-eyed as the strange, heavily armored 'bots rushed into the room.
"Hi!" She chirped on pure reflex. "Can I help you?" Most of the Reploids ignored her, except for a large black one, who took one look and laughed.
"Hey, a cleaning bot! This should be fun!" Coco gasped as he grabbed her by the arm, hauling her into the air… and her panicked mind suddenly recognized the patch on his shoulder. The Maverick symbol!
"Let me go, let me go!" She shrieked at him, bursting into tears. He was about to say something when she whacked him over the head with her vacuum cleaner. The Maverick let her go with a startled yelp, and Coco tried to run… tripping over her own feet instead, right in front of the new robot.
Ow Coco clutched her arm, feeling… very odd. Looking down, she saw a teeny-weeny dart stuck in her… the three Mavericks were all staring at her. Oh wow… She was starting to feel awfully dizzy. She stumbled back, tripping over her feet again, landing with a loud clatter on the floor…
"Let's get out of here before the Hunters arrive!" She heard one of the Mavericks say just before she entered dreamland…
Anyway, that's how I became a Maverick. Wasn't it stupid? I had to get in the way… but I'm always in the way. (sniff) And then Maverick HQ… oh, I'm getting ahead of myself. But it was… I mean… oh wah! (sniffling) Oh I'm sorry. I can't cry when I'm telling a story. Oh, thank you X, that's nice… (blows nose) Anyway, I'll tell you the rest as soon as I get a drink of water. Be right back…