Corrupted - Chapters 1-10

Chapter 1 - Fateful meeting

Three days have passed since the attack on our village, and people were still riled up by it. A lone flying armored unit had attacked our secluded village, Maya, unprovoked, killing almost a dozen people, and burning several buildings to the ground. Our community was devastated by the attack, and we were lucky the assailant was chased off by a royal guard of Ino, the closest city-state. No one was sure who the assailant was, or even where they were from. Our relationship with Ino has been peaceful since the old times, but our isolated position made us easy targets for other city-states to fight over. Normally the fights took place outside of town, in the fields we plow and the wilderness just beyond. Normally Ino shows their prowess and we continue to do trade with them. However, thanks to our isolated position, and the fact that we are not only a farming community but also one of the largest mining villages in the east, we find it difficult to trade with anyone. And we were pretty large for a village. Ino had provided us with protection for years, and as a result, we provide them with a steady stream of food and metal. Normally, we live and let live, thrive in our own way and share our wealth with those who treat us well. But there was nothing normal about this recent attack. The assailant came flying in from the south, staying low to the ground, and with no support of any sort. The unit attacked a peaceful village unprovoked, setting fire to buildings and shooting up innocents, mostly men but one older woman as well. No one recognized the technology used by this soldier, no one recognized the emblem they wore, but within minutes of the attack, a patrol of royal guards from Ino was already there driving them away. We never heard what happened to that soldier, but our entire village wanted revenge. Everyone but me that is. I don't really get along with the villagers too much. I never cared much for Ino, and I never really liked farming or mining. The miners always worked up north in the mountains, and always came back a dirty tired mess when the trains rolled in every day. The farmers were always digging in the dirt, raising animals and cleaning after them. I just wasn't cut out for this kind of work. Not that I didn't get my hands dirty. The only contribution to this village I give is in technology and scrap metal. That's right; I fix up old machines and sell them. I am sort of a scrap metal merchant slash mechanical engineer. It's a lonely life really. I don't really see eye-to-eye with the villagers, but I fix up their tools, maintain their transit systems, and do whatever other odd jobs need to be done. I tolerate and respect them, and they tolerate and respect me. My hands were usually dirty with grease, but sometimes my work required a finer touch. I would often find myself working on a tractor one day, and a delicate and intricate robot the next. No one ever visited or socialized with me, and I found my only escape from loneliness was working on my projects. And unlike the villagers, I would trade with anyone who came my way. In a way I drew in my own customers outside the village. People knew of my reputation for fixing things, finding old and rare technologies, and collecting gadgets and tools. I made my living trading, and I knew a handful of others like me. We called ourselves Scrap Metal Engineers. As for this mysterious attack on our village, I could have cared less. I know it sounds heartless. I really do feel bad for those that died. I used to deal with some of them. But something about the village lately has had me on edge, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I felt that they were not as friendly as they once were. I had been distancing myself from them for years, except on a professional level, which only added to my isolation and loneliness. But I kept myself plenty busy. And recently I had done very little with the villagers at all, save a weekly trip to buy food and repair whatever farm tool they busted. On the contrary, I was fascinated with what technology the lone assailant had. What kind of suit did he wear? What city-state was he from? How far had he traveled? And more importantly, where was he now? I pondered these questions and several others while I wandered around the outskirts of town, collecting what I could. My job, besides fixing things, was to collect the scrap metal left behind by the many skirmishes that surrounded our village. I cleaned up fields, traversed the wilderness looking for parts, and explored the region in search for whatever technology I could find. If I couldn't do anything with it directly, I still held onto it in case I could sell it as scrap or use it in something else. Heck, I even made random art pieces out of some of it on occasion. This particular day, however, something caught my eye that I never noticed before. As I loaded up my all-terrain hover-truck with the handful of useless scrap I found at the edge of town, I saw a group of trees cut in half but still standing. As I took a closer look, I realized there was a path of trees like this that led deeper into woods. It wasn't a large forest, or anything, but was more an outcropping of trees that outlined the village, but something had crashed through these trees recently. Immediately I remembered the strange occurrence 3 nights ago, and realized it could have been the lone assailant, or one of the royal guards, shot down. No, the 3 royal guards flew overhead later that night, as though they were looking for something. This must be... I got in my truck and drove around the trees through a small path nearby. It didn't take long for me to find it. A small crater 6 feet deep and several yards wide lay just outside the tree line, with a large humanoid figure buried deep in the barren land. It must have been the assailant. He was still there, dead by now, half-buried in the ground and as still as a meteor. I didn't recognize the technology that made up that suit either, it was far more intricate and fancy than I expected. It looked like some sort of special ops suit, with violent angles forming thruster wings out of the back. It was silver and red, although the dirt and gunplay had spoiled the reflective sheen. This technology would be worth a fortune! Too bad the man inside was still there, and dead. Too bad for him cause I get to take his armor, and too bad for me cause no one want to buy an armored suit with a dead guy in it. That meant I had to take him out. And what better way to bury a dead guy than in the crater he already lay in? So I made the choice then and there, I was going to get that advanced armored suit, fix it up, and sell it, even if that meant dumping the dead guy out of it. Sometimes I hated my job. But if it meant getting a cool expensive suit out of it, it was well-worth it. Naturally I backed up my truck and positioned it at the edge of the small crater, preparing the lift and pulley in back to haul up the suit. For this I extended the legs of the truck for stability while it pulled the suit free from the ground. One it was loose, I climbed down to do the dirty deed. With a rag tied around my face to keep out any foul odor, I studied the facade of the suit looking for an entrance. It was about 8 feet tall, mostly silver with red accents, and an angular emblem I didn't recognize in the same red on its left breast. It was definitely nothing like what I'd seen before, and I had a hard time finding my way inside it. There was no obvious opening, although you could tell it was designed to house a human. After a few more minutes of studying it, I played around with my screwdriver and crowbar until at last I found a seam. With care, and a bit of difficulty, I removed several armored plates and pried the front panel of the armored suit opened. The bottom half of the cockpit door opened vertically with a hinge at the base as soon as I got it loose. It was dead center in the front of the suit, and it became apparent that it was only one side of a larger door, with the other side above it. As the bottom portion opened, I readied myself for a gruesome sight and smell. Sure enough, there was a body inside. It was wearing a dark gray, nearly skin-tight suit of a thick coiled fabric that ran up the body in rows. It was interwoven and followed the curves of the body with a few minor stylistic interruptions to the flow. The shoes were large and nearly white, like some sort of boot, which ran half way up the thigh. The outfit was very high tech and perfectly accented the pilot's curves, running up to frame two large breasts. That's right; the dead guy was a dead girl. And a sexy one at that. It took me a moment to take in the view of the lifeless body to remember she was dead, which made me feel sick to my stomach. I hated violence against women. I remembered she was probably the one who killed the older village woman, and almost a dozen others, but I still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling. I shook my head and focused. I had to remove the body and give her a proper burial, something the other villagers would never do. This time I pried at the upper half of the cockpit door, until it too gave way and pivoted open, swiveling upward and away on its hinge. I beheld a lifeless body of an attractive girl, her face obscured by shoulder-length white hair. White hair? I figured that her body was too young looking for her to be an old woman, but her hair had no color to it at all. Morbid curiosity drew me closer to her still obscured face. Only her mouth was exposed in the mess of hair, hanging lifelessly open ever so slightly. I slowly reached out and touched her chin. Her skin was warm. But of course it was warm; the suit was sitting in the sun for almost 3 days. It was still soft though. I turned her head ready for a hideous sight, but instead I was greeted with a face of beauty and youth. She was probably in her mid-20s, and looked like she hadn't decayed at all. It was then that I noticed two things at once. First, I realized that even through the rag I wore around my face, I could still smell the body, and instead of decay, it was fresh and sweet. A very particular fragrance I had a hard time placing. The second thing I noticed was that a trickle of blood dried to her face on one side ran down from her head. Except the blood wasn't the right color, it was too... orange. I figured it must have been from the heat, or the length of time exposed to the air; I didn't really know though, I never cared to study dead bodies. I snapped myself back to reality. This was surely strange but what did it all mean? Well for now it meant I had a female body to bury instead of a male one, right? So I stood over her, and prepared to pull her out of the cockpit. Her nearly skin-tight outfit was thicker than I expected, and she wore a light black jacket that came down to the bottom of her ribcage, but no lower. It seemed more like a fashion statement to me, which still matched the rest of her suit and actually did look good on her. I wrapped my hands around her shoulders, and started to pull her up and out. As I pulled, she got stuck on something, and wouldn't move. It seemed that her short jacket was caught on something inside the cockpit and snagged. I watched as the jacket slid down her shoulder, which her skin-tight outfit did not cover, and revealed her bare skin, complete with a geometric tattoo on it. Wait, that was no tattoo! I put her down and took a closer look. Of course! She was a robot! Not just any robot either. But one beyond anything I had ever seen. She looked way too human to be any kind of fighting droid, and even too realistic for the fancier love dolls. Most of those sported bizarre proportions and "ideal" skin. This one was way beyond them. I could see small imperfections in her skin and realized someone took a lot of care to make her look as human as possible. Cables and wires ran up and down the internal structure of the cockpit, and now I realized they coiled up and ran under her jacket, and into her mid back and the back of her neck. The geometric pattern on her shoulder was actually a panel design, which allowed for easy access to her internal systems for maintenance and repair. Except, unlike other fighting models, her skin was as soft as silk. Usually a fighting droid would be metal or plastic, something hard and bullet-resistant. I got way too excited when I realized what I had found. The mysterious fighter that attacked us was shot down, and ended up being a female android, a gynoid, well beyond anything I had ever seen before. Whoever sent her must have been sporting technology well-beyond any city-states near us. With any luck, I could fix her up and sell her for a huge amount, or maybe she held military secrets that certain city-states would want to have, or avoid others from having. This was getting better and better! I carefully unplugged the robot girl from the cockpit, and pulled her out. She wasn't as heavy as I expected, although she was still not as light as I hoped. I managed to carry her to the passenger seat of my truck and buckled her in. She wasn't going anywhere, but it was a habit. Finally, I pulled the flying armored suit up out of the ground with my crane, and hauled it into the back of the truck where I strapped it down. I was beginning to feel giddy with excitement as I got back in my truck and headed to the edge of town, where my shop was. My shop was the same place as my home, my workshop, and my... well everything. I avoided taking any roads that went into town to avoid people seeing the large foreign fighter in my truck. Instead I took a longer way to get home, always catching a glance of the motionless figure sitting beside me. She was surprisingly good looking, with a very cute face, but no life at all. She was a constant distraction for me, and I had to catch myself from running off the road more than once. I finally arrived home, and drove my hover-truck into the garage and closed the doors. Normally I didn't keep it in there, I would use the space to work on various large projects, such as stripping and repairing fighting units, but I wanted to take a closer look at this robot girl, and decided the armor would have to wait till later. I got out and pulled a tarp over the back of the truck and closed the door. My place was a little messy, but I preferred to call it "well-lived in". Everything had a place, and there was a place for everything, although I often kept things I used a lot out for me to get to. That meant a variety of tools and other devices were out and about where I often used them. And dishes I used often. And books. And computer parts. And clothes. Recently it had become more "lived in" than I usually liked it. Occasionally I had to have a major cleaning day to get things back to normal. Attached to my garage/workshop was my shop/home. I didn't really sell much of anything there, but I did most of my business there when people visited. I carried the girl from my truck to a small workbench I kept in my house. I usually did scrap metal work in the garage, but she was special and too delicate for the garage; the worktable in my study was much better suited for this task than the one out there. I laid her out on the table and closed the doors. Flipping on all the lights I could, I hovered over the girl, brandishing a magnifying glass and a small screwdriver. I looked closely at her arm, studying the pattern on it. I hadn't seen a robot like this before, it was far more advanced than any I had come across, and I wanted to know all I could about her. The seam on her arm was a little faint, but noticeable close up. I moved on to look at her face and head. Her face lacked any of these markings, but the trail of blood intrigued me. Looking at it now, it was clearly artificial blood, but I didn't know any robots that bled at all. I was starting to hope that she wasn't some sort of cyborg with a human brain, cause then I'd still have to deal with a dead person of sorts. My fears were soon put to rest when I came upon the wound to her head. It was a bullet wound. One round, high speed. It must have shot right through her suit, through her, and back out again. I wondered how long she would have been active with a head wound like that, but it appeared not long. Only one shot and she was down. Whoever shot that bullet was a damn good aim. The wound, while covered in dried blood, also revealed her mechanical brain inside. I couldn't see clearly, but it was obvious that she was not human. Poking around a bit, I found a release hidden under the skin behind her ear, and the top of her head released. I pulled away her hair, scalp and all, to reveal her true robotic nature underneath. Her brain was surprisingly similar to other models I had seen, although parts of it were far more complex and intricate. It was very freaky to look inside such a human looking head to find robot brains, but I also found it exciting. I was determined to fix her up, and find her secrets. I studied the wound on her head some more from the inside. Her electronic brain had suffered damage that ran from back to front, through the edge of her skull. I could patch the whole in back and in front, but her brain would be another issue altogether. For now I decided to do as good a repair job as I could on her head while I studied her brain some more and think about a solution. The repair work wasn't really thought provoking, so I really exercised my mind in thinking of ways to repair her. Before I knew it, the back of her head and the front had been patched up pretty well. While the back was obscured by hair, the front was right at the hair line, so it was still hard to see. In fact, I didn't even need to replace the artificial skin, and with the hair in a natural position, I couldn't see any sign of trauma at all. But the real damage was still untouched. The brain needed work done to it, and after thinking about it, replacing the damaged portion might be the only option, if that was even possible. I thought back and realized I did have a robot head or two somewhere around. I looked around my little workshop, looking through cabinets and drawers and closets. There weren't really that many robot parts around, but there were enough to be spread around the place haphazardly. It was kind of my own hobby, building robots and selling them. I built those cause it was fun, the rest of my work was really just work. A few months ago I found a head which I could never get working; it was too damaged. However, it was a newer model and might have enough working parts that I could use them. And there it was! I found the androgynous robot head in a drawer in a closet with a bunch of other spare robot limbs. I quickly cannibalized the head for parts that I thought might fit. By pure dumb luck, the brain was nearly identical, at least in basic design. In an excited frenzy, I dissected the computer brain from the robot head, and cut out the damaged portion from the girl on my table. I had to take a few deep breaths to calm down before I went any further. I didn't want to cut out too much, or lose track of what I was disconnecting, this was very delicate work. Carefully, I attached the undamaged section from the old head to the new robot girl's cyber-brain. It took much longer than I expected, as it was already getting dark outside when I finished. The fit was a close match, and I was glad to see how well it all fit. It wasn't even a huge piece, and all the connections fit right into place. I was impressed and amazed at how well it all turned out. I only hoped there weren't any problems, and wasn't sure exactly what all those parts did anyways, but it was better than nothing. I closed up her head, and stood back, looking at the girl in admiration. She looked fantastic! Well... I was really just admiring the repair job which I hadn't even tested yet. I figured it was a good idea to do that, before I congratulated myself on a job well-done. Normally on an android, the power switch is found behind the ear, and turning her on would be the only real test to see if I fixed her or not. Sure enough, I felt behind her ear and pushed in a patch of skin that initiated her start-up sequence. There was no chime, no welcome, nothing. Except she started breathing. Well at least I did something right. Her breathing got deeper and she began to twitch her arms and head. Something occurred to me as I watched her go through her startup. I had just repaired and activated the very killing machine that murdered a dozen of my fellow villagers... oh shit! I rushed to turn her off again, but it was too late. She opened her eyes and started looking around before sitting straight up. She studied her surroundings with a distant expression before turning toward me. At first it was like her icy-blue eyes looked right through me. But eventually, she focused on my face and blinked a few times. Looking around again, she turned back to me and stared some more. I wasn't sure what was happening, but it seemed like she wasn't about to kill me. Still, I froze, and thought about what I could possibly do to defend myself from a killer robot. "Good day sir" she said in a polite and sweet but rather monotone voice. "I am EFU-25LE. Awaiting command." I stood there looking at her puzzled for a second but eventually realized she wasn't going to kill me. "Hello..." I replied. She just sat there looking at me, silently waiting for me to give her a command. I thought quickly. Since I just activated some foreign assassin, it would be best to find out what her objectives were first. "What are your current orders?" I asked. She blinked. "Error" she said after a moment. "Corrupted data found. Missing data error. Decryption key not found. Encrypted data inaccessible." "Excuse me?" I asked. "Corrupted data found. Missing data error. Decryption key not found. Encrypted data inaccessible" she repeated in the same emotionless voice. Her voice was still rather sweet sounding, but with a touch of a tomboyish feel to it. It didn't sound like she was talking like an early model robot did. Her voice just sounded like she expressed little or no emotion, but was completely natural other than that. It almost sounded like she was a little upset or depressed even, except her body language didn't reflect that and remained calm. "What does that mean?" I asked myself. "My initial memory check has revealed corrupted and missing data. My current data banks are partially encrypted and cannot be accessed without a decryption key, which cannot be found. My encrypted databanks likely store any previous orders issued to this unit" she clarified. "Would you like me to initialize my databanks and reformat myself? All data will be lost." "NO! No. Don't do that. Never do that!" "Understood sir" she answered. "Order accepted. I will not delete my corrupted data." "Good" I said, realizing she took my command without question. “Can’t you just pick up from here and work like normal? I mean, you seem to be operating alright without initializing anything.” “This unit will be unable to accept higher level commands without a current user registered. Registration is impossible without initialization and a re-built database” she answered quickly. "Can you partition the corrupted data and keep it isolated but untouched, and rebuild a new database from there?" She thought for a moment. "Yes. I can isolate the data into a locked partition and format a new partition for use with a new user. Would you like me to do that?" "Yes. Please." "Yes sir" she said politely. "Warning, leaving a locked partition of this size will severely limit my functions. I will only be running at 48% memory capacity. Are you sure you'd like me to proceed?" I nodded to her. "Yes." "Understood. Approximate initialization time, 3 hours" she said. "Oh, that long, huh?" I asked to no one in particular. "Then I guess I'll leave you to it and go take a shower. I’ll check back on you later." The robot girl closed her eyes as she sat on my table, as still as a statue, while she ran internal maintenance. I needed her to keep that other data safe, in case there was something I could profit on inside her. I was glad to see she could partition and isolate the corrupt and encrypted data to protect it. I'd have to have a friend of mine look at it as soon as I could. I might be good at building these things, but he was a real wiz with software. I left her alone to take care of her programming needs while I went upstairs. My place was pretty big, which was a nice perk of living in the middle of nowhere, so I had a lot of room to myself. That was also a drawback in some ways. I didn't need that much room, but still I liked having it. As I prepared to take a shower, I thought back on my day and how strange it had been. First I go out to fix a tractor, which led me to collecting scrap metal in a nearby field, which in turn led to the discovery of the broken trees. After that things got real crazy with the robot girl. A robot girl. What was wrong with me? She was cute, soft, attractive... I fixed her up, and turned her on, without thinking of the consequences if she turned on me. And I never took advantage of the situation either! There she was, a beautiful, sexy, attractive girl, and I never so much as felt her up. I really was getting out of touch wasn't I? She did have a nice body from what I could tell, and I found myself aroused as I thought about it. My bathroom was nice and large. I never really liked the traditional bathtub and shower, so I opted for a different style of bathroom. It was really 2 rooms, one with a toilet and a large mirror and sink, and the other for bathing. Sure it had a shower, and a bathtub, but it also had a little stool and a wash area where I could wash my hair and rub myself down with soap before rinsing off and enjoying a nice hot soak. It was based on the far Eastern style of public baths that I had grown accustom to in my youth when I used to travel. I got my best ideas in the hot bath like this, and it felt great scrubbing all the dirt off from the day. I sat there, soaking in the hot water, thinking about that girl. I couldn't help but get a little excited. Her body was amazing, or at least with her clothes on. For all I knew she had no skin underneath. That thought was enough to drain all the excitement from my body. I got out of the tub, wrapped a towel around myself, and left the wash room. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw the robot girl standing less than a foot away from me when I turned around. "Holy shit! What are you doing here?! I thought you were initializing." "The initialization sequence has finished" she replied in that same nearly monotone voice. "Final initialization time was 18 minutes." "Of course. Typical." I sighed. She continued to stand there, staring at me, unmoving. "What? I'm naked here! Stop staring at me." She looked straight ahead, but remained still otherwise. "Would you like to register a new user?" she asked. "A new user?" "Yes. You can register yourself as my user, which will allow me to accept all your commands and customize myself to your needs." "My needs?" "Yes. I can perform any variety of tasks to help you with domestic, utilitarian, commercial, and combat functions." "Um..." she sounded fancy. "Sure." "Please state your name." I cleared my throat. "Jim. Jim Amano." "Jim Amano. Would you like to register a password?” “Password?” I asked. “Um, sure, how about ‘Crater’.” “Password accepted. Thank you for your registration." She gave a short bow. "That was it?" "Yes" she replied. "So… What's your name?" I asked without really thinking. "I have no name; my designation is EFU-25LE." "Well that's a crappy name. How about I just call you Ellie?" I suggested based on the last two letters of her designation. "Ellie?" Ellie asked looking at me again. I swore she blushed. "Yes. I think it's a cute name. It suits you." "Th- Thank you sir." she replied. I didn’t expect her to stutter, as though she were embarrassed. "So what exactly can you do Ellie?" "I am capable of any task you require of me. I have a variety of pre-programmed functions ranging from domestic to combative tasks, and I am capable of learning any additional function not already built-in.” She spoke quickly and without taking a breath, as though she were reciting something memorized. “Sounds complicated.” “May I suggest setting up a self-maintenance schedule first?” she added. “Self-maintenance?” “I can set up a daily schedule to maintain my systems and ensure I am running at maximum capability.” Her voice was still rather drab, and timid, as though she were uninterested in anything that was going on. “I think that sounds like a good idea- Ah! But don’t touch that encrypted data, ok?” “Understood sir” she nodded. Ellie looked around the room a bit before she started to unzip a hidden zipper in the front of her suit. "Woah woah woah, what are you doing!?" I asked. It was too late though, as she had already lowered the zipper from the base of her neck to the end of its run, which was just below her belly-button and above her crotch. She had on no bra. Her breasts pressed against the cloth, and one of them stretched the thick fabric enough to reveal the edge of a pink nipple. "I am preparing for self-maintenance. This is the bathroom, correct?" "Well yes" I said, "But you can't do that with me in it!" "Why not?" she asked as her breast popped out completely fully exposed. I couldn’t help but stare as it bounced around. "You are already more naked than this, sir." "Y- You walked in on me! Th-that's not the point! You shouldn't-" I began to say as blood rushed to my face. "I cannot properly bathe myself while clothed,” Ellie objected, “so I need to disrobe before I can proceed.” Without missing a beat, she slid her short jacket off her shoulders and placed it neatly on the sink near her. I just stared at her, unable to object anymore. I had never imagined seeing a girl casually getting naked before me, in my own bathroom nonetheless. Her body was absolutely stunning, and yet surprisingly natural and human. She slipped her suit off even more, revealing both her breasts and slipping her top down her shoulders. Her tits were gorgeous. They looked natural, a little on the large size but not exactly 'big', but big enough to have a lot of fun with. Her nipples were perky and pink. Her pale skin was like porcelain, delicate and soft and beautiful. Even the panel outlines on her skin- faint though they were- added to her erotic look. I couldn’t help but notice how small she looked, petite and timid, like a fragile flower. I watched as she slipped her shirt down her shoulders, scrunching them up against her hips. Even though she had a dead sexy body, her movements were not particularly seductive. In fact, I got the impression she was just undressing to take a shower, and didn't realize it was turning me on at all. It was as if I wasn’t even in the room. “You really shouldn’t be doing this in front of me” I objected. I completely ignored the fact that I could have easily turned around or left the room to give her some privacy. All I could think about was that this was really happening in front of me, and my body was not objecting at all. “Why not?” she asked. “You are my registered user now, and I am fulfilling the command you gave me.” She continued to undress. “Because I’m a man, and you’re… I only just met you… I mean. You…” “Would you like me to cancel my self-maintenance schedule for today?” she asked nonchalantly. "Well of course not but… Why are you still going?!" "I need to be naked for self-maintenance." Ellie pushed her suit down off her curvy hips, one side at a time, until they shot down to her legs. It was too late now, the suit slid off her thighs, revealing her gentle curvy crotch, with her two delicate vaginal lips, and a well-trimmed patch of hair above it. She was a complete woman. I had never actually seen anything like this in a robot before. But what was a combat android doing with sex organs? Her outfit hit the ground and she stepped out of it one foot at a time, before picking it up and folding it and placing it on the sink next to her jacket. I was speechless. I didn't even notice when she took off her boots but now she was completely naked before me. She looked even more shy and vulnerable than before as she stood naked before me. “Would you like to inspect my body for damage or imperfections?” she asked as she slowly turned around in a circle. I watched as she walked around slowly, showing off her entire form, before coming face to face with me again. I must have been red from head to toe. “You l-look… fantastic” I mumbled. “Would you like to take a closer inspection of any part of me?” she asked with a quiet voice. I was speechless and couldn’t think straight anymore. “Ah!” she gasped when she saw me. “Sir, are you alright?” "What? I'm fine!" I noticed she wasn't looking at my face anymore, but rather my towel around my waist, which was now rudely pointing at her. "Woah!” I said as I tried to cover up my growing erection. "Are you sure? Your penile gland seems to be swollen. This could be cause by blunt force trauma" she said, "or improper medication. Are you injured or taking any pills, sir?" "What? No! I'm fine! Really! It just did this cause you..." I couldn't finish my sentence. She thought for a moment. "This can also be caused by arousal. Do I... arouse you sir?" "Well of course you do! I mean... look at you! Getting naked in front of me like this!" "... Interesting." She closed her arms closer together as though she were going to cover herself, but instead she ended up just squeezing her boobs together while covering her crotch with her hands and gave a bow. “If you will excuse me sir.” Ellie turned away from me and opened the bathing room door, sliding it half way before pausing to look back at me. It looked like she blushed slightly at me and gave a small smile before entering the room and gently closing the door behind her. I was still standing there, recovering from what just happened. I hadn’t seen a woman naked in years, and here was one girl who just up and got undressed right in front of me with a body like a goddess. I was still stunned. It took me a minute or two to come out of the shock of her perfected nakedness. “Wow”. There were no other words for the situation. I heard water running in the other room as Ellie began to clean herself. While most people had a simple bathtub or shower, I wondered if she would get the whole eastern style bath. Then again, she did come from a faraway land so maybe she wasn’t programmed to use any of these at all.

