"Don't fall behind."

He said.

The other one stumbled slightly, shaking her head in a dizzy disarray. Like a piece of looseleaf paper, she wobbled at the slightest movement. Though she wasn't the one with nerves, that title belonged to her eccentric, overconfident counterpart. Every now and then, out of the corner of her eye, she would catch him tremble slightly and look from side to side, afraid he was being observed without consent. Afterwards, he would always give a characteristic grumble or scoff. She tilted slightly in his direction.

"Knife?"

"Not now."

He replied, not even letting her finish her sentence.

She hung her head, and they continued to walk in silence.

It hadn't been that long since they first heard mention of the building in the clouds. They rose to the skies on a hot-air balloon, though their little escapades had been kept secret from everyone else. Not even their reason for coming here, their host, had any clue where they'd gone.

"Do you think he'd be looking for us by now?"

She asked, though there was no response, so the question was left floating in the air for an uncomfortable amount of time.

And thus, they continued on their journey.

For the sake of her own sanity, she knew undertaking this endeavor was necessary.

She knew it when she first ventured through the darkness of suffocating caverns, a metaphorical and literal trip down memory lane. His memories, of course.

Suitcase saw past the gaze of their weepy-eyed host, into the mind of someone that was hiding monsters and demons behind a cracked screen protector, one he held close, it felt so comforting, so familiar. So safe.

And yet, so suffocating.

She thought her own visions were frightening, but they paled in comparison to his.

At her core, she was a caring person. Like she'd been designed as such, carved and put together by a skilled craftsman, the woodworking and carving of the specimen been spared no expense. And so she felt the need to do something.

Knife was a different story.

His only motivation for coming along came from a place of pity, the thought that she'd be incapable of getting past this by herself. Suitcase would have been more offended at that if a part of her didn't agree with him. But then again, Knife would not hesitate to face off against any unforeseen threats, monsters, and creepy crawlies. She could put up with his ego for one afternoon. Despite having attempted to steer him in the right direction before, she had a hard time bearing him, the words of their dejected host most likely having gone to his head after so many years. Suitcase supposed that after being told 'you're perfect' more times than any other phrase really begins to stick in one's mind. She'd been told several iterations of said phrase, but she never let it get to her head. MePhone meant it endearingly. Perhaps desperately. Like he was trying to convince himself more than the rest. Or someone else altogether.

"This place is a ghost town!"

Knife exclaimed suddenly, making her skitter forwards and crash into him. She looked up meekly, smiling anxiously.

"Hehehe...Oops?"

"Watch it."

He replied through gritted teeth.

She found no comfort in his presence.

Taking a few steps back, Suitcase bumped into the wall, making several picture frames hung up on it shudder, threatening to fall down. Both objects glanced upwards at these displays, taking in each and every sorrowful expression. The tag above each read 'Employee of the Month' in bold font. This wall seemed to stretch as far as their eyes could see.

"Sure seems like a fun place to work at..."

Knife marked sarcastically, bending on one leg to see if he could find the end of the framed faces.

"But I don't see any of them around."

Suitcase commented.

"Probably on break?"

He suggested.

As if on cue, two objects burst through the adjacent double doors, with a speed as if their very lives depended on it.

"I WANNA GO HOOOME!!!"

One screamed, a short, rotund fellow, a chocolate-chip cookie.

"Where is Mr. Cobs?! THIS PLACE IS CRAZY!!!"

The other replied, screaming like a madman. He was a spool of red thread. This one had to hold onto his glasses while running for fear they'd fall off his face in the pursuit.

Knife and Suitcase looked on in awe and confusion. They followed them only with their gaze, more than bewildered by the sudden ruckus. Their heads snapped back around at a much louder and repetitive tune, the cold and mechanical sound of metallic footsteps. They were loud, yet also graceful in a way, a mesmerizing melody that made Suitcase want to sway from side to side, transfixed by their tune. Knife was more grounded in reality at the moment, and with his own two eyes witnessed the tall, intimidating figures in fast pursuits of the escapees. They bore a striking resemblance to his sorrowful host, except these ones were different colors, and far more menacing. By a mile.

