EVE was so confused.

That rusty robot tried to reach for her, and she hit him. She watched him break on the concrete of the street, but she didn't care. She kept pushing him away, even as he followed her and tried to tell her something. She hurt him. She nearly killed him.

So why did he save her?

But more importantly, she had already identified the source of that horrible screeching from before. The speakers across the entire ship showed signs of rapid damage, and there was only one place the speakers could be controlled.

Alpha had set it off.

That was his plan!? He was willing to throw all of his allies under the bus just to keep the enemy from bringing them home!? She was afraid she was going crazy with this notion, but it sounded to her like Alpha had done something evil.

Not just wrong, not just misguided, not just as a mistake.

He had done that intentionally, knowing what would happen. And he had still done it.

The elevator ride up to the control room was far too short. The whole time, she was holding her side, the bad one, and it kept stinging even now. The pain had been unbearable, even death would have been more merciful, but that robot...

The one covered in what had to be centuries worth of wear...

He saved her, knowing she was the enemy, and knowing that his comrades had fallen around him. Granted, he was delirious just like everyone else, but still. Why her? Why not that smaller orange-colored robot that he clearly cared about?

There had to be a reason, and it was also clear that he didn't want to tell her. Would he sound crazy if he did?

There was no way to know unless she asked, so she got his name. Maybe that would make it easier to find him again. She could only hope to get some answers later.

Upon entering the control room, EVE saluted, "The enemy has been washed out."

Alpha relaxed slightly at her words, "Just as I suspected."

EVE found it a little odd that he didn't elaborate, but she kept her mouth shut, "Awaiting further orders, Alpha."

He went back to typing, "I will call you when you are needed. For now, you're dismissed. All I ask is you tend to the humans."

It took all her willpower to push down the rage that boiled up her throat, "Of course." she headed towards the elevator.

"One more thing."

He hand hovered over the button, "Yes?"

"I'm sorry." he still didn't look at her, "For hurting you, for hurting everyone."

She faltered, "I-it's okay..."

When he didn't say anything else, she pressed the button and let the elevator carry her down.

"ARGGG!" she gripped her side with both hands. She thought she did a good job hiding from Alpha that she was still hurt.

Something wasn't right, and she was going to find out why.


EVE was searching the halls of the Atlanta, looking for that robot. WALL-E. Something about the name itself was so bothersome, and no matter how she said it, it rolled off her voice chip whenever she spoke it aloud.

She hated it. It made her feel like she was forgetting something.

A hushed choking sound was heard in one of the rooms and she halted in her tracks. It didn't sound like a human, but it did sound like someone was hurt. She doubled back and yanked the door open.

She looked down at the tiny robot with pity, "M-O..."

He turned upon hearing his name, Haha...hey, Eve... He looked like he was half-asleep.

Why does everyone know my name? "What are you doing?"

Just...ha...you know... he blinked, an odd goofy smile crossing his visor, ...hanging out...?

Something clicked, "What did he do to you?"

M-O giggled childishly, He gave me something and...and now I feel so happy!

EVE narrowed her eyes, "He drugged you."

Don't be silly, EVE! he made a sharp robotic noise - like a hiccup, Robots can't be drugged! And besides, it feels so nice...I could stay like this forever!

EVE caught something on one of the monitors; "NEW PROGRAM TEST".

That was it. If Alpha was going to administer a powerful brain stimulator to a small robot who obviously couldn't handle it, then she didn't want to associate with him anymore.

But he had her mind. If she broke away she would be lost.

"M-O." EVE picked him up, "M-O! Snap out of it!"

Haha...it's funny, you know? M-O began to ramble, WALL-E would do anything for you, but you don't even remember him anymore! it took a moment for EVE to realize that he was crying through his drunken rambling, I'll bet you've even forgotten me, huh?

"What?" yet another thing to be confused about, "What are you talking about? We've never met before!"

See? I knew it! his eyes flickered, but whether he was laughing or sobbing, EVE couldn't tell, I'm going to forget too, aren't I? No no, it's fine! I feel great! Hahaha!

EVE let her heart soften, "M-O, I'm going to get rid of whatever Alpha did to you, okay?"

No! I don't want to go back to that! he coughed, choking on something that didn't exist, I feel so light now! I'm so happy, I could explode!

"It's not real." she said automatically, "As soon as it wears off, you'll just feel worse. I'm going to fix it before that happens."

No...please...please...

M-O tried to struggle, but he was already so weak, and EVE was ten times stronger than him anyway. She carried him out of the room and down the hall, where the repair ward's door was still open from when WALL-E saved her.

She plugged him into the machine while he continued to protest, but she didn't listen. He would thank her later for this. It wasn't hard to find the problem, a long strand of ones and zeros that were attacking M-O's brain and pain receptors instead of working together like a brain and nerves should do. Once the program was deleted, EVE waited for M-O to shut down. It took a few minutes for him to wake up again.

When he did, a horrible scratching sound echoed throughout M-O, "Ow..."

"M-O?"

M-O looked up at her, You don't...?

"Huh?" she shook her head, "No, I don't remember you."

He drooped, I...didn't think so...

EVE pushed that out of her mind as she lifted him into her arms, "How do you feel?"

His screen went blank, Everything hurts...

"I'm sorry..." EVE set him gently on the ground, "I need to figure out how to stop Alpha."

What? M-O steadied himself, trying to keep his body upright, Why? Didn't he-! he stopped, Nevermind, what's your plan?

"I..." EVE glanced out the doorway, "Have you seen a rusty robot with binocular eyes anywhere?"

You mean WALL-E?

"Yes! You know him?"

Yeah, but I don't know where he is.

"Then let's find him." EVE scooped M-O up and bolted down the hall, "I think he and that ship are our best bet."