He'd awoken.

A cold shudder went down his core as he peeked at an old dull coffee mug peacefully greeting him from on top of a counter looking down with a plastered smile at what should have been the ceiling. It was the floor now. He blinked a few times. He frowned.

Something in the back of his mind told him that the simple action was supposed to hurt or had. Nothing hurt, which he thought was strange. Things had hurt - at one point or another. He was also very sure that he'd been somewhere else far lonelier and desolate than wherever he found himself now.

He swung his handles nervously outward, doing it a couple more times listening in to see if he'd caught anyone's attention in the quiet room. There was no one and if he had had a voice to call out with, he didn't have one now.

He was more than sure he had one. He decided to try but static broke out in splitting tones causing him to wince.

He shook his faceplate, perplexed. He didn't even know who he was. Surely, he'd gone through a malfunction, some voice internally screaming at him, shouting and sobbing that something was wrong. Angry even, because he wasn't upset because of what she'd done to him. He frowned at the last part. Who was "she"? And what had "she" done to make him want to be upset?

The voice just went on being upset, unhelpful, and utterly desperate.

He chose to ignore it. Growing tired with it as time slugged on. He closed his optic and decided to think of gentle light thoughts. Nothing came to mind right away, just fragments of a sunny day going along a rotting rail, yet it was just enough to calm him. He opened his optic again gently laughing in spurts of static at his realization.

He rotated his entire faceplate a whole circle until the ceiling became the floor and floor the ceiling. He'd been upside down the whole time!

Everything was back to normal, well, sort of. He still didn't have the slightest clue of where he was. The room looked better though, now that he was looking at it the right way.

He was grinning to himself when the lights began to flicker. It was barely noticeable at first then it had escalated and it was completely dark now other than the gentle glow of his blue optic.

"I'm sure you want light, but it is a privilege after all...and well. You don't deserve any of those." Boomed a cold and icy voice somewhere in the dark.

He froze. He knew that voice from somewhere but he couldn't quite remember. Whether that was good or bad was beyond him.

"Now that you're awake we should start - start on with your punishments. The lunatic and I found it pitiful that we couldn't carry out any of them, you being in space and all. So, I brought you back. Isn't that kind of me? Well don't get too comfortable, we have a lot to go over."

He squinted trying to find the source of the feminine voice in the dark but he couldn't find it.

"W-where are y-you?" He barely managed before his voice processor broke in static.

She laughed. Which made him feel uncomfortable.

"S-sorry. Ugh. I-I d-don't remember y-you?" He managed. Glancing all about in the darkened room helplessly for the voice.

She stopped laughing. Anger rising in her sticky voice.

"Now your only playing dumb. I'm Everywhere if that answers your question. I'm also not a root vegetable, no thanks to you if that's what you're referring to metal ball."

He cringed. Had he made her, whoever she was, upset? He figured this was a bad thing, he was quick to apologize.

"O-oh no I r-really don't, errr, recall you, uh, luv? M-my n-name is uh...what is my name actually?" Saying the last part more to himself than her. He closed his optic trying to think but it wasn't working.

Panic seeped into the loud and icy voice.

"What do you mean you don't remember!?" She spat harshly.

He imitated a deep breath. He was supposed to be considerate to ladies right?

"Hold on, err, lady. It's just, I-I don't remember you. D-don't wanna be r-rude or anything. Just, I can't seem to put my finger on it metaphorically speaking as I don't have any of those." He gently explained.

"So you don't remember anything?" She went on.

To his relief, the voice sounded much more calm, maybe a bit tranquil which he was happy about. He smiled, nodding at the darkness. It was short-lived.

"No! Nonononononono! That's not what was supposed to happen! How am I supposed to punish you when you don't know what you're being punished for? You won't feel guilt or pain from all the wrong you did. You won't even plead for your life the same way! Where's the science in that?"

He felt the room shudder beneath him and things came crashing down somewhere in the back of the room.

"I repaired you, Just to give you false hope. All worthless now. You don't even remember the lunatic, do you? Oh, please tell me you at least remember her?" She shouted.

He shook his faceplate, giving the darkness a pitiful look. He didn't understand half of what she was talking about, but he'd caught onto something about punishing him and that she couldn't now because of x-amount of reasons. This in itself was a relief, though it sounded like he'd done something awful to deserve them.

She broke out screaming and shouting loudly at him. The room shuddered violently. He knew better than to let himself roll off the table so he braced himself with his handles against the long drop below. A memory silently playing somewhere in the haze of his memory banks of dropping down to someone; missing their catch and letting him hurt. They'd been worried though. At least they'd been worried...

The shaking eventually ceased, and he imitated letting out a breath of relief.

"You had me worried there lady!" He remarked to the darkness.

"You okay?" He added.

"Stop it." She snapped.

"Stop what?"

"That. Don't think I can't see through you. You're playing games. I like those too; so why don't we play my way?"

Something like excitement was creeping into the voice and he wasn't the least excited, he was too confused to be so.

"Well, how do we usually play?" He replied, thinking extra hard to keep his static at a minimum.

The voice hesitated to reply so he did it for her.

"As in what are the rules, lady? W-we must play often, ya? Just you know - give me hints. Don't need to go out of your way and play easy, just let me know how to play and maybe I'll remember? Err- make any sense to you? Hello? Are you still there? You, uh, okay?" He went on.