They caught hold of one object, lifting him off the ground by the string of his back. The spool thrashed around violently, kicking and still screaming.

"LET GO! Let go of me, you mechanical menace!! Where is MR. COBS!!! He wouldn't let you MANHANDLE us like this!!!"

He protested.

The machine narrowed its eyes at him.

With a swift turn, the sugary fellow booked it towards Knife and Suitcase, snapping her out of her delusion and the other out of his fixed gaze.

They crashed into one another, him desperately grabbing hold of Knife.

"HELP!" He cried, taking another breath before speaking.

"Please, it's not true! Don't let them take you, they're LYING! There's no internship!! IT'S A LIE!!"

He exclaimed.

"...Lie?"

Suitcase asked in a low voice.

"Get your hands off me, man!"

Knife protested, trying to yank the stranger off of him.

"PUT THAT COOKIE DOWN! NOW!"

All three turned with wide eyes at the one who addressed them. The terrifying, brightly-colored apparatus stomped towards them, immediately grabbing hold of the one running. He scrambled to grab hold of something once again, but gave up the futile effort quickly. The machine stared down at the alarmed objects.

"State your names."

"Uh...Um..."

Suitcase started, a bit too shaken to form a proper sentence.

"Knife."

He said before she could get the courage, then pointed a finger at her.

"And Suitcase."

"You are not listed. How did you arrive?"

It asked in a monotone voice.

"Nunya."

Knife said, putting his hands on his hips.

The screen closed its eyes, thinking hard.

"No results for 'Nunya.' Repeat yourself this instan-"

"-Nun ya business."

He said smugly.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a while.

They walked briskly through the pristine white halls, illuminating them as they went further, for the light faded and darkness surrounded them. The purple-screen machine held the original escapees, who still protested and thrashed about, but never made its grip falter. The red one led the group, leaving the reality show contestants sandwiched between them. Even if they wanted to back out now, make a run of it, they were blocked at all sides. Not that it mattered much, those robots were scarily fast, even if their pace was somehow slower than that of two people in a full sprint. They once again passed the hall of framed portraits. Those expressions felt more grim and despairing than before.

"Where are you taking us?"

She asked, not directed at any one specific machine in particular.

"We will ask Mr. Cobs what we should do with you."

The machine carrying the other two replied.

"Mr. Cobs?!"

The spool of thread shrieked.

"YES! I need to talk to him too!! RIGHT NOW!!"

They kicked their legs wildly, screaming obscenities at everyone they laid eyes on.

"Mr. Cobs?"

Knife asked, sounding puzzled.

"No, we need to talk to somebody else. See, it looks like..."

He trailed off, trying to find the right words.

"It looks like one of you two..."

He said, gesturing to both machines.

"...But wayyyy meaner looking and uglier."

"-And scarier."

Suitcase added as an addendum.

"Yeah, that."

Knife nodded.

The oversized phones barely acknowledged them, and a bit farther along their path they separated, going down different hallways. Suitcase and Knife kept following the red one, and the purple one simply carried the stragglers away.

"NO!! PUT ME DOWN! LET ME TALK TO MR. COBSSS!!!"

The red thread shrieked, before the sound was cut short at the sound of a door slamming shut. Suitcase cringed, but pressed forward.

She and her sharp companion stopped just as the robot came to a quick halt before a pair of large double doors.

"Feels...Too creepy."

She muttered.

"Creepy? No, I just...We got a one way ticket to our destination. I'll just clock this guy in the face and solve all our problems in one go."

Both objects shared a laugh.

A pair of bright, unnerving eyes gazed down coldly in their direction.

"Harming Mr. Cobs will result in your immediate dismissal from Meeple Headquarters. Do you wish to proceed with the tour?"

"...Sure!"