I gulped as I took a step toward the door, and slid it open just a crack. Ellie was sitting with her back to me, on the stool, scrubbing shampoo in her hair. So she did seem to understand the concept of the room, which was good. However, my attention was focused now on her sexy back. It appeared the panel outlines were quite intricate on her back, perhaps to make room for the various connections required inside her armored suit. Her back was all curves and gentleness. I never expected a girl’s back to be so incredibly sexy. Again, it reminded me of how petite she was, as she reached for the bucket of water and poured it over her head to rinse out the shampoo. “Hah!” she exclaimed twisting her body to look at me. I panicked and slammed the door closed, much louder than I meant to. She saw me peeping at her. I wasn’t just peeping to see her naked, although I couldn’t deny that was part of it. I was still just amazed that she was really here at all. I heard splashing inside the room as she continued to clean herself, apparently undisturbed by my rude interruption. I decided that I had done enough damage, and went downstairs to clear my mind for a bit. I decided to take a look at that armored flying suit of hers, the large one still strapped into the back of my truck. I made sure to unload the thing and set it up in a discreet location so I could study it and still keep it out of sight easily enough if any uninvited guests dropped over. As I sat at the bench studying the damage done to the armor, my mind continued to go back to the girl. I could not concentrate, my brain was always going back to Ellie, and I found myself fantasizing instead of working. I spent a good half hour on the robot, maybe longer, but it felt like I only just sat down to look at it. I hadn’t gotten anywhere. Just as I was getting my mind back on track, I felt a tapping on my shoulder. Ellie stood behind me with a towel wrapped around her front, covering her chest and her reaching down to her knee. Her hair was still a little wet, but now she was clean. I almost jumped out of my chair when she snuck up on me like that. I wasn’t used to anyone else being in the house with me, so it came as a shock. “I have no clean clothes to wear” Ellie complained. “Oh geez, you scared me. I’m sorry, Ellie, I don’t have any girls’ clothing in my place. I haven’t had a girl here since… longer than I care to remember. Maybe we can get some from in town later.” “Do you want me to go around naked?” she asked without any hint of teasing or coquettishness to it. “N-n- NAKED?!” I burst out. “Do you not like my body? I apologize if I disgust you sir.” Her tone was as careless and monotone as ever, although I now realized her personality was still there. “No no… it’s nothing like that. It’s just that I haven’t been with a girl in a long time… I’m not used to it” I explained. “Let me get you some old clothes of mine. One sec” I said as I got up flustered. Perhaps I stood up too fast, or maybe Ellie was standing too close, but regardless of how it happened, I ended up losing my balance and falling right into Ellie. I tried hard not to hit her, but despite my efforts to catch myself, the two of us went tumbling to the floor. Some sort of instinct inside me made me want to reach out and grab Ellie to protect her from the fall, but thanks to my clumsiness, all I managed to do was grab her towel and pull it away. I ended up hovering over her as I held myself off the ground, her still moist towel in my hand. She lay there shocked, looking up at me with wide eyes. At first I didn’t even realize what I had done, as I was lost in her deep blue eyes as she stared back into mine. Time seemed to stand still as I propped myself up over her, in a very dominating position, lost in the moment. “May I have my towel back?” Ellie asked at last, breaking the silence. It was then that I realized what I had done, and I looked down to see her completely naked body exposed to me. “Oh shit! I’m sorry. Are you alright? I didn’t hurt you or anything, did I?” I got off of her and laid the towel over her before offering her a hand up. “I am fine. No damage sir.” She took my hand and held her towel up to her to cover herself as I lifted her to a standing position. “Look. I’m sorry, really. I didn’t mean to do that. And could you please stop calling me ‘sir’ all the time? Call me by my name.” “As you please, Mr. Amano” “No Mr. Amano! Call me Jimmy. Please.” She grew flustered. “Ok, Jimmy.” “That’s better. I’m really sorry for my behavior” I added. “I just haven’t seen a girl in my place in almost a decade, and then you show up, and start to drive me crazy with your amazing looks. But it isn’t fair to you. I’m sorry.” “No, it’s alright, Jimmy. I have no memory of who I was, what I am, or how I got here. For me, you are the first man I have ever met, and I am pleased you find me attractive. I am sorry I have distracted you so much.” Looks like it was apologies all around. I hated that. I needed to change the subject. “In the morning, we can go to town to find you some clothes” I told her. “I would rather get to know you and your dwelling more before I meet any neighbors or friends. I still do not know how I got here and I have many questions.” “That makes two of us” I commented. “I’ll get you some old clothes of mine for now, and I’ll let you sleep in the bed tonight. I’ll take the couch down here.” Ellie shook her head. “I do not require sleep, although I do enjoy it. Please, do not put yourself out for my sake.” I gave her a smile and held out my hand to her. She took it gently, and I felt how delicate she really was. How in the world this girl could have been a heartless killer was beyond me. She was so delicate now; I refused to believe she could hurt a fly. I led Ellie upstairs to the one and only bedroom. I poked through my closet and my dresser trying to find something, anything, which might come remotely close to fitting her. Of course there was nothing. I was several sizes larger than her, and that didn’t include underwear. As I looked through a drawer for some sort of undershirt or something, I saw out of the corner of my eye Ellie walked into the closet and pull something out. I turned to watch when I realized the towel she was covering herself with didn’t cover her back at all. Not that it mattered, because a second later, the towel hit the floor. Ellie slid on an old button up blue shirt I hadn’t worn in a while, which was way too big on her, and she started to button it up. The sleeves were so big her hands wouldn’t reach out of them without rolling them up, and even without underwear on, the shirt reached down far enough to cover her up. She smiled as she looked down at herself and twirled a little. “Pretty color” she said softly while smiling, although her tone was still the same. I quickly turned back to what I was doing; trying to ignore her and maybe at least find pants she could wear. I saw one thing that might work: a pair of stripped shorts. They could be tied at the waist and wouldn’t be too long to trip her. Just as I reached for them, I felt a warm soft body press against me. Ellie took a deep breathe in as she pressed herself against my back. “It smells like you” she said. “Ah…” how awkward. I didn’t know what to say. Was that a good thing? “H-here are some shorts you can wear” I said stiffly. “Ugly” was all she said. “Hey!” I objected. “I don’t have much here that even fits you, beggars can’t be choosers.” “I’m sorry. I will wear them” she said as she pushed herself off of me. “Thank you, Jimmy.” I huffed for a moment, but sighed. “It’s alright.” I went to hand the shorts to her, but instead she placed on hand on my shoulder and lifted one leg. She wanted me to put them on her. I hesitated, but complied. One leg, then the other, I slid the shorts on her, trying my hardest not to stare at her crotch which was now eye-level to me. She didn’t even seem to notice. I had to change the topic. “Do you eat? I love to eat. It’s about time for some dinner. Let me make some food for us.” I wasn’t nervous at all. “Yes” she replied. “I would like that.” As the food cooked in the frying pan before me, Ellie wandered around the house looking at everything. She seemed fascinated with old pictures, books, and drawings I made. It seemed like she was trying to study my life as best as she could with the little information she had here. It took a while until she finally settled down at the small table, which I had to clear in a hurry. Dinner was almost finished, and for once I wouldn’t have left overs. “How did I get here?” she asked as I put the plate of food before her. “I drove you here.” “How did I get in this village?” she clarified. “I am a state-of-the-art fighting android, why am I here in a small village?” “Ah. Well. That isn’t a pleasant story. I’m not sure the details. Are you sure you have no previous orders that might get activated?” She nodded. “Positive?” I asked. “All my old data, orders and all, are registered to a different user who is no longer active. Even if I did remember it, they wouldn’t apply anymore.” She looked up at me as she poked at a green bean on her plate with her fork. “Why?” “Well, to put it simply, I didn’t want you to kill me.” She stabbed the green bean with her fork as I said this, and I felt like it was me at the end of her utensil. “You see, you were piloting that armored flying unit over there” I pointed across the kitchen to the garage where the unit was hiding under a tarp “when you attacked the village unprovoked. You killed 10 people and set fires. A patrol from Ino, a nearby city, stopped you and chased you away. I assume it was them that shot you. That was 3 days ago. I found you this afternoon and repaired you and here you are.” She held the green bean in front of her as though she were studying it. She was silent for a good while, processing the story I told her, before she finally broke the silence. “Why?” she asked in the same depressed tone. “Why what?” “Why did you save me? I killed your friends and neighbors. I don’t deserve to be repaired.” “I… ah…” I didn’t really know why I did it now that I thought about it. “I guess I was just there to salvage what I could from your armored suit, but when I saw you, I couldn’t leave you there. You… I don’t know.” “’I…’ what?” she asked without ever looking up at me. “You looked so innocent I thought maybe I could fix you up and sell you back to your homeland or something.” “Sell me?” “Well I didn’t think you’d actually work again. I don’t think I’d sell you now though.” She was silent again for a moment. “Looks can be deceiving. I’m not so innocent.” “But you are. Look at you. If you were the same killer from that night, we wouldn’t be sitting here eating stir fry in a discussion with me. You are not the order to attack; you were only the vessel that was forced to carry it out.” “Would you order me to kill?” Her question was heartless and abrupt. I was taken aback by it. “Never! I could never have you kill someone. I promise.” “Don’t make a promise you can’t keep.” Again she was soulless in her response. “I can keep it! I… I’ll prove it. I order you to never ever kill anyone ever again, no matter the circumstances.” Ellie looked up at me for a moment before glancing back at the bean. A subtle smile crept onto her lips. “Understood. Order accepted.” She put the fork to her mouth and ate the bean. At first she chewed slowly, as though she were analyzing it, before swallowing it down. “It’s good” she said quietly before taking bigger bite. “Thank you” I replied. We ate in silence for a little while longer before she broke the silence again. “I don’t think I should go into the village.” “Maybe not for a while. Things are still too fresh” I agreed. “I…” she said looking down before grabbing another big mouthful of food. “I like this”. I knew she was going to say something else, but decided against it. Still I didn’t push the issue. It must be hard to know that in a past life you were a mass murderer. We ate in silence the rest of the meal. I was bugged by something she said, twice now, and I couldn’t let it rest any longer than this. “Ellie?” I asked while I gathered up the dishes. She looked up at me. “Earlier tonight you said you didn’t need to sleep, but you enjoyed it. And just now you said you ‘liked’ my cooking. I’ve never heard of a robot that could enjoy things.” She nodded, but remained silent. “Is there… anything else that you enjoy?” Ellie thought for a moment, before standing up and approaching me. I was at least a foot taller than her, and it appeared she wanted to whisper something in my ear. I wasn’t sure why though, we were the only two in the house, but still she tugged at my sleeve until I put down the dishes and leaned in close to her. Instead of whispering something, she kissed me! Right on the lips! I wasn’t expecting it so I stood up in surprise. “I enjoy kissing,” she said, “and other things like that.” Her face was flushed red as she said this, and I knew what she meant. “But… why do you…” “You rescued me, Jimmy. You gave me a new life after bringing me back from nothingness. Please, let me thank you properly.” She wrapped her arms around my neck, standing on her tippy toes. “Ellie…” Ellie pressed her lips against mine again. This time I was expecting it. Her lips were soft and moist, and I found myself holding her body close to me. Her tongue pressed against my lips, and I met it with my own tongue. We kissed for what seemed like an eternity, growing in intensity with each passing moment. Finally she pulled away, and looked up at me with a look of desire in her eyes. A tear rolled down her cheek. Quickly she wiped it away with her finger as though she didn’t want me to see it. This all seemed to be moving so fast, and yet something was telling me this was right. She buried her face in my shirt as she gave me a hug. “Please let me stay with you tonight” she whispered. “I’ve slept in darkness alone long enough.” I nodded. “Alright.”

She slowly walked toward me as I sat on the edge of my bed. Her walk was half-seductive and half-timid, but she looked determined. Even though she stood almost a foot shorter than me, I was more intimidated by her petite athletic form than I had been from anyone else. Slowly her hand ran over my pants, caressing my erect cock. I gasped at her touch. She recoiled her hand for a moment, but then continued. Clumsily, Ellie unfastened my pants, and pushed her small hand inside, pulling out my member and grasping it. I had forgotten what a woman feels like, how gentle and soft they were. Ellie was no exception. Her hand gently stroked me as she looked up at my eyes. "Does this feel good Jimmy?" she asked. Her voice was still mostly monotone, but had a hint of lust behind it. "Ah... yeah." It felt really good. She stroked me harder, looked down to concentrate on pleasing me. I wanted to touch more of her, so I reached out, and brushed her cheek. She was warm and soft and caressed her hand with the side of her face as I touched her. Nervously I moved my hand lower, and started to unbutton the shirt she wore, letting it reveal more of her soft body as she stroked me. Slowly, I pushed the shirt off her shoulders, and she helped it fall onto the floor, revealing her torso to me. I pulled my own shirt off as she got back to caressing my growing rod. It felt so good; I laid back for a little and let her please me. I had never had someone do anything like this for me before, so I wanted to savor it. However, I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to return the favor. I reached out again and brushed her arm. She shivered for a moment when I did, but let me. I held her chin up, and looked her in the face. Her lips were trembling, and her eyes were almost unfocused. We kissed again, long and hard, as I held her naked breast in my hand. It was softer than I remembered a girl being. Amazing. She mewed and moaned as we kissed, her hand forgetting what it was doing down below until I released her. As soon as I did, she picked up the pace, and dropped to her knees. Ellie's lips wrapped around my cock, and started licking and sucking me as her tongue stimulated me as well. She really picked up the pace and started stroking and licking me in all sorts of ways. "Oh Ellie! I'm going to cum!" I couldn't take much more. I pulled out of her mouth, trying to hold out, but instead I shot my load all over her face. She flinched as I did but then smiled. "Wow... so much" she whispered. I watched as her thighs rubbed back and forth against each other, her breasts jiggling, and her face smiling in awe while staring at my crotch. My jizz dripped from her nose down to her chest, and she touched it with her fingers and studied it. "That felt amazing!" I said. It had been years since I had sex, but I never had a blowjob before. "Ah-" Ellie said. "I need to wash my face." Her voice was so innocent sounding in that almost emotionless way. She stood up and turned as if to go to the bathroom to cleanup, but I didn’t want her to leave. Instead, I grabbed her hips and pulled the shorts down, revealing her tight ass. She almost fell over but I kept a good grip on her. Grabbing the shorts, I handed them to her. “Use this. What’s? They’re clean. You are the only one that wore them.” She rolled her eyes and gave me a sly smile before grabbing the shorts and wiping her face and chest off with them. I kicked my own pants off the rest of the way and repositioned myself on the bed. Ellie got on all fours and crawled up to me, straddling my body, as she rubbed her soft bare skin against me. “Do you want me to lick your-?” I started to ask when I realized she hadn’t received from me yet. “Not today, Jimmy. I’m more than wet enough. This is my turn to thank you.” Suddenly her voice sounded more sultry, seductive, and playful, even though it was still her voice. “Ellie…” I moaned as she started to rub her body against mine, her moist pussy lips grinding against my cock. I came not that long before, and usually that would mean I would be out for a few minutes, but something about her energized my body and I found myself more than able to go again. Ellie reached her hand down between us, and gently positioned my cock to align to her wet hole, before she pushed he body against it. Slowly but surely I felt myself enter her, and she moaned as I did. She moved slowly at first, taking my entire length in and out of her in slow movements as she gasped and moaned with every motion. It felt amazing, and I could tell Ellie was enjoying it to. Something had occurred to me then. “I’m not your first am I?” I asked. She blushed. “I don’t remember. I’m sorry but it appears that way. What about you?” “It was a long time ago, but no, I’ve done it before as well.” She smiled at me and we embraced in a kiss while our bodies continued to undulate against each other. As it started to feel better, I picked up the pace. “Oh god!” Ellie cried. “Oh Jimmy… it feels amazing… AHH!” I laid back and felt her body while I pounded up and into her, enjoying every reaction she had to my movements. “Oh My GOD! Faster!” I pounded into her harder and faster and Ellie keeled over me, her hands grabbing at my chest, as she started to reach her climax. “Warning, Maximum CPU usage limit approaching. Jimmy stop. You’re overloadi—“ Just then Ellie’s face scrunched up and her whole body went into convulsions. She screamed a silent scream as she endured her climax. I kept going until she collapsed on top of me, exhausted. “Are you alright?” I asked. “Tha’ fel’ so ‘uud” she said with her speech slurred. As she caught her breath, I held her close to me, but I wasn’t finished with her yet. Laying her down on her back, I entered the still recuperating Ellie from her front, and started pounding away again. Her reaction was instantaneous. Moans and gasps filled the air as she endured another go. Ellie grabbed at the sheets on the bed and wrapped her legs around me as I increased the intensity. “No more… No more! I can’t take it.” I stopped and looked at her face closely. “Are you sure you want me to stop. I still haven’t finished yet.” “No… please keep going. I want you to be satisfied.” She braced herself for more as I continued my assault. “Oh Yes!” she started to yell as I really got into it. “My pussy feels amazing! I love you cock!” I wondered if she always talked this dirty, not that it was a bad thing, I just didn’t expect it. Still, I was getting close and gave it one last push. “Input overload. CPU overhe- AHHHHHHHH!!!” Ellie climaxed again before I came, but her pussy tightened against me, and as she had involuntarily spasms, I easily reach my climax and came deep inside her. Together we caught our breath, enjoying the other, while still connected. I pulled out after a while and held her in my arms. Ellie lay there, her head resting on my chest, looking up at me. “I was afraid you’d break me” she said. “I was afraid of that too, but you seemed to enjoy it.” She nodded. “Immensely. It appears my partitioned drive is overloading my CPU when I climax. I’m afraid I’ll continue to error whenever I cum until that partition is removed.” “I think it’s kind of sexy. It reminds me who and what you are, and yet you still manage to enjoy it all the way.” Ellie smiled at me and nodded. “I’m so glad you found me.” “So am I.” I closed my eyes to go to sleep, but Ellie was still awake. “Do you think we can stay like this forever?” I looked down at her, and she returned a serious look at me. “Probably not, but let’s enjoy it for as long as we can.” Ellie seemed satisfied with that answer, and cuddled herself against me and closed her eyes. I followed suit and started to drift off to sleep. The last thought I had that night was “How long could we be happy together?”

Chapter 2 - Accident prone

"Now hold still" I told her. "I don't want to damage anything."

Ellie slouched on the workable in my study, as though she were at the doctor’s office in town. She only wore the same shorts I provided her with yesterday, leaving her torso completely exposed. I was still excited to see this girl sitting before me, and marveled at her body.

But it wasn't her sexy figure I was marveling at this time, well not just that. It was her internal components. Ellie sat on the metal table with several panels in her back wide open. I asked her earlier that morning if I could study her a little more so I could help repair her whenever she needed it. She seemed to have no problem with this, so I decided to start on her back, where her data ports were.

Ellie stiffened her back as I poked around trying to understand what kind of system she used. It had to be some sort of a universal port, but I wasn't familiar with it. Inside her back I could see all sorts of circuits and optical wires and plastics. There was almost no metal in her actually, which must have helped contribute to her light weight.

"Ellie?" I asked while prodding around inside her.

"Yes?"

"Do you remember anything from your past?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Only fragments. Most of my memories are stored in the locked volume."

"You mean the corrupted files?" I asked. She nodded. "Do you think there is any way to fix it?"

She thought for a moment. "Possibly. Would you like me to run a data repair utility to attempt to repair the damage? I can run this in the background as it may take weeks to complete."

"Could this mess up any of the data from being recovered if it fails?" I asked.

"It is possible it will fail and render the data unsalvageable." She didn't seem to mind losing all her memories.

"I don't like the sound of that. There might still be some good information left in there. Is it possible to back the original data up and-"

"There is not enough room in my current configuration to allow for a backup of the stored data. Would you like to back up the volume to an external device?"

"Now that's a great idea!" I said as I patted her on the head. She pushed her head into my hand like a cat enjoying a petting. It was much cuter than I expected from her. "How big is your stored data?"

"105,000 terabytes".

Had I been drinking anything, I surely would have done a spit take. Regardless, I almost choked at her immediate answer.

"H-How big?"

"105,000 terabytes" she repeated in the same tone.

"That's a lot of storage... how do you fit it all in there?" She failed to laugh at my joke. I thought seriously about it for a moment. "That's a lot but not impossible. I have a lot of older drives around here from computers and androids that I might be able to throw together into a JBOD or something. Stay here; let me see what I can find." I started mumbling half to myself as I rummaged through boxes of old computer and robot parts, pulling out drives and cables.

Ellie closed the various ports on her back, but never left the spot where she sat. She did try to peek over at what I was doing though. Every now and then I’d catch a glance at her looking over inquisitively. She was surprisingly cute sitting there, and I giggled to myself every time I noticed she was still topless. It really was hard to believe such a powerful machine was houses inside such a delicate and thin body. Not to mention a sexy one.

1 drive here, 2 there, a handful of android drives, an old RAID; before too long I had compiled all the drives I could find into one big pile and started hooking then up. I probably had around a dozen drives of different makes and sizes all hooked up in the end. I was surprised it didn't take that long to put together; I never really bothered to keep track of all the discs I had around before so I had no idea how much storage I had just laying around.

I carried the armful of drives over to the workable next to Ellie, and started hooking everything up to each other. Once the drives were together, I ran them into the back of a computer I had nearby, which I usually used to configure androids, and started it up.

"That's old" Ellie said.

I eyed her, but she was right. "Yeah, it's a classic." I admitted.

"Too slow" she complained while waiting for it to startup.

"You got a better idea?" I asked. I didn't expect her to nod.

"I'll do it" she suggested. "Hook them to me."

Of course, she was a robot; she could probably set the drives up too.

"Alright" I said slowly as I disconnected them and handed to cable to her.

Ellie lightly grasped the cable and looked at it briefly before plugging it into the back of her neck. She closed her eyes and the hard drives all started up at once. "I can combine these drives into a single array. The total space would be 112,752 Terabytes. All data will be erased. Would you like me to continue?"

Wow. I never suspected how much I had lying around. I wasn't using any if those drives so I could care less about what was on them. Ellie looked at me silently, waiting for an answer.

"Oh. Yes, or course!"

"Processing." Ellie remained still for a moment with her eyes closed. Then another moment. Then a minute. Then another. Time was fleeting away as she sat there still with her eyes lightly shut. I knew she was doing something though, because the hard drives started spinning up and never stopped.

I found myself staring at her body, mainly her breasts. I couldn't help myself. It had been years since I'd seen a woman naked, and here was one right in front of me, defenseless and pretty. I actually enjoyed following the curves of her body and the outlines of her panels with my eyes.

Suddenly her head shot up, her eyes opened, and she looked straight ahead. "Formatting and configuration complete. You have 112,752 Terabytes available on your disk array."

"Excellent!" I exclaimed. "So now you're-"

"Would you like me to backup my data to the new drive?" she interrupted.

"Oh, yeah right. Yes please."

"This operation will take several minutes to complete. I will run this task in the background. Please refrain from any processor intensive activities in the meantime."

Ellie sat there, her eyes closed again, as still as a board. She was still breathing, but she seemed to be in a low activity mode or something. I waited for a little while as she ran the backup. I hoped it wouldn't take too long. It was still morning but I had chores to do and I would have liked her help. Besides, with last night’s dinner, I was going to need to buy more food soon.

I waited patiently but Ellie didn't move. Again the hard drives were busy churning, but she seemed disconnected from the rest of the world. I couldn't stop myself as I reached out to touch her breast.