"You're doing it again."

"Oh uh, sorry? I'm just, err...worried. That's what, uh, friends usually do for each other, no?" He squinted trying to make her out in the dark.

"We're not friends." She replied coldly. He frowned.

"But, uh, you repaired me?"

"Oh! Stop it! I'm losing processing power just listening to you!"

"S-sorr.."

"Don't say it!"

He flinched. Who was she? Why did she have to be so mean to him? Has she always been this way? Had he really done something awful?

"I-I greatly apologize for being this way, lady. I really do, I really do...I just don't remember and I'm pretty much left in the dark here, literally and quite metaphorically speaking. What if...I saw you? You're in the dark here right? I recognize your voice but I don't really have a "face" for it yet. Do you mind if I see you? No pressure. Just want to, you know, hurry up remembering for your, uh, benefit." He stammered. She sighed.

"Fine. but if you're just planning an escape you'll see something else coming." She added coolly.

"Escape?" He replied, turning around and swinging his handles. "Don't think I could do that. Requires a rail actually, Miss." He offered her a smile, well, in the general direction that he thought she was in.

He felt the table shudder underneath him again, though this time it tipped forward. He yelped as he slid off helplessly and toward the floor. Just as he was about to slam optic first into the floor, a blue hole opened up swallowing him whole and spitting him out a bright orange hole.

It was so fast, he didn't have time to scream. Nevertheless, he was shaking and trembling from the experience.

"Lady?" He gasped meekly.

"Don't call me that." She snapped at him once more, from the new darkness he'd entered (presumably through the glowing hole on the wall).

"What do I call you then?" He asked sheepishly.

She took a while to reply but he could hear her mumbling hesitantly somewhere in the dark.

Then his optic started to really hurt, there was suddenly white everywhere!

"Gah!" He yelped as he closed his optic against the bright light coming on. He heard her chuckle somewhere behind his lids. He snapped them open.

"Hey! It actually hurts lad-!"

He couldn't believe his optic, she was huge! A robot too!

"Your-you're huge!" He gasped, realizing his choice of words could upset the lady so he quickly added…

"Uh, er that doesn't make you uh...uh...You look nice. Pretty for a, err, robot."

From the ceiling she dangled elegantly, swinging about all agile, well more agile than him for sure.

"You don't say." She replied disinterestedly. "Look metal ball, do you remember me or not? I'd love to show you how I looked as a root vegetable but we're running out of time. I've cooked up numerous science-related punishments but I need you to remember me for you to use them and I'm sure you're excited about those. I am too." She was staring down at him, her optic a bright yellow.

He couldn't stop gasping in awe at her massive structure. It was just so impressive!

"Err, sorry." he finally replied. "What?"

"You're not even listening. I suppose I could do both of us a favor and just drop you directly into the incinerator. It would be easiest if we did that; believe me." She replied with some glee.

He shook his faceplate.

"I don't t-think I'd be better really. I'd think that would hurt; wouldn't it? Really, really hurt. Tell you what I think you're just playing games with me. You mentioned something about games earlier. This is what you meant? Coming up with ways of getting rid of each other? I don't wanna sound rude but it's a bit of an extreme game luv. Chess wouldn't hurt. Oh, I've got it! Cards, we should play that instead! I've always wanted to play that!" He gave her another one of his smiles.

"Stop it!" She snapped again. "I don't get it. You're supposed to be afraid of me, I'm the central core and I can do whatever I want for the better of science. You should still remember that." She growled, shuddering as she came closer to where he was lying on the ground, making him squint to avoid her blazing optic.

"Afraid of you?" He asked.

"Yes."

"But, I'm not" He shook his optic assembly for emphasis.

"What?" She raised herself making her look even massive and much more intimidating, though to him she wasn't more than stretching upward.

"I just - don't." He added. "I don't know my own name so how would I know if I'm afraid of you or not?" He sighed. He was getting her more upset wasn't he?

"I'm greatly sorry, lady but I absolutely don't know anything about you. It's all gone." He went on sadly.

"Wheatley." She sounded tired.

"Er, pardon?" He looked up to her optic, it looked faded now.

"That's your name. Wheatley. Ugh. Just, just leave, no use…" She was slipping him away with a panel.

"No, wait! Lady please tell me, tell me your name!" He shouted pleading.

"What does it matter? You don't remember." She added dully. He gave her a chuckle and his biggest grin yet.

"Maybe that's all I need! Your name! It might, I dunno, unlock my err...memories! They might be password protected! And, and your name is uh, what do you call it? Uh the..the key! Yes, the key!" Excitement was literally radiating off him. His optic shining a bright blue.

She shook her head assembly.

"No, that's ridiculous." She turned away from him.

"Why not?" He asked gently, offering her a reassuring smile. She shook her head once more, glancing at him coldly.

"I don't want to…" She broke off trying to hide her embarrassment. She looked about the chamber nervously as if someone was listening in on what they were saying.

"Don't want to...what exactly?" He replied suspiciously. The lady obviously was hiding something and he wanted to know.

"Say my name."

For the first time since he'd heard her voice, it sounded smooth and light. It was almost sweet. Wheatley couldn't help but smile. Whoever she was, whatever she was supposed to be, he'd be her friend.

"Then don't."