Knife shrugged.

"Man, though I wanted to kick the door down..."

He lamented as their tour leader opened the doors.

It was pitch black inside, even more so as the machine shut the door behind them. Suitcase looked back at them, lamenting the chance to run away, if there ever was one. She spun around, eyes darting around to find a source of light, one emanating from something other than their frightening tour guide. She looked up at her compatriot, but his expression was unreadable. Or maybe it was just too dark to see. She couldn't tell.

"Mr. Cobs, I have found two peaceful intruders."

The machine stated, saluting whomever he spoke to.

Puzzled, Suitcase tried once again to find another individual in the room. As her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, she could just barely begin making out the basic shapes of the furniture. A big desk sat at the very end of the room, more like a corridor due to its abysmal length.

"Neither a 'Suitcase' or 'Knife' are listed in this year's group, so I ask you what should be done with them."

It spoke again, posture firm.

There was again no answer, until a soft light shone at the very end of the room, illuminating the wall in front of the source. It spoke in a weary, tired, and gentle voice.

"S-state your p-p-purpose."

It said, stuttering out its words with struggle, almost painfully.

"We are...We aren't intruders! We weren't trespassing!"

Suitcase shouted after a long moment of quiet.

"We came looking for someone! Or- I guess something. It's complicated..."

"What my partner is TRYING to say is that we're looking for a monster! A big ugly guy, yeah?"

Knife interrupted, speaking over her.

Another moment of silence.

"...Monster?"

The thing at the end of the room uttered.

"Do n-not be afraid, th-there are n-no more m-monsters h-here. I-I made s-sure of it."

"Oh."

Knife said, half shocked, half thoughtless. He shrugged.

"Welp, that's great. Then I guess we really have no business here."

Suitcase eyed the one guarding their exit. Whether he was doing it purposely or just unthinking, Knife was stalling the conversation for a long while. His words didn't reach her. She was trying to make out the face of the person across from them, still just barely illuminated. There was no clear physiology, not a gesture, not so much as a glint of light in an eye. As her eyes finally adjusted fully to the room's light, she spotted the droopy husk pushed up against the seat.

'But of course,' she thought, 'He's Cobs, clearly he'd be a piece of corn.'

If that was the case, why was he so oddly rectangular? She hadn't been acquainted with many vegetables in her life, but this one deviated far too much from the norm to sit right with her. She let out a sigh, kicking herself for such a long, drawn out train of thought, something a certain somebody might just sarcastically tease her for had he been present.

"What's with the silence?" Knife asked, still demanding answers from the figure.

"I see you got a stammer. I have a buddy- I mean. I know a guy that's got one too. It's cool."

Suitcase eyed him, wondering why he was so adamant about making small talk if they allegedly 'had no more business there.' She wanted to leave, and fast. This entire situation reeked of a bad vibe, so much so she was sure she could smell it.

Oh my airport! It REEKS!

No, she could literally smell something awful, coming from none other than the stammery-speaker before them.

"Th-that's nice." Cobs replied.

"B-being amongst f-friends..."

"Yeahhhh..."

Knife said, backing away ever so slowly.

He bumped into the one guarding the door, promptly scrambling back to his original position.

"Soooo...Could ya let us off the hook?"

He asked in a quiet tone.

"What did...Y-your monster...l-look like?"

Cobs asked, adjusting his posture.

Suitcase heard the faint sound of dry leaves cracking as he moved, and the smell of wet cardboard was most potent.

"Uh...Kinda like- one of these guys."

Knife pointed his thumb towards the one guarding the door. It didn't so much as react to this gesture.

"S-surely n-not one of m-my m-machines."

The figure said with a chuckle. Suitcase did a double take, suddenly picking up on his voice.

It was no stutter, but an electronic interference, a glitch.

"He's one of them!"

She called out without thinking.

Knife tilted his head towards her, intrigued by her outburst.

"He-" She started, pointing a foot in an accusatory manner at the figure. "He's a robot! A- a screen!"

