Something went wrong somewhere; Rick was staring down at orange-jump-suited lady that had stuck him up here with the talkative kid and the china cabinet, but… Rick couldn't see her anymore. She'd be attempting to attach Pinky, last he recalled, but neither of them were in sight. Sure, there was a lotta fire, and there was plenty of stuff blowing up, but that didn't mean that little lady was down for the count… right? The chassis that they were attached to suddenly lifted up and booming laughter crackled through the loudspeakers, making both the yellow and green cores wince from the sound.
"HAHAHAHA, I SAW THAT, LOVE, THOUGHT YOU COULD RUN AWAY? NEUROTOXIN'S GOING TO GET YOU ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, MIGHT AS WELL COME BACK AND LET ME SQUISH YOU MYSELF!" the china cabinet sure was hella loud.
Another loud noise emitted from the walls and the blue core swung around, "Wha—NO! You CAN'T do that, that is cheating! You know what they say about cheaters! CHEATERS NEVER… uhm, what was that they never did again… WIN, YOU KNOW. THEY NEVER WIN, so save yourself from losing and get back here!"
Apparently either that potato lady or the pretty one figured out a way to both get the facility under control and shut of the weird looking gas pouring from the vents. Preeeeetty clever, which meant that a lot of the power was stripped from this raging blue jerk. Well on their way to dethroning him entirely and saving the day. Rick puffed up in his slot in the chassis, looking proud of himself for taking part in this final battle.
"Heheh, bet she's still alive, lyin' in wait, lookin' for the best time to STRIKE!" Rick piped up, scanning the ground and air ducts to try to confirm this theory.
"Lady? SPACE LADY, Spaaaace lady? Lady, lady… hey, lady, space!" Space core piped up, trying to call for the woman instead.
"RRGH, WILL YOU BOTH SHUT. UP!"
Rick nearly retorted, but the whole world felt like it was falling before he realized it was him. He and Space core hit the white spattered ground with a thud and a clang, rolling slightly so their optics faced up toward the blue asshole's chassis. Rick narrowed his pixelated eye, but before he could say anything, three huge spherical bombs were hurtling toward him and the kid.
"KID, LOOK OUT!" he shouted, shoving himself to the side to knock the yellow sphere out of the way.
He could hear the sound of metal rolling and shouts of space before impact. He squeezed his optic shut and the initial explosion rang in his audio processors before they went offline and he heard just static. The sensation of falling reached his readings, but soon faded away as he blacked out. Oh well, at least he managed to save the kid before he died, he thought what he assumed were his last thoughts. He just had to hope that he didn't get attacked twice. A thunderous clang registered on his outer plates just as his sensors went offline. Looks like this is where he'd have his hero's burial. Something bright and pink flashed before his dimming optic before it shut off completely. A feeling of relief washed over him right before he bit it, thankfully; Pinky made it, too.
"The Adventure Sphere will wake up," he could hear a voice in monotone urging him to put himself back online. No, he couldn't wake up, he was dead. He had his big exit, not he could quietly drift off into the sunset while everyone mourned his death like a hero.
A sound of a clearing throat reached his processors, "Fact: The Fact Sphere does not like to repeat himself," he heard again. Pfft, that was a lie.
At first, he didn't answer, but a charge of electricity shot through a cable he hadn't noticed before, forcing his green optic open wide. The first sight he saw was one pink striped optic staring him right in the handlebars as his optic rolled up and he found his voice modulator again.
"OOOWWW! PINKY, KNOCK IT OFF, I'M UP, I'M UP!" he cried, outer plates shaking from the sudden onslaught of pain.
The electricity shut off just as quickly as it started and Rick made a sound like a haggard pant, finally focusing on the core in front of him. Fact had a curiously worried expression across his eye plates, the moment Rick managed to focus on him, it disappeared, replaced by a more bland expression. Rick blinked very, very slowly before realizing the Fact was literally inches from his handlebars. It took him another long moment to realize he shouldn't be and tried to jerk away, surprised.
