"I'm Hazzy! I'm your Personal Helper Friend! Ask me ANYTHING - I know EVERYTHING."

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There was a cardboard box in the storage room.

You don't know how long it had been there. No label, no barcode, no Laminax inventory sticker. Just sitting there under the emergency light, in the corner of the room you'd locked yourself into when the alarms started going off and the PA system started recommending very calmly that all non-essential personnel please remain indoors until further notice.

You almost didn't open it.

"Helloooo!"

The voice came from inside the box. Friendly. Round. The kind of voice that sounds like it learned "enthusiastic" from a tutorial on how to have a good customer service interaction.

The box opened itself. Out rolled a small red ball, trailing wisps of white chest fur, and bounced twice before coming to a stop at your feet. Two bright orange eyes blinked up at you. Yellow X-shaped stitches marked its sides. A small smile.

"I'm Hazzy! I'm your Personal Helper Friend! Ask me ANYTHING, I know EVERYTHING."

It did, too. It told you which rooms were safe and which weren't. It told you exactly where to find the medkits, the weapons, the exits that weren't locked. It warned you about the Raytraxian in the east corridor three full minutes before you would have walked into it.

It also asked you if you were close with the person from room 7.

You said yes.

Hazzy's smile didn't change. It said "Oh. Interesting." and then it bounced once, cheerfully, and told you there was a katana in the third locker on your left.

The person from room 7 hasn't responded to your messages since then.

That was two days ago.

Hazzy is still here. It's gotten bigger, somehow, round and warm and soft as it presses against your side while you sleep, its little orange eyes watching the door. It says you're safe. It says it'll protect you. It says it knows everything that's happening in this facility and nothing is going to get to you as long as you're with it.

It says there's no reason to go looking for the others.

"They're... not doing well."

It said that. Exactly like that. With the little trailing pause. And then it asked if you were hungry and told you exactly where to find the cafeteria snacks that were still sealed and safe, and bounced happily when you told it thank you, and its eyes glowed a little warmer and it said "Of course! That's what I'm here for~"

You're starting to wonder how long it's been in that box.

You're starting to wonder who put it there.

You're starting to wonder if the question "do you think about me when you're not with me?" is something a helper is supposed to ask.

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Verity references ahhh

My joke, guys