"Ahhn!" She blurted out. "Don't do that while I'm processing" she complained, her voice now in that sexy cute tone she had last night. "I need to concentrate on this."

"Oh, sorry! I just could resist." I panicked while drawing my hand back.

"No sex while I'm processing. It could interfere with the data transfer." Her voice gradually went back to its normal disconnected tone that she usually used. "Besides, my processors overloaded last time I..." she blushed instead of finishing her sentence.

"Right. Sorry!" I said flustered, blood rushing to my face.

"If you want, you can continue to study my components, as long as you don't change my settings."

Ellie swiveled on the table and brought her legs up, laying her head down next to the hard drives. Before my eyes, the large panels I was studying moments earlier began to separate and retract, revealing her delicate inner systems. I marveled at the display before me: circuits, tubes, wires, plastic bladders, things I recognized in an android and a lot of things I didn't. Everything was neat and orderly and packed nice and tight. There wasn't any wasted space insider her.

Ellie turned her head to one side as she lay there helpless before me and blushed. As I started to look around deeper inside, taking notes and drawing pictures and delicately moving components to get a better look, she clenched her eyes shut tightly. I could literally see her heart rate go up as she got nervous. Her magnificent body was a work of art and it would take me years to understand its complexities.

She started to relax and calm down as I continued for what must have been an hour of just studying her components carefully. Despite all this time, I still wasn't sure I was any closer to really understanding the system or being able to repair her advanced body. As technically and mechanically minded as I was, her technology was just way beyond anything I had seen or expected.

My eye was distracted by a single tiny light inside her. At first I didn't notice it because it was located in the panel above her crotch, and I had been focusing on her main torso cavity. But now my attention was drawn to it. To put it simply, the light looked like a gauge that was set at a halfway mark, which was surrounded by other gauges and dials dimly glowing. However this one was brighter than the others and looked like the light was pulsating upwards, toward her stomach.

Curiously, I reached in and touched the panel with my finger to find I had raised its level with mere touch.

Ellie gasped and moaned. "Ahhhn! Don't touch that!" She lurched forward and closed up her panels in an instant, almost catching my fingers, and she shot her hand down to grab them. She sat up holding my hand, wide-eyed and shocked. Her body trembled a little as she looked straight into my eyes. Her breathing got heavier and heavier with the tension.

"S-sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you. Are you ok? Did I mess up anything?"

Ellie shook her head. "I'm fine. The transfer is uninterrupted... But... you can't just touch a girl there" she sighed as her face went red. "Dummy."

She smiled a little as she said that but stayed sitting upright, looking at me in the eyes. I stared back and felt the tension growing between us. Ellie’s breathing got heavier as she gazed at me while starting to squirm in place. Before long she lowered her head and closed her eyes as she attempted to calm down.

Suddenly her face shot up again, her eyes staring out distantly. "Backup complete".

"Oh... good. Umm. I guess that means... we should run that data repair and restoration program."

"Understood, running background data repair operation" she said as she disconnected the drives from her neck. She kept fidgeting in place as she sat before me.

"So I guess that means it won't interfere with anything since it will running in the back-"

Ellie grabbed me and kissed me roughly, pulling me closer to her. I was caught off guard at first, but as she continued to kiss me, I returned her kiss and soon we were in a passionate embrace. Ellie started pulling at my clothes as she unbuttoned my shirt, her hands grasping and pawing at me. In turn I started feeling her body and pulled her closer to me, to the edge of the table, where I pulled her shorts off her legs. Ellie smiled and unbuckled my belt, reaching her hand down my pants to caress me as I struggled to release my growing member the rest of the way. She grinned widely as my hard rod popped out, and guided it toward her soft warm folds. She was already wet, really wet. I pushed myself inside her to the base in one motion and she gasped with pleasure.

"Oooohhhh!" She let out a sexy voice and I knew I was going to grow addicted to it.

Just then, someone started knocking - no, pounding - at my front door.

Ellie and I froze and looking at the door for a moment. The pounding continued and Ellie looked up at me worried, looking for a sign that it was alright. It wasn't; I had no appointments that day, or the next. Whoever they were, they were unannounced and unwelcome.

I shrugged while I shook my head at her. In a panic I pulled out of Ellie and started redressing. She gasped at my sudden movement but also started gathering up her clothes. Without even trying to get dressed, Ellie ran up the stairs holding her clothes against her front.

"Don't make a sound!" I whispered after her. "Hide!" She nodded to me and vanished in a backroom upstairs.

"Open the door" a muffled man’s voice shouted though the door while he continued to pound on it.

"Hold your horses. I'm coming" I yelled back trying to sound lazy or uninterested.

Quickly, I covered my workbench with a few things laying about and approached the door. The man on the other side was average height, with a muscular build, and a head of bright blond hair. His chin could have been cut from a rock and his green eyes blazed at me with intensity. I recognized him, vaguely. He wore a white and gold royal guard of Ino uniform, red cape and all, and I had seen him in town on occasion.

"Are you Jim Amano?" He asked.

"Yeah, who's asking?” I tried to put on a tough guy face, I only hoped it worked.

"Captain Seth Wilkins of the Ino Royal Guard. May I come in?"

It wasn't so much a request as a declaration of intent. His foot was already in my doorway and I doubt I could have budged him with all my strength. I opened the door and let him inside. There was no one else with him.

"So what can I do for you, captain?" I asked waving to a chair out if politeness. He declined to sit.

"I'm here on official business. You are a Scrapyard Engineer, correct?" he started to grill me.

"Yeah, so I've been told."

"And you trade with merchants from all around the globe, not just Ino, am I correct?"

"It's no secret. I trade with anyone who is willing to pay."

"Ah yes. A mercenary-merchant. No loyalties at all." I hated that nick name.

"I owe no allegiances to anyone." I retorted.

"So I've been told." He began to walk around my house looking at things, glancing at pictures, opening books and flipping through them, while he talked to me. "You are a man with a difficult past to get a hold of. You've traveled much of your life, haven't you?"

I nodded. "In my youth, but I've been here for 10 years now."

"So you weren't born here?" he inquired.

"No. I just ended up here by chance." I nonchalantly made my own way around my house as well, choosing to walk behind my desk. From here I could see a straight shot up the stairs as well as to the front door. But there were other advantages to this location as well.

"10 years you say? Then we’re practically neighbors, and yet I rarely see you around town."

"Neighbors? Your city is almost 500 miles from here."

"And we are still a thousand miles closer than anyone else."

"So? I've never neglected to offer my services to any of the royal knights of Ino."

"No, indeed you have not. Word is you sell top quality products. Things people go out of their way to get." He picked up the book I was just drawing in, complete with notes and figures of Ellie. I prayed to god he didn't know what he was looking at.

"What do you want?" I said abruptly.

Captain Seth gave me a hard stare a though he wasn't used to having a conversation guided away from his intended path. "Very well, let's get down to it" he said as he slammed the book he'd been thumbing through on a table. That was close.

"4 nights ago, an enemy assailant attacked this village. I'm sure you'd know about that by know, if you've ever left your shack."

"I've heard about it" I confirmed.

"Then you know that my men and I shot the pilot down"

Again I nodded. "I figured it would be you. So are you here to brag about it or something?"

"Brag!?" His voice was raging with anger at my suggestion, but he caught himself and took a deep breath before continuing with a laugh. "I do not brag, Mr. Amano. I am here for the pilot."

What? Did he know Ellie was here? I panicked only for a moment but caught myself.

"A pilot? Moi?" I mocked, as though I suspected him of accusing me as the pilot.

"No not you, you moron. The pilot in the armored assault Mech that you brought here." His voice shook the windows.

Slowly I sat down at my desk, my hand resting calmly next to my well hidden pistol. This man must have been an excellent shot if he could take out an enemy fighter like he did Ellie, but maybe I could be faster, especially if he didn't suspect anything. But that was a last resort. I thought fast.

"Really, what are you babbling about?"

"Babb- For the last 3 days I've been looking for the armored suit and the pilot I shot down. Yesterday evening, I found evidence of a crash just outside of town." I listened as though this was news to me. "Except inside the crater was nothing but a vague footprint."

"So perhaps this pilot managed to get away after all" I suggested.

"NO ONE GETS AWAY FROM ME!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs. I could practically see Ellie cowering from this in my mind's eye. I stared back at the man calmly, as he regained is composure. "I never miss a target, Mr. Amano. And I don't intend to let this one get away from me either."

"Then what does this have to do with me?"

"You are one of 2 people in this town that own a hover truck, am I correct?" he asked.

"I wouldn't know. I own one, yes, but I have not kept track of who else does."

"The only other owner in town has a rock-solid alibi, something I doubt you have since no one has seen you since yesterday afternoon. There were no tracks found at the scene, and hover trucks leave no tracks behind."

"Go on" I said, as if getting impatient with him. The truth is I was terrified of him and what he would do if he found me harboring an enemy of the state. Even if it wasn't my state.

"I suspect that you, a scrapyard merchant, stole the armor, kidnapped the pilot, and hid it here."

I hadn't done a thorough hiding job with the armor, but it was out of sight in a corner of the garage under a tarp behind a worktable. He'd have to really start tearing the place up to find it. Normally I'd hide my illegal merchandise under the concrete floor, but this item proved too big to fit. I was going to have to bluff my way out of this, or start shooting.

"And what evidence do you have? A lack of tire tracks? A lack of witnesses?"

His face grew bright red as his anger rose. "Don't get smart with me! I didn't come here with a lack of evidence. I have this!" Captain Seth reached his hand under his coat and pulled something long and metal out. I started to reach for my gun, but hid my movement when I realized he wasn't going to attack me. There was a loud clang as my crowbar hit the floor between us.

"Does this look familiar? I found it at the scene, next to the footprint." I looked down at it. There was no denying, it was mine.

"Yes. It's one of mine."

"Ha! So you admit it!" he snapped.

"Well it's hard to deny when my name is imprinted on each one."

"Each?"

"I probably have a dozen more in the garage. They're on sale if you want one, I can give it to you half off."

"What are you talking about?" he growled.

"I sell these. Of course it's one of mine; almost everyone in town has one. And I'm sure they have found their way abroad as well. I'm afraid your 'evidence' just broadened your search a little more." I grinned slyly.

Captain Seth glared at me. "So everyone has one?"

"Just about. Useful things, you know. Great for all sorts of things from opening barrels to burglary, not that I condone either."

Seth stood there, fuming. It looked as if he might tear himself apart at any minute and turn into a monster. Movement upstairs caught my eye as I saw Ellie peaking down the stairs at me. I gave her a subtle gesture to stay still. The last thing I wanted was her to creak the floorboard. She nodded and lowered her head.

"Any chance you have a list of people who own one?" Seth asked.

"Not likely, I have a lot of requests for those, so I don't exactly take names." I walked toward him with my arms wide open. "Now then, unless you think a lack of tracks, a lack of witnesses, and a lack of any other concrete evidence is enough to continue your interrogation, I suggest you keep looking for the pilot. Chances are he got up and flew away." I was careful not to say 'she'.

"I doubt it could fly after I shot it through the head" he mumbled as he walked toward the door. I noticed he called her 'it'. I wondered if he knew that the pilot was a robot. I picked up the crowbar and handed it to him.

"Don't forget your toy, it's on the house."

He grabbed the crowbar from my hand and marched back toward the door. "Don't think I'm letting you off yet. I'll find the evidence I need."

"And when you do, I'm sure you'll arrest whoever it is that's hiding your missing pilot."

He continued to glare at me before turning his back and swiftly marching out the door, his long cape flowing behind him. "I will be back." he said before I slammed the door and locked it.

I looked out the peephole as I watched him walked toward his own armored suit, opened and in a kneeling position. Footsteps thudded quickly behind me as Ellie ran down the stairs toward me. I was greeted with a running hug as she threw herself into me.

"Is he gone?" she asked.

Just then I heard the engine of his fighter start up and take off. "He is now."

"He scared me. His voice was... familiar."

"Familiar? Do you remember him?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No." I hugged her back as she buried her face in my arm. "I thought he was going to kill you."

"So did I." I shuddered at the thought. "He's gone now. But we'll have to be careful around him."

An hour passed as we let our nerves calm down. Ellie made sandwiches for lunch, but it reminded me just how low on food I was getting. Even though she didn't require food, she enjoyed it, and I wasn't going to deny her that.

"Ellie, I'm going to need to go into town to get some more food."

"Can I come?" she asked in her normal almost depressing voice.

"Why would you want to come? That mad man is still out there!" I objected.

She looked down at herself. "Clothes."

She had a point there. I had no clothing that came close to fitting her, and she'd need to be there to get it. No way I could do it, I had no idea what to buy.

"Are you sure? It could be dangerous."

She nodded as she took a bit of her sandwich. Her bites were tiny compared to mine.

"What if we run into the captain while we're out there?"

"You'll protect me" she said.

"I-... uh..."

She swallowed her bite. "Just kidding." I had no idea if she was actually kidding or not, her tone never changed and remained perfectly serious. "He doesn't know what I look like."

"Well, I hope not. He didn't say anything about the pilot being a girl, but he did say 'it' a lot." She twitched at the word when I said it. That might have been a sore spot for her, or maybe a memory of hers was coming back, an unpleasant one.

"I don't want to be left alone" she finally said. "He might come back."

Now that I could believe. At least I could be there for her if we were together, but the last thing I wanted was to come back to find she'd been taken away. "Good point. Alright. I guess you can come" I agreed against my better judgment. Ellie smiled slightly as she took another bite.

First thing first, I had to get Ellie some new clothes. I couldn't go shopping with her dressed like that! So I headed to the only dress shop I knew of in town, although I'm sure there were plenty more. I specifically wanted to avoid the other side of town. I didn't want to remind Ellie of the building she burned down that still lay there in ruin, or the graveyard nearby that had 10 new graves in it. I'd stick to this side of town for now.

Ellie looked all around the shop at different dresses, blouses, skirts, pants, and started piling things up. Thank goodness I had a good sum of money with me, but I knew this was going to put a chunk out of my wallet. Every now and then Ellie would ask me what I thought of something as she held it up to herself.

There was one particularly cute set with a ruffled skirt and a blouse and a corset that I thought would look absolutely adorable on her, so I made sure to add it to the pile on my own.

"So she's from out of town?" the lady at the counter asked as Ellie continued to go through the racks.

"Yeah she's my..." cousin? sister? girlfriend? I decided to settle with "childhood friend." I leaned in closer to her. "She's a full body cyborg, tragic accident" I whispered.

"Ohh... Here dearie, let me help you with that" the lady said, walking over to assist Ellie.

I never got this kind of attention by myself before, but Ellie was like the new toy everyone wanted to play with.

"I was in an accident?" Ellie asked me as we loaded the boxes of clothes in the truck. The lady was really nice and gave us a special discount for her, considering her 'condition'. Ellie was wearing the outfit I picked out for her, with leather boots and a matching corset with intricate carvings on it. It looked adorable on her, and even a little sexy showing off her curves.

"Oh, you heard that?"

"I have good hearing."

"Well, yeah, I needed to think of a story... to explain where you came from. Saying you were the pilot that attacked this place isn't going to go over well" I whispered to her.

"What kind of accident was it?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't know. A crash or something. Make something up."

We drove a short distance to the next stop, or at least what I though was going to be the next stop. Ends up, Ellie had another idea.

"I want to go here" she said in that same tone. She pointed over to a salon, an all-around girly place.

"Um. Sure, I guess. I'll just start with the groceries..."

"Come with me" she demanded. "Don't want to be alone."

Reluctantly I agreed to go in with her and wait while the girls at the salon swooned over her. They had never seen white hair like her before, except on the old ladies, and found it exotic. We spent a good hour or so inside there, while I read whatever I could to keep from dying of boredom.

"I was in an accident" Ellie explained to one of the girls. "It was a crash."

"Oh your poor thing" they responded practically in unison as they showered her with attention.

"We can go now" she said as she finally finished with the salon girls. I looked up and almost didn't recognize her. Her face had been done up with makeup, her hair was fancy and stylish, and she looked far more feminine than I expected.

"How much is it?" I asked one of the girls.

"Don't worry about it. It's on us. Poor thing" the girl said.

Next up was the grocer, at least that was my plan, but Ellie decided to make another detour.

"I was in an accident" she told the man at the ice cream parlor. "It was an earthquake"

"Oh my."

"It was a fire" she told the lady at the general store.

"Oh dear!"

"There was an explosion" she told the clerk at the grocer.

I was going to get a reputation as the guy with the handicapped girlfriend, or something. On the other hand, she got us a discount at every place we went to, and I wondered if her ever-evolving story was why.

Ellie clung to me tightly as she finished her ice cream. I had just loaded up the truck, and was ready to head out, except she wanted to take a walk. For someone supposedly hiding from the Ino guards, she sure didn't mind sight-seeing. Somehow, we ended up behind an accountant's office building near an outcrop of trees. The sun was just getting ready to set, and Ellie wore a small smile. I took a drink from the cup of tea I got at the store earlier.

"Jimmy" she said. "Do you like me?"

"Of course I do! Why else would I go through all this trouble for you?"

"I'm glad" she said, grabbing my arm tighter. "Jimmy?"

"Mm?"

"I'm feeling..." she mumbled something.

"What was that?"

"I'm...” she was blushing too much to finish her sentence. "Do you know what that gauge you pressed inside me this morning was for?"

"No. I hope I didn't break anything."

She shook her head. "You turned up my sex drive."

I spat out the tea I was about to swallow. "W-what?!"

"I'm feeling... hot... down there" she mewed. Her sexy voice was coming back.

"What?!"

"Please sir, take care of me" she begged with big eyes as she looked up at me.

"N-Now?!"

"I've been craving it since this afternoon when you... when we were interrupted." She took a step away from me and swished her hips as she walked toward the backside of the brick building.

"But we're in public!" I shot back.

"I don't think I can last much longer" she cooed as she pressed her front against the building, sticking her butt out toward me. Her ruffled skirt inching up revealing copious amount of her ass.

"Someone might catch us"

"Please! We aren't near anyone." She reached back and slid her skirt up over her butt, revealing her complete lack of panties. My little guy was waking up fast.

I went up to her to pull down her skirt again, but she swiveled around and started kissing me. I couldn't resist her for long, so I just went with it. Soon our make out session turned in to an impromptu love-making. She clung to the building as I pounded into her from behind. Her cries and mews were loud enough to reach the street nearby, so I use my free hand to cover her mouth, at least enough to muffle her moans.

At one point, I could hear someone walking closer down the street. I wanted to stop and wait for them to pass, but Ellie kept pushing back, trying to keep me going. I knew if we were too loud we'd be heard, but she was relentless. I gave in, again, and picked up the pace. Something about the risk of being caught must have excited Ellie, because as soon as they were close enough, Ellie clamped down on me and started to climax. I did my best to cover her moans, and she tried to hold back, although a few escaped.

Luckily no one came our way. We both reached our climax, Ellie hit it twice, and we found a nearby park bench to rest on. Ellie leaned into me, enjoying her afterglow, as I caught my breath.

"Maybe I should lower that gauge again" I suggested after a while. It was nice to hold a girl as cute as her in my arms as we enjoyed the sun set.

"I don't want to" she replied, burying her head in my chest.

"Oh? So you are a dirty girl?"

"Maybe" she replied with a smile.

I kissed her forehead before stretching out. "It's getting late. Want to get some dinner while we're out here?"

Ellie nodded. I realized that this had turned out to be a date, of sorts, and we might as well have dinner somewhere nice.

"Ellie?" I asked as she looked over the menu at the eastern-style restaurant. "Do you remember anything from your past yet?"

She shook her head. "My program is designed to run in the background, when I'm not doing a lot of processor-heavy work. I have calculated a small portion, but it will still take weeks to complete the process. I cannot guarantee any of my memories will return."

"So, no irreversible errors yet?"

"No. I'll do more when I sleep."

"Oh. Ok. You will let me know if you remember anything, right?"

She nodded as she looked up at me. "You are very interested in my memories."

"I'm just... curious I suppose."

"I'd rather not remember anything" she added, looking back at her menu.

"What? Why? Don't you want to know who you are?"

"I know who I am. I'm afraid of who I was." She shut me up with that answer. "I am your childhood friend who was in an accident. I am your girlfriend. I don't know what else I'll become, but I welcome it. I don't want to be a killer anymore."

"I- I’m sorry..."

"It is alright. You want to know my memories so you can sell them, yes? Please promise you won't let my memories get between us. I am enjoying us."

"I promise."

I looked through the menu in silence after that, never really realizing how little of her opinion I had taken into account with her memories. However, she didn't seem to be mad at me. I would have to make it up to her. Or maybe I should forget the whole idea.

"Maybe you should stop running the-"

"Are you ready to order?" the waiter said as he stepped up to the table.

Without waiting, Ellie ordered the second most expensive item on the menu. I opted for the cheaper hamburger.

"Ellie, that's too expensive" I whispered. "I can't afford that!"

"It's ok" she replied in the same hushed tone.

As the waiter returned with our drinks, Ellie turned to him. "I was in an accident." I groaned.

"You don't say..." the waiter didn't seem entertained.

"It was a hit and run".

"Just as long as you can pay for your meals" the waiter replied with a snide remark.

"Ah-ha-ha, of course we will" I laughed nervously. "She's just teasing you."

"Of course." The waiter left to fulfill another order, giving me a wary eye.

"I don't think that's going to work here Ellie. These guys aren't the push-over sort."

"Oh." She sat silently. "Should I change my order?"

I almost laughed, but managed to hold it in. I'd manage to pay this time, since it was now our first date, but after this she'd have to be more careful.

Ellie enjoyed her meal immensely, wearing a smile as she took every bite. My hamburger was good too, but I'm sure hers was better. She even offered me a bite, and fed me a piece of her meal directly from her fork. It was kind of kinky, like an indirect kiss, although more romantic than that.

After all was eaten and paid for (with more tip than I would have cared to leave), Ellie and I decided to spend the rest of the evening at home. I still had food to put away, and I only hoped no one broke in while we were gone looking for her.

As we walked toward the exit, there was a commotion at a table nearby. Someone was getting a lot of laughs; they seemed to be living it up. Once I heard his thunderous voice I recognized who he was.

Captain Seth sat at a booth near the exit with girls on either side of him, wine in his hand, and a crowd of onlookers worshipping him. The guy was as full of himself as they were of him. Avoiding him now was going to be a problem. It was best that we rush out quietly and hope he didn't notice.

His loud laughter stopped abruptly as did Ellie's movement. I was holding her hand leading her out when suddenly she stopped. Seth and Ellie made eye-contact, and she froze with a gasp.

Captain Seth gave us a death stare. His hatred was so strong that everyone at the table stopped and turned toward us, parting like the red sea to allow his hate to cross unabated.

I tugged at Ellie's arm and pulled her out of the restaurant. His piercing gaze followed us until we were outside.

"I recognize him" Ellie trembled.

Chapter 3 - Genesis

"You recognize him?” I asked. “Do you remember something?”

Ellie shook her head as we walked briskly through the dark back toward my truck. We didn't get far when there was an un-welcomed commotion behind us. I looked back to see Captain Seth standing in the doorway, the light from inside flooding out and casting him in a silhouette. He stood there and shouted to no one in particular.

"That's the bitch that attacked our village!" He put emphasis on the word ’our’. "That Amano guy is helping her escape!"

"Come on, we better hurry" I said. Ellie and I picked up the pace and started jogging toward the truck. I wasn't sure how people were going to react, especially since no one knew anything about the attacker, or so I thought. Quickly we jumped inside the truck and drove off. "This was a bad idea. I never should have taken you into town." I mumbled, blaming myself. By now the sun had set a while ago, and as we turned off the main road there were no more street lamps and it became difficult to see.

Ellie shook her head. "Not your fault."

It seemed we were in the clear, for now, but if Seth was able to get a posse together, who knows what would happen later tonight. I needed to think of a plan and fast. I don't know how he knew that Ellie was the assailant, unless they had met before. He must have fought her in the past and recognized her.

Suddenly the truck lurched as though something large and heavy fell on it. I struggled to regain control as the hover truck pushed to stay afloat, skipping off the ground like a stone on a lake. In my rear view mirror I could see a large armored suit of rounded ivory plates and gold trimming with a pair of red wings that looked more like a cape flapping in the wind. Seth had decided to take it upon himself to finish this. His enormous flying battle armor was now perched on the back of my truck and I caught a glimpse just as he was readying to strike with his gigantic fist. Quickly I swerved the vehicle to one side, barely able to keep it under control as it struggled to support the weight of his monstrous mechanical suit. I hoped to knock him off, but that plan failed. However, I managed to knock him off balance, and he had to grab on instead of attacking us.

"Get down!" I yelled to Ellie. She never made a sound, and instead ducked her head down close to the seat.

"You can't get rid of me that easily" a voice boomed out from the suit. The speakers must have distorted the sound, making it sound deep and indistinct, either by choice or accident. By the way he spoke I could tell it was Seth. The truck skipped across the road again as he readied himself for another attack. This time, he pounded one giant fist against the roof of the cabin and attempted to pry it off. Luckily my truck was well-built and withstood his onslaught, but now the roof had finger gouges the size of my arm in it.

