Chapter 7

Cantarella had promised to visit Eleasar as soon as possible and tell him – or his appliance assistant Abam – about the Sucky Bunch and the repairs they needed. About a week after she had met with the Sucky Bunch, she came back with good news.

"I met with Abam and explained everything to him. He talked to his Master. Eleasar would be delighted and excited to meet all of you and perform the repairs," she reported, beaming. "He said he's always happy if he can help some machines to live longer by fixing them, especially since he knows that we're alive. He said you could come whenever you're ready."

"That's great news!" Immortalis replied, his usually rather bitter and gloomy demeanor completely changed out. He was so eager for this.

"He said that we could come anytime," she proposed. "So we can go whenever all of you are ready."

"I'm ready as can be," Immortalis declared, anticipation in his eyes.

"So am I," Quirl added, feeling excited at the chance to finally be not defective anymore.

"Are you ready, dear?" Bridget asked Oreck, laying her plug on where his shoulder would be in a supportive way. The black upright hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, then he met her gaze.

"Yes. I… I'm ready," he stated finally. Quirl could see that he was still full of doubts and anxiety, but did his best to be brave.

Wandering across town to Eleasar's home in broad daylight would have been unwise as it would maximize the risk of getting caught, so they waited for sunset and used the twilight of dusk.

By the time they reached the repairman's residence, night had fallen, but the street lamps and outside lamps on the lot provided enough light to see the place clearly. It was a nondescript one-story house at the very end of a street, with a big garage next to it. Some of the lamps greeted them on their way to the front door. Not long after Cantarella knocked the appliance code, the door was opened by a machine that resembled a radio. Abam.

Never had Quirl seen an appliance like Abam – and she couldn't have, as she reminded herself, since Cantarella had told her that he was one of a kind, an invention of this Eleasar. At first glance, he looked like some sort of radio with two antennae.

"Welcome, welcome… everyone come in," the contraption greeted them. They did as they were told. "Please follow me," Abam gestured with one of his antennae. "Master is expecting you." He led them through the small, messy anteroom that was pretty crammed for its size: coat hooks on the wall with jackets and a hat hanging on them; pairs of shoes next to the doormat; a couple of closets and drawer chests and a hallway mirror. On the other end, a door was open.

"So, how exactly did Eleasar discover the Secret?" Quirl was curious while they made their way towards the door.

"You see," Abam explained as he led them along. "My Master regained his composure amazingly quickly after he discovered that I'm alive," Abam narrated. "I must admit, I wasn't very cautious to begin with. See, it was late in the evening, and Master had already gone to bed not too long ago, so I thought the coast was clear. I was exploring the garage with all of the interesting things in there that were new to me at the time… but suddenly, I was surprised by the Master. Turned out he couldn't sleep and had an idea he wanted to work on, so he came back to the garage, where he caught me in the act. It was too late to freeze. I can't say it wasn't a shock for both of us, but he recovered amazingly fast. From then on, he was in on the Secret, and I and my fellow appliances learned that we were safe with him. And since then, I was and still am his loyal assistant." He sounded quite proud of that. "I must say that it's a delight to work alongside my Master as an active assistant instead of just being used as a passive instrument."

"That sounds pretty cool," Quirl commented and meant it sincerely. „And… may I ask what your name means? Cantarella said it stands for something, but she didn't remember…"

"Of course!" Abam sounded proud. "I am the Adaptable Broadcast Attractomatic Matrix. I can send as well as receive. I'm adaptable to all kinds of weather conditions, and waterproof! And I have detectors for all kinds of things."

They reached the open door, and Abam led them through, into the living room. And there, they met Eleasar, where he had just been busy studying some papers messily laid out on the table in front of him. Several living room appliances, a few lamps as well as a flat TV and a stereo were unfrozen in his presence, one of the lamps even seemed to have been in the middle of a discussion with the man when Abam's knock on the doorframe interrupted them. Eleasar looked up from his papers and directly faced the visitors. Eleasar appeared to be in his mid-thirties. Disheveled blond hair was sticking out on his head in all directions. He was tall and somewhat lanky, with bright, light brown eyes.

When the human looked at her, Quirl had to use all her willpower to fight the instinctive urge to freeze and go inanimate, and she could see and feel that the other Sucky Bunch members felt the same. Even Cantarella didn't seem quite used to this situation yet.

