Stress Test Anon Part 6

>You don't remember how, but once again you're pinning Tobias to the ground as you brutally pound his face with your fists, but this time you don't stop.
>You can actually feel the bones breaking beneath your fists as you repeatedly hammer blows down on him.
>But as you raise your fists above your head for a finishing hammer blow everything shifts.
>Lulu's cracked optics stare into your eyes, the deformities and new spiderweb of cracks spread across her faceplate make you want to scream in mortal terror.
>A enormous hand grabs your head as a hot rotten breath burns the back of your ear.
>"Damn kid, is that how you pay her back for loving you?" Agustus' voice rings in your head almost painfully.
>"W-w-w-what di-di-did I do Wro-ng, Sir?" Lulu's warped voice asks, crackling with static and stuttering the same way it did the night you found her.
>"What did I do wrong, Tobias?" she asks as her optics dim before going out completely.
>And in the cracked reflection of her optics you don't see your own face.
>Tobias smirks back at you.
>You scream.
>You choke as you bolt upright in bed as a wave a nausea slams into you, and it's only by some miracle that you make it to the trash can in your room before the contents of your guts rather violently spew out of your mouth.
>And even after your stomach has fully emptied itself you still dry heave.
>Lulu doesn't come, nor does Sammy.
>You're completely alone.
>You stumble to your feet and look at the sick in the trash, feeling disgusted with yourself all over again.
>It hasn't even been a week and already your fucked up head has devised a new way to torture you, as if breaking Lulu's heart and making Sammy hat your guts wasn't punishment enough!
>But as the rage wells up in you the image of your nightmare flashes in your mind, and it dies just as quickly, leaving you with nothing but a hollow feeling in your chest as a monumental tiredness settles over you like a heavy shroud.
>The tension in the dining room is thick enough that you could cut it with a knife.
>Lulu still refuses to make eye contact with you, and Sammy has become much more literal in her interpretations of your requests while also glaring at you non-stop
>You put down your paper, losing interest in the story of a recently deceased food critic and open your mouth to speak, only for the phone to ring.
>"I'll get it" you say, and decide to simply flee from the tense atmosphere for the moment.
>"Anon my boy, how are you doing?" Mr. Sinclair says with his usual jovial tone, "Taking the time off well?"
>"As well as can be expected" you lie, unsure of the reason for this sudden call.
>"Well I'm certainly glad to hear that!" He says with a hearty belly laugh "I'm just calling to tell you where you'll be taking your Anger Management Classes and to ask you if You'd like to take in that custom model"
>The casualness with which he asks the question floors you, but you know incredibly well that even if you had the money to take care of a third Maidbot bringing in an exact replica of Lulu before Tobias almost killed her would be a horrible idea.
>"I honestly don't have the funds to be taking in another Maidbot at the moment Sir, is there anywhere else she can go?" you ask with trepidation.
>"Well, with the recent revelations about Tobias we felt that sending her back to him was probably a poor idea, but due to her customizations we can't simply roll her into one of the Nandroid or Maidbot classes you see, so unless we can find some place to send her I'm afraid she'll end up being decommissioned, which would be a terrible waste" Sinclair rumbles, "Perhaps you know someone that could use the help?
>And at these words you remember Maryanne, who helped you so often but had always refused any real attempts to pay her back.
>"Actually, I think I know the perfect person to send her to" you say with a smile.
>You frown at the Address of the building where you'll be attending your Anger Management classes.
>"Hitomi Naka Memorial Psychiatric hospital" you mumble to yourself as you reenter the dining room, the fact that your fist class was later today wasn't helping with your lack of enthusiasm.
>Lulu looks at you when you enter the room before quickly looking away while Sammy glares at you, but you take an internal deep breath and try to be patient with them, knowing that the situation hadn't been easy on any of you.
>"I have my first Anger Management class today" you state simply "It's at the hospital near the Plaza, would either of you like to come along with me?" you ask, looking at Lulu and Sammy curiously.
>Sammy seems conflicted for a moment, before letting out a disgruntled sigh and nodding her head.
>"I'd like to visit Sheri’s Pet and Supplies Shop, if that's okay" She said, trying to keep her voice even.
>"Of course, and you Lulu?" You ask, internally wincing as she jumps at the mention of her name.
>"a-ah, not today Sir, lots of laundry to be folded today" she says, the nervous warble in her voice making you want to throw yourself at her feet and beg forgiveness.
>You nod at her and try to give her a reassuring smile, but she still can't meet your eyes.
>"And I'd also like to talk about what happened, because I really miss the two of you" You admit, suddenly feeling shy at Sammy and Lulu's gobsmacked expressions at you being so up front about your feelings "If that's alright with the two of you" you add uncertainly.
>Sammy and Lulu look at each other for what feels like an eternity before Lulu nods her head in the positive, causing Sammy to let out a huff
>"Fine, we can talk about it tonight" Sammy says neutrally.
