AN: No beta we die like hilichurls.


"Alright. Now to see what's inside you," a small box that reached up to Noelle's knees was brought down onto the ground.

It was early in the morning when they asked her to fetch something from the carriage. A small box they said with a stamp on it. It wasn't a problem. But they had also told her that she would be the one to unpack it.

'Strange. Usually, I would simply leave it here and someone else would be in charge of unpacking,' she thought. She didn't mind. She took joy in the fact that she would get to unwrap their packages every once and a while. It was just unusual.

'Let's see… what do we have here…'

As she unwrapped the package. It slowly revealed a white, thin box. The closest she could compare it to was a pizza box, albeit just a bit thicker and smaller in width.

"A Roomba…?"

Eyebrow raised, she inspected the box from all sides, top to bottom. She pressed her ear against the box and lightly shook it.

"What's that you got there, Noelle?"

The maid turned towards the voice, smiled, and brought the box down. "Good morning, Miss Hertha."

"And a good morning to you too, Noelle," she approached closer and curiously looked at the box she held. "What's this?"

"A vacuum cleaning robot."

Hertha nodded. "I didn't expect you to know that. You're more knowledgeable than I thought."

Noelle shook her head. "It says it here at the front of the box. Right underneath the Roomba text," she pointed at it. "See?"

Hertha sweatdropped. "O-kay," she crouched down and poked the box. "So… you gonna open that thing or what?"

"Yes, I will," Noelle pulled out a box cutter from her skirt pocket and cut through the tape gently. They opened the package to see a black, circular device alongside a few batteries, what looked to be a circular charging port, and a manual.

"Oooh, fancy," Hertha carefully touched the foreign devices. Almost as if a touch would break them. "Can I borrow the manual?"

"Sure thing. Just give me a moment."

Noelle let her thumb run through the smooth, dark color of the device's surface. She felt a button she could press.

And of course, in true human fashion, the urge to press the button was too good.

A fairly audible sound rang through the room. They both immediately pulled their hands back from the foreign object. The was a green light in the middle of the circular device.

◤Hello, I am Roomba. Your cleaning companion.◢ A robotic voice that couldn't be classified as male or female spoke.

Noelle's eyes widened. It could talk?

"Hi."

The Roomba spun around towards her. ◤Hello, I am Roomba. Your cleaning companion.◢

Noelle instinctively bowed. "Greetings. My name is Noelle. I am a maid of the Knights of Favonius."

◤Affirmative. Acknowledging. Noelle, Maid. Setting authorized personnel. Updating database.◢

"And I'm Hertha! The coordinator of the Knights of Favonius. Nice to meet ya, Roomba!" she enthusiastically greeted the small device.

Green lights flickered as it spun towards Hertha. ◤Affirmative. Acknowledging. Hertha, Coordinator. Setting authorized personnel. Updating database.◢

"Is that your name? Roomba?" Noelle acquired.

◤Affirmative. I am a Roomba. Therefore, my name is Roomba◢

Noelle pursed her lips and put a finger on her chin. "That's similar to saying one's name is human because their human though…"

◤Acknowledging. Would Maestra like to assign a name to this model?◢

Noelle blinked. "I can do that?"

◤Affirmative. As the topmost authorized personnel in my database, you have permission to assign a codename to me.◢

"Hey. What about me then?" The other woman in the room asked.

The Roomba spun around, almost akin to shaking its head. ◤Negative◢

"Eh? But why?"

◤The very first credentials in my database are that of Maestra Noelle's. Therefore, she is my Maestra. Maestra Hertha is also my Maestra. But Maestra Noelle is authorized to most of my higher directives and settings.◢

Hertha pouted. "Aw."

◤Rest assured, this will not affect my effectiveness. The higher directives are mostly customizations. All cleaning options are available to all personnel.◢

Hertha nodded. She was still disappointed, but she couldn't argue with the Roomba. It was like a child. The first thing they see is what they will follow the most. In this case, that was Noelle.

Her eyes widened before she smiled. "Ahh… that must be why they asked Noelle to open it."

Have the best maid in charge of a robot made for cleaning. With a mind of its own and the childlike mindset to copy and follow whoever was in charge of it, it wasn't hard to guess why they chose Noelle for the job.

The sound of snapping fingers brought her back from her thoughts. She and the Roomba turned towards the maid. Noelle smiled.

"I thought of a name."

◤Acknowledged. Please state the nickname.◢

Hertha smiled. Knowing Noelle, she surely would pick a suitable name for the cleaning robot. Perhaps something from one of the plays she would sometimes see? From her books?

"Your name will be Cookie!"

◤Acknowledged. This one will now respond to being addressed as Cookie.◢

Or maybe not.

"What? It looks like a cookie, doesn't it?"

Sure, Noelle. If cookies were dark, thick, and perfectly round. If the Roomba was a cookie, it was burnt.

◤Affirmative, Maestra Noelle. I do have the appearance similar to a cookie.◢


Cookie had been eager to demonstrate her capabilities in front of her masters. She wasted no time and started moving along the floor. Hertha and Noelle had been tailing Cookie along her route as she cleaned the floor. Cookie didn't mind the attention. They thought she loved the attention. Evident from how the Roomba would spin, walk backward, or talk smack to the dirt on the floor.