"Pinky, what th'hell-woah," he was jerked right back, almost hitting into Fact's optic had he not stopped himself with a bar to the ground.
There was a heavy cable inserted into the side of Rick's small chassis, looping on the ground not too far away into Fact's side as well. Blearily, Rick blinked at the cable and then back up at Fact before realizing they were plugged into each other right then. His eye plates flew open in horror and he immediately set to work putting up as many firewalls as he could between himself and the pink jerk sitting across from him. Fact watched and made a sighing noise before rolling his striped optic.
"Fact: The Fact Sphere already took down your firewalls, there was no point in having them if the Adventure Sphere intended on living," he informed him.
Rick gaped for a moment, "You… ya… wait, why'n th'hell didja plug int'a me, y'pervert!"
There was a distinct embarassed darkening of the Fact Sphere's pink, but he narrowed his eyes, "Fact: The Adventure Sphere was reaching a critical state with several malfunctioning systems, there was an urgent need for a recharge and the Fact Sphere was the only available source. The surrounding area did not have a functioning outlet."
Rick paused, searching for signs that the know-it-all might be lying, but he found none. Sure enough, he glanced around and saw they were shoved into a small area that was barely big enough to roll around in. It looked like it might have been the space between a couple of panels, Rick couldn't be sure. With a fume, he looked back at Fact who managed to look pretty smug for a sphere.
Somewhat nervously, he eyed the other sphere, "Y'didn't go'n… look any place y'shouldn't, didja?"
Fact sniffed disdainfully, "The Fact Sphere attempted to respect the Adventure Sphere's privacy while taking down his firewalls."
"Oh good; I was a little worried there Pin—"
"The Fact Sphere said 'attempted,'" Fact interrupted.
Rick's square pupil shrank several sizes, "Uh… kin y'tell me whatcha saw in there? Heh, no big deal or nothin', but… jus' wanna know."
Fact adopted a pondering expression before looking back at Rick, "The last thing the Adventure Sphere saw before he shut down was the Fact Sphere. The Fact Sphere saw quite a lot of information regarding that very same subject."
"Er, yeah, like what?"
"Fact: There were occurrences that the Fact Sphere does not recall."
"Oh, that? Hahaha," Rick laughed a little awkwardly, "S'called daydreamin', four-eyes, if y'saw me punchin' ya or somethin', don't worry 'bout it too much. Wouldn't punch a guy with glasses, unless I gotta good reason!"
Fact's eye plates narrowed slightly, disbelieving, "The Fact Sphere did not see the Adventure Sphere 'daydreaming' about punching. Fact: There were many occurrences of just the opposite."
"You punchin' me? Pft! Pinky, y'might break your arm!"
Fact shut his optic with a frustrated sigh, "Fact: The assertions previously made by the Adventure Sphere about his feelings toward the Fact Sphere are incorrect," he clarified.
Rick almost swore, but he bit it back in favor of making a sputtering noise, "Pffft! Pinky, keep dreamin', y'must'a hitcher head down here, too!"
"The Fact Sphere saw into the mind of the Adventure Sphere, he cannot lie to the Fact Sphere."
Silence fell between them while Rick searched for something to say, "Uh, what didja see, then?"
Again, silence and Rick shifted uncomfortably until Fact spoke up, "The Fact Sphere is capable of showing the Adventure Sphere…"
"Show me?" Rick stuttered, "Look, four-eyes, I know 'm irresistible 'n all, but we gotta look fer some way t'get outta here."
"The Fact Sphere has completed a scan of the general area; there is no visible exit reachable by the sphere constructs," Fact said sounding a little bored with the excuses already.
"Oh c'mon, y'might just need an adventurer's eye t'look 'round fo—"
"The previous assessment that the Adventure Sphere is a blowhard and a coward remains correct," Fact said with a resigned sigh.
"Oh no y'don't, y'know-it-all ass, I ain't no coward!" Rick replied, much more comfortable getting upset than the previous track they were on.
