She was in a different room, full of soft light blue and green lights. The lights were mainly on the floor and the ceiling. She was lying in a single bed, the room too dark to see anything else. She could see that there was a desk, covered in tools and miscellaneous objects across from the bed, and a doorway, which was cracked open. Brighter lights, along with the sounds of high pitches of techno music came creeping in to this small little room. Raven sat up, taking in her surroundings. She had almost forgotten where she was. At first, she thought she had woken up in her room back in the apartment. But then she remembered the mouse DJ. Dead mau5. That was his name.
She felt fear. And a few seconds later, hunger hit her rock hard.
"Hungry…" Raven groaned, holding her stomach tightly. Aside from that, she felt completely better.
She turned her attention to the slightly open door. She listened to the sounds of repetitive electronic rhythms and beats. It was a new type of sound she had never heard before. It was captivating. She slowly crawled out of the single bed and walked to the door. In the hallway, more blue lights hung above her, but were much brighter than the ones in the room. She gazed at them in wonder. The colored lights, along with the music… I feel like I'm in some kind of sci-fi movie. She thought.
Her feet guided her down the hallway, closer to where the sounds were coming from. She came to another door, this one extremely tall. She looked up at it and placed her palms down on it. It's cold touch and vibrations from the music were intriguing. A rush of excitement crept up her spin as she pushed the door open, and a loud pool of electronic sounds flooded her ears. Then her eyes were hit with lights. So many soft and colorful lights. This room was alive. It breathed, with the colored lights as the veins and the music as the arteries.
So where is the heart..?
Raven stepped into the room and immediately, a large black shape caught her eye. She noticed to her left, a large pyramid shape to the side. Up on top and behind the pyramid, she saw a man… or was it a man? She looked more. His face was oddly shaped and silver. He looked to be wearing a tight, black body suit. She stared in awe, realizing that the music was coming from him and the strange black pyramid. Ok, she thought. This is totally a sci-fi movie scene.
The music beats went on for a little longer, as Raven stood still, watching. It suddenly died down, and stopped.
"Whoa.." Raven whispered, blinking out of her trance.
"DO YOU LIKE IT?" The silver man asked, looking up from his pyramid stage.
"Uh.." Raven stuttered, kind of caught off guard. "Yeah.. its wonderful."
The silver man slightly bowed his head, turned, and jumped down behind the black pyramid. He then reappeared at its base as he slowly walked towards her.
Raven held her breath as she looked upon this fellow, as he got closer. He wasn't a man, was he?
"You're a… robot?" She looked at his face, which was quite clearly metallic. A visor of red light dots covered where his eyes would be.
He chuckled in an odd sort of electronic way. The word 'Perhaps' scrolled across his visor. "YOU CAN SAY THAT, I SUPPOSE."
Raven couldn't help but gawk at him. She couldn't believe how many more unusual beings she was meeting in such a short period of time.
"So your music.. if you're a robot, did it come from inside your head?" Raven asked, pointing a finger to her own forehead. She got the idea that this guy was like Dead Mau5, like how he said his music was in his memory.
"WHY NO. MY MUSIC… IT COMES FROM HERE." The robot placed a silver hand on his chest. He slightly bowed again as he did this. "THE MUSIC IS MY SOUL." And the word 'soul' appeared on his visor.
Raven looked confused. "This might sound a little harsh but… I've never heard of a robot having a soul. I mean… robots are built."
He chuckled again. "THAT'S WHY I DIDN'T FULLY AGREE TO YOUR TERM. TO YOU, I AM A ROBOT. BUT NOT QUITE…" He stopped, as Raven only continued to look more puzzled. "I CAN'T REALLY EXPLAIN… I AM NOT MADE BY A HUMAN, IF THAT MAKES IT A LITTLE BIT MORE EASIER TO UNDERSTAND."
Raven slowly nodded. She then looked about the room one last time at the lights… "So uh, Mr. Robot… where am I?"
The words 'Silly' now scrolled across his visor. "WELL, YOU ARE IN OUR STUDIO. THIS IS WHERE WE LIVE AND CREATE. AND MY NAME IS THOMAS, NOT MR. ROBOT."
"Thomas… wait.. I think I remember you. And there was someone who sounded like you… his name was Guy."
"YES. HE IS MY MUSIC COMPANION."
"And your studio..? Is that.." Raven paused, remembering everything from a several hours ago. "That the same studio that… Dead Mau5?"