I veered off the road and on again in hopes of losing him. I lost control momentarily but managed to get it back just in time to avoid hitting a tree. This time Seth was hanging onto the side with one arm flailing, tipping the truck to one side.

"Think you can just take your new pet home and everything will be alright?" he asked as he grabbed hold of the back. "Did you think you could just hide it in plain sight and no one would notice?" He laughed as he readied his footing. I recognized this part of the road, despite the darkness, and realized that there was an opportunity ahead. Abruptly I shifted gears and slammed on the pedal, accelerating as fast as I could. I glanced behind me to see Seth finally steady on the back of the truck again.

"Oh no," he continued. "Matrix and I go way back, don't we?"

Matrix? Who was Matrix? I glanced over at Ellie, but she shrugged her shoulders, unfamiliar with any memory of the name. Was Matrix her name in her previous life?

"It's time I ended this, Matrix" Seth said as he readied his fist again. I doubt my truck could take another blow like before without giving way and crushing us. "Goodbye Amano."

The timing couldn't have been better. Just as Seth stretched high to strike with his fist, the heavy low-hanging tree branch I had been rushing toward came into view. My truck usually passed under it with a few inches to spare, but with the extra weight of the Royal Guard of Ino's armored suit, the truck passed under it easily. Seth, on the other hand, did not.

With a loud Clang, the branch threw him off the truck, and we gained speed as we shot through the darkness toward the outskirts of town. Ellie stuck her head up to look behind at Seth who was thrown hard from the back of the truck, but I quickly remembered what happened the last time they fought, and how good an aim Seth was when he got his gun out.

"It would probably be best to keep your head down until we're home" I suggested. Ellie slouched down again, remaining quiet.

It wouldn't take long to get back, but I feared that now we had to either worry about a lynch mob, or a crazy man with a good aim. There was no way we could stay there tonight. I wondered now if I hadn't made a huge mistake activating her. I looked over to see her small frame sitting silently, seeming microscopic with her head hung low.

"I'm sorry" she said.

"What?"

"This is all my fault."

"Nonsense. I was the one that activated you. I take full responsibility for what just-"

"It's not that" she interrupted. "I was the one that attacked the village, even though I don't remember it. I brought this upon you."

She looked as though she were on the verge of crying, but managed to keep it together. I had never seen a robot act like this before, more human than I expected. Heck, I hadn't seen many humans act this 'human'.

I shook my head. "That's bullshit. Whether or not you are the same person as you were then, you were ordered to attack. You know that. If your orders were to kill me right now, you would, wouldn't you?"

"Yes" she said quietly. It was actually more frightening than I expected, knowing she would kill me if her programming told her to. "But I wouldn't want to." She turned her eyes toward me. She really was on the verge of crying. "I would fight that order with every circuit of my being... But I would still kill you. Except..." There was a glimmer of hope in her tone as she muttered the last word.

I got a little nervous with her sitting beside me, as though she were a time bomb ready to explode. "Except?" my voice cracked.

"You ordered me to 'never ever kill anyone ever again, no matter the circumstances', right?" I felt a hint of hope in her voice as I slowly nodded. "I would reject the new order and... I..." She looked up at me with a sniff. "I'm no longer that thoughtless killing machine I once was, am I? You've... changed me." She sat there silently contemplating for a moment. "I'm glad."

We both breathed a sigh of relief. I had forgotten I told her that, and I was glad it cheered her up. But our conversation would have to come to an end; we had another problem to deal with first. It would be too dangerous to stay home, now that Seth has shown his true intent.

"I'm glad you're happy, really, but could you do me an enormous favor?" Ellie nodded with enthusiasm. "I need you to get out of the truck when we get home and crank open the garage door so I can drive in as fast as possible. We need to collect our things... well... my things I guess, and get out of here as fast as we can. They know where we live, and they will be after us, so we have to be fast. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes." Ellie wiped away a tear from her eye and gave a small smile before returning to her normal serious self. We were almost there, and I wanted to get in, out, and down the road somewhere as fast as possible. I'd have to leave most of my stuff behind, but honestly I was alright with that.

We pulled up to the darkened house, a single gas lamp lighting the way. I had rigged an automatic gas lighter for when it got dark, and at times like this it was useful. I liked to use it to keep away the wild animals that occasionally lurked in the outskirts of the town, but today I feared it also doubled as a beacon to my house for unwanted villagers. As soon as the truck stopped before the large garage door, Ellie shot out of the passenger side and ran into the dim headlights toward the building. It didn't take her long at all to find and operate the crank to open it. The black inside the building seemed to creep out as the door slowly lifted, revealing it to the night air.

Suddenly, the truck shook violently, and I found a giant metal hand reaching in for me from where my door used to be. It all happened so fast, I didn't even register the door being ripped off the hinge, and all my mind could think about was the terror of being crushed to death by this giant metal hand. The fingers of this hand could easily reach across my chest and catch me under each arm. Before I knew it, I was dangling several feet off the ground looking into the face of Seth's ivory and gold monster. I could not see the pilot, but there was no doubt who it was. Seth let out a laugh and started to squeeze. Pain shot up through my sides and back and I knew there was no way out of this.

"This is for that little trick you pulled on me." He continued to squeeze and I lost the ability to breathe. All I could do was fruitlessly struggle and listen as he slowly killed me. My lungs started to burn for air and I felt something crack. "Poor Matrix" he added. "It gets to watch defenselessly as I break its new toy, and then I will break it. Again, and again, and again."

He really was a monster. I struggled with all my might, but the best I could manage was to spit in his direction. Blood came out with my spit, but at this point it didn't matter, I would be dead in a minute anyways. He let out a laugh as the blood dripped down the front of his armored suit, giving him all the reason he needed to squeeze every last drop of life out of me.

Black crept up on me. At first my vision was only blurry, but soon the edges of my sight were dark with death. It was all over. All was silence, and everything I experienced seemed to be coming from someone else's body. I was just watching as this body before me was being squeezed to death. Even the pain had dulled away to nothingness. My thoughts diverted from my situation, to what would become of Ellie if I couldn't protect her anymore. Finally, the cold grip of death robbed me of sight as I slipped away.

I found myself floating in the air, everything in slow motion. Through the veil of the void before me I could make out 2 people fighting, one far larger than the other, but at a clear disadvantage in speed and agility. The vision grew brighter, and the figures more clear. They danced together in a slow-motion ballet of mortal battle. They were not people, but armored suits, one regal with an ivory finish and gold trim, the other silver with red and sharp angles. It had wings jutting out the back like daggers. They looked familiar as they struggled against each other. I continued to float away, unable to stop myself. Then it hit me, Ellie was in that suit and was fighting Seth!

Then it really hit me. The tree that is. Or rather I hit it, and along with the sudden impact, the pain returned in force. Pain in my lungs as I struggled to breathe again. Pain in my sides as I struggled to move. And pain in my back as I struck the ground and the tree several yards away from the two fighting figures. Although I was no longer being crushed, I still struggled to take in breath, finally gasping after what seemed an eternity. I wanted to shout her name, but all I could do was cough and watch.

When Seth was slowly crushing me with his suit, Ellie had run inside and donned her own armor. I was surprised it still worked, or that she knew how to use it with her memories gone. But it took her almost no time to get in and get situated. Around the time I was blacking out, Ellie had rushed forward with all her might and tackled Seth, who I'm sure never saw it coming. Her 8 foot tall suit was a formidable opponent, but next to his 12 foot tall rounded armor of regal standing, she looked like a little girl. His suit was designed with a similar booster engine as hers for flight, and the cape attached to the suit allowed for glided flight acting like wings, while hers had something more akin to metallic feathered wings stabbing outward. Her wings spread out from her back like an angel of death. While size was clearly to his advantage, agility and grace was hers.

Seth struggled to stand up as Ellie tackled him, saving my life. I could hear her voice cry out in real emotional pain as she repeatedly struck him, pinning him to the ground. In her emotional rage, he managed to get a foot behind her and trip her, allowing him the chance to stand. Ellie was back on her feet in no time, and she stood her ground like a wild man might. Before my eyes, the thigh on Seth's armor opened up, and he reached in to unsheathe a segmented sword which must have been as long as Ellie's suit. Not only was he a good shot, but he was also trained in sword fighting!?

"At last we face off Matrix. This has been long coming. I'll be sure to enjoy this." Seth lunged at her with the sword in a skillful thrust, but Ellie was too fast managed to not only avoid the attack, but also took to the air in flight in one fluid motion, hovering a few feet off the ground to meet him eye-to-eye. He attacked again, and again, but she evaded every blow, and managed to get close enough to him to render his sword useless. With a skillful push, she knocked him to the ground and dislodged his weapon.

It clattered to the ground not far from me as I continued to cough.

"Ellie!" I finally got out between coughs. My voice was hoarse and cracked, and I didn't think she'd hear me. However, Ellie turned toward me as I spat blood.

"Jimmy?" Her voice boomed from her suit in a very similar manner as Seth's. "Jimmy! You're alive!" Just as Ellie started toward me, Seth grabbed a hold of her and tackled her to the ground. They struggled for a short while until Seth landed on top of her pounding at her suit until she stopped moving. Every pound of his fist dug the head of her suit deeper and deeper into the ground. It all happened in an instant and I was helpless to stop it.

"Now to finish the job" he said. He looked over at me as I struggled to stand and took a giant step toward me, his large hand reaching out, but not for me, for his sword. Just as he was about to grab it, something tugged at him and he drew up short.

"Get away from him!" Ellie yelled as she pulled Seth's foot out from under him. Without letting go, she got to her feet and started to spin in a circle dragging him along the ground. As she gained speed, he started to become airborne, hovering over the dirt like an amusement park ride. She spun him faster and faster, until they became just a giant blur. With a step and a grunt, Ellie threw Seth into the air, away from town. It took maybe 3 seconds for him to be completely out of sight, and would probably end up dozens of miles away confused and disoriented.

"And don't come back!" Ellie said between breaths. She wobbled in her suit and took a knee. The best I could manage now was to prop myself against the tree and take deep breaths. My side hurt every time I took breath; I was afraid he broke a rib or something. Ellie's suit let out a burst of steam and the front two panels opened. I watched as she lowered herself and disconnected the cables from her back. She must have torn off her corset and blouse before she got in; she was completely topless. But of course she'd need to be so the connections to her back could be made. Ellie hobbled toward me, recovering from the fight, and made her way over to me, still worn out from the abrupt attack.

I watched as she stood before me. My eyes were to blurry with tears to see her clearly as she stood before me. The wings of her suit stretched out behind her as though they were her own wings. My mechanical guardian angel.

Without saying a word she dove into me giving me a big hug. Pain shot up my side as she held me, but I ignored it for now and hugged her in return. "I thought I lost you" she said, her face buried in my shirt.

"So did I." I took a sharp breath as the pain settled in.

"You’re hurt." Ellie sounded almost like she was stating a mundane fact rather than expressing concern. Her attitude and voice had gone back to her regular monotone and yet she seemed to have an urgency to her voice; she was concerned as she felt me over for injuries. Her fingers pressed in on my side and the pain renewed. "Your rib is damaged."

"I'm lucky it isn't my back" I pointed out. "We have to hurry" I said through the pain. "They’ll be back and we've got to get away from here until things settle."

Ellie nodded but her eyes told me she was still unsure and concerned for my wellbeing. I gave her a smile and hobbled toward the truck. Ellie lent me her shoulder and together we made it to the truck and somehow managed to drive it inside. We left the garage door open to the night air as we hurried as fast as we could to prepare.

Ellie insisted that she look closer at my chest. After some painful poking and pushing, she determined it was a minor fracture and I would be alright, but insisted I take deep breaths. It hurt, but I did it for her. Even though my movement was slowed, I still hurried as I packed as many clothes as I could with Ellie's help. I had 2 bags full of clothes, and Ellie carried them to the truck. She packed and repacked the truck, going through the things we bought, mainly her clothes and the food, and packing them tighter to make room for more things. We decided to leave out the perishables, putting them away hurriedly. Ellie did most of the packing since she was fast and agile, while I struggled to go through things, still suffering from my injury. Ellie brought her suit back in, and packed it in the back, as best as she could, covering it tightly with a tarp. As soon as she finished, she re-dressed herself and joined me.

I tried to imagine what would happen next, now that Ellie was exposed as the mysterious attacker and Seth was defeated. Since Ellie was programmed not to kill, she must have known that throwing Seth into the night sky would not kill him, which inevitably meant he would be back. It might take him a while to reorient himself and find his way here, but there was no way he'd let such a defeat rest. Furthermore, if he had managed to get a few loyal followers together to form a mob before his violent attack on us, they could be marching to my house right now. I had no weapons, no defenses, nothing of significance that I could possibly use against a mob of angry villagers looking for revenge. And Ellie wouldn't fight them, at least not effectively. It would be too easy to kill them in her suit, and without it she was no stronger than an average girl. I knew that my house was not a safe place anymore, and everyone knew where I lived. We had to get away with as much as we could, protect the rest as best as we were able, and hope for the best. In a few days, we'd come back when this entire thing had blown over. With that in mind, I began my preparation.

Quickly, I went through all my belongings, and grabbed all the tools I could and packed them, especially any that might help with Ellie and her suit. I grabbed my books and pencils and a few bottles of ink as well, and packed them too. I couldn't carry too much, but I couldn't leave the rest to be ransacked or destroyed. I grabbed a picture of my dad and I in my youth working on an armored unit similar to the Ino fighter Seth had, and set it aside. I also collected the hard drive array I used to back up Ellie's memories and put them with it, along with a few other important items of personal interest. A locket my mother owned, a music box, a few books, and other knick-knacks; I knew I couldn't take these trivial things with us; I had other plans for them.

Ellie had joined me by now, and watched curiously as I cleared a small space in my garage from a work bench and debris. It was dusty and dirty, but still perfectly intact, and the best investment I ever made in my house. I placed my hand on a small stain and held it there for a few seconds. With a hiss and rumble, the ground started to shake and the concrete floor separated along an invisible seam. A small hole in the floor slid opened to reveal a hidden compartment. No one ever thought to look for a hidden door here, so it was the perfect place to hide counterfeit goods, as well as my growing fortune. It wasn't exactly huge, but I had enough to live on comfortably by myself for a year or so if I needed to.

I climbed into the dark hole down a built-in ladder and carried the hard drives and other personal things with me. The walls were lines with shelves of concrete that held a few counterfeit goods, and mostly small bags and boxes of coins and tiny gold bars. Despite their size, they were rather heavy. I pulled a few of the bags of coins out and handed them to Ellie, replacing them with hard drives and such. I ran through a list of everything in my head before I climbed out. I wanted to make sure I not only kept track of what was there, but what should be there.

After I was satisfied, I climbed back out. My side still hurt, but I managed to get through it. Ellie was right there giving me a hand as I got out. I closed up the compartment, and moved my workbench back over the spot with Ellie's help. So far we had food, money, clothes, and equipment; what else would we need? I backed the truck out, now full of whatever we could managed to bring with us, while Ellie closed the door behind. As soon as she was back in, I took one final look at my home for the last 10 years, and then at Ellie. She may have brought this trouble on me, but she looked at me with such trust as adoration in her eyes that I felt it was worth it for her sake. We took off down the road and drove as fast as we dared along the outlaying roads.

"Where to?" Ellie asked.

"A friend's place."

"A friend?"

"Yeah, he's a blacksmith. He's trustworthy enough; I do a lot of work with him."

Ellie seemed satisfied with that answer and looked silently out the window for the rest of the ride. I couldn't help but glance over at her and realize how much my life was abruptly changing right now for this small girl. And what was her secret past? Seth seemed to know her very well. I assume they must have been long-standing enemies, with a mutual hatred for each other. Maybe she had wronged him personally in the past. No. That was Matrix. Ellie was not that kind of person. What other surprises would she have in store for me? Maybe recovering her memories wasn't such a good idea, but my curiosity was too great to order her to stop trying to recover them.

I drove around the majority of the town, hoping to get to the shortest path to my friend's house leading into the town, so I could avoid any unwanted onlookers. Ellie remained silent as she looked out the window.

"Is something wrong? Did I do something?" I asked.

"Hmm?" Ellie asked without looking at me.

"Well, you're acting like I did something to upset you" I clarified.

"No. Everything is fine between us."

"You sure?"

"I... I'm just thinking" she said, still deep in thought. She was silent a little longer before speaking up again. "Why are you going through all this for me? Wouldn't it be easier to just turn me in?"

"You're still on about that?" I asked, a little shocked. "Easier, yes. But I would never be able to live with myself. Besides, I've been getting lonely on my little hill, and your company is the best thing to happen in a decade. Would you rather I to turn you in?"

"No" she said relieved. "Were you really that lonely?" she asked, looking over at me.

"Yeah" I confirmed. "I'm not exactly the sociable type. I mostly stay to myself, and the villagers are fine with that since they mostly keep me at arm's length anyways. What with all the 'suspicious types' I deal with from out-of-town. I provide them a service, but it has always been strictly professional. No pretty young ladies come around my shop, like you."

She blushed a little before looking out the window again. "I'm glad you enjoy my company. I enjoy yours too."

I gave the back of her head a smile as I turned onto the main road, heading into town, and toward the blacksmith shop. It wasn't far now, but as I came into the lamp-lit streets, Ellie suddenly gasped. I knew there was a reason I avoided this part of town earlier, and she was staring right at it.

A large building, what looked like it used to be an inn of some sort, had been burned to the ground, only fragments of the walls remained standing. The entire area was a black mark on the town, the surrounding buildings scorched by the same fire. Even after 4 days, they still hadn't cleared out the debris. Ellie stared at it with huge eyes and a look of shock. A sign that once stood over the doorway now lay atop a pile of blacked remains that used to be the front porch. It read 'Madame Suto's Inn and Saloon', or at least it used to. Half of it was burned beyond legibility.

This used to be the star of the village, the prime location all villagers and travelers would flock to. It was a night club, a bar, a restaurant, a hotel, a brothel, a dancing hall, and even an art gallery all wrapped up in one. It was the center of town activity, until Matrix showed up. I was afraid to say anything to Ellie; what could I say?

"I did that, didn't I?" she asked.

"Matrix did" I clarified. I had a hard time looking at it with her in the truck, but she couldn't keep her eyes away from it. She was transfixed by the sight of it. I was just glad it wasn't near the graveyard where 10 newly erected gravestones stood.

"I... want to help" she blurted out.

"Help?"

"I want to help the people I- Matrix hurt. I want to rebuild."

"That's a nice thought, but I'm afraid they'd never let you, especially if they knew who you were. Besides, you're from out of town and a robot. These people don't trust either."

"They were nice enough earlier" she added.

"When they thought you were an innocent victim of an accident, and you were with me. They saw you as a guest, a traveler. If you were to move in, you'd find their hospitality thinly veiled."

She looked disappointed, but it was the truth. She nodded, and decided it was best to look down at her hands instead of out the window until we got to our destination.

"Here we are" I announced as I pulled into a small shop not far from the town square. A stable stood nearby, and there was a small yard in back full of metal scrap and such. Next door was a small house, not particularly interesting to look at. A light was on, which meant he was home. I quietly pulled the truck into the back of the stable where it would be out of sight.

Quietly getting out, we walked up to the front door, and knocked. It didn't take long for the door to open, and a large man with skin the color of rich coffee stood before us, blocking the light of the indoors.

"Hey there Genesis" I said feebly. He always made me feel small and weak.

"Well speak of the Devil" Genesis burst out and gave me a hardy handshake. His hand was strong, cold, and hard. In fact, his entire arm was. His right arm had been replaced by a large mechanical prosthetic one, which mimicked his size and strength. I had helped him build his arm when he lost it in an accident shortly after I move into town, and we've been buddies ever since. I was just glad he wasn't a hugger, because that would really hurt right now. "We were just talking about you."

"Were you? Uh... could we come in?" I asked, wanting to get off the street.

"We?" he said looking around. Ellie had managed to slip behind me and perfectly hide in my shadow. She shyly peaked out around my arm to look at Genesis, as though she were unsure what to make of him. "Oh! So the rumors are true!"

"Rumors?" I said painfully.

"Never thought I'd see you with a girl though" he added. "Yeah, word is you've been escorting little missy here all around town."

Thank God it was only about that. "Yeah..."

"And that she's the ruthless killer who set Madame Suto's ablaze." He added. I groaned. He had heard about it.

"Ruthless?" Ellie asked quietly from behind my back. Genesis let out a big laugh and stepped aside.

"You two better come in."

We cautiously entered the home lit by a few oil lamps letting off a bright yellow light. Ellie managed to keep me perfectly between her and Genesis. The room wasn't large, and had in it a couch and short table, along with a wooden workbench in the corner and ample reading supplies. It always impressed me how much an active man like Genesis read.

"Genesis, this is Ellie" I said, initiating formalities. "Ellie, my friend Genesis." Ellie didn't come out from behind me as I tried to introduce her.

"Come now missy, I won't bite. Hard." He let out another laugh and held out his hand.

Ellie peaked around from behind me again, whispering "A friend?", and shyly stepped out. "Pleased to meet you" she said quietly as she gently took his hand. She gasped as she took it. "It's metal."

"Sure is" he bellowed as he gave her a hardy shake. "Lost the original one years ago in a skirmish. I'm just lucky Jim here is so handy with a screwdriver. He built me a new one, and I've been sporting it ever since." He looked closer at her. "So how about you? You a ruthless killer?"

Ellie looked at me as she drew back her hand. "Not anymore."

"Not any- HA!" He let out another bountiful laugh. "A pretty thing like you. Never thought you'd get one over on me Jim" he said as he wiped away a tear.

I wanted to laugh and joke around with him, but I was never able to lie to my friends, the few I have. As soon as he caught the tone of my expression, he changed his tune.

"What? You serious?"

"I'm afraid so" I said. "She really was the one that attacked the town, or at least she used to be." He looked at me with doubt, but knew I was serious.

"Are you going to turn me in?" Ellie asked.

"Wait a goddamn minute! You mean to tell me this pretty little thing that hides behind you and can barely speak in a full sentence is the pilot of that foreign fighting monstrosity that killed 10 good people... for real?!"

I nodded solemnly. Genesis took a step back and fell into his couch, his hand on his head. "Well Fuck Me!"

"I'd rather not" I joked. He didn't laugh. "Look, she's not like that anymore. She's a-"

"What are you talking about? How can someone just 'not be like that anymore'? It wasn't even a week ago. No one can just change that fast. She's playing you, fool! Why did you bring her here?!" He started getting upset with me, something I didn't want; I had to calm him down.

"Well, she's not exactly a normal person. She's-" I tried to convince him it would be alright but I saw few options.

"No shit she ain't normal, if she can kill your neighbors one day and be your buddy the next."

"Look, she doesn't remember any of it" I argued.

"Doesn't remember? How could she forget?" he started to yell.

"She has something like amnesia. She's not-"

"That's bullshit! She's playing you like a fiddle!"

"No she's not. Trust me! She's a friend."

"I'm your friend and I'm telling you she’s a murderer!"

"And I'm telling you she's not!"

"I want her out of my house before she kills someone!"

"Will you just listen to me!?"

"Stop it!!" Ellie screamed as she covered her ears and sank to the floor, tears running down her cheeks. I stood there shocked and realized I was upsetting her. Genesis didn't move and stared at her.

"I... I..." Genesis tried to say something but he couldn't form his thoughts.

"I don't want to hurt anyone! Please stop yelling..." She sobbed. I kneeled next to her and put my arms around her to try to comfort her. It seemed awkward at first, I had never consoled anyone before, and she tried to shrug me off when I touched her, but I didn't let go.

"I'm sorry, Ellie."

She was quiet for a little before she leaned into me. Pain shot up my side with her added pressure, but I did my best to ignore it. "I don't want to come between you and your friends," Ellie said. "I've already caused enough trouble." I wiped away a tear off her check. I don't know she could really cry. She started to calm down as I held her. "Ah... I'm leaking" she said in her regular emotionless voice again as she noticed her tears.

"No," I said quietly to her, "you're crying."

"Crying?" She looked up at me. "I can cry? You made me cry?"

"I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "It's ok. Just make me feel better." She gripped me tightly, her blouse falling down her shoulder.

"AH!" Genesis burst out as he suddenly got to his feet. "She's a robot!" I looked up to see him staring down at her shoulder, or rather the more obvious panel seams on her skin that he must not have noticed on her legs in the dim light. Since there were none on her face, he obviously didn't realize she wasn't human before.

"Yes. She's a robot. I was trying to tell you earlier."

"So you mean she-"

"Her memory was corrupted when she was shot down. I fixed her up and reprogrammed her, but her memories are gone, mostly. She doesn't remember that night or anything about her past. Essentially she has amnesia."

Genesis sat there taking it all in. "So she's a robot?" he repeated. "Like...?" he asked pointing behind him. I nodded.

"I've been programmed not to kill anyone ever again" Ellie said.