And to their surprise, she was very good at it. Everywhere Cookie went, she absorbed the dust and cleaned. Floors, carpets, wood, or tiles, Cookie was one very effective Roomba. Noelle couldn't help but shed a few tears with pride for her performance.

Oh right, Cookie identified as a girl.

Her reasoning? Noelle, a girl, was her Master. Therefore, she too was a girl.

Bunch of robot logic that Hertha couldn't be bothered to comprehend, but Cookie was happy, and so was Noelle, so she didn't have a problem with it either.

"Oh, is that a Roomba?"

Bruce approached them from the hallway.

Noelle bowed. "Good morning, Mister Bruce."

"Good morning, Noelle." he greeted back.

Hertha scoffed. "It's you again. I'm almost surprised you didn't roll down here-"

"Yeah, yeah good morning to you too. I don't have time for your nagging woman," he gave her a quick greeting and rushed past her and kneeled on the ground to get a better look at Cookie.

"Why- I- You-!"

Noelle saw Hertha seething in frustration from being ignored by Bruce, who was currently very taken with Cookie.

Instead of acknowledging Hertha, wisely, Noelle decided to approach other conversations. Safer ones.

"You have prior knowledge of these Roombas, Mister Bruce?"

Cookie spun around and moved to face Bruce who had a shine in his eyes as he gazed upon the piece of technology.

"Yeah. Though I only read about them in the tabloids regarding Fontaine," he told them. "An autonomous vacuum and one of the most popular consumer robots in existence. It navigates around clutter and under furniture cleaning your floors and returns to its charging dock when finished. To think we would have one here…"

"You… know a lot about it huh." Hertha raised an eyebrow.

Bruce scratched the back of his head. "I read about it a lot. It just seemed interesting to me."

◤New personnel detected. Please state identification.◢

"Oh my god it talks," Bruce cooed. "Uh, my name is Bruce. I'm a knight of Favonius."

◤Affirmative. Processing. Bruce, Knight. Setting authorized personnel. Updating database.◢

"You girls gave it a name yet?"

◤Greetings, Bruce. I am Roomba. Alias, Cookie. Your cleaning companion.◢

"Cookie?" Bruce turned towards Hertha with an inquisitive gaze. When she shook her head, she pointed towards Noelle who smiled at him.

"She looks like one, don't you think?"

◤Affirmative. I do indeed have the appearance similar to a cookie.◢

'It's a she?'

He shook his head. He had better things to ask. "Any way to know how much dirt you've cleaned?"

◤I will proceed to tell authorized personnel upon sight should my storage reach its maximum capacity. Though I also have a digital display on my hood.◢

Upon closer inspection, there was a visual indicator of Cookie's capacity shown as three different bars, with each being taller than the last. Currently, it was only at the first, smallest bar.

"You know how to clean Cookie already, Noelle?" Bruce asked. "Clean her filters, charge her batteries, those things?"

Noelle nodded. "I do, although I am still learning." she brought out the manual and waved it.

◤Do not worry, Maestra Noelle. I will inform you of my needs, however little they may be.◢

"Oh, what's this? Bruce, Hertha, and Noelle?"

The three of them turned toward the source of the new voice. Blue hair and an eyepatch greeted them.

"Master Kaeya," they all bowed. "Good morning."

"Good morning to you all as well," The cavalry captain smiled. He turned his head below to the circular device on the floor. "I see our little package from Fontaine has arrived. I assume Noelle has been taking care of you… Cookie, was it?"

◤Affirmative. I am Roomba. Alias, Cookie. Your cleaning companion.◢ Cookie turned towards Kaeya. ◤New personnel detected. Please state identification.◢

Kaeya's eyes widened. "Oh, I didn't know it was this advanced. How interesting," he cleared his throat. "My name is Kaeya, Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius."

◤Acknowledged. Processing. Kaeya, Cavalry Captain. Setting authorized personnel. Identified database.◢

"Fascinating," Kaeya turned. "I came to see if Noelle had opened the package already. Seems I was right."

"You know about Cookie, Master Kaeya?" Noelle asked.

He nodded. "Of course. I'm the one who pitched the idea to the Acting Grandmaster of course."

Hertha chuckled. "I had my suspicions, but I knew Noelle was to be Cookie's master."

"This is a prototype, you see. The first of her kind. The actual models won't have artificial intelligence as she does," he told them. "She's like a child, right now. Absorbing knowledge like a sponge, and copying whoever is in charge of her."

Bruce nodded. "And who better to be that example than our very own Noelle?"

"Precisely," he told them. "With Noelle as her role model, I believe our very own Cookie will become a very integral part of our-"

◤Attention. Requesting immediate assistance. I seem to have fallen over.◢

Noelle immediately rushed over. "Hang on, Cookie!"

"Of course, that may need a bit of time."