Thomas nodded. The joints in his neck could be heard moving mechanically. "HE WAS BUILT HERE. HE IS MINE AND GUY'S CREATION."
Raven nodded slowly. Her gut was unsettled and she felt nervous once again. "Where… is he now?"
"DON'T YOU WORRY. HE'S ASLEEP. HE WON'T HURT YOU, I PROMISE." Thomas said, a smile icon scrolling across his face.
Raven frowned, but took his word. She then placed her hand on her stomach, looking a bit embarrassed. "You wouldn't by chance happen to have food, would you?"
Now the words 'hmmm' scrolled on Thomas's visor as he thought. "WE HAVE FOOD FOR DEAD MAU5 YOU COULD EAT. FRUIT, NUTS, RAW VEGETABLES… THE BASIC DIET OF A RODENT."
"Fruit sounds wonderful…" Raven said, smiling weakly.
"COME THIS WAY, THEN.. I WILL GET YOU SOME FRUIT." Thomas guided Raven back through the door she came through and down the glowing hallway. "Thomas, how did you do all this lighting? It's gorgeous."
"ALL OF IT IS ALSO OUR CREATION. OUR HOME, WE BUILT. IT IS ALSO A PART OF US."
"So does that mean Mau5 is apart of you too?"
"IN A WAY, YES. HE IS THE MOST DETATCHED CREATION WE HAVE MADE SO FAR. ALSO THE MOST STABLE LIVING BEING."
"Most stable…" Raven repeated, her teeth clenching a bit. "But not stable enough..?"
Thomas looked over his shoulder at her, his visor blank. "STABLE ENOUGH TO MOVE AROUND FREELY ON HIS OWN. OR SO WE THOUGHT… UNTIL YOU CAME ALONG."
Raven gulped, holding her arms close to her body. She did not wish to encounter him again. From what she heard and what she remembered, he took a huge advantage over her.
Thomas led her into a small room. It was the only room she had seen yet that didn't have an overwhelming amount of lights. Only a single white light glowed brightly in the middle of the ceiling. This room had several cabinets, counters, a single table right below the light, and one chair pulled up to the side. The floors in this room were extra cold on Raven's bare feet. She noticed that, in fact, this room was completely made out of metal; her guess, it was steal. Thomas walked up to a rather large, vertical, metal box that had a large handle on it and pulled it open. Cold air came leaking out of it. An ice box.
"WOULD YOU PERFER BLUEBERRIES OR KIWI? IT'S ALL WE HAVE LEFT…"
"Uh… Blueberries are fine." Raven replied.
Thomas reached in and pulled out a huge container. He set it down with a thud on the table and pried the lid off. There was a huge amount of berries jammed inside. Probably enough to feed someone for a week. "You've got a lot of blueberries left…" Raven commented.
"MAU5 LIKES THE STRAWBERRIES AND PEACHES THE MOST... HE'S NOT A FAN OF THE OTHER FRUIT."
Raven reached into the container and took a few of the berries. She popped them in her mouth. Very juicy. "Thank you." Raven said, taking more berries to satisfy her belly.
"EAT UNTIL YOU ARE FULL." Thomas said, the word 'full' appearing on his face. "YOU MIGHT HAVE TO EAT JUST FRUIT AND VEGETABLES UNTIL EITHER GUY OR I CAN GO GET YOU OTHER FOODS."
"Wot?" Raven said, kind of confused. "How long am I having to stay here?"
Thomas fell silent.
Raven looked at him, feeling suddenly uncomfortable around him. His pleasant hospitality was gone, because of the way he stared at her so still.
"I HOPE YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T LEAVE AT ALL…" He said, lifting his hands up in front of them and waving them slowly, "IT'S NOTHING WE CAN CONTROL… YOU'VE LEARNED TOO MUCH ABOUT MAU5. WE CAN'T RISK YOU RETURNING INTO SOCIETY AND TELLING ABOUT HIM. PEOPLE MUST NOT KNOW WHAT HE REALLY IS."
Raven's eyes were large. "Wot are you saying…? I can't.. go home? Ever?"
Thomas's face scrolled an unhappy smiley. "NO.."
Raven felt a little of anxiety and disbelief build up inside her. She laughed a little. "Look, you have my word. I won't tell a soul about you and Dead Mau5. You can trust me. I'm friends with a mutant, I can keep secrets like that safe."
"I'M SORRY, RAVEN. WE CAN'T TAKE THAT CHANCE."
"No, you can't just keep me here!" Raven said loudly.