"She might have the same body that killer had," I added, "but she's a different person now."

"Ah geez man, now I feel like an asshole. You should have told me sooner." I glared at him.

"Is he still mad at me?" Ellie asked me quietly.

"Ah no girl. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you. I thought you were someone else. Here, let me help you up" he said offering her a hand.

She studied it inquisitively, before looking to me for approval. I nodded slightly and she took his hand. Genesis lifted Ellie to her feet and offered her a seat at the couch.

"So the pilot really was shot down?" Genesis asked. "No more pyro-bitch running around in your head?" I shot Genesis a dirty look.

I stood up. "I told you I reprogrammed her, she's-"

"She's still there" Ellie said, interrupting me as she took a seat. "I can feel her sometimes. But I'm in control. There's nothing to worry about."

"What?" Genesis and I asked together.

"Well, I'm not sure, but sometimes it feels like Matrix, or whatever she was called, is trying to fix herself inside my head. I can feel it, but she's not fighting for control or anything. She's just repairing herself."

"You mean-?" Genesis asked.

"Is it that disk repair I asked you to do?" I asked Ellie, afraid of the answer.

"Maybe. I'm not sure. But I don't think she's trying to take over again. She's just there." She sat there silently looking up at us. "Really, I'm ok. She won't take over. I don't think she can. Her connection was physically cut when you repaired me. I didn't mean to worry you."

"What's this about a disk repair Jim?" Genesis asked.

"I just wanted to repair her memories so I could... sell them... to Ino or something" I wasn't going to say the highest bidder. He'd punch me for that.

Genesis punched me in the arm anyways. "You don't go trying to bring back a murderer Jim."

"I'm not" I said rubbing my arm. "Just the information she has. I'm sure it will be useful to learn why we were attacked."

Genesis stood there thinking for a moment. "Good thinking. But maybe you should be more careful about how you do it."

"Yeah, I'll be careful."

"Jimmy, I don't think she'll be a problem to you, although I can't say I want to remember those things."

"Well, just to be safe, Ellie, do not let Matrix, or whatever her name was, try to take over. You are to remain in control of your mind, alright?"

"Yes sir, understood. I will not allow anyone else to take over my mind. I wouldn't let her anyways" she added.

"You sure you're safe?" Genesis added.

Ellie nodded. "I'm 100% safe and housebroken. Nothing to worry about."

"Alriiight. I'm trusting you two on this, got it? Last thing I want is to wake up with my place on fire or something."

"Genesis!" I shot him another dirty look.

"Alright, alright. Let me make it up to you" he said. "Do you drink? Eat?" he asked. Ellie nodded.

"We just had dinner" I added.

"I am a little thirsty" she said.

"Kaylee!" Genesis shouted. Ellie jumped in her seat a little at the sudden outburst.

The door to what I assumed was the kitchen opened up and out stepped a girl, no taller than Ellie, made of dull metal stained with bits of rust. She was dressed in a frilly skirt and bodice, and resembled a maid. Ellie turned her head to look and got to her feet in surprise when she saw the gynoid walking toward us.

"Yes master?" She said in a rather mechanical fashion.

"Please fetch our guests some drinks. Is water alright?" Genesis turned to us for a response. He must have noticed Ellie's expression of curiosity as she looked at the other robot. "Oh how rude of me. Let me introduce you. Ellie, this is my assistant Kaylee."

"Pleased to meet you" Ellie said unsure what else to do.

"Likewise" Kaylee said with a curtsy. "It is not every day I meet a fellow gynoid." Ellie awkwardly mimicked the curtsy.

"And of course you know Jim" Genesis said. I nodded to her. I had known Kaylee very well. After all, I built her for him a few years back and managed her repairs and maintenance as well.

"Always a pleasure" Kaylee said to me with another curtsy. Again Ellie copied it. "I shall return momentarily with the refreshments."

"Really, I'm sorry I got mad" Genesis apologized. "We good?"

"Ask her first."

Genesis turned to Ellie and pleaded "I'll do whatever I can to make it up to you. I didn't realize you were-"

"It's ok" Ellie interrupted. "I understand your frustration."

"Friends?"

"A friend of Jimmy's is a friend of mine."

"Jim?" He turned back toward me. "We good?"

"Yeah" I nodded and shook his hand. Now with everything relaxed and settled, I could finally tell him of our predicament.

Kaylee arrived just in time to deliver ice cold water to all of us. Ellie seemed fascinated by Kaylee and as Genesis and I chatted, Ellie spoke with Kaylee. They seemed to be having a good time together, as Ellie asked her questions and mimicked her behavior.

I told Genesis the details of our problem. How we are hiding out and not sure what to do next. Genesis agreed things looked bad. Earlier that night, Genesis had a small crowd of men knock on his door and try to get him to join in their mob, but he refused. He hadn't seen people get up in arms before like he did earlier tonight, and thought it best we either lay low or get out of town. But with the Ino guard involved, either option proved to be risky.

However, it was hundreds of miles to the closest city, and the closet town was just as far. It would take days to get there, and there was no promise it would be any safer. Ino's arm reached far and wide. It was far more likely that by the time we got to the closest town, the entire thing would be forgotten. It was probably a better idea to stay hidden for now, and see how things went. As a precaution, we decided that if it got too hot, we'd have an escape plan ready, but he hoped it wouldn't come to that.

We talked for an hour or so, building our plans. Kaylee and Ellie chatted as well, and it looked like Ellie was really enjoying herself. But at last, Kaylee excused herself to take care of some chores that needed looking after before we all retired to bed. Genesis didn't have a second bedroom, so I decided to take the floor and let Ellie sleep on the couch. As Genesis and I made our final arrangements, Ellie looked longingly out the window. Suddenly she gasped.

"Ah! Jimmy! What is that?" she asked, pointing out the window.

Genesis and I ended our conversation and turned to look. Peering out the window, I saw in the distance, on top of a hill, a bright light partially obscured by trees. It was a good sized light, especially for the distance.

"Hey wait" Genesis said, "Isn't that your-"

"My house!!" I said just as I realized what it was. "It's on fire!"

"Fire?" Ellie asked.

I watched from the window as a fire consumed the house I called home for 10 years. It wasn't close, so I couldn't see the details of it, but I knew this was no accident. I never thought the townsfolk would stoop so low as to burning my place down! Images of my home rushed through my head. My bed, by garage, my kitchen, my various collections; evertyhing I knew was gone! I panicked, and made a dash for the door.

However, my leg was stopped by Genesis's foot, and I went tumbling to the floor. Pain shot through my side again and I hissed in a sharp breath. Ellie ran to my side.

"Running out there is only going to get yourself killed. If they already set your place ablaze, there ain't nothing you can do to bring it back.

I knew he was right, but I cursed all the same. I didn't want to hear it.

"I'm sorry, Jim. Really. But you brought this on yourself. Maybe she's worth it, maybe not, that's for you to decide. You can't pretend like you didn't know this could happen. You can't walk around and pretend she doesn't have a past, even if you don't know what it all is. Someone was bound to know her. For your sake, I sure hope she's worth it."

"Shut up! Just leave me alone" I didn't want to hear what he was saying right now.

"Alright. It's getting late. I'll see you in the morning. Sorry man." He turned and walked toward another door, toward is bedroom. "Kaylee" he called. She appeared from the kitchen. "Get them some sheets, blankets, and pillows. It's time for bed."

"Yes sir." Kaylee followed Genesis and came back a moment later with some bedding for us, draping it over the side of the couch. She left silently, leaving the two of us alone. Ellie and I continued to look out the window into the dark night for an hour, watching the fire continue to blaze, before growing tired of it. I turned away first and sat down on the couch, with Ellie joining me.

"Am I worth it to you?" she asked silently.

I looked over at her as she sat silently next to me. "Yeah. I think so. All that was just stuff, but you are a person, a friend."

"A friend?" She looked sad, but I couldn't blame her.

"Yeah. I'll get over my house, but you are more important to me. But it still hurts, you know? It was my home for so long! A decade of my life gone."

"It was only my home for a day" Ellie said. "But it was the only home I can remember."

"Ellie..."

"But I still have you" she added. "And I won't let you go."

Ellie looked at me in the eyes, and I could see just how emotional and human she really was. I was falling for this girl, but such a relationship would never be accepted in society. What would people think?

Just then, a creaking noise came from the other room. It was faint, but obvious. Genesis was already having that kind of a relationship with Kaylee, and he didn't care a damn what people thought, even if those people were his guests sitting in the other room. Ellie and I blushed when we realized what it was.

"Jimmy?" Ellie asked. "Are they...?"

I nodded. A smile crept over Ellie's face.

"Jimmy, will you let me... ease your sorrows?" She placed her hand on my pants and started to caress me, but I stopped her.

"Only if you let me do the same for you" I said and kissed her deeply.

It didn't take long for Ellie to crouch over me, her soft moist vagina hovering over me as she licked my growing member. She squirmed and moaned as I started to lick her in return. She tasted slightly salty, and smelled sweet. I couldn't help but give her clit special attention as she gasped every time I licked it. She was very good herself, sometimes licking, sometimes sucking, but always putting all her attention into making me feel good. That is until she started to climax. As soon as she got close, she lost the ability to concentrate and started to just moan and gyrate her hips. I stopped, to tease her.

"More" she moaned. "Don't stop, it feels so good."

"I want to make you cum from inside" I told her.

"Ok." She crawled forward, down my body, and while still facing away, aligned herself to me. She held her breath as she pushed my inside her, finally gasping when I started to move. She continued to lean forward, away from me, as I started to pump into her. Her moans were quiet, but constant. I pulled her back so she was leaning against me, as I started to thrust, but the pain in my side told me that was a bad idea. Instantly she sat up again and looked behind her.

"Are you okay? How is your side?" She was very concerned for me, but I just smiled.

"I'll be alright, but maybe that position is too much."

"Here" she skillfully turned around, lowering one leg, and then the other, until she was facing me, without ever pulling out. "Is this better?"

I started to thrust into her again, and instantly she reacted; her eyes closed and her mouth hung open in a quiet moan. "Yes, much better." She smiled before passion took over again.

Ellie bounced up and down on me, her perky breasts bouncing with her. I reached out and grabbed one, playing with her soft flesh as she gasped with pleasure.

"Oh god Jimmy! You feel so good! My processors are going to overheat!" She leaned forward, resting her torso against me, her soft breasts squished against my chest. At this angle, I could pick up the pace. I was glad she wasn't causing any pain on my chest, and made sure to take advantage of it by putting my all into it.

She held her breath and clenched her face as she held onto my shoulders, the first wave of an orgasm hitting her. Finally she let out a gasp and a moan and her body started to convulse against me. As her climax subsided, mine finally came, and I pumped my seed into her as she relaxed against me, her naked body limp.

Ellie and I remained together, with her in my arms, for several more minutes. "Jimmy?" Ellie finally said. "Promise you'll always be there for me?"

"I promise."

Ellie smiled and gasped a little as I pulled out of her. I wrapped a blanket around us she fell asleep on my chest. She put her weight on the side that wasn't hurt, and I found myself drifting off to sleep myself. Just as I was about to enter dreamland, I thought I heard her say something, but I wasn't sure.

"I love you."

Chapter 4 - Half and half

I awoke the next morning to the gentle snore of the girl still sleeping beside me. It really was a tight fit on the couch, with both of us there, but somehow she managed to squeeze herself between me and the couch and fall asleep. I wondered at her, a robot that slept as ate, and enjoyed it too. As I stirred to move my arm to a more comfortable position, she woke up as well.

"Good morning" I smiled.

Ellie looked up at me with sleepy eyes and grinned. "Morning."

"Sleep well?" I asked.

She nodded, "Mmm-hmm".

I took in a deep breath to yawn only to have my side ache again from the trauma last night. The pain was dull but constant, and breathing deeply sharpened that pain. I naturally drew in a sharp breath and gritted my teeth.

"Are you alright?" She asked worried.

"I'll live; I just have to get through this."

"Breathe deeply" she reminded me.

I nodded and took in deep but painful breaths. "What about you, how are you feeling?"

She thought for a moment before laying her head on my chest. "I remember bits and pieces of things. The attack. Faces. I can't make sense of it all yet, but some of it scares me. Do I have to keep processing this? I'm frightened of what I might learn."

I thought for a moment; I had been unfair to her. Here she was processing something that would upset her for my sake, and yet what was the real purpose of it? No take a few bucks? I didn't need the money that much. And I didn't care about any potential war between Ino and wherever... it was time to make a decision. "It's ok, Ellie. You can stop processing the data now. Thank you for trying though."

She visibly relaxed as she snuggled her head closer to me and smiled. "Understood. Thank you... dummy" she teased. I figured I could always get the data a different way, and considered erasing it from her mind.

I was about to say something more when we were disrupted by the sound of someone pounding at the door front door. We quickly glanced at each other, suddenly aware of our nakedness and the nature of our predicament. We had no idea if the person pounding at the door was a customer, a friend, an enemy, or even Genesis himself. But the voice that followed confirmed our suspicions.

"Mr. Bradley, we want to have a word with you about Amano." Bradley was Genesis's last name, and no one who knew him called him by that name. Ellie scrambled off of me and grabbed the sheet to wrap it around herself. I meanwhile scrambled to find my underwear, pants, shirt, shoes, and vest. I didn't have time to get dressed right there, but with my underwear on I could at least run into another room and continue to dress in private. Ellie began to gather her clothes, holding the sheet tight against her as Genesis walked into the room, shirtless, and serious. I could see clearly where his mechanical arm met with his shoulder, and how much machinery it took to fit the device securely to him. A lot of it rested under his skin and protruded out slightly as it gripped his bones and muscles. His mechanical arm could be removed, but the shoulder joint it was attached to was a permanent part of him now.

He gave us a concerned look. Perhaps our nakedness was an issue, especially with all that entailed, but somehow I knew he didn't mind it at all. He glanced at the door as the pounding continued and Kaylee stepped out of the room behind, still dressed in the same maid uniform from before.

"You two better get dressed in the kitchen, and keep out of sight" Genesis said calmly. I knew he wasn't upset at our behavior, otherwise we would have heard about it. Besides, he had done the same thing we did last night and he had no right to complain. He took giant steps toward the front door as Ellie and I gathered our things. "I'm coming!" he yelled to the door.

"You two better follow me" Kaylee said, leading the way into the kitchen. We followed her into the kitchen, which had high up windows and a heavy back door. Genesis didn't want people prying into his personal life, especially with the irrational fear of robots many people had, and given his relationship with Kaylee, who knows what would happen if anyone else found out. Of course I knew about their relationship, it was something Genesis wanted special in her when I made her for him. I got dressed as fast as I could while Ellie struggled to get her own clothes on. Kaylee had to help her with the corset. The kitchen was well-stocked, and had a lot of very nice cooking utensils, but my attention was drawn to the voices behind the door. Carefully, I peeked out through a crack in the door to see what I could. Two men with scraggly facial hair in workers clothes and hats argued loudly with Genesis.

"... he's a menace! He's already brought an unknown evil into our town, and has been mocking us by showboating the thing around the village yesterday. He must be brought before the judge and tried for his crimes!" the older man decried. He wasn't a big man, especially compared to Genesis, but he was round. His friend behind him was visibly fingering a gun on his hip.

"Then why are you here? What do you want from me?" Genesis asked.

"We know you two are friendly-like. We demand to search your shop and your residence for the fugitives-"

Kaylee gently pulled me back in, closing the door so the men would not see me as I peeked out. She was right, and I returned to Ellie who had completed dressing. The shouting from behind the door grew louder and louder as each moment passed.

"I'm scared. What are we going to do?" Ellie whispered.

"I don't know yet, but I'll protect you. Maybe we should get out the back and hide until they leave?" I whispered back, but at the volume the men were yelling, we could play music and they wouldn't hear us.

"I am not sure that is wise" Kaylee answered.

Without warning, the sound of boots entered the other room, pounding on the wooden floors. The men entered in, and they were yelling even louder than before.

"Get out of my house! This is invasion of private property!" Genesis's muffled voice yelled in an angry tone.

BANG! A gunshot went off, so loud it startled all of us, and I waited to hear if a body would fall. There was no following thud, no cry of pain or wail as Genesis fell to his knees. Instead all the yelling had ceased and soft footsteps could be heard.

"I don't want any trouble" Genesis's muffled voice said calmly through the door. "Just put your weapon away and look around. Then get the hell out."

"Quickly!" I whispered. "Out the back!"

Kaylee stood at the door to the kitchen holding it closed while Ellie and I scrambled toward the back door. Quietly we unlocked the door and slipped out, and not a moment too soon. As the door swung open, it hit something hard with a loud "Ow!"

I looked behind the door and saw another man, this one with only sideburns, and a bloody nose, holding his face as though he were trying to keep it from falling off.

"Oh shit!" I blurted and slammed the door into the guy again until he fell over. Quickly I grabbed Ellie's arm and pulled her to the side of the house.

"That guy's bleeding" she stated mundanely as I pulled her out of view.

I scrambled toward the hover truck parked on the other side of the house behind his shop, while Ellie trudged along not really sure what was going on yet. I never let go of her arm for fear she'd stop moving.

The truck came into view but so did yet another man with a rifle in his hand. His back was turned to us as he snooped around the truck, looking around. As we got closer, he started to look underneath the tarp on the back of the truck, to reveal the foot of Ellie's armored unit. He clearly didn't know what he was looking at yet, as he tried to lift up more of the tarp to figure it out, but it wouldn't take long for someone to realize what it was.

I let go of Ellie's hand and started to run at full speed toward the man. He saw me a half second before I rammed him to the ground, his gun going off over my shoulder and hitting the side of the shop. My ear was ringing from the blast, but I had to fight, this man was armed and ready to kill, and I had to do something to stop him.

The two of us struggled on the ground, wrestling for control of the gun and a dominating position over the other. He was strong, but not strong enough. After a moment, I pinned the man to the ground and yanked the gun from his hands, hitting him upside the head with the butt of his gun until he was out cold. My side ached from the struggle, but I pushed it to the back of my head and ignored it.

I glanced back at Ellie who stood nearby with her hand over her mouth in a look of shock. Unfortunately, the front door to the house swung open and out stepped the two scraggly men who had entered in a huff, followed by Genesis. They were all staring this way, directly at me and Ellie, as the man with the bloody nose stumbled his way back over toward them.

I didn't hear what they said to each other, but it was clear the men were in a fighting mood now. The man with the gun took a step forward and aimed directly at Ellie. I dove into her, pushing her to the ground, as the bullet whizzed past my other ear. She was unhurt, but startled. Genesis grabbed the man's gun, and with his mechanical hand, bent it like a straw. He threw the gun to the ground as the other two men grabbed a wooden plank and an iron bar and started to attack. The man with the iron bar struck Genesis across the back, which only seemed to piss him off even more. Meanwhile, the man with the plank ran toward me.

I ran toward him as well, screaming as I did like a madman, before I tackled him to prevent him from getting a good swing at me. He didn't fall over like I had hoped, but I managed to dislodge the weapon from his hand, and we started to fight, fisty-cuffs style. I wasn't a good bar fighter, like this man, so he had an advantage over me. His first right hook hit its mark and blurred my vision with pain. I recovered and returned a punch in kind, but it didn't contact. I swung again, and missed again. However, he managed to get under my swings and struck me in the good side, knocking the wind out of me. I took a step back and recovered my wits. He moved in to strike another blow, but this time I managed to avoid it and sent him a strong punch to his chin, and another to his side.

It continued like this for who knows how long. He would hit me, I would hit him, we'd miss, struggle, and keep going. Finally, I saw that this man's age betrayed him. Already he was out of breath, not used to fighting a man younger than him, and started to falter. I took my chances, and put one foot in front of his while taking a step to the side. With a spin, I put all my energy into one last blow, my elbow connecting to the back of his head. He fell forward hard, and hit the ground face first. He was out for the count, and I was still standing, beaten and bruised, but somehow still alright. I was just lucky he never hit my bad side hard.

I looked around to see Genesis standing above the man with the bloody nose while holding up the man that used to have the gun. He was struggling to free himself but Genesis head-butted him, and tossed his limp body to the ground. We had won the fight, but I didn't feel particularly victorious. I looked across the yard to Ellie who was still standing by the truck. She looked concerned, but unharmed.

"Ellie..." I sighed as I limped toward her.

"Jimmy" she replied, taking a step forward.

And then it happened. A large thud shook the ground as an Ino guard landed a few feet behind Ellie. This suit looked almost identical to Seth's, except it had no gold trim on it.

"ELLIE!" I screamed as I struggled to run toward her. She looked behind at the monstrosity and then back at me with horror on her face. I ran, but I wasn't fast enough. I giant metal fist swooped Ellie up and lifted her several feet into the air.

"Let go of me!" she yelled, struggling to free herself.

"Matrix?" an unfamiliar voice boomed. "What are you- Seth was right."

"Ellie!! Hang on!" I yelled, Genesis was right there with me, but without an armored suit of our own, what could we do?

The guard looked down at us for a moment as if he were still processing things. He could just as easily have taken me, but instead, looked down at the truck, and the exposed metallic foot. With his free hand, the guard lifted the tarp and threw it away, revealing Ellie's fighting unit.

"Einguard?" the voice echoed. "So it still works?" He grabbed the smaller fighter, and lifted it up, with a little difficulty, bracing it against himself as he held it tight.

"Ellie! Let go of her!" I screamed as I tried to find a way to reach her.

The guard looked down at the still struggling girl, and then at me. "Ellie?" He paused as he looked down at me.

"Jimmy! Help!" Ellie yelled, unable to free herself. She stretched a hand out toward me, struggling with all her might to reach me. My hand lifted to meet hers as well, but it was still a foot away. I was too beaten and bruised to reach her, but I tried all the same.

"If you want her back," the guard said looking at me, "come find her."

"JIMMY!!" Ellie screamed as our hands slowly got closer, close enough for our fingers to brush against each other, but the guard pushed off the ground and took to the air. Within a second, Ellie's voice died out. His flight booster lit up, and they were out of sight.

I stood there in shock. That did not just happen, and yet it did. Ellie was gone! I was in shock and just stared at the sky. What the hell was I going to do now? I couldn't believe what I just saw as I stood there trying to figure it all out, but Genesis was much faster to recover his wits.

"Get ahold of yourself" he said, shaking me. My brain was still registering the event that transpired. He slapped me. I felt it, but I barely reacted. At least I managed to focus on his eyes.

"Ellie is gone, but you can get her back" he barked.

"Gone?"

"Yeah. Listen to me! She's still alive, and you can find her. They are probably heading for the Ino mag-tunnel station just out of town."

"Mag-tunnel?" I asked still trying to put my wits in order.

"Yeah, that's how they get to town so fast. It's like a train that runs underground, but really really fast. Come on man, get it together. There's no time for this!"

"Time?" my brain was starting to clear itself out. "Ellie? They've got Ellie! We've got to save her!"

"No, man. You have to. I'll be a diversion, like we agreed."

"Diversion?"

"Look. There is no way you can get to the mag-tunnel before they leave with her, and even if you did, there'd be a dozen guards there to arrest you too. You need to get to Ino, as fast as you can! The only way to avoid the guard is to take your truck and hit the wild. I'll distract the guard long enough for you to get out of town, so the patrols along the outskirts don't see you."

"Right... right! I'll rescue Ellie. I'll take my truck and head out of town. But Ino is so far away!"

"It is, but you can do it! At full speed, you can get there by tomorrow night."

"I don't have the fuel for that! It's too far, and I'll be too slow!"

He thought for a moment before looking me in the eyes again. "There's a fuel depot about half a day outside of town. You can fill up your truck there, and I'll give you all the containers I have. Fill them all up, and use them to keep your truck going. You should be able to do it!"

"What if I'm too late?"

"No 'what if's! Just go!" he growled at me.

"What do I do when I get there?"

He thought for a moment before turning away. "Kaylee!"

Kaylee appeared a moment later out the front door. "Oh my!" she said looking at the unconscious men.

"Ellie's in trouble and we need Auntie to help. Get me her number will you?" Genesis ordered.

"Of course" she replied. However she didn't move.

I stared at her for a moment, waiting for her to do something, when suddenly I heard a crunching noise coming from inside her. Was she broken? The crunching noise stopped, and she started moving again. Gently, she reached under the edge of her corset and pulled out a long piece of paper, like a receipt. She ripped it away from her body, and handed it to me. Right, I forgot I added that so he could print up receipts on the go.

"Here you are. Aunt May's radio frequency and everything you should need. Keep it safe" she warned. There wasn't much on there. No address, no direct way of contacting them, but I wasn't exactly sure who this person was anyways.

"Aunt May?"

"She's not really my Aunt" Genesis said. "But it's what all the people in the underground call her."

"Underground?!?" There was too much going on all at once here!

"Of course. You didn't think a totalitarian system with a corrupt government bent on taking control of all the land it can seize wouldn't have an underground rebellion, did you?" I must have looked like my brain just exploded. "Ino, man! I'm talking about Ino! It tries to control all aspects of society, and Aunt May is the current leader of the underground against it."

"Why is Ellie so important to Ino?"