 >After Dropping Sammy off at the Pet store you head to the hospital.
>It looks like a cube made of brick and plaster, an imposing building that puts your mind ill at ease.
>And this was supposed to be a place of mental healing?
>Still, it's going here or losing your job, so you swallow your trepidation and head inside.
>inside the building is much less foreboding fortunately, and after asking a nurse you're quickly directed to a door with a simple "Anger Management" placard hung from it.
>Inside the room are several surly looking men and women sitting in uncomfotrable looking chairs, with an incredibly out of place only ever so slightly rotund woman with a long ponytail and a million watt smile.
>"Ah, You must be Anonymous!" The woman says happily "I'm Dr. Vemillion, come have a seat, we were just about to get started!"
>You take a seat between a bored looking man with a skull tattoo on his neck and a woman who looks like she's three seconds from ripping whoever is unfortunate enough to draw her attention a new asshole.
>From there things go much smoother than you were expecting, trust exercises are annoying but manageable, talking about things that makes us angry and how to avoid them is easy, and before you know it everyone's filtering out, but before you can make it out the door Dr. Vemillion calls for you.
>"You did wonderfully today Anonymous!" she complimented "I'm surprised that a person as composed as you are was made to come here, can I ask what caused you to join us?"
>"Let's just say that a Person reminded me of something terrible that happened to someone I'm very close to, and I really didn't take it well" you explain vaguely as you scratch the back of your head.
>She lets out a knowing hum and lets you go with a mysterious smile.
>As you go to pick up Sammy, you can only hope the coming talk goes as well.
>The Ride home with Sammy is a silent affair, and it's obvious she's saving her words for what's to come.
>The two of you soon join a nervous Lulu in the dining room, and once everyone's settled you prepare to explain yourself.
>"Tobias tried to get me to Stress Test a Replica of Lulu" You say with complete seriousness.
>Lulu gasps and Sammy looks sick at those words, they know what you do at work.
>"If it had just been that I would have just reported him and gone along with my day I think, and it would have just been another failed scheme of his" you ramble, feeling sick remembering the situation.
>"What made it different?" Sammy says, sounding like she doesn't want to hear the answer.
>"The Stress testing was everything that had been done to Lulu before I found her" you say in a grim tone, your eyes immediately snapping to Lulu as she gasps.
>The look of dawning realization on her face is a burning knife to your chest.
>"But the only ones who know what really happened to me are You, Agustus and-" she stops, unable to finish
>"Oh god" Sammy gasps as she realizes what this means.
>"T-tobias was my previous owner" Lulu looks sick just having said those words.
>You reach out to her but she recoils as if your hand would burn her, looking absolutely terrified as her hands grip her head and she begins to shake.
>Sammy looks on in horror as Lulu begins to hyperventilate, completely at a loss for how to help.
>Lulu stumbles out of her chair, backing away until she's against a wall.
>As soon as her back touches it she begins to scream.
>You're at her side in an instant, but before you can help her she lets out another scream and starts to wildly flail her arms with a scream of "DON'T TOUCH ME!".
>But still you approach, ignoring as she his and claws at you, until finally you wrap Lulu in a gentle embrace.
>"I love you, Lulu" you say as she goes still in your arms.
>An eternity seems to pass before she lets out a sob and hugs you for dear life.
>"Master, I'm so sorry" Sammy said as you cradle Lulu against yourself "You found out something so horrible and I-" Sammy tries to say, only to let out a surprised 'eep' as you pull her into the hug too.
>"No matter how horrible it was I should have never risked losing you and Lulu" you say tenderly "You had every right to be furious with me, and the fact that you care so much about Lulu warms my heart"
>After a second of trepidation Sammy wraps her arms around you and Lulu, hugging you both.
>"I was really hurt too, but I didn't feel like I deserved to feel mad as much as Lulu did" Sammy admitted with palpable shame "I just can't imagine a world where we're not all together"
>"Neither can I" Lulu said so softly you barely heard her.
>"I promise that no matter what I'll never put the two of you through that again" you say to them "I hope you can forgive me"
>"You dope" Sammy said without any hint of bite as she snuggled closer int the hug "Isn't it super obvious that we forgive you already?"
>And you can't help but laugh at that, and the next thing you know all three of you are laughing together, and everything feels right, like a perfect moment.
>"So, who wants to watch some Our Sleepless City?" You ask, standing up with your girls still in your arms "We're at least a couple of episodes behind, right?"
>"That sounds lovely" Lulu whispers happily
>And so the three of you sit, happily watching your show, all snuggled together.
>But unawares to any of you, deep within Lulu's Programming, something is awakened by the revelation she'd suffered.
>"LUUUUUUUUUCY!" a childish voice wailed in a full on tantrum.