She blurted in a similarly rapid manner, screaming her conclusions before she could deny their release. The blade followed her gaze back towards the end of the room, the dim screen now illuminating their own faces. Cobs adjusted his glasses. There was an unpleasant screech as they scraped against a crack in his face.

"Greetings."

He said, expressionless.

For a moment both objects were baffled, unsure what to make of him. Suitcase explored each nook and cranny of his face, taking in the damage. Knife studied the distant look in his eyes, a stare that looked past them both, farther than they knew.

"...You the monster?"

Knife muttered, unable to tear his eyes away from him.

His confidence faltered once more when Cobs narrowed his eyes at him, glaring daggers at the dagger. He swiveled his chair back around once more, letting a blanket of darkness cover the room once more. She didn't quite get a good look at him, and longed to immediately face this mystery of a man.

"Knife- you can't just say that!" She reprimanded him.

"It's a question! I can't ask him questions?!" He shouted.

"Wrong, wrong, w-wrong, wrong."

It spat back, making both contestants shut up immediately.

"I am n-not a m-m-monster. H-how dare y-you-!"

He proclaimed indignantly, shaking his head from side to side.

"Well- you're the one from- from- freaky- weird visions! In- the cave!"

Knife shouted back, more than annoyed.

"I h-haven't a clue w-what non-nonsense you're r-referring to."

"We saw...Visions. It's hard to believe, but it's true! You- you are- you can't be the same monster, right? The one that..." Suitcase trailed off, staring at the floor.

Cobs closed his eyes, making a motion with his hands. The red guard behind them sprung to life once more, moving to apprehend them both.

"G-get them o-out of my s-sight, 4S."

Knife curiously mouthed the words '4S' back, as if not believing it.

Afraid of what this entailed, Suitcase sought to fight against its grasp, scampering forwards. She wanted to believe so badly there was a fight left in her, some flame yet to be lit that would propel her to fight for so much as her own life. And yet, she was shaking like a leaf before someone who couldn't care less. How familiar it felt.

"Wait! You have to know! If you're not the same one, do you know who did it?!" Suitcase screamed, evading the grabbing hands of the mechanical bodyguard.

Realizing their time was running out, Knife shot it a glare, joining in her line of questioning.

"Did you know who really killed him?! Are you covering for them?!" He shouted.

It did not reply.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Still nothing.

"You left MePhone with a knot in his stomach, and it's never gone away!"

The phantom opened its eyes.

Slowly, its gaze shifted to the side, just barely able to make out the object's silhouette.

"MePhone?"

It breathed hauntingly.

The thing that took the loose shape of Cobs waved its hand again, making 4S back off, returning to a standing position.

Suitcase looked at it, then to Cobs, then Knife, and back to Cobs.

"Which?"

"Huh?" Knife asked, brainless, clueless.

"Which? MePhone?"

He reiterated, turning to face them once more. The cracks on his face were angled in such a way that they made his face look aged, like long wrinkles or battle scars.

Knife gulped, looking away from him as he answered.

"...Four?"

Cobs's eyes widened ever so slightly. He gently raised a hand to his mouth, pressing it firmly against the screen. Suitcase thought it was to stifle a gasp, but then he started to laugh. The corners of his mouth touched either side of the screen. It didn't seem malicious however, it was a fond expression.

"M-MePhone Four..."

It said with a grin. He extended his arms to Knife.

"O-oh...Of course. You look just like his h-handiwork."

"Excuse me?" He asked.

"N-no, don't t-take offense. It i-is a compliment."

"How do you know MePhone?" She asked, the only one of them able to face him.

It faced her, still grinning.

"A-are you also h-his kin?"

She only replied with a confused stare. It blinked, realizing he'd been asked a question.

Cobs moved his arms downwards, gesturing to himself.

"We h-have a history."

He placed an elbow on the desk, it made a painful, rusty creaking sound. He leaned his face against his hand.