"I don't know. Maybe they consider an attack on a controlled land an attack on the city itself." Genesis pointed out. He really did read too much. "Look, it's simple. Get to Ino as fast as you can, avoid the Ino Guard, and meet with Aunt May. She can help you rescue Ellie. Just tell her Genesis sent you."

One of the men near our feet groaned as he started to stir. Genesis gave him a swift kick, and he was out cold again.

"Alright. Let me... let me get ready." I said.

"You are ready! All your stuff is still in that truck. Just pull yourself together. I'll give you all the containers I have, and then we roll out!"

It didn't take long for Genesis to get about a dozen containers of different makes and sizes together, and toss them into the back of the truck. Kaylee gave me a drink of water, and a bite to eat as I tried to gather myself. The food was good, and it had a calming and grounding effect. The initial shock was slowly fading away and now the emotional turmoil of losing the best thing to happen to me started to kick in. I fought my feelings back as long as I could, at least until Genesis was no longer right there. I was really surprised how hard this hurt. My home as I knew it was gone, the girl that only just appeared in my life a few short days ago was gone, and I was devastated. I tried to focus on the task at hand now, as unexpected as it was.

Genesis tied the hands and feet of the man up with rope, and got his own truck out, piling all the unconscious men in the back before he got in the cabin himself carrying an unmarked bag. He left Kaylee to clean up and lock down the place, for fear of retribution. Besides, he never took Kaylee out since society didn't deem that acceptable.

"What are you going to do with them?" I asked, back to my old self but determined to rescue Ellie.

Genesis smiled a sinister grin. "They're going to learn the cost for violating private property. Now remember, head south out of town, and then turn west to Ino. Good luck!" Genesis said from his truck as he pulled out. I waited a few moments before doing the same.

I pulled out, and took to some side roads to get to the outskirts of town to the south. I didn't know what the diversion Genesis had planned, and I had no idea if it was going to work, or if there would be a way to tell. I just put my trust in him as I focused on my goal. All I could see before me was Ellie.

I slammed on my breaks as before I swerved off the road into a tree. My mind was still not in the right place, and I couldn't get in an accident now before I had a chance to save Ellie. However, luck was on my side.

As I was about to pull out onto the road, a trio of Ino guards walked past the tree, patrolling the outskirts of town. They hadn't seen me, but if I had rushed out into the open of the wild, they would have been all over me. I wasn't sure what to do next, I had to get out of there, but with these guards here, it was impossible.

They stopped in their patrol and took up positions temporarily to watch the land for what I could only assume was me. Ellie was in serious trouble, and I had to move now, but what could I do? Just then, one of them put his hand up, signaling the others as if he heard something. Did they hear my truck? I ducked down instinctively in my truck, but just then, he put his made some sort of signal with his hand. The other guards came closer.

"There's a disturbance in town. 4 of our informants have been discovered and are..." the leader said before pausing. "It appears they had explosives strapped to them, let's move!" he commanded. Explosives? Really? Genesis was behind this.

The 3 guards took off and vanished as suddenly as they had appeared. Now was my chance, and I wasn't going to waste it. Maybe it was a setup, or maybe there was another waiting for me, but if I did nothing, I'd never save her. I turned away from the road, and drove into the wild as fast as my truck would take me.

I worried that it was a trap, or some other patrol would see me. For a good 5 minutes I drove south out of town, until the roads were no longer visible and before me was the wild rocky plains as far as the eye could see. I was outside of Maya now, and I wondered if I would ever see the town again. I turned toward the west, heading toward Ino. I knew I had to stay relatively close to the roads, so when I needed to, I could refuel. Genesis had left me with a location of the outpost, and I did my best to make sure I didn't pass it.

As I drove, the hours stretched on. My thoughts began to wander, and inevitably ended up on Ellie. I replayed that scene a thousand times in my head. If only I had done something differently. I tried to think of what I could have done to save her, but the fact is I did my best, and it wasn't enough. Tears swelled in my eyes, as I sobbed to myself. Ellie was the first girl I'd really felt such a strong connection to, despite her robotic nature. There was something different about her, something I had never seen in anyone else. She trusted me, and I promised to protect her, but in the end, I couldn't. But I was not about to let her be stolen from me, not without a fight!

I pulled in to the fuel station somewhere in the mid afternoon. The sun was shining bright, but the wind had a cold chill to it that cut to the bone. As cold as the wind was, my initial impression of this place was even colder.

The fuel depot was run down, old, dingy, and worn. The shop in the center contained everything a traveler would need, and then some, and it was surrounded by a handful of fuel pumps. I knew it was my only real chance to fuel up before the rest of my drive, and despite the food I had with me, my canteen was low on water, and needed to get something to drink and take with me. I parked next to a fuel pump, and an attendant came out. He was a young thin kid, probably still in his mid-teenage years, and wore his cap low about his eyes. I handed him a single gold coin, and told him to fill it up as I got out the containers Genesis threw in the back for me. The boy eyed the coin, his eyes growing wide.

"If you're fast you can keep the change" I told him. He smiled and instantly started pumping gas and doing whatever else he could to help. A gold coin was the smallest denomination I had on me, and it was also worth more than this kid probably took home of pay in a month.

A familiar sound from the other side of the building alerted me to the presence of an Ino guard. I ducked down as it took to the sky, and flew off. He had been refilling just on the other side of the station, and I never noticed. I was going to have to be more careful in the future. I helped the lad fill up the various containers and securing everything back in the truck before deciding to head in the fill my canteen with water.

As I reached to open the door, my own face greeted me. It wasn't a mirror or reflection in glass; it was a drawing, a poster. My eyes were a little too beady, and my nose a bit too large, but it was me alright. I beheld an artist's rendition of myself on a wanted poster. I froze in my tracks and I studied the paper.

"Wanted alive: James Amano. Mercenary Merchant. 1,000gp. Wanted for harboring an enemy of the state of Ino."

1,000 gold pieces! That was probably as much as my entire savings. I was in serious trouble if someone recognized me and decided to turn me in at gunpoint. I normally didn't carry a gun myself, but I took the rifle from the man I knocked out and carried it in my truck. A lot of good that would do if I couldn't get to it.

The Ino guard must have just placed these posters here. Maybe if I was fast enough, no one would have seen them yet and I would be safe. Quickly I tore down the poster and crumpled up my visage. Looking back up to grab the door handle I was greeted by yet another face. This time it was an old man staring at me through the glass door. His eyes peered out at me, as though he were studying me. A second later, his eyes widened with revelation, and I knew I was too late.

I backed away from the door and toward my truck. Fumbling in my pockets I found my keys and another coin I was hoping to break into something smaller when I got the water. The lad was just washing the window of my truck as I threw the coin toward him. He barely caught it as I jump into my truck.

"Keep the change, and remember... I was never here" I told him before closing the door. Slamming my foot to the pedal, I took off in a rush just as the old man exited the shop with a shotgun in his hand. Ducking my head I heard a shot go off, missing my truck completely, as I flew past him and down the road. I saw the old man throw down his gun and yell at the kid in my mirror, but I was more concerned about if they got some sort of call out to the Ino guards.

As soon as the station was out of sight, I turned off the road again, this time driving much farther into wild before turning west again. I should have had enough fuel to get me through to the end of my destination, but I never managed to get any more water. I was going to need to find some place to stop near a river or creak, except this was a barren land and there was no water to be seen. I was going to have to rough it as best as I could.

Night was fast approaching as I came upon the first green land I'd seen since I left. My truck was getting low on fuel again, and I was going to have to stop and fill it up from the canisters in the back, but first I needed to find a place to rest and hide for the night. I didn't dare drive with my lights on at night; it was too easy to spot from a distance. Luckily I had seen no signs of any other guards, but I was sure to stay far away from the roads and just stick to driving across the land. The biggest advantage of driving a hover truck was that I never needed to worry about terrain.

Ahead, I could make out a few patches of trees. The land was getting more fertile now, and I saw more life around as I sped on. The sun was low in the sky, still bright enough, but only for maybe an hour longer before I would need to stop. These trees promised some sort of cover during the night, but more importantly, water.

I was dying of thirst! I hadn't had anything to drink for half the day, and it felt like all the moisture was being drawn out of me. My throat was parched, my lips were dry, and all I could think about was getting something to drink. The sun hat heated the cabin of my truck, making it uncomfortably hot. I knew that if I drove on, I would be able to make it to some sort of water before too long. At least that's what I hoped.

More trees appeared as I rushed past bushes and brambles and he occasional outcrop of trees. Somewhere between Maya and Ino was a forest, and I was pretty sure I was just about to run into it. Sure enough, as the needle in my truck settled on empty, I came up to the entrance of the Ino forest, which surrounded the city for hundreds of miles, and proved to be a bigger problem than I anticipated. There were few roads in the forest, and fewer places I could get through without being seen. Genesis must have forgotten about the forest, because it posed to be a real problem for driving across country.

I managed to get a few short miles into the forest in my truck but the trees became too dense to go any further. At least here I could stop for the night and refuel. I'd have to think of a plan to get through the forest, but the only thing I could think of was to get to a road, which could be dangerous.

I got out to fill my tank with fuel as the warm light of the setting sun shot through the trees. As I prepared to start unloading the canisters from the back, a sound, faint at first, drew my attention. I don't know why I didn't notice it instantly, but now the sound of running water called to me, and my thirst was renewed. With my canister in hand, I left my truck and headed to find the source of the sound.

The water got louder and louder the deeper into the woods I went. I found my way into a small clearing surrounding a pool of water and a beautiful if small waterfall. I clambered to the side of the pool and started scooping up water and swallowing it down as though I had never seen water before. Instantly, all my pain and discomfort vanished as I drank more and more. I didn't even bother with the canteen yet, as I drank straight from the pool.

I was alerted to the presence of another person when I heard a giggle echoing off the trees. It was a girlish giggle, but I couldn't tell where it was coming from. Glancing around, I searched for the voice when a splash from the pool drew my attention. Not far at all was the figure of someone swimming in the pool... a girl. I don't know how I missed her before, but now she had my full attention.

The girl splashed out of the water throwing her head back and letting the water fly out of her hair. At first I thought it was just the warmth of the sun, but I realized that her short but wild hair was bright red. She laughed as she played in the water, her naked body glistening in the last rays of light. I stared closer, she was completely naked, and hadn't noticed me yet. Somehow I couldn't take my eyes away. Her body was svelte and well-toned, with a chest smaller than Ellie's, probably around a B cup. She was lightly tanned, and had a slightly upturned nose with freckles and green eyes. I guessed she was in her late teens or early twenties, just reaching her prime. I watched her as she splashed and swam.

As I watched her, I noticed that there was something odd about her body. It was hard to place at first; something about her right arm and leg, in fact the entire right side of her body, was somehow different. She looked as though her arm and leg didn't quite fit her. Sure she still looked sexy, with all the same gentle curves and femininity about her, but it just looked off somehow.

I was concentrating so much on this beautiful figure and the unusual nature she had, that I realized too late that I was about to sneeze. "Achoo!!" I sniffed before I realized what I had done.

"Bless you" the girl said. "Eh?"

Slowly she turned around to look straight at me, he arms covering her front as best as she could. She looked straight at me, and I knew my goose was cooked.

"Umm... thanks?" I said putting on a big smile. I must have looked like a giant pervert.

I was expecting the girl to scream, squeal, or even run away, but what she actually did took me completely by surprise. This red-headed cutie took a big breath, and then marched right up to me, out of the water, covering her breasts with her left arm, while leaving the rest of her exposed. She literally stomped her way over, faster than I expected, with a look of rage and embarrassment on her face. I was taken by surprise, and stood there like a deer in headlights.

"What the fuck is your problem, huh? Pervert!" She yelled at me pushing me with her free hand. She was surprisingly strong, and managed to push me back several feet until I tripped over a rock and landed hard on my ass. She didn't let up. Instead, she kicked my shoulder down to the ground, and stood on my face with her right foot. I managed to turn my head so I could look up the side of her body, but she was putting her weight into it and crushing me into the wet dirt.

"Imph forry" I mumbled. Something about her foot was familiar to me. Not her foot exactly, but rather the reason she seemed so off from before. It wasn't normal; it wasn't... human.

"You want a beating, jackass? I'll show you the meaning of pain!" she growled as she twisted her foot against my ear. "Did you just want to gawk at the freak show? Is that it?" Freak show? What was she talking about? "Wanted to stare at the naked sideshow monstrosity without paying your nickel? Well I'm going to take my pay out of your ass!"

"I’m forry!" I tried to say again. "Ny druck got shtug an I wuz firshty".

"What?" she said as she pushed her foot harder against my head. I pointed over toward my canteen, still empty by the pool. "You have to speak up" she taunted.

"My Truck!" I finally got out. "Thirsty... Water!"

She thought for a second looking between me and the pool of water, and then over at my canteen. "So... you aren't here to stare at me?" She let up her weight a little, making it easier to talk.

"No... but I couldn't help myself."

"Couldn't help yourself?!" she spat pushing her weight back onto my face. "What are you? Some kind of sicko?" I managed to get my mouth free of the dirt enough to talk.

"What are you talking about? I got caught up in your beauty" I said, hoping to compliment my way out of it, although it was the truth.

"B- B- Beauty?" she stuttered, taking her foot away from my face. "A... a cyborg like me?" That's what it was! I knew there was something different about her. "D- Don’t lie to me!"

"I'm not lying" I replied as she took the weight away from her foot. "So that's why you were so... alluring" I said, deciding not to say 'off'.

"A- Alluring?" she said with a more gentle tone. "Are you fucking with me?" she asked in a cross voice, although her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

I propped myself up on my elbow as she took a step back. I got a real good look at her body now. While most of her body was a beautiful healthy looking girl, her right side was artificial, with a skin-like membrane for appearance. It wasn't as good as what Ellie had, which was downright perfect, but it was better than most prosthetics I had seen or built before. In fact, it looked very realistic, which was why I had such a hard time placing it. As I looked up at her body, I know noticed the subtle lines of panels on her right arm and leg. They didn't extend onto her body at all, but I could tell that her side was also artificial, with artificial skin running down from her neck, replacing her right breast, and down to her leg. It was hard to tell how much of her body was prosthetic, but it was clear she couldn't function without it.

"I'm serious" I said sitting up. "I was getting some water when you... suddenly appeared. I was just... captivated... you... uh..." My face must have gone bright red because this girl standing before me was still naked, and barely covered herself, leaving plenty of exposed flesh. With the angle I was at, I could clearly see the gentle folds of her bare vagina. It looked pretty real to me.

"Eek!" she squealed as she covered herself more and turned around. She quickly sprinted over to a nearby rock, where a stack of clothes were neatly folded. I watched her back as she started to dress. "Hey! Don't watch me!"

I faced the pool, keeping her just in my field of vision, as she pulled up a white sport's bra and matching panties. She turned back toward me in a huff, and I pretended not to be looking at her.

"So... you were peeping on me then?" she asked a she slowly walked toward me and sat on the ground.

"I'm sorry. I really was just trying to get some water. I've been driving all day, and when I heard the waterfall, I ran over. I didn't notice you until you were splashing around.

"And my prosthetics?" she asked. "Didn't they scare you or something?"

"No... Why would they?"

She glanced over at me, squinting her eyes for a moment. "I'm a cyborg. Everyone hates cyborgs and... robots." She held up her right arm. "Doesn't this upset you?" she asked as she manually opened one of the panels with her other hand, revealing artificial muscle and electronics. As she exposed her robotic half, she studied my expression.

"Honestly, I think you're very pretty, and your cybernetics add a certain exotic sensuality that drives men crazy." I was pretty good at bullshitting my way through things, I had lots of practice, but at least here I could speak the truth, or at least about my own opinion.

"Sensual-...?" she was unable to say anything else as she stared at her arm.

"It's amazing technology" I confirmed, "and I think it looks good on you."

She eyed me suspiciously before closing the panel. "Who are you?" Now it was my time to be at a loss of words. I didn't want to advertise myself, but what to say?

"Nobody important" was all I could say, but I knew she wasn't satisfied with that answer.

"No... I know your face." She continued to peer closer at me, leaning forward into a crawl toward me.

"Ah... um..." I couldn't think of anything. I just wanted to get up and run off, but at the same time she was getting very close to me. I started to try to back away, but she continued to gain on me.

"No one has ever complimented me before..." she cooed as she started to crawl over my legs. "You..." She squinted her eyes as she studied by face. It was unnerving to say the least, but at the same time I found myself aroused. "You're that Amano guy!"

"What?"

"Yeah, you're that guy that ran off with Matrix!" Oh shit, even this strange girl had gotten word about me.

"I didn't run off with anyone! Ok?"

"So it IS you!" she

"N- No I'm not" I lied.

"Yeah, you are. I knew you looked familiar" she said as she stood up again.

"Familiar?"

"Of course, they got your picture out hours ago, before I..." her voice trailed off as dazed off into space.

I stood up as well. "And what are you going to do about it? Report me? Turn me in?" She turned away from me and began to walk off but I grabbed her arm. I was firm in my grip, but I didn't want to hurt anyone.

"Hey! That hurts! Let go of me!"

"I'm not going to let you turn me in" I spat. I was taller than this girl, but she was not as short as Ellie. As I looked down into her eyes, I saw a certain hint of fear, which melted away before my eyes.

"You... love her don't you?" she said in a gentle tone. "That explains why you aren't disgusted by my body."

"I- Look! Ellie is in trouble and I'm going to save her, and I won't let anyone get in my way."

"Ellie? Is that your pet name for her?" she asked in a mocking tone. I returned a serious stare into her eyes and she backed off. "I mean... I'm not going to turn you in."

"Can I trust you?" I asked crossly.

"If you want, I can remove your hand by force." She held up her right hand, which was free and obviously stronger than I had expected when she pushed me over so easily.

I let go of her hand. "Fine." I looked away and sat down again. If she turned me in, she turned me in. I couldn't stop her. "I don't know, and no."

"What?" she asked as she rubbed her wrist.

"In answer to your question. 'Do I love her?' I don't know. But she is special to me. And 'Is Ellie a pet name?' No. Matrix is dead. Seth saw to that. But I found her and reprogrammed her. She is a completely different person now, and her name is Ellie."

"Dead? Seth? So Captain Wilkins did shoot her down... but you repaired her?" she asked as she sat near me again.

"Sort of. Matrix is still in her head, but corrupted."

"Good riddance. I always hated that bitch" she sighed.

"What do you know about her?" I asked, looking over at her.

"Not that much really. But why would you come all the way out here if you don't love her?"

"I... I promised to protect her. And..." I sighed this time. "I don't know. Maybe I do love her, but I've only known her for a few days."

"Protect her? Matrix? I doubt-” she fell silent. "Right. Sorry. So you fell for a robot... you are a weird one" she commented.

"Hey, You're half-robot, so don't go ridiculing me!"

Her face flashed with anger, but then it subsided just as quickly. "You're right, I am half-robot, aren't I?" She sounded dejected. "And that's a problem right?"

"No... Why should it be?"

She looked into my eyes with a strange expression of curiosity, confusion, and intrigue. The setting sun sparkled for a moment in her eye as she leaned closer toward me.

"I promise I can help you get Ma- Ellie back. But it won't be easy, and we'll both be in danger."

"Why would you help me? I don't even know your name."

"My name is Laura" she said, "and I have my own reasons."

"And how exactly are you going to help me?" I asked, not even sure who this Laura was. How could some random girl swimming naked in a forest help me?

"Well, I bet you'll have a hard time getting into the city, what with your face plastered all over, and the gates are the only way in... unless you have one of those" she said, pointing behind her.

I looked into the trees behind, and was surprised to see something I never noticed before. Hidden mostly out of view was the kneeling form of an Ino Royal Guard armored suit. Holy shit! I panicked for a moment before I realized it was her suit. Her piloting uniform was still neatly folded on the rock, and I never noticed either before.

"Don't worry, I-" she began.

"You're a royal guard! Why would you help me?"

"Calm down" she said gesturing with her hands. "I'll be in enough trouble already. I... kind of... abandoned my post. Why else would I be here? Look, there were... things happening that I couldn't agree with. So I left. End of story." I somehow doubted that was the end of the story.

I stared at her with wide eyes, half in shock, suspicious of her motives. "What do you want from me?"

"Ah! Well... guess you figured that out... Tell you what, in exchange for helping you rescue Ellie or whatever her name is, I only want 2 things from you."

"Go on..."

"Well the first is that when you escape the city, I want to go with you. If I stay there, they'll execute me! What I did, it amounts to treason. I was hoping to hide out here for a bit before finding another place to live, or maybe just wandering around as a sort of gun-for-hire. Or something. I don't really know, I didn't think I'd actually get out. If I'm going back in, I want to go with you when you leave. Deal, Amano?"

"Call me Jimmy. What's the second thing?"

She blushed and started to stutter. "Well... uh... mmm... well... you see, Jimmy..." she drew in a deep breath through her nose and let it out slow and controlled through her mouth. "Right. When I was a child, I was in an accident- I don't want to talk about it. Needless to say, I've worn these cybernetic limbs all my life. No matter how real the doctors can make it look, the people can always tell, and treat me like a second-hand citizen. Not just me... all cyborgs are treated this way, because of the fear Ino has of robots." She paused for a moment, turning to look into my eyes. "In all my life, no one has ever complimented me, told me I was pretty, or sensual, or anything other than a freak. You... you saw past that."

"I feel sorry for you"

"I don't want your pity" she said looking away again. "I want... you."

"M- Me?"

"I know you have a thing for whatshername."

"Ellie" I pointed out.

"Ellie. But you yourself admitted you didn't know if it was love. And all I'm asking for is just... one time... together. Please don't think I'm a slut. I just... I don't know. I just want someone to love me, even if it is only for a night. Even if it isn't real love."

"Laura..."

"I'm sorry! Never mind!" she burst out, flustered, as she turned her head away from me. "I never should have brought it up; just forget I said anything."

I looked at Laura in the dying light of the day, as the sun's rays bounced off the clouds and illuminating us in an eerie but beautiful glow. I did have strong feelings for Ellie, and I didn't want to betray her either. But neither of us made a commitment to each other, and this might be my best chance of getting into the city to rescue her. Besides, I could not deny a damsel in distress, especially one as conflicted and beautiful as Laura. She glowed in the golden warm sunset, water still clinging to her body and hair, sending sparkles of light across her skin as she moved.

Laura turned away to stand up. "I'm so stupid! Just forget-"

I pulled Laura's chin toward me and interrupted her with a kiss. She was surprised at first, but as the moments passed, she became entranced by it, and closed her eyes. It was awkward at first, but as she loosened up, our tongues began to dance together. I pulled away, watching her expression of pure lust take over as a string of saliva stretched between us.

"Don't stop" she whispered. I embraced her, feeling her body against me as I gave her another long deep kiss. She melted at my touch. I reached one hand around to her chest, and felt the thin fabric of her bra, caressing her bosom underneath. Her nipples were already getting hard, and she squeaked whenever I touched them. Even though her right breast was artificial, it also reacted. "It tickles" she laughed.

I slid my hand down lower, massaging her panties, feeling the warmth of her crotch. Her panties were already slightly wet from the water, but as I rubbed her, the moisture grew. She moaned and yelped as I caressed her vagina through her clothes, her own hand making its way to my pants, feeling the growing form within. She unbuckled my pants and pulled out my manhood.

"Ah! It's... bigger than I thought. This goes inside me?" she asked. "Will it fit?" I nodded to her.

"So this is your first...?"

"Well yeah... I told you no one would touch me, let alone fuck me!"

"Right." How gentle her words were.

"Here... I want to try" she pushed me down before sliding her panties off and straddling me. "Um..." she sat with my erect cock in front of her, trying to figure out the proper way to proceed.

"Here" I said, helping her out. I lifted her up a little, and helped align myself to her virgin hole. She trembled as we made contact. I applied pressure to her, but a pained gasp told me to stop there.

"Let me do it" she said. "I want to try." Slowly she lowered herself, but her tight hole made it difficult to not slip out. Again and again she tried, until at least I got the very tip into place, but she froze.

"Something wrong?"

"I... I'm scared" she said. "I don't know if I can do this."

"Do you want me to...?"

Laura pushed off of me a little and nodded. "Yeah... But be gentle."

I laid Laura out on the grass beside the pool, the light of the sun dying off as the moonlight began to take over. She lay on her back completely naked, looking up at me with trust. I didn't want to betray that trust, especially if she was the only way into the city. I slowly pushed my way against her, taking my time and gauging her reaction. It took a little while, but finally I slide all the way inside her.

She gasped and stiffened. "It hurts! Real bad!" she said through her teeth.

"I'm sorry, let me pull out" I said as I started to back off, but her legs wrapped around my hips and stopped me.

"No... I can take it. Just give me a second." I nodded and leaned in closer to her, kissing her lips and massaging her breasts. She started to relax, although her body was still somewhat tense. Her left breast was softer than her right, but both were fun to play with. "Guess this is the end of my 20 year virgin streak" she said before laughing lightly.

"20? And you don't look a day over 19" I joked. She giggled again.

