"Before you is an anime-tronic found in the back alley. We are unsure of its origins. It is your job to complete the maintenance checklist before claiming it as 'salvage.' Or, if you choose to, you can throw it back into the alley where you found it and forfeit payment. Please make your choice now."
Kira regrettably stood up, taser in hand. There was no way in hell she was going to let go of his only form of protection, nor could she take her eyes off of Mike, so she backed up until she literally ran into the door. With a groan, she realized that she had to look away for a second to find the correct button. Kira did just that, and when she turned back around, Mike did not seem to have moved.
"You have chosen to proceed with the maintenance checklist," The pre-recorded message said as Kira returned to her seat.
"Remember, use your company-issued taser to return the anime-tronic to a neutral state if you feel that it's becoming unstable or aggressive. You can only use it three times before it begins to damage the anime-tronic and decrease its value.
"Begin audio prompt in 3... 2... 1."
A grating sound that Kira couldn't quite identify issued from the tape player. She grimaced and clenched her teeth again, hand tightening around the taser. Any second, Mike was going to spring to life, and Kira would have little time to defend herself.
However, to Kira's surprise, the audio prompt didn't actually seem to do anything. The animatronic remained where it was, silent and still.
"Document results," Her Boss instructed.
Hesitantly, Kira paused the tape and picked up the checklist, after marking the appropriate section for a lack of reaction, Kira put the paper down and swore she caught Mike's head twitching. Not taking any chances, she held the taser in front of him and zapped the animatronic.
The electrical surge caused the bulb to go out, plunging the room into darkness and nearly causing Kira to lose any semblance of calm she had managed to collect over the past few minutes. To her relief, the bulb flickered back to life almost instantly, revealing that Mike had indeed reverted back to its original, slumped position.
With a little sigh, Kira allowed the tape to play again. She repeated the process of listening to the audio prompt and recording results twice more. Mike moved again, but Kira did not feel the need to taser the creature just yet- she was morbidly curious as to whether the audio prompts were actually causing it to move. Of course, because of this inquisitiveness the next event was almost inevitable.
After the final audio prompt, Kira's gaze shifted to the paper yet again. Suddenly, she heard an all-too-familiar laugh emanating from across the table. Instantly on red-alert, she threw down the paper just in time to see Mike's eyes light up and its mouth open wide as it said in a glitching voice:
"Hello Kira." He said, "You may not recognize me at first, but I assure you, it's still me."
"Go to hell !" Kira calls over her shoulder as she slams the door shut.
"I… I wish things could be different."
Kira's shoulders shake with sobs as she sinks down to her knees.