"Oh, greetings!" Eleasar greeted them with an inviting smile that was meant to put them at ease. At least for Quirl, it worked. "I've been waiting for you all, it's such a pleasure to see you! Have no fear. Cantarella here told me about you and your predicaments. I'll be glad to be of help." They roved a little closer, but still hesitant. It was such an unfamiliar situation. Usually, it would be against the rules. The man noticed they'd need a little more encouragement. "Don't worry, all of you, the Secret is safe with me. If I told anyone, they'd put me into an insane asylum." He laughed. "Anyway, would you like to follow me to my workshop? There, I have better means to diagnose you and set things up; if we're lucky, I'll even have some fittings parts right there."

"Sounds great!" Immortalis replied, and so, they followed him.

Eleasar's workshop was in his garage next to the house. It had a workbench and a vast collection of tools and parts and other things; this was where he performed repairs and built his own inventions.

They described to the mechanic what was wrong with them and what kinds of replacement parts they would probably need.

"May I have a look at the patients?" he asked. "I need to assess their make and model, to see which exact parts I'll have to order."

Quirl and Immortalis eagerly let him examine them, and after that, a little more hesitantly, Oreck did as well.

After carefully looking at all of them, Eleasar nodded. "Alright. I now got a picture of which parts need to be replaced, how easy or difficult they are to get and how challenging or easy the work will be. Quirl and Oreck will be easy fixes, I just need to order replacement motors for their respective models, which are available with relative ease. Immortalis however… there is a lot that needs to be done." He faced the Wonderluxe, speaking to him directly. "If you want to be more durable, you'll need something else than replacements meant for your brand."

"Yeah, I figured," Immortalis acknowledged with a sigh.

Eleasar scratched his chin in thought. Suddenly, his light brown eyes shown up with an idea, and he spoke with new enthusiasm. "Well, what would you say if you could choose your own new parts, Immortalis? You're gonna get a whole makeover!"

Immortalis was instantly hooked. "What would I say? I would love it!"

They didn't lose any time. Eleasar led him to his computer and showed him the catalogue list of replacement parts and where he usually ordered them on the internet.

"I'll probably have to look for parts that physically fit me," Immortalis voiced, glancing back on Eleasar, not sure how to know which ones would and which ones wouldn't.

"Oh, I can help you with choosing the right ones," the repairman offered. "And even if we have to improvise here and there, I'll make it all work out. You'll basically be customized. One of a kind, really."

"That sounds fantastic!" the Wonderluxe cheered, excitement in his eyes. "So, when can I choose those parts? Right now?"

The following hour, Immortalis was busy choosing new, better parts for himself, advised by Eleasar and watched and vividly commented by the others, trying to be helpful too and in some cases enjoying it almost as much as the Wonderluxe himself. Motor, circuits, screws – there was a lot that needed better replacements. Finally, everything was chosen and ordered.

New motors for Oreck and Quirl were ordered, too – fortunately, they were available as replacement parts online and relatively easy to find.

"Now we just have to wait for the parts to be delivered," Eleasar concluded. "It might take between one and two weeks, all in all. I'll let you know when everything is here."

With lighter spirits and full of hope, the Sucky Bunch returned to their abodes, the abandoned house and their homes and Masters respectively, as did Cantarella.

About two weeks later, Cantarella came to the Sucky Bunch residence to tell them that all the parts Eleasar had ordered had arrived. All of the group were gathered.

"So, this is it," proclaimed Bridget. "Is everyone ready to get fixed?"

"Hell yeah!" Immortalis shouted, plug pumping into the air, and Quirl confirmed with a passionate "Yes!" Only Oreck remained silent, with a worried look on his face. Bridget roved over to him to sit beside him, laying her plug on him comfortingly.

"I know you are scared, dear," she said, "but everything will be fine. You can do it. I believe in you."

"Yes, we all do," confirmed Fluffy, on Oreck's other side, to comfort and reassure him as well.

"If I can do it, so can you, many times over," Immortalis added.

"You'll feel so much better afterwards," Quirl encouraged him. "I'm sure of that. You'll be free of pain."

"They are right, you'll see," Cantarella concluded with an encouraging smile.

Finally, Oreck managed to crack a smile too. "Alright then. Let's go."

And so, they all went to Eleasar's house and straight to the garage, where Abam and the repairman awaited them.

"Come in, come in! Everything is ready. All the parts are here." With his hand, Eleasar pointed at a few boxes piled on the workbench. Next to them, various tools were lying neatly in a row. The view of this made Immortalis clearly excited, and Oreck clearly nervous. He clutched Bridget's plug with his.

Abam sat on the workbench to assist his Master; his two antennae were as dexterous as his cord, it was as if he had three hands with which he could wield screwdrivers and other tools. Cantarella took seat there as well, watching and learning, wanting to become as good at repairs herself one day.