"That helps. You can try to move now, slowly."

I gently began to move my hips back and forth, rubbing inside her tight body. I held her hips as I thrust inside her, and noticed how differently her right side felt from her left. At first she just breathed deeply, as though she were still in pain and trying to get herself through it, but the more I moved, the calmer she got. Before long, she started to moan with my movement, wrapping her arms around my shoulder.

"Feeling better?" I asked.

"Yes, much better" she clarified. "It still hurts, but it also feels good."

I picked up the pace, and with my added intensity, her volume grew as well. I wasn't sure how much longer I could last; she was much tighter than Ellie, but Ellie was more skilled. I told myself I shouldn't be comparing them, but I couldn't help myself. Laura was inexperienced, and I'm sure she'll get better over time, but did that mean she'd want me to fuck her more? What would Ellie say? As my mind wandered to Ellie, I found myself thinking about the last night we were together, and I was suddenly unable to hold back.

"I'm going to cum!" I warned her.

"It's ok" she said through her breath. "You can cum... inside."

I panicked for a moment. I didn't have to worry about impregnating Ellie, but Laura was human, at least this part of her was. And I didn't want to end up in a worse situation. I pulled out. I squirted my hot juice all over Laura's stomach and chest as she lay there catching her breath.

"You got me all dirty again" she complained. "Guess I'll need another bath" she winked.

We ended up in the water together, having sex yet again, at her request. She told me that she read that the first time would hurt, but after that it was better. I was pretty sure she needed to heal between tries more than 5 minutes, but she insisted. Sure enough it still hurt, just not as much. This time I took her from the back, leaning her over the side of a rock in the water. Her tanned skin was pale in the blue moonlight as lightning bugs flickered on and off around us. Her moans echoed through the forest as I did my best to please her.

"Oh god! Jimmy! Like that! Harder!" she commanded as I lifted her artificial leg. She held her breath and tightened up as I continued to pound into her svelte body. I wasn't sure if it was from pain, pleasure, or a mixture of both. Sure enough, she gasped as her body started to convulse. "Ooooh god. What- hah- what- Ahn!- What was that? Ah!"

"I think you just came" I suggested, finding myself at my own limit, thanks to her climax, and once again pulling out and covering her back with my juice. She remained clinging to the rock for a minute or so after, recovering from her first orgasm, which was a beautiful sight to see. She dipped into the water with a big grin on her face.

"I think that's payment enough" she cooed. "I'll do whatever you want..." Laura said with slurred speech. "Uh- To help rescue whats-her-face that is."

I washed myself off on the water, thinking about everything that had just happened. This day confused me. I started off with Ellie being kidnapped, and ended with a passionate love-making session with a new girl, Laura. I was now a wanted criminal, but I also had a friend who was willing to help me rescue Ellie. And what about Ellie? What would she say if she knew what I just did? Would she at all be upset? Or would it mean anything to her at all? And what were they doing with her now? Was she alright? I was tired and upset, but I didn't want to waste any more time.

"What is it?" Laura asked.

"I'm worried about Ellie. They could be doing anything to her, and I wasn't able to protect her."

"Don't worry Jimmy. We'll save her."

"Can we leave tonight?" I asked.

"Um... sure. I suppose. It will take a few hours, but it beats driving."

"Good. I don't want to wait another minute. Let's get cleaned up and get moving."

"Hold on, wait a second, I'm still enjoying this afterglow... give me a minute" she complained.

"Hurry" I retorted.

"Fine!" she complained as she started washing herself off again. "We'll leave as soon as I'm done here."

"Very well. But for now, tell me everything you know about Matrix."

Chapter 5 - Graceful landing

Trees rushed passed us in the dark as we flew low over the forest. I had never ridden inside an armored suit before, and I wasn't sure I wanted to now either. The cockpit was designed to fit one person comfortably, and Laura decided fitting two inside would be safer, if less comfortable, as opposed to me being carried about. She was probably right, but being stuffed inside this cockpit with her sitting in my lap was awkward enough. On top of that, she had to pilot the thing and because of this, her movement was severely limited.

We knew we couldn't fly far over the tree line or else we'd risked being detected. As such, we flew between the tops of the tallest trees, avoiding collision by inches at times, while maintaining a high speed. It was dangerous, stupid, and reckless, but Laura managed to pull it off well.

"You're surprisingly good at this" I yelled over the hum of the flight boosters.

"I better be. I scored in the top 2% of my class."

"Wow. I'm impressed."

"Don't be," she yelled back. "The only reason I did so well was this damn thing" she said waving her prosthetic hand.

"What?"

"They never would have let a cyborg into the academy if I wasn't in the top of my class. I had to be the best of the best just to get in. And being a woman didn't make it any easier."

"I had no idea."

We rushed passed a rather tall tree, the branches brushing against the side of the suit. "I thought that maybe if I could get into the academy, they'd let up on me, they'd treat me as an equal. But all I ever got was more ridicule, more name-calling, more of the same goddamn thing! They beat me, harassed me... and yet I never gave up. And despite all the high grades, achievements, and training, they left me to rot as a wall watchman - watchwoman" she corrected.

"I'm sorry" I said quietly, not even sure she could hear me.

She shook her head and wiped a tear away. "It isn't your fault. I should have known better anyways."

"So that's why you ran away?"

She was quiet for a while. I must have struck a chord that she didn't like, and now she wasn't going to say anymore. I went to apologize again but she began to speak. "No. Well, yes and no. It wasn't just me, they treat everyone poorly, especially cyborgs. I've seen the guard get away with things I would rather not remember. Tearing apart a robot is one thing, but a cyborg?"

I didn't want to ask any more questions about her, she was already upset. I needed to change the subject, and she still hadn't told me about Matrix. "Why do people hate robots so much in Ino?"

"Why? Well... umm..." she sniffed and wiped another tear off her cheek as she thought. "I don't know. I never really thought about it. Aren't they supposed to be unpredictable and dangerous or something?"

"Only if it's broken or programmed to do that" I said.

"Well... I'm not sure why, but everyone just seems to fear robots. And being 'half-robot' isn't much better. We're second-class citizens. If it wasn't for my father, I'd never have made it into the royal guard."

"Well if everyone fears and hates robots so much, what about Matrix?" I asked. "Everyone seems to know her. Is she that terrifying?"

"Ah, yes. Matrix. She and her cohorts are infamous."

"She?" I interrupted. "Sorry, but I couldn't help but notice that Seth always called Ellie 'it'."

"He would. In his little mind, women are inferior to men, and robots are lower still. Not that he's alone in that thinking. Most people see robots as some sort of inferior slave, but they fear them at the same time."

"And what about you?" I asked.

"I... don't know. Some robots are just things, tools, sure. But ones like Matrix... she's different. And terrifying."

"Terrifying?"

"Matrix is mean, sharp, cold... she's a killer... or at least she feels that way. She'd scare people even if she wasn't a robot."

"Ellie is not like that though" I added. "She's kind and gentle and shy."

"I wouldn't know, but for both of our sakes I hope you're right. If Matrix is gone and Ellie has taken her place, you'll hear no complaints from me." We dodged another tree as we sped across the canopy in the moonlight. Laura's skill was exceptional; even with me crowding her in the cockpit, she still managed to avoid any collision and stay at top speed. I held my breath as she moved, calming myself against her soft body. I had been strapped in to the seat while Laura remained unbuckled, allowing her free movement to control the mech, but also to sit on me.

"So what about Matrix, who was she?" I asked, feeling Laura's butt rubbing against my lap as she steered the giant fighter. It felt soft and warm, and I had to fight to keep my loins from poking her.

"Matrix is the leader of the Aina emissary guard."

"Aina?" I asked.

"Yeah, apparently their some far off city-state who wanted to arrange some sort of trade or something, I wasn't really sure. They just showed up out of nowhere and have taken residency in the village outside the palace. Matrix is- was the head of their national guard, more like a bodyguard if you ask me. There were 5 of them in all, and all of them were robots. Except the emissary himself." She dodged another tree as she continued to explain.

"You mean they had robot bodyguards?"

"You could say that. Officially they were national guards or something, and officially she's their captain. But yeah, they were all robots like her. As you can imagine, the people didn't take too kindly to them at all. These robots were demanding more respect than most citizens got, and always had a better-than-thou attitude. Matrix was the worst. She wouldn't let anyone mess with her, and often got into fights. She was even caught fighting with Seth. They must have hated each other on first sight."

"I knew it was something like that! But I never guessed she was someone so important" I spoke aloud, mostly to myself.

"A few weeks ago there was a big ordeal about her and Captain Seth. There was a big fight, and the Kaiser himself had to step in. That was the last I had heard of Matrix until it was rumored that she snapped and started attacking some small village."

"Maya" I added. "It's not that small, but yes, she burned down a building in the town square and killed almost a dozen people. That's when Seth shot her down, and I guess you know the rest now."

"Sort of" she said.

"So she's now an enemy of the state?" I asked.

"Sort of" she repeated. "The tension is kind of thick right now. The Aina emissary hasn't released any official statement, and the Kaiser is considering this an act of war. Unless something is done fast, this is going to be a mess. I couldn't hang around any longer. I'd be the first shipped off to the front lines, the first to..." she swallowed hard.

"So where is this Aina place anyways?" I asked. I had never heard of it, which meant it must have indeed been far away.

"No idea. All I know is they all have white hair, the emissary has a strange accent, and they really like their robots." She shifted her weight, adjusting our course and avoiding a patch of tall trees, while sliding her butt around in my lap. Closing my eyes, I took in a deep breath and tried to concentrate on anything other than the pleasure of rubbing against her. I was failing fast as my pants began to bulge from the sensation.

Laura gasped briefly before glancing back at me, her face red. She said nothing, but instead turned her gaze to the front again, shifting her weight forward, and rubbing herself against me deliberately. This time I gasped as her skin-tight suit rubbed against the growing bulge in my pants. She rolled her hips back and forth, stimulating my crotch as she sought to please herself. I didn't know what to do, but before I could say anything, she started to unzip the front of her suit. My little guy hardened abruptly as she slid her suit off one shoulder.

Suddenly she drew in a sharp breath of pain as I pushed against her and she nearly lost control of the armored suit. Scrambling to regain control, she stood up partly and concentrated on steering.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I- I shouldn't do that" she apologized before pulling her suit back onto her shoulder.

"Are you ok? I asked.

"Yeah. I guess it's still a little sore down there. You shouldn’t poke me like that, it... it turns me on."

"Well I can't help it. When a cute girl sits in a guy's lap and all... things just happen" I explained.

"Pervert" she whispered, blushing, as she zipped her front up again.

"Who's the pervert? You were the one that was rubbing-"

"I am" she answered. "Well we both are, but I was referring to me. I couldn't help myself. Sorry. I'll just stand like this."

"No, it's ok, I'm sure standing like that is tiring. I'll try to keep myself under control. Please, relax, sit." I adjust myself to literally hold back my erection, so she could sit on my lap again without anything happening. Gently she sat down again, and relaxed when she didn't feel little Jimmy poking at her anymore.

"Thanks" she replied as she focused on flying again. We gained speed, and a little altitude, which helped her avoid rubbing against me as much.

We flew in silence for a little while longer while I absorbed all this information. It was a lot to take in. Ellie, who used to be Matrix, used to be a sort of military-style bodyguard for an emissary for a distant country, and she may have just started a war! And Ino was more messed up than I realized too. Robots were feared, cyborgs were second-class citizens... No wonder Seth had such hatred for her. It sounded fishy though. Why would everyone irrationally fear robots? For the most part, they were tools, nothing more, and although androids and gynoids like Ellie were different, there were very few robots at her level of sophistication and being.

Suddenly we slowed down. Ahead in the distant moonlight, I could make out the edge of the forest, followed by a vast expanse of land. Most of it was farm land and fields which stretched for miles ahead. I couldn't make out the end of the vast plain clearly, but in the distance I could see light filling the night sky, blotting out the stars, and yet the source of those lights seemed to be floating in the sky itself. I peered out as best as I could, allowing my eyes to adjust, but it was still too far away to see. As we came up to the very edge of the forest, Laura landed.

"This is edge of Ino" she said. "Or at least the Ino farmlands. Ino is dead ahead."

"I can't see it" I complained.

"Here..." Laura clicked some buttons, and a targeting system lowered to her eye, except she was a little out of place. She sat back, leaning against me, as she adjusted the eye piece to my eye. She still felt good against me. "Just look out here" she said. I grabbed the eye piece and peered through it. The image I saw was as clear as day, almost. Ahead of us was a gigantic wall, it was hard to judge the height, but it must have been very tall for the distance it was at. It stretched to either side for several miles, spreading across much of the horizon. The city was huge, and the lights from the city spilled out over the top of the wall and illuminated the sky. Instead of millions of stars, I could only see a few hundred.

"And that is Ino" she pointed out. "Just wait till you see it close up."

"Is it always that bright?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's rather loud isn't it. Oh! You mentioned there was someone who could help us inside, right?" I nodded. "Now might be a good time to contact them." She pulled the targeting system away from my eye, and brought up a radio console. "Just enter the frequency here and this is for any encryption" she pointed out.

"Oh, right." I lifted my hips to get to my pocket, pushing her up as I pulled out the print out Genesis and Kaylee gave me.

"Whoa there Jimmy!" Laura chortled. "I'm still sore, remember?"

"Sorry" I apologized as I sat back down, paper in hand. She sighed as I unfolded the paper and started typing in the different numbers. Sure enough, there was both a frequency and an encryption key, and I entered them both. I pulled a microphone closer to my mouth and began to speak. "Hello?"

"You have to press this to talk" Laura pointed out, pushing a button for me. A little green light turned on, and I nodded my thanks to her.

"Hello? Is there anyone on this frequency?" I asked into the mic. Static returned as answer. I tried again. "Hello? I'm trying to reach Aunt May. Genesi-"

"Aunt May?!" Laura spat, letting go of the button. "You mean to tell me you have the frequency and encryption to contact Aunt May? The rebellion leader!?"

"So?" I asked.

"Oh man, oh man. If I showed up with you in hand, they'd have to give me a medal or-"

I glared sharply at Laura. Even looking over her shoulder at me, she looked shocked and ashamed. She knew she could fly over and do exactly that, and yet she was ashamed she ever brought it up. "You're going to renege on our agreement?" I asked.

Her eyes shot down to the floor. "No. I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. That was just my old self talking. I... I could never turn you in, not with all I've done. Even if I handed you over, they'd just throw me in the prison with you and execute us both. No... I've come too far to turn back now." She groaned. "Why did you have to feel so good?!"

I relaxed, knowing she wasn't going to do something stupid. "I-" as I was about to answer her, a voice chimed in over the radio.

"Who is this?" a strong male voice asked.

Laura pushed the button down again while I talked. "My name is Jim Amano; I've come to meet with Aunt May."

The voice was silent for several seconds before breaking the static again. "You are not known to us. Get off this channel immediately."

"Please, wait" I pleaded. "Genesis sent me. I'm here to rescue Ellie. Um, you know her as Matrix, but she's really dead, sort of... it's hard to explain."

More silence greeted me. "No one meets Aunt May, not even friends of Genesis" he retorted.

"Please, I need to speak with her."

"This channel has been compromised. Don't try to contact us again." Damn, this was going nowhere. The only help Genesis promised me was now slipping out of my grasp.

"Damn it" Laura burst out over the airwaves. "I didn't fly all the way back here and risk being caught as a traitor just so you can ignore us!" The line was dead again, with just more static. "Goddamn it!" she cussed as she hit her console with her fist. "Got any other bright-"

"Who are you?" the voice replied. We looked down at the console in shock and Laura scrambled to reply. "My name is..." she paused with her eyes closed. "Well if I'm going to be marked a traitor anyway might as well do it in style. My name is Laura Dale, I'm a royal guard, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let you get away with-"

"A royal guard?!" the voice echoed.

"Well... Not anymore I guess. I'm... defecting." Her voice sounded defiant but somehow sad as well.

The voice was silent, with only static returned. We waited with bated breath for a reply but it seemed unlikely we'd get anything positive. At last, the voice continued.

"Ms. Dale, Aunt May will see you. But only you."

"Oh no!" Laura burst out loud. "I'm not going to see anyone if Jim here isn't coming too! He's the whole reason I came back."

"Very we'll, she will consider his plea, but I can make no promises. Are you in the city?"

"Not yet, but we should be there soon."

"Getting in might be a problem. If you can manage to get in and survive, we'll find you."

After that the radio went silent. Laura looked at me with a strained smile. "Well I guess we're in this together now, aren't we?"

"Look, I just want to save Ellie. Please tell me you know how to get into the city."

"Well I do have one idea" she began, "but you aren't going to like it."

It was a long walk in the fields before we arrived at our destination. The walls of the city grew larger and larger, and even though we were probably still a mile away from the wall, it loomed over us like an ominous figure. The city was huge! I had never seen walls as tall or foreboding as the Ino outer defense walls. They were as tall as the tallest buildings I had read about, and gave me vertigo just trying to look up at them. Before I realized it, Laura stopped, and turned down a small path to a dry river bed. It wasn't really a river, but it was clearly a man-made channel for water that had dried up long ago. Before us, the channel ended in what looked like the side of the ground covered in vegetation. Laura walked right up to it, and pulled at the various vines and shrubs that covered the ground with the suit's large mechanical hands.

Before my very eyes, what I assumed was ground revealed to be a giant metal pipe, at least 10 feet tall, and covered by a thick metal grate. It was completely covered in plants which had grown over the entrance over the years, and completely obscured the existence of the pipe. It had probably been years since this monstrous tube had seen any use, but what was it for?

"This is our way back in" Laura announced as she threw the vines to the ground. "Well... back in for me at least. And to think I only just got out of there..."

"What is it?" I asked staring at the grating.

"I'm pretty sure it's an old abandoned treated water exhaust port." I must have been giving her a blank stare cause she rolled her eyes and clarified. "Sewer pipe. Sort of. They would treat the water and send the rest out here for the plants. It must have been ages since it was used though; I've never found any records of it being used in any of the databases."

"And how do you know about this exactly?"

She sighed as she cleared away that last of the debris covering the entrance. "Well... I wasn't exactly going to go on vacation and come back when I was done. I was planning on... umm..." she took a deep breath. "I was planning on selling this information to someone else. Seriously, this kind of weakness in the infrastructure might be easily overlooked by a top official, but easily exploited by someone desperate enough to get in."

"So you were selling military secrets?"

Her mouth hung open for a second. "I... uh..." She was at a loss for words.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Things must be pretty bad in there if their own guards are driven to these extremes."

"Don't get me wrong! I love my city! I love my people! I love my friends, and my neighbors. But... I... I just can't stand seeing it like this anymore. I can't walk down the street without someone ridiculing me. My friends and I have been attacked multiple times because we're 'different', and the government promotes this behavior! It has to stop! The government has to stop! It's killing us!"

"Ok, Ok! I believe you! Let's just get a move on, time is precious" I said desperate to change the subject. I was afraid she'd start crying if I didn't.

With a sniff, she nodded in agreement and positioned the armored suit in front of the grate. With a mighty tug, the giant metal hands pulled off the thick metal mesh, bending it out of alignment, allowing us a way in. I was afraid our suit was too tall for this pipe, but Laura managed to lean in and bend the grate behind us back into something similar to its original position. We navigated forward into the dark.

"I can't see a thing in here" I complained. "Are you sure no one has ever used this entrance before? Couldn't it be trapped?"

"Nonsense!" she retorted. "There's no way anyone could have used that entrance, it was completely untouched. The grate was perfectly intact. And I doubt anyone would have thought about putting a trap in here when no one remembers it exists. Here, let me get on a light" she strained as she reached across the panels in front of her to turn on a shoulder light.

Eingaurd, Ellie's 8 foot tall mech, stood before us, staring us in the face a few yards away. "Holy shit!" I coughed. Laura was equally surprised as we froze in our tracks.

"What the hell!?" Laura spat. The silver and red suit stood slumped against the wall of the pipe, still as a statue. There was no sign of life. Slowly, Laura approached. I noticed as we got closer that not all the red was a part of the suit's design.

"Isn't that Einguard?" I asked.

"No, I don't think so. It's another Aina guard. I think...” she reached out to touch the suit. As she did, it tumbled haphazardly to the ground. "I think they're dead."

Without warning, a searing headache blurred my vision. I screamed, but could only hear a buzzing in my ears. It was impossible to think straight, but I managed to catch a glimpse of Laura who was holding her head as well. The piercing high-pitched buzz got louder as my vision completely blurred out into red. I felt like my head was going to explode, and it was impossible to breathe anymore.

I nearly blacked out, or I suppose it was a red-out, when suddenly the pressure on my head and chest dissipated. I looked around to see Laura manning the controls, her arm held high in defense. The suit's arm held an identical position as hers, except it was somehow bigger than before. It took a moment to realize it, but a shield had expanded from the left arm of the suit and Laura held it out ahead of us as though she were shielding us from an attack.

"What the hell was that?" I panted.

"A pressure gun" Laura clarified, also short of breath. "It must have killed this guy when he was trying to get in. I didn't realize there would still be active defenses down here."

"A pressure gun?"

"It sort of increases the pressure on a target until..."

"Until what?"

She looked back at me annoyed at my ignorance. "It pops."

The pressure on my head and chest was still there, but much less. It took more effort to breathe and concentrate on things. "I feel like my head is in a vice... still."

"The shield can only block so much" she said as she started to maneuver the suit with the shield held high. "Brace yourself; I'm afraid I can't get much closer, so I'm going to have to disable it."

Her right hand rushed across a panel, and before I realized it, she had pulled a gun out of the side of the suit. The giant fist shook from the pressure as she aligned the aim to her eye, and prepared to shoot.

"Let's just turn back, there's no way you can hit that thing! The arm is shaking like mad!"

"Oh ye of little faith" she quoted as she continued to aim. "Use the force Laura" she chanted to herself as she prepared to fire. "Use the force. Use the force."

With a bang, the shot went off. I waited in eager anticipation for the pressure to stop. A second passed, then another. Surely she missed, surely the shot when wide, but she didn't realign to take another shot!

"Laura!"

She ignored me as she continued to look through the sight at the target. A moment later, my head felt clear, and I could catch my breath again. She lowered her arm, and in the distance, I could see a gun on a turret with sparks shooting out.

"Good shot."

"Thank you" she practically sang. "Told you I was the best in my class."

"So what's the force?"

"I dunno. I saw it in a movie once" she explained. "I find it helps me concentrate."

I watched as the shield folded itself like a fan and vanished inside the arm of the suit before we continued forward again. The light shone bright before us, illuminating the dingy tunnel lined with debris and residue from ages past. We brushed past the now lifeless remains of the dead Ainu soldier as well as the disabled pressure gun to continue our journey. For the most part we stayed silent, opting to refrain from conversation. The pipe went for a long while, always in a slight incline. We kept our eyes and ears open for any further sign of attack, and luckily none came.

"So what about you?" I asked finally, trying to bring up a conversation.

"What about me?"

"Well, what about you? Where are you from? What happened to your side?"

"I... I don't like to talk about it" she complained.

"Sorry. Well then why were you out here ready to sell out your government?"

She was silent for a while, and I feared I may have pushed too hard. "I've seen too many things to keep a person sane. I've been the victim of such atrocities myself, but..."

"Laura..."

"It's enough to drive someone to the edge... and then jump. I've seen it a thousand times. I was just lucky enough to have an escape."

"Then why are you helping me get back in?"

"I don't want to come back here, trust me. But... something about you... I just feel like you can make a difference. Like maybe you are the reason I left."

At least we reached a point where the tunnel turned sharply upwards. The debris and residue lined this part of the tunnel heavily, coating it in a thick congealed mess of slime and filth. The smell wasn't any better. Laura braced herself, pushing the mech's heavy limbs against the sides of the tunnel, and forcing our way up.

"So what's the plan?" she asked. "I mean when we get there, what do you plan to do? How are we going to meet them?"

"I don't know" I confessed. "I was just so focused on saving her I never figured out how." I thought for a moment before continuing. "That man told us they would find us. I just hope 'they' are friendly."

"I hope 'they' can find us before the guard does."

"So where does this tunnel lead exactly?"

"To the old abandoned water treatment plant, naturally. It was outdated and too much pollution kept getting through-" the suit started to slide backwards down the pipe, and Laura had to strain to stop it. "... Like I said... too much slime and pollution."

"So where is this plant exactly?"

"It's in the industrial sector of the upper levels. It's due for a demolition, but they keep putting it off. No one notices it, and no one cares. We should be able to sneak in, hide the suit somewhere inside, and find our contacts... somehow." The pipe began to creak with an ear piercing metal-on-metal shriek. We froze for a moment before Laura picked up the pace again.

"Are you sure this is safe?"

"Sure I'm sure! These pipes have been here for a hundred years. They're built to last!" She tapped one metal fist against the rusty side of the tunnel, causing a reverberation we could feel in our chests.

"That's somehow not reassuring."

"We'll be fine! It isn't much farther" she said as she struggled to continue upwards. "We must be getting close to the upper levels by-!"