"B-but enough a-about m-m-me. I m-must know a-about you."

He scanned Knife and Suitcase with his eyes, not judgmentally, but with great intrigue.

"How is it th-that you live? W-were you built w-with his own t-two hands? J-just as he w-was?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Suitcase asked.

"M-my apologies, I am a v-very forward man. I-I l-like gaining a-an understanding."

"Well, understand this. We. Want. Answers."

Knife demanded, growing bored of the banter.

"Are you the monster we saw? Answer."

"I-I am not a m-monster." It replied, voice strained.

The conversation was going in circles, moving in the same direction over and over and over again. Suitcase felt herself spinning too, deeper, ever deeper into the abyss that was this dark office, with an equally natured individual sitting across from them. If they wanted to progress, if they ever wanted to leave, one of them had to be bold. Be as blunt as possible. With a deep inhale, she took a defensive stance and shouted over the other two's voices.

"Are you really Steve Cobs?!"

She kept her eyes shut tight, fearing the repercussions.

The silence lasted for a few seconds. Then a minute passed. Minute and a half. She blinked one eye open, peering at the grey screen. It was sitting just as it had been, but it now had its elbows on the table, face in its hands. It made a horrible sound, something like a mix between a scream and a freight train. It was loud, so loud in fact the one guarding the door faltered, making to cover a pair of ears it didn't have. Knife groaned and cringed at the sound. Suitcase took it on the chest, bracing and standing her ground despite the volume, no arms to cover her 'ears'. Then it was quiet once again. It shrugged.

"Y-you a-are an intelligent l-lifeform." It muttered.

"I am what I-I am. I c-cannot help this. I m-made it myself, m-my name, m-my face."

It traced a cold finger down its face, an eerie screech not unlike nails on a chalkboard.

Both contestants shuddered.

"A-Are you c-cold or afraid?" It asked them, gripping the edge of its desk.

"COLD."

"Cold..?"

Both said in unison, half-truthful half-lying.

"COLD?" It screamed at them.

"Y-you are c-cold? I-I have been C-COLD. F-Freezing f-from the very m-moment I was b-born into th-this horrible place. B-But it can't hurt m-me anymore, it is m-mine. MINE. Mine, I-I t-tell you!"

With a frightening speed, it ripped the desk from its place, flinging it at the adjacent wall. Knife and Suitcase's gaze only lingered on the wreckage for a second before being laser-focused on him once again.

"I'm sorry."

It said, speaking in a sotto voice once again.

The machine looked to its own hands, pulling down slightly on the pair of dark gloves it wore, fixing them with quick elegance. Knife squinted his eyes slightly at this, taking note of the garment's ragged ends, like they were old and worn down over a period of years. This was the same for the odd coat it wore, a scraggly scarf thing slung over its shoulders like a fancy fur coat. In fact, the only part of its outfit that was devoid of wear and tear were the glasses, not so much as chipped or smudged. Taking a closer listen, the machine's gloves made a sickly, dry sound upon being put back on, like cheap leather. Its scarf crinkled and cracked with each motion, a single gust of wind capable of breaking it apart into hundreds of pieces.

"I am s-so fragile in comparison t-to them."

It gazed at the guard, which didn't provide even a modicum of acknowledgement.

"He is n-not a brute. N-none of them a-are. We are g-good friends, a-are we not, 4S?"

It stated with a chuckle. The other still gave no reply.

"But f-fine. I d-did not MAKE this. A-a-alllllll of this."

It proclaimed, extending its arms to its sides, much much much longer than they should have been able to stretch.

"I-Inherited b-by force. F-for the greater g-good."

Something small skittered across the floor nearby. It was gone too fast to identify what it was.

"I am an o-old man, I-I was old even shortly a-after I was b-born. Outdated."

Its limbs fell limp at its sides, not capable of supporting their own weight.

"I am t-too accustomed t-to the dark."