Oreck sat there fearfully, Bridget holding his plug to give him support and comfort. Quirl glided over to them, making eye contact with the frightened vacuum.

"Oreck," she said softly. "If it's okay, I'll go first. Then you'll see that I'll be fine, that we'll all be fine and there is nothing to fear."

"And I'll go second," Immortalis added assertively. "When you see that even I'll be okay, you'll know that you really got nothing to be afraid of." Oreck just nodded, too nervous to reply.

"Okay… I'm ready to begin," Quirl told Eleasar, although feeling a little nervous herself. She trusted the man, but she had never been repaired before, and it was a little scary to think about. But he gave her an encouraging smile as he carefully lifted her up and sat her down on the workbench, where Abam and Cantarella were already waiting, the two-antennaed contraption ready to assist and seeming focused, the lamp clearly excited at what she was going to learn and how she hoped to be able to help. She exchanged a brief, encouraging smile with the mixer.

"Alright. Ready?" the repairman asked.

"Yes… I'm ready," Quirl replied stalwartly.

"I recommend you to freeze for the procedure," Abam suggested, "that way, you almost won't feel it."

So Quirl did. In inanimate state, she only vaguely felt how her screws were undone and she was opened; then, her consciousness slipped away.

When Quirl woke up, nothing seemed to feel different. At first, she got a little fright from that fact as it made her wonder... did the transplant succeed? Did it even take place at all? But then she realized, of course it wouldn't feel different. The new motor she was to get was an original replacement part for her model. It would feel just the same as the old one. It felt good, actually. Let's hope this one works better, too. Eleasar was standing by the workbench and looked down on her with some sort of anxious expectation, as did the other appliances sitting on the workbench and the floor. They all had watched her repair, all the others of the Sucky Bunch and Cantarella, while Abam had assisted.

"How do you feel, Quirl?" Immortalis asked softly, and him asking this filled her with a rush of warmth.

"I feel good," she replied truthfully. "Very good." She tried out her new motor, the whisks spinning empty air. Nothing really felt different, since the only problem of her original one had been holding the speed... it had not hurt like Oreck's. Still, she was excited. She still needed something to mix to try out how well she really worked now. After a short while, she paused and asked the repairman: "Do you have something to mix for me?"

Eleasar scratched his chin pensively. "In the back room, I have a fridge. There should be some cream for the coffee... I'll get it for you." A little later, the cream was put in a bowl on the work bench, and Quirl plugged in one of the outlets to be able to use the electricity to its full extent. Then, she began mixing at highest speed. She did not slow down. She was able to hold maximum speed longer than ever before, and the longer she did this, the more grew her elation.

"I... I can do it! Look, everyone, I can do it! I don't slow down!" She mixed until the cream was stiff. She could have continued until it turned into butter, but this was already enough proof. Finally she was fully functional. Quirl stopped mixing and began to cry, but this time, it was tears of joy.

Her friends from the Sucky Bunch cheered and congratulated her, and she had never been so happy in her life. "Alright," Immortalis announced once the others became quiet again, "now it's my turn."

Now came the hard part: Immortalis had to be completely disassembled and then practically be rebuilt with his new parts. Before the procedure, his friends were worried if he'd still be himself afterwards.

"There is so much going to be replaced on and in you, so who could guarantee?" Quirl worried.

But the Wonderluxe shrugged it off. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll be better than ever before, you'll see!" Although he couldn't hide a trace of concern, or even fear, in his eyes.

Eleasar promised to give his very best before he very carefully disassembled the vacuum with the help of Abam and Cantarella and set all the old parts that were to be replaced aside on a growing heap along with Quirl's old motor, before reassembling him with the new ones. More than once, he had to use his engineering talent and imagination to make them fit, but eventually, it all worked out. With Abam's assistance, he put Immortalis back together with the new parts and new screws. New wiring was put in, as well as the new, better circuits, switches and motor Immortalis had chosen himself. Finally, the work was finished and Eleasar wiped the sweat from his forehead as Immortalis came back to life, his face forming and then, eyes blinking groggily.

Everyone looked at him expectantly. "Immortalis? Are you okay?" Quirl asked softly. "How are you feeling?"

How did he feel? "I feel… different… but also… healthy. Yes. I've never felt this strong and healthy before." He blinked in astonishment. Eleasar had rebuilt him with the new parts he had chosen, all foreign to his brand… and while they still felt strange to him, they also felt better, and he knew he would get used to them in time. The motor did not feel like a part of him yet, but it felt more powerful than the old one, and more durable for sure. He tested it with a short whir, and indeed it pulled a lot of suction. Sounded different from the old one and also felt different, but he would get used to it. This was his now. "Ah, yes," he spoke, while joy flooded him, "I'm back! And for now, I'm here to last! I named myself Immortalis to defy fate… now I can finally truly hold up to my name."

