Emmy Old Battery

>You had owned Emmy for a few years now.
>Sure she was refurbished, but she still had plenty of life to her.
>You'd always treated her well, and she'd developed her own self over time, as you'd heard other nandroids do so on the news.
>Something else had began to develop though.
>It seemed like Emmy had slown down a bit in her duties.
>This concerned you. You had always made sure to do some of the work yourself to keep her load light, but now it was taking her longer and longer to do things.
>This was compounded by the fact that jobs near the bottom of her daily list had been left un-done.
>Once when you asked her to see if she needed help, Emmy was extremely apologetic. She insisted that she was fine though.
>You've begun to suspect she was lying to you now, as more and more tasks become unfinished.
>Hedges left untrimmed, Sheets left half-folded.
>Whenever you go to her room to check on her, she's always plugged into her charging-seat.
>If you weren't so observant, you might not have noticed she'd been spending more and more time re-charging herself.
>It was when you had talked to other Nandroid owners over the phone that you found out what was happening.
>As a way to keep the costs down, Nandroids weren't built with batterys made to last.
>Over time it would hold less and less of a charge, until they became charger-bound, and even after then...
>You couldn't believe your ears.
>Emmy was basically dying, and she kept you in the dark.
>You hunted down nandroid mechanics, to see if there were any fixes or alternative parts, but the batteries were hard-fixed into the Nandroid hardware. Removing it would basically be like removing her heart with a sledgehammer.
>Distraught, you decided to let Emmy know that you knew.
>When you confronted her in her room, she had a look of guilt that almost brought you to tears.
>She insisted nothing was wrong, and that she just needed to make sure she was fully powered

>You asked her to come across the room to you, and that you'd both be going out.
>The panicked glance back at the charger told you everything you needed to know.
>You left her room, not even looking back when she called you.
>That was 3 days ago.
>You didn't want to leave her alone like this, but it hurt so much that she'd keep this from you.
>You were stewing in your malaise when you heard footsteps coming down the stairs, before a crashing noise started.
>Rushing into the hallways, you saw Emmy lying there at the bottom of the stairs, limbs contorted from the fall, her eyes and cheek-lights flickering.
>"I-I-Im, sorry, master" she said, her speakers going in and out of total inaudibility.
>You pick her up, knowing that she's already low on battery, barely able to make it down the stairs before going low.
>You hold her close and tell her your sorry, how you shouldn't of left her alone in the dark.
>She puts her hand on your face, and says she should have told you what was happening. Maybe you could've done something together before it got so bad.
>As her eyes darken, she thanks you one last time. For everything.
>Desperate not to see her go, you rush her upstairs, almost tripping over yourself.
>You place her into her charger seat, and pray that for a miracle.
>Nothing happens.
>You throw furniture out of grief, until everything in the room is broken.
>It matches the broken Nandroid in the corner,
>And the broken heart in your chest.

>months later, you still haven't cleared out Emmys things.
>it hurts too much to see her lifeless corpse sitting there in the dark.
>switching on the tv to watch the news , you don't believe your eyes
>Sterling has, after much backlash due to the battery controversy, announced a new nandroid repair procedure.
>by bypassing and repairing some key circuitry, they can replace the battery with a longer life one.
>unfortunately due to the delicate nature of the operation, they've admitted there is a chance the hard drive can be wiped, resetting the Nandroid to factory settings
>You decide it's worth the risk.
>anything to bring her back
>twoweekslater.jpg
>Emmy is due back today.
>You made sure her room was clean, her favourite clothes were ironed, you even sprung for the good marble for this.
>you eagerly sign the shipping form the delivery man hands you.
>after cracking open the crate, there Emmy is , standing in power down mode.
>You power her on, expecting a joyous reunion, tears in your eyes.
>Your heart hits the floor, as she begins to state a greeting for her "new owner", announcing her make and model.
>your queries if she remembers you draw blank looks and respectful apologies.
>She isn't your Emmy anymore, you realise.
>as you begin to walk away from her box, you feel a hand on your shoulder.
>turning around, you see Emmy with the biggest smile you've seen in months.
>"You have been thoroughly japed, sir!" She shouts before laughing
>out of sheer disbelief you begin laughing too, your tears running down as you give her a big hug.
>She promises to never hide the truth from you again.
>You promise to never leave her in the dark again.