"IT'S NOT OUR CHOICE. PLEASE UNDERSTAND. YOU MAY NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND WHAT WE ARE, BUT WE CAN'T BE KNOWN BY THE HUMANS. WE MADE A DEAL WITH THE GOVERMENTS OF EVERY SUPERPOWER THAT WE WOULD KEEP OUR IDENTITY A SECRET FROM SOCIETY. IF THEY KNEW THAT YOU DISCOVERED US, THEY WOULD PUT YOU TO DEATH. TO KEEP YOU SAFE, AND US SAFE, WE HAVE TO KEEP YOU WITH US."
Raven shook her head back and forth slowly. "No.. no they… they wouldn't. They.." But the more she thought about the little faith she had in Grand Old England, she felt the fear of truth.
Thomas still had the unhappy smile text on his visor. "I'M SORRY. MAU5 WAS DETERMINED TO HAVE A HUMAN FRIEND, IT SEEMS. HE SAW YOU AND KNEW IF YOU LEARNED ABOUT WHAT HE WAS, WE WOULD HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO KEEP YOU. THAT WAS HIS PLAN…"
"The… the damn bastard!" Raven yelled, slamming her fist down on the table. "This isn't fair!" Tears were coming to her eyes.
"NO, IT ISN'T…" The silver robot replied. "BUT LISTEN TO ME RAVEN… WE CAN HELP GIVE YOU A GOOD LIFE. YOU WON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WORK AND EXPENSES AND MONEY, ALL THAT HUMAN RUBBISH. WE CAN SUBSTAIN YOU HERE."
Raven frowned, glaring at him. "That's no way to live… I'm still human. I can't be cooped up here."
"GUY AND I WILL FIND A WAY TO GIVE YOU ENTERTAINMENT. PLEASE… THERE IS NO OTHER CHOICE."
Raven continued to glare. But then she remembered Mau5's words… "Dead Mau5 promised me that I could tour with him and dance at his concerts… Was he lying? Can I do that?"
Thomas cocked his head, the words 'oh dear' scrolled by his visor. "WELL… I DON'T SEE WHY YOU COULDN'T. YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE UNDER STRICT WATCH, ALONG WITH MAU5 IF YOU DO."
"But it would be the closest thing I have to encounter society. And I'd be doing something I love."
"YOU WOULD TOUR WITH DEAD MAU5? ARE YOU SURE YOU WOULD BE OKAY WITH THAT?"
"…Yes..." Raven said, even though she was sure she wasn't. But she had a plan. If they weren't going to let her leave.. if she toured with Dead Mau5, there might be opportunities for her to run away.
"WELL… OKAY… I WILL TALK TO GUY ABOUT IT, AND OUR SUPERVISOR. IT WILL BE A WHILE BEFORE MAU5 CAN GO TOURING AGAIN, HOWEVER. HE STILL IS UNSTABLE AND WE NEED TO WORK WITH HIM SOME MORE, SO WE CAN PREVENT HIM FROM ATTEMPTING TO STEAL ANOTHER HUMAN."
"Sure, a'right." Raven said.
"Thomassss~ What's all the noise I hear in here? Oh Raven~!"
Raven felt the hair on her neck stand straight up. She turned around quickly.
The idiotic rodent face of Dead Mau5 greeted her with a huge smile. "Hiya."
Raven stayed glued to the spot, terrified. She couldn't trust this guy now.
"NOW, MAU5…" She heard Thomas begin, but he was already coming towards her, arms spread wide.
"Are ya feeling better, lil Raven?" He asked cheery.
Raven quickly stepped back and around the table, next to Thomas. She held her arms out in front of her as a shield. "Don't…" She said simply.
"But.. Raven…" Mau5 said, his voice fading from happy-go-lucky to concerned.
Thomas shook his head, putting a hand on Raven's shoulder. She flinched from his cold hands, but didn't take her eyes off her threat.
"MAU5, YOU SEXUALLY HARASSED THIS GIRL. YOU CAN'T EXPECT HER TO BE WELCOMING TO AFFECTION."
"But.. I didn't intend to hurt her. I didn't know she didn't want it." He whined, his large, red ears drooping down and his eyes widening. His large grin now fell down to a huge frown.
"MAU5… YOU TWO ARE GOING TO BE LIVING TOGETHER NOW. BUT YOU CAN'T EXPECT HER TO LIKE YOU RIGHT AWAY. YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO REGAIN HER TRUST…"