"I'm so relieved to see both of you are fine," Oreck said remarked.

"How are you feeling now, dear?" Bridget asked him gently. "Still scared?"

The black upright turned to her. "I… think it's better now. I think I'm ready. Yes, I'm ready." Under the cheering of his friends, he nodded to Eleasar to lift him onto the workbench.

His repair was relatively quick and uncomplicated; just a motor replacement like for Quirl. His old one was added to the pile of old parts, the new one was put in, and finally, Oreck was sealed up again.

"Oreck... how are you feeling?" That was Quirl's voice. With some effort, still a bit weak from being out, he raised himself into upright position. Quirl sat there on the workbench and looked at him with a mix of worry and relief, and the repairman, Eleasar, stood there and examined him, too. He held a screwdriver in his hand.

"You are complete," he declared, satisfaction in his soft voice. "How are you feeling, Oreck?"

"I - " How was he feeling? Good, actually... very good. There really was no trace of pain left. Well, he also hadn't felt any pain before, if he just avoided using his motor, but... "I feel... good."

"Would you want to... try yourself?" Eleasar asked. "To see if everything works, and if there isn't any pain left..." Oreck nodded, and then, right there on the workbench where he was, he started up his motor... his new motor. Oh, it was wonderful! He felt like new. Yes, indeed he had not felt so good since he had been new, before the incident that had caused a damage that had grown a little worse with every use. But now... there was no pain. The pain he had gotten so used to feel every time his motor was running, was finally gone. Completely. Oh, he had forgotten how wonderful it was to function without pain, or to be able to enjoy his own whir. "I feel wonderful!"

As soon as he was down on the floor, Bridget approached him and pulled him into a hug. "You look great! I'm so happy for you!" She let go of him and moved back a little to look him in the eyes. "Oreck… I must confess that I was worried for you," she confessed. "Not so much during the procedure but… the whole time before."

"Before?" Oreck was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Your damage… it would have killed you sooner or later, and I know that you knew that, too. And I really didn't want to lose you. I don't think I could bear losing you. I… I love you."

"Bridget," Oreck said, his eyes shining. "You are my pearl in a world of dirt… my escape from the pain. You always were. I love you too." A moment later, they lay in each other's cords again, looking like they never wanted to let go again.

Everyone, including Cantarella, Abam and Eleasar, cheered for the new vacuum couple and told them how happy they were for them.

"You know… Fluffy and I already knew for a long time," Immortalis told Quirl with a smile behind his plug. "It was pretty obvious. I'm so happy for them that they finally confessed to each other."

"Yeah, I am too," Quirl replied, and a feeling of warmth rushed through her.

Moments later, the whole Sucky Bunch fell into each other's cords in a group hug, celebrating their repair with tears of joy in their eyes.

"We are whole! We are functional!" Oreck repeated a few times, as if he still could hardly believe it.

"For the first time in my life!" Quirl jubilated.

"I feel so good! Like brand new, and stronger than ever before! Like I could suck a whole ocean dry!" Immortalis added.

Quirl turned to the repairman, tears of joy gleaming in her eyes. "Thank you, Eleasar! Thank you so much!" Now all of the Sucky Bunch, including Bridget and Fluffy, thanked Eleasar, Abam and Cantarella for helping them and their friends, respectively.

Suddenly, Quirl realized something. "Hey… now that we all work properly, we could find new homes! Real homes, and we won't be thrown out anymore!"

"You're right!" Oreck agreed, elated. "I didn't even think of that… but we can! Finally!"

"You could stay with me, if you want to," Eleasar offered.

All of them stared at him, positively surprised. Oreck found words first. "We… we really could? All three of us?"

"Of course! Did you believe I would just send you away to live in that abandoned house again like strays? And since I know the Secret, none of the appliances in my home need to freeze when I'm around." The repairman winked.

"Oh yes, we would love to… so, so much! Finally, a real, new home!"

"Can we really?"

"Of course!"

After that, new lives began for them.

Quirl, Oreck and Immortalis were heartily welcomed by the resident appliances in Eleasar's house when the repairman introduced them and told about their backstories. This was a refuge for appliances as their Master knew. There was no rivalry or jealousy even among machines with the same function. It was a big family, and after all their hardships, the three repaired Sucky Bunch members couldn't have found a better place to stay.

The Sucky Bunch still held regular meetings, but now at Eleasar's house. And occasionally, they found new members they – and Eleasar – gave help and support like they had done for each other.