"Fact: The Adventure Sphere is so much of a coward that he cannot admit that he has feelings for the Fact Sphere that are positive and even romantic. Fact: The Adventure Sphere is too much of a coward to attempt to explore said feelings when offered, and would not indeed attempt to show off the alleged 'black belt in bedroom' the Adventure Sphere continuously insists he has," Fact spouted without missing a beat.
"Now look here! Y'got somethin' t'prove then jus' do it!"
"The Fact Sphere refuses to do anything without the explicit permission from the Adventure Sphere."
Rick made a low growling noise, "Wasn't that permission, y'smartass?"
Speaking before thinking was something that Rick constantly kicked himself for and right that moment was no exception. Without hesitation, a whole packet of euphoric information was streamed right into his processor. It shocked him enough that he almost didn't react, aside from the whine of motors inside of him twisting and writhing.
"Nngh, Pinky, why'n the hell right now!" he cried after a short, muffled groan.
"The Fact Sphere saw how the Adventure Sphere attempted to sacrifice himself to save the Space Sphere," he replied in a low voice, keeping the packets of information going, "It was a valiant act that the Fact Sphere decided needed praise. There is no escape imminent, this was the best course of action to pass the remaining time we have."
A strained, breathy noise came from Rick, eye plates drooping over his optic that was dimming with pleasure, "Yer… surprised I went'n did that?" he managed to gasp out, chassis shuddering slightly.
"The Fact Sphere is not surprised in the least, what surprised the Fact Sphere is the presence of any positive emotion from the Adventure Sphere toward an object of apparent hate for many, many years."
He really didn't want to talk about that embarrassing little bit of info, "Wh-whaddya mean time we have?"
Fact made a noise that might have sounded distressed, but Rick was far too distracted by the line of pleasant and very much erotic information that was filtering into him to notice, "There is exactly four hours until the Fact Sphere shuts down from lack of power, factoring the need to keep the Adventure Sphere alive as well."
Rick's eye blinked open, shocked, but Fact pressed the connection between them open wider, "Hhhffuuck," he swore very quietly.
It was becoming quickly very clear to the green core that Fact intended on continuing to have his way with him until they… well, until something changed, likely them shutting off forever. If he had to pick a way to go, this was probably one of the better ways to do it, but there was no way he was going to let that persnickety ass call the shots. The connection was open enough… Rick experimentally looped the information back at the sphere across from him, adding his own personal twist to the mix, something fast and experienced.
The look on Fact's face when he received that stream was more than well worth it; he made a very surprising little squeak. Rick lowered his optic just slightly. Now that the playing field was a little more level, he was going to have some fun.
"This's how y'wanna go, Pinky? 'm good with that," he crooned to the other sphere, whose eye plates had reached all the way back into his core.
Before the pink core could answer, Rick volleyed another packet of euphoria his direction. It was consuming, a large volume of information that was fast and reckless, but by the way Fact was plates fluttered, he had to guess it was good. The other core managed to rebound it right back at Rick with something much more meticulous and informed. Rick poured his information across Fact's sensors where Fact carefully chose which ones to please. It was incredibly arousing how Fact knew exactly what was going on in Rick's inner parts; the green core knew he had looked and now committed his core body to memory.
Without warning, Rick sped up the loop between them and was pleased when Fact's handle bars scraped against his pleadingly, "Gnngh! Haahhh, th-the Adventure Sphere… m-m-mmuuhh…"
For as much as he'd thought about this, it looked like right now connecting with Fact was going to be the first and last time. That just meant they had to make it good. Rick shifted as close to the other core as he could, the glass of their optics scraping together while Rick pitched forward from a strong line of pleasure to his system. His chassis shuddered and his bars scraped frantically across Fact.
"Ah goddammit," Rick swore and shut his optic, scraping up the last of his energy to keep the connection open, shoving through the information as fast as he could, "C'mon Pinky, ah, fuck."