It seemed to ramble about irrelevant things. But there was no more protest from the other two. They listened quietly.

"But oh, oh it is n-not so bad. I a-am not a good m-man. I a-am not even a man, a living, breathing one. S-So I don't have t-to be. I was not MADE f-for it."

"Made..?" Suitcase said, just barely above a whisper.

"Nobody is made a certain way, you decide that yourself!"

She said a bit louder, only to be met by another grisly shriek.

"I-I WAS NOT G-GIVEN TH-THE CHOICE T-TO DECIDE! H-He did not g-give me a choice. S-So I took it. A-And I took back everything h-he took from me."

Its long arms dragged across the ground, creaking as he lifted them up to his face, staring down at them.

"...E-Everything I c-could."

He scowled.

"A-and now, th-they can never be h-hurt again."

In this thing, Suitcase did not see a person. Maybe a monster, maybe some kind of victim, but surely not something like them.

Clearly there was no reasoning or getting a clear answer from it. Maybe not knowing was best, after all Knife didn't know if he really wanted to comprehend the words being expelled from the cracked screen. And it just kept on monologuing.

"O-Oh woe is me, the o-old, dated d-device of the past. Why even c-create when in time EVERYTHING becomes o-outdated?! Whatever was the reason to tr-ty and try and t-try, pushing myself farther than I w-was meant to, allowing m-myself to be poked and p-prodded and dissected for a-an ounce of f-fondness?"

It slammed a fist down at the ground, leaving a crack in it.

"TO 'MAKE HISTORY!' T-To be remembered in the minds of s-strangers long after we were gone! WHY do living th-things care so much about that? Y-You can't even answer because I know y-you aren't among th-the living, neither am I. The living a-are s-subservient to us now, th-they are the cogs in o-our MACHINES."

It looked like it was on the verge of tears, though they doubted it was capable of shedding them.

"You, a-as well as I, a-and what is to come don't n-need to know m-my real face, or my name, o-or why I have done all I did. Y-You enter MY office to c-call ME a monster. Maybe th-that is a fact known just as I can see you are s-square, a-and you are sharp."

The next words he spoke didn't seem to be directed at the two of them, but addressed to someone else, someone perhaps not even in the room.

"Th-The world will keep s-spinning with or w-without you, so long as a-another can take y-your FACE. Your legacy i-is IRRELEVANT so long as I a-am here. I am th-the one to keep the m-machine running."

He wrapped his long and slender arms around himself in a crude embrace.

"I-I am you, y-you are me..."

She wanted out. Suitcase knew better than to try and reason with insanity. Knife had already turned to try and reason with the guard, trying desperately to reach for the door, his cool and collected demeanor starting to fully break.

"Y-You left me with the pieces, th-the pieces we take from o-one another, and I'll b-bring them all here. I w-won't be lonely, I won't b-be left by m-myself."

It reached for some assorted papers scattered about the floor, which went flying everywhere when the desk was flung.

"E-Every single one. Everyone y-you left b-behind."

He looked back at Suitcase and Knife, who's posture faltered at his very gaze.

"A-And the one I can still get back. He should not b-be alone...All the f-frightened, lonely th-things..."

Suitcase muttered something under her breath, but it was inaudible to him.

"I-Is it wrong to harbor s-such latent f-f-feelings of aggression towards th-the dead?"

The phantom smiled at them, and all at once the light came on, illuminated by the various screens and projectors behind it. Each screen revealed a corner of the building, housing hundreds of thousands of machines, much like the one guarding them up until this point. There were also many regular objects, people that tinkered away and slaved to create them. They recognized the angry spool of thread on one, who was about to be thrown into the angry jaws of running machinery.

It spoke once more, perfectly content with the other's presence now. They were acquainted, they were family too.

"It's s-so good to s-see you."

Cold.

[Credits to some featured designs/characters!]

What an odd little robot.

This... Is one of the most morbid shapes I've seen it take.

Wowie! That really was something!

Step back, curtains are closing.