Throughout the day, Noelle and Cookie could be seen going around every room as they cleaned. The knights that saw them come along were initially intrigued by Cookie before they became amazed at the cleaning effectiveness that the pair introduced.

Cookie would clean the floors, and Noelle would clean anything above Cookie, which was a lot, but thanks to Noelle being Noelle, it wasn't much of a challenge for the pair. Though furniture would sometimes get in Cookie's way, they were put aside by Noelle just as she was about to bump into them.

Though when people were looking, Cookie would sometimes show off to them. At one point, Cookie even volunteered to have Noelle stand on top of her as they cleaned like some sort of performance. Noelle had a smile on her face throughout the experience, and although Cookie didn't have one, she could feel that she agreed.

Now, laying down on her bed, she sighed in relief. Today was a relatively normal day for her. She cleaned and helped with chores around Headquarters. But what made it so fun was the additional company.

◤Attention. Batteries low. I will now be in charge mode. Please do not disturb me until my light turns green.◢

Said company was also in her room. Cookie would only accept her Master's room as her charging place. She didn't mind.

"Sure thing, Cookie. We have a busy day tomorrow. " she yawned and closed the lamp beside her bed. "Goodnight, Cookie."

◤Good… night? Error. Order not found◢

She chuckled as she glanced at the soothing purple light flashing at the floor beside her, where Cookie's charging dock was. "It's not an order. It's something we say to each other when we're about to go to rest. Well, to charge, in your case."

◤Acknowledging. Goodnight. Updating database.◢

Noelle smiled. Cookie was truly like a child. Though, the others like her in the future wouldn't be like Cookie, if what Kaeya had said was true. She was one of a kind.

There were so many things Noelle could teach Cookie. Some might call it silly, but she found joy in interacting with the device.

She had recently been a teacher to Ellin, but it wasn't the same when it came to Cookie. There was a certain innocence to her. Similar to a child.

Was she some kind of mother now?

Chuckling to herself, she wrapped herself up in her blanket and closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, Cookie."

◤…Goodnight, Maestra Noelle.◢


AN: Didn't have much time to write this week. Wrote this not just recently as I post this., but I still think I'm satisfied with this chapter. I watched a movie recently. I'm sure you'll know what movie it was with the extra scene down there.

I'll be back with another chapter with Cookie sometime. I had plenty of ideas for her, but not enough time to write.

PS. I watched a video about Roombas just to write this chapter.


Extra: Roomba Model T-800

"Alrighty, I engineered it as best as I can." Lawrence wiped the sweat off his brow as he pulled his toolbox aside.

In front of them was Cookie. Or, well, what used to be Cookie. After a few days of being with Noelle, Cookie had expressed a desire to do more for her Maestra. She had witnessed the strength and determination of Noelle. And would not allow herself to fall short.

It was like a child wanting to make their parent proud.

With a bit of help from the Knights, Cookie's wish had come true. Being just a head shorter than Noelle, a humanoid figure clad in dark metal stood in front of them. The former Roomba parts were mostly located at the skull portion.

You read that right. The Knights of Favonius, through fancy fantasy, skill, determination, and willpower, have made a body for Cookie at her behest from scratch.

Huffman sighed in relief. "You can go and activate her now, Noelle."

The maid nodded. Visibly excited.

She pressed the button at the back of the body. Purple lights flickered as eyes.

"Hello there, Cookie," Cookie 2, as they would now call this 2nd form of hers, turned towards her Master. "How are you feeling?"

For a moment, Cookie 2 didn't say anything. They were about to reboot her until she finally spoke.

◤I must find Sarah Connor.◢

"What?" Swan broke the silence.

Cookie 2 turned towards her. ◤You.◢

"Y-Yes?" Swan thought Cookie was behaving very un-Cookie-like.

◤I need your boots, your clothes, and your motorcycle.◢

"E-Excuse me?" And what the hell was a motorcycle?!

"Let's do it."

Everyone turned to the maid, who currently had her head down, shaking.

Huffman raised an eyebrow. "Noelle?"

Noelle suddenly brought her head up. Determination in her eyes.

-x-

Jean, the Acting Grandmaster was calmly sipping tea in her office as she revised the paperwork on her desk.

She wondered what she should do with her free time. Maybe she should check up on how Noelle and Cookie were doing. The two were always seen together when Noelle was in Headquarters.

She smiled. It was a good decision from Kaeya to leave it to Noelle once again-

BOOM

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden sound of concrete being blasted outward from Headquarters. Immediately, she looked out the window, weapon in hand.

She saw two figures strolling out of the literal hole in the wall. One was Noelle, and the other… appeared to be a robotic figure who was carrying Noelle on its shoulders as it took long strides.

"Come! Cookie! Let's find this Sarah Connor!"

◤Yes! My Maestra!◢

"And those clothes you wanted! The boots too! Oh! And the whatchamacallit-cycle!"

◤A motorcycle, my Maestra.◢

Jean sighed. She had a lot of questions. A lot of concerns. First about Cookie, secondary about Noelle, thirdly about the people who build a body for Cookie, but the most important question of all…

"Who the hell gave Cookie a saber?"