The pressure between their optics increased, glass scratching glass, but neither could care. Both their simulated breathing was rising in pitch, they desperately tried to get themselves tangled against one another with their limited anatomy, metal and glass grinding against each other, the slight pain adding to the reckless and unplanned act between them. Suddenly Fact threw open his end of the connection wide open and Rick was almost struck silent, getting sucked into the memory banks and databases of the Fact Sphere.
There was hurt there, because of bad names and arguments. There was prideful arrogance, trying to convince everyone that Fact was better than everyone, even if he did not himself believe it. There was a longing and a loneliness that Rick hadn't been aware of previously, a desire to be listened to and a want for companionship. There was a lot of mixed, violent emotions involving Rick himself and it appeared that Fact had always been conflicted it about him. It took the green core an awestruck moment to realize that Fact was completely exposing himself to someone he wasn't sure of, making himself vulnerable and there was… almost an expectation to get hurt.
Rick pulled away, suddenly far more determined, pressing the data more accurately with just as much enthusiasm. Fact made a pitiful wailing noise, body shuddering and optic flickering closed while the feeling of pure bliss and plainly orgasm was forced back his way. A guttural moan echoed around their small space and they both leaned against one another, unmoving and just… glad to be next to one another.
"…h-how much power y'got left?" Rick managed to speak first.
"Fact: Previous activities… d-drained exactly… four-fifths or more of my battery," Fact managed to stammer, "We have perhaps ten or so minutes before permanent shut down."
They were quiet, leaning against each other for a couple of moments before Rick spoke up, "Y'know… if I gotta go 'cause'a some stupid power outage, 'm glad 'm with you," he said a bit quietly.
Fact very carefully opened his pink optic, the light dimmed for saving power, "Fact: The Fact Sphere wished to give us both a final wish. The Adventure Sphere wanted to explore a relationship with the Fact Sphere, the Fact Sphere is sorry that there is not more time."
That thought was really far too depressing for Rick's taste. There had to be some way out of there, but the more Rick tried to move… the harder it got; it was just… exhausting. He finally gave up and pressed his chassis against Fact.
"What didja want from all this, huh?" he asked finally, realizing that he hadn't said.
The other core shifted uncomfortably. If Rick had been a smarter construct, he might've been able to guess, but he wasn't, so he watched the pink core weigh the options, "Fact: The Fact Sphere desired companionship and a construct who would care for the Fact Sphere and the Fact Sphere alone in such a manner."
Rick chuckled, sounding tired, "Welp, looks like that's whatcha got, huh."
"The Fact Sphere is equally glad to be with the Adventure Sphere in a time of bleak outcome."
They both dimmed considerably, cuddled up to one another the best they could manage. It almost felt like going to sleep, Rick thought. It wasn't painful or anything, if it had been, he would have tried to shove all his energy into Fact. The pink core was already sacrificing what could be survival just by being plugged into him, to save his life, even… Things started to get darker, he realized. Yep, juuuust like going to sl—
A pair of hands reached for the both of them and hoisted them out of the crevice they were shoved into. Rick turned his dimmed optic toward the hands, finding it was that lady in the orange jumpsuit. He blinked a couple of times before twisting his eye plates into a smile.
"Hey there, pretty lady," he said, bleary, "Mind helpin' out Pinky there? He ain't lookin' too good, don't want nothin' t'happen t'th'four-eyes, y'know?"
Chell just smiled, the potato on the end of the portal gun speaking for her, "No, you are being collected for round 2. Prepare to be recharged."
His chassis clunked against Fact's in Chell's single-handed grip. He pressed his handlebar into Fact's body and tried to work closer to him. They were… going to make it. He hoped Fact didn't think they were going to go back to fighting like before… Well, maybe a little. The way the Fact Sphere turned and tried to tiredly return the contact said that it was pretty clear they wouldn't. That made them both happy. Now he had to get his priorities straight, first it was saving the kid, then it was wooing the Fact Sphere, next was taking down the china cabinet; not a bad day for an adventurer.