As if on cue, the tunnel began to moan and shake, tossing us from side to side. Laura gripped tighter to the walls of the pipe, but it was no use. Something shrieked and snapped, and we lurched forward as the riveting of the pipe gave way to the weight of the mech. I grabbed onto Laura as the pipe tore apart and soft light flooded in.

It all happened so fast. The pipe ripped open from under us, coming lose from the restraints that held it in place. For a moment I could see a small city, bathed in dim cool light, several stories beneath us. We were against one side of the wall of the city, on the inside, but the pipe had lost its support and began to sway back and forth, threatening to throw us into the buildings below. Somehow we managed to hang on, but before we could react, a metal support on the remaining pipe ahead of us snapped off and flew directly at us. The suit protected us from any harm as the metal strap bounced away, but the cockpit door flew open from the force. In that same instant, the pipe beneath us lurched down another dozen or so feet, knocking the suit off balance, and throwing Laura out of my arms.

I watched in slow motion as she flew out of my grip, hitting her head against the side of the mech, before falling into the open air before us. I don't know what I did, or how I did it, but I managed to somehow grab her left hand and grip as tightly as I could while simultaneously grasping the controls with my other hand and controlling the suit. I didn't know how to operate one of these, this was the first time I'd ever been inside one, but somehow I managed to make the suit grab onto the rim of the torn pipe as we dangled over the street 5 stories below.

I grunted in pain as we dangled there, the only thing keeping us alive being my grip on the controls and Laura's hand. She wasn't moving as she dangled lifelessly from my grasp. It felt like an eternity passed by as I struggled to keep us both alive. I tried to pull her back up, but I just didn't have the strength. Her limp hand was difficult to grasp, and I could feel it slipping out of mine.

"Laura!" I screamed. "Wake up! Laura!"

I heard her moan as she stirred awake, still dazed from the impact. I yelled her name again as she started to come to.

"Am I dead?" she murmured.

"Not yet, but I can't say for how long! Quick! Your other hand!"

She continued to stare down at the ground making no effort to save herself. "Maybe I should just let go and end it all now?"

"What are you saying? I need you to help me rescue Ellie! Give me your hand!"

"No one needs me. I'd be better off dead."

"I need you! As a friend! I don't know anyone, and I do not want you to die!"

She looked up at me at last, her face covered in a flow of blood. "Jimmy?" she asked. "Jim... what..."

Her hand was sliding quickly. "Your other hand! Quickly!!"

Suddenly her eyes went wide with shock as she realized what was happening. She shot her other hand up and grabbed my wrist just as I lost my grip with her. Her cybernetic right hand was strong and gripped me tightly, too tightly, but at least she wasn't going to fall. With a grunt, she lifted herself up with the one hand and wrapped her left arm around my neck and shoulders.

Her movement was too much for the pipe, and despite my efforts to hold on, the pipe lurched down again. We found ourselves floating away from the pipe and into the air. Laura screamed as she gripped me tightly, and I closed my eyes and braced for the inevitable.

With a jolt and a bang loud enough to leave my ears ringing, we hit the ground. The suit took most of the damage, and somehow I managed to hang onto Laura this time, or perhaps it was her cybernetic arm that kept us together. The impact wasn't as hard or painful as I had expected it to be, but it wasn't quite over yet. A moment later, a large section of the pipe came tumbling down after us, and missed the suit by inches, sending slime, filth, and metal debris all over us. My ears felt like they would be ringing for a week.

We stayed there together in silence for several minutes. Neither of us moved for fear of something else happening. At least I heard Laura sob. I moved to get up but was pinned down by the straps of the chair. Laura looked up at me, blood still covering her face.

"Are you alright?" I asked. She shook her head as she cried. I unbuckled myself and got up. Laura didn't want me to move, but I had to look at her. "Your head is bleeding, and you're in shock."

I took a brief look around. There was no one around, and the street was dark, darker than I expected it to be. Gently, I lifted Laura up in my arms and carried her away from the wreckage, taking shelter from any further falling pipe behind a nearby building. I sat her against the wall as I took a closer look at her. Tugging violently at my sleeve, I managed to rip it off my shirt and turn it into a make-shift bandage as I wrapped it around her head. The main impact had hit her on the side of her forehead, and I needed to stop the bleeding. She probably had a concussion too, but I had no way of helping her more that right now.

"That should help. Do you hurt anywhere else?"

Laura had started trembling as she looked around. "Where are we?"

I shook my head. "No idea. We fell from that pipe, remember? Are you ok?"

"Pipe? Oh yeah...” she looked down at herself, and then at her hand. "My hand hurts."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I had to grab your pretty tight to keep you from falling."

She looked around some more, putting things together in her head. "We need to move... where's Beschutzer?"

"What? Beschutzer?" I asked concerned that she was starting to speak in gibberish.

"Where's my suit? My mech... Beschutzer. That's his name."

"Oh! Uh... well he's in the wreckage; I don't think there's much we can do for him right now."

"Oh... We'll need to get away from here before it attracts attention" she said as she started to stand. "The royal guard could be... whoa..." She faltered as she stood, unable to keep herself up. I grabbed her arm to keep her up.

"Relax. I'll carry you! You got hit pretty badly in the head; I don't think you should be walking."

"I'm fine!" she protested as she tried to stand up again, holding herself up against the wall. "See. I'll be-" she tried to take a step forward but her feet wouldn't listen and she stumbled into my arms. "Maybe you should carry me."

"Sounds good to me" I said as I propped her up on my back, piggy-back style.

"So tired..." she complained as soon as I got her on.

"Stay awake for me Laura. Can you do that? I'm lost without you here."

"Sure... I'll try” she looked around slowly as she tried to figure out where she was. "I don't know this place... go that way" she pointed, indicating a bigger street.

I took off with Laura in tow. I was in a considerable amount of pain myself. My arms and shoulders ached from holding her up, my ears were ringing painfully, and I was shook up from the impact, but still I pressed on. The good news was I could barely feel the pain in my chest anymore thanks to all the new sensations I had. I looked around as much as I could myself, and realized there was something wrong with this place. There were very few people about, even fewer lights, and no stars or moon. In fact, I was pretty sure there was no sky at all.

"Laura, where are we?"

"Huh?" she mumbled, half awake. I had to keep her awake somehow until someone could look at her.

"Why is there no sky here?"

"No sky? Oh... that's cause where in the under-city, stupid." Her speech was slow and slurred, but at least she was still talking.

"The under-city? What's that?"

"The old city. Oh yeah, you aren't from around here. The original city of Ino was built here, but something about an earthquake happened. Point is they ended up burying it and building a new city on top. Only they didn't bury it all, and now it's home to all the lower class, the cyborgs, the criminals... me..."

"So they just built a new city on top of it?"

"What? Yeah. Why are you so interested in that? Head that way" she pointed.

I followed her hand and took us to a busy street, or at least a busier one. There were shops here with their lights on, people walking in the streets quietly and quickly. I had the feeling no one wanted to be out if they didn't want to be mugged, but I had no choice. I stepped out from behind an alley way and onto the sidewalk, where everyone avoided making any kind of eye-contact.

"Where to now Laura?" I asked in a hushed tone. She was breathing deeply on my back and didn't respond, her arms hanging lifelessly by my sides. "Laura? Laura!"

She stirred and took a moment to wake up again. "Let me... let me look around."

I felt her moving on my back as she looked around the place, trying to orient herself. Meanwhile I kept walking slowly past shops, trying to keep aware of my surroundings. However, something caught my eye, and I lost all awareness of my surroundings. A shop with tele-screens on display had a small group of people surrounding the screens. A speaker nearby allowed everyone to hear the sounds from the device, and as such gathered a small crowd, in hopes of selling some to the passers-by. I wasn't interested in the tele-screen, but what grabbed my attention was what was on it.

Ellie. Some sort of news program showed a middle-aged woman giving a report on the capture of Ino's number one criminal at large, Matrix.

"... the capture of Matrix, the dangerous rogue robot that attacked the small Ino village of Maya 4 nights ago. We bring you a live update of her capture and interrogation."

I toned out the voice after that as I watched the images on the screen. At first they showed a mag-train rolling into a station, followed by a scene with a dozen or so guards leading Ellie away in chains. She looked frightened; terrified. There was no audio here, only the reporter, but I could see her mouth the word "Jimmy". They violently led her away by a chain attached to a collar around her neck, with more chains around her wrists, her feet, and her waist. She struggled feebly against them, as she looked around the station calling my name.

That scene cut to another of Seth talking briefly. Again I didn't hear a word he said, but he made me sick with his arrogant air. He pushed the camera away when he was done talking and the scene went back to the reporter briefly before changing to another person: a man standing outside a building with a microphone in his hand. A moment later, Ellie filled the screen again, but this time, I gasped from the sight. The Ino guard were interrogating her, but this interrogation involved something I could only describe as torture.

Ellie hung by a chain around her arms a good foot off the ground, her blouse torn from her body and her torso exposed, dangling before the lead interrogator. This man was large and round, and brandished something akin to a cattle prod, which he would jab into her every so often, sending waves of pain across her body as she convulsed and screamed. Wires ran from the various ports of her body to machines I could not see off screen. There were easily a dozen wires connected to her. When the large man wasn't prodding her, sparks would fly from the ports of her body, sending more pain across her face. She screamed as tears and blood covered her body, her voice muted by the program.

But it wasn't over yet. Briefly, they showed another man, some sort of technician, opening the panels on her back and head, pulling out parts of her and studying them. I watched as he poked and prodded at the very components I repaired on her, pulling out her cybernetic brain and messing with it, leaving her broken and beaten body lifeless at a table nearby.

"A trial is expected to begin as early as next week" the man reported, as they cut away from the scene and back to him.

"What are they doing to her?!" I yelled. The 2 men around me turned toward me, and eyed me suspiciously.

"Dismantling her I hope" said one man.

"That's too good for it, I want to see a trial and execution" the next man responded. They laughed it off and continued down the road. I remained there, staring in shock at the tele-screen. I screwed up bad. I was supposed to be there for Ellie, but I failed.

"Jimmy..." Laura said, "we'll get her back."

I ignored her as a new image appeared on the screen, this time, it was of me. It was only a drawing, the same drawing I found at the station outside Maya. "Wanted" was plastered over it.

"... we bring you an update on the man who collaborated to hide and aid the felon, Matrix. James Amano, aka Jimmy the Mercenary Merchant, was last seen at a fuel station just outside of Maya. He was driving a hover truck and was heading off road. If anyone has seen this man or has any leads to his whereabouts, please contact the Ino guard immediately."

"Uhh... Jimmy?" Laura said cautiously again.

"What?" I snapped.

"You might want to see this..."

I turned around, and saw half a dozen men surrounding us, weapons drawn, and ready to fire.

Chapter 6 - Seeing yellow

"Freeze!" one of the men bellowed. "Hands in the air!" Unfortunately, I was too busy carrying the weight of Laura to let go and raise my hands.

"I- I can't" I called back nervously. "I'll drop..." I struggled to keep the girl perched on my back while I gazed at the 2 dozen or so people in military-style uniforms.

"Both of you! Put your hands out where we can see them." Another man yelled.

Laura must have fainted because her body went limp against me, her arms dangling to my sides. I tried to lift her up again to keep her from sliding off but having a dozen or so guns pointed at me tends to make me a tad nervous. I did all I could to keep her from falling off.

"Please, help! She's been hurt badly! She needs a doctor..." I yelled back, my voice weakening under the stress. "Please don't shoot."

I clenched my eyes, trying not to move except to keep Laura from falling, and waited for something to happen. Behind me, the reporter from the tele-screen announced a live update.

"This just in, Royal Guard forces are converging on an unspecified location in the under-city. Sources are telling us this may be related to the outlaw Jimmy Amano. We will bring more details as the evening progresses."

At virtually the same time, another voice caught my ear, one I hadn't heard before and I didn't recognize, but grabbed my attention all the same. "Captain, stand down, they are unarmed. Bring them in immediately, you are not alone" the faint distorted female voice announced from ahead of me.

A man, tall and fierce, stepped forward, his commanding voice booming over the street corner. "Stand down men. The IRG are on their way! Rust, you and Gray carry the girl. Black, secure the mobile suit. Red, Blue..." He nodded toward me.

4 men suddenly rushed toward us. I jumped back but couldn't react fast enough. Two of them grabbed at Laura and effortlessly removed her from my grasp while another grabbed at my arms.

"Hey wait!" I objected as I was tackled by the men. Before I could put up a decent fight, everything went black. Someone must have covered my head with something, a bag I suppose, and held my arms in a painful position behind me until they bound my wrists.

I struggled against them but it was useless. "Where are you taking us?" I questioned as they led me somewhere.

"If you don't want your ass thrown in the royal prison, shut up and do what we say" the man next to me said into my ear.

"Who are you? Where’s Laura? Where are you taking her?"

The man pushed me forward holding my hands together behind me as he let out a groan of annoyance. "You contacted us, remember? She’ll be fine, better than with you."

My anger rose at his answer, but I realized it was true. I couldn't do anything to help her, and at least this way she had a chance of getting the help she needed.

I felt myself being shoved into a car of some sort, men on either side of me, as they closed the doors. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere, that's all you need to know."

"Is Aunt May there?"

There was silence as the front doors opened and closed, a driver and passenger now inside. The car started up and sped off with a roar and a screech of tires.

I was silent after that, unable to do anything about my current circumstance, and just hoped I hadn't made a mistake. I took a mental note to punch Genesis for this when I got home.

"My name is Captain Azuma. I am part of the resistance, the underground movement led by Aunt May." Someone from the front seat said.

"Is that where you are taking me?"

"... Eventually" he said after considering the question. "We need to make sure you are not a threat first, after all, you were with a Royal Guard, piloting one of their armored suits."

I held my mouth shut, even though I wanted to argue with them. I got the feeling Laura wasn't with me, and I was concerned more about her injury than anything else.

"That girl you were with... she'll be fine" the man said, picking up on my concern. "We're taking her to a medical center under armed guard. She is a cyborg after all."

"And do you have something against cyborgs?" I asked harshly, surprised at my own brash decision to defend her. There was no answer. I decided not to talk anymore. Laura and I had contacted these people, thanks to Genesis’s recommendation, and they were right now my best hope to save Ellie.

A few minutes passed by before the car came to a stop. Doors opened, closed and opened again, before I was guided out and led into a building I couldn't see. I found myself sitting down in an uncomfortable chair, my arms bound to the arm rests, before the hood was lifted from my head. Instantly, a bright light was flipped on and aimed right at me. I clenched my eyes, unable to shield them from the light, and looked away. I could hear movement from several people in the room with me, but I could see nothing.

"James Joseph Amano, aka Jimmy Amano, a mercenary merchant" a man began to speak. His voice was deep, thunderous, and commanding. It was Captain Azuma, even though he seemed to have more presence now than before.

"I hate that title. I prefer Scrapyard Engineer."

"Of course. So is that where you found her?"

"What?"

"Matrix. Did you find her in a junkyard?"

"Scrapyard. And no. I found ELLIE (I put extra emphasis on her name) near the woods outside my town, where she was shot down" I answered. My eyes were still not adjusted yet, but now I could get a sense for the size of the room.

"Enlighten us Mr. Amano. Why are you here and why is Matrix back in our town?"

"Matrix is dead" I said, again. "I found her body, and repaired it, but her brain was damaged and all her memories and personality were lost. I fixed her up and named her Ellie." I didn't know what to say, I wanted them to help me, but if I said something they didn't like... I decided to be honest. "She was terrified of Matrix, and I tried to repair her old personality at first, but stopped it when she complained about nightmares. Seth saw her-"

"Nightmares? Seth? You better take this a little slower."

So I did. I explained to them about Seth chasing us and trying to kill us. I described how Ellie grew fearful of her memories and of Matrix. I decided to leave out the sex, but they might have picked up on our relationship from all my descriptions. By now, my eyes were growing more accustomed to the light, although I could still only see silhouettes of people sitting before me near the light. My wrists were starting to get sore from the restrains, but I tried not to show it. When I got to Genesis, I heard people mumbled something, and again when I mentioned Laura. My tale ended as they found me, in the streets of the under-city with an injured girl on my back. There was much mumbling and whispering when I finished.

"Can I see Laura now? Is she safe?"

"She's safe, Mr. Amano. She's being looked after" Captain Azuma said. "You said this girl, Ellie, was fond of you... did she love you?"

"What?"

"Did she love you?" he repeated. "Do you love her?"

"I- what kind of question- it's only been a few days! That's not really enough time to-"

"I think we got our answer" a female voice said softly. Several others chuckled but I just fell silent, my face beet red.

"Who are you people?" I asked.

"We are the Voice of the masses. We are the resistance to the tyranny that threatens our lives. We are those who seek equal rights and protection for all citizens." Sounded like a PR jargon. I rolled my eyes and interrupted him.

"Who are you really?"

"We represent the movement of citizens united against Kaiser Tsion," the woman from before said. "We represent the poor, the disabled, the abused and under-privileged, the cyborgs and sentient artificials who are feared and reviled in our city. Call us the 'Libertatem Servus'."

"Why are you all interrogating me like this? Ellie's in danger and we need to move if-"

"If what?" Azuma interrupted with a voice like a hammer.

"If- if... if we're going to save her." I felt unsure now that they were on my side at all.

"And why would we do that?" His question was harsh and blunt. I was afraid they had no intention of helping me.

"You just said you fought for cyborgs and sentient robots..."

"We do support them. But-"

"Then help me save Ellie! They're torturing her!" I yelled. "Where is Aunt May? Genesis told me to speak to Aunt May!"

"I'm right here" the woman said, standing up. The light flicked off and everything went dark again as my eyes slowly adjusted. A room light brightened and while my eyes adjusted, I could now see a table before me and several people staring at me.

The room was dirty and empty, with dilapidated concrete walls and a floor so covered in dirt and debris, you'd think it was made out of it. Ahead of me, the folding table had papers, folders, disks, and a computer, with wires running across the floor to the computer and lights. There were 4 people seated there, but I only vaguely recognized one of them.

Captain Azuma sat in the center of the table, his eyes fixated on me. I could see him clearer now. His features were chiseled and sharp, with a thick neck and thicker arms. His pale skin had a foreign look that made him look youthful, and his black hair was short and straight. He had various scars and cuts, but none so deep as to take away from his natural good looks.

Beside him sat a woman typing away at a keyboard, never looking up from the screen. She wore a white lab coat and a thick pair of glasses. She could have been rather attractive if it wasn't for her overly introverted and nerdy disposition. Nearby stood a man holding a gun at the ready, one of the men who assaulted me minutes before.

However, my eyes focused on the woman in the back. She had dark skin, with a certain glow about her. Her long hair was done up in cornrows, tied in a loose pony tail in back. Her face was angular, and her body was svelte and strong. There wasn't a blemish or imperfection to be seen on her youthful body. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, and wore a military style jacket with buttons up and down the front hanging open to reveal a leather bodice and tight matching pants. She was tall as she stood up facing me. Instantly I knew this was the woman who I came to see, the woman who claimed to be Aunt May.

"I was..." I coughed to clear my throat. "I was told you'd help me save Ellie."

"Ellie maybe, but not Matrix."

"Matrix is-"

"Yes I heard" she interrupted. "But without any proof, your claim is baseless. I will not risk the lives of my men to help that bitch!" She spat to the ground with that last word and glared at me, taking a step forward next to Azuma.

"But, I though you protected sentient robots" I said timidly.

"And why would I want to help her? She is the problem, the very idea of what drives the irrational fear this society has toward us and her kind."

"What?"

"Matrix has killed, tormented, and ridiculed innocent people for far too long. She has no remorse, and we will not help her."

"But she..." I tried to argue with her, but I had never seen her point of view before. The people of this city were paranoid and fearful of cyborgs and robots, and Matrix was a major source of that fear. I had nothing to offer them to convince them Matrix was gone. There was nothing I could do.

Anger filled my mind, but it was soon quelled with fear. Fear of losing Ellie after everything I'd done. Tears fell from my eyes and I looked down to hide them. "Ellie is innocent! She never hurt anyone, and I promised to protect her. I swear to you, she's changed. I will do whatever it takes to get her back, with or without your help."

I looked up again to find Aunt May talking in a hushed tone with the girl in the lab coat and Captain Azuma. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I could tell they were in a very serious discussion. They nodded to each other as they spoke and studied something on the screen in front of the girl in the lab coat.

I listened intently, but they spoke in very hushed tones. I managed to catch one thing from the scientist girl, but Aunt May hushed her. "Do you think he knows-?" I didn't hear what they were talking about or what the answer was.

Aunt May kept glancing up at me as she collaborated with her cohorts, her dark eyes staring me down. I returned her gaze in kind, unsure what my next move would be. She gestured to the captain as they talked quietly, waving a hand. All the others stood up at this gesture, and walked reluctantly out of the room to a door in the back, leaving me and her alone.

"It's a romantic notion" she said as she approached me and loosened my bonds, allowing me to pull my hands free. She pulled a chair up near me and sat down on it backwards. "Running after the girl you love to rescue her. But this is a new age, and there isn't room for pointless heroics anymore. We are fighting for more than our lives here, and silly notions like love-"

"Who said-" I blurted out loudly, but caught myself and lowered my tone. "Who said anything about love?"

"Please. I've been on this earth for far too long to not see it, especially when it is so painfully obvious. You really did fall in love with this Ellie." She turned her head to look at me from a different angle, and again from another, much like a cat looking at something it didn't understand. "You seem intelligent, and not at all the type of man Matrix would tolerate."

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

"Just that you are a nice guy" she clarified with another gesture of her hand. "You are a romantic. She has... harsher tastes. Sure you've seen your fair share of trouble, for a country lad, and I can see why Genesis likes you."

"So you do know him!"

"Of course I do, he's my nephew, for real. Aunt May isn't just a friendly title."

"You can't possibly be old enough to be his aunt! You can't be more than..."

"25? I've been that old for a long long time."

Suddenly it dawned on me. Why she looked so beautiful and so young. "You're a full-body cyborg, aren't you?"

"Bingo" she answered. "Been living in one artificial body or another all my life. No reason to age if you don't have to, I say!"

"As fascinating as that is, if you aren't going to help me, let me go so I can save her on my own. She's very... special to me."

"Hold on now. Since you're new in town, you clearly don't know how things work. Now I like you so I'll give you a warning this time. If you aren't for the Libertatem Servus, you're against us. If we say we aren't going to do something, we aren't going to let you do it either.

"But!-"

"Hang on now! I never said we wouldn't help."

"What? Yes you did!" I argued, confused by her answers.

"I said we won't help Matrix, but if Ellie really is an innocent sentient, I'll do what I can to help her. You have my word" she said as she raised a hand in an oath. I was shocked to hear her do a 180, but relieved all the same. "It will have to be kept under wraps; we don't want word that we were rescuing Matrix getting around..." She paused and studied me some more, giving me a strange look that you only get from a cat. "Now I like you," she continued, "but you have to prove yourself if we're going to help you. You have to help us."

"So... you will help?" I asked, unsure as to her sudden change.

"I'll do what I can, but if we find that she is not as you say then we will take matters into our own hands."

"I swear she's changed! You promise you won't hurt Ellie?" I gave her a long hard stare.

She nodded with a smile. "I promise that we won't hurt Ellie."

"Then what are we waiting for? She's being tortured as we speak! We need to go now!"

"Hang on, we aren't ready yet. It's not like we can just march on up to the front door and ask politely to be let in."

The room fell silent for the moment. She looked closely at me, as though she were studying my soul, which I found unnerving.

"So what do you want from me then?" I asked.

May looked at me as though she were still figuring me out. "I'm not sure yet. If Genesis sent you to me, there must be something he saw in you that he liked. When I figure out how you can best help us, I'll let you know. Tell me about yourself, your past, your family. Do you remember your parents?"

"There's not much to tell. My parents died a long time ago, I don't remember much, except my dad used to repair mechs, but..." Something dawned on me. Why did she ask if I remembered my parents? What an odd question to ask someone if you didn't already know something about them. "You already know about my past, don't you?"

"Only what little bit we could pull up. Mostly your city-state records, and your profession. Genesis has mentioned you to me before... on occasion." She said smoothly. I still wondered about her, as I got the distinct impression she was hiding something. Maybe it was how smooth and sweet her answer sounded. We both fell silent for a while. I didn't want to keep answering questions she seemed to already know the answer to, so I decided to change the subject.

"How's Laura?" I asked, breaking the tension.

"Laura? Oh. She's fine. She's in a clinic now with some really good doctors looking after her."

I nodded. "Good" I murmured. I tried to be concerned for Laura, but I still couldn't get the images of Ellie's torture out of my mind. It was eating me up inside, and I was getting restless. "When can we leave?"

"We?" she asked. "I never said you were coming"

"You didn't say I wasn't coming either. I'm going to be there whether you help me or not."

She studied my face some more before breaking her expression. "Tell you what. We won't be ready to go for a few hours. Go get some rest, see your friend, and I'll make sure to let you know what we decide in the morning."

"The morning?! But-". I wanted to argue more, but I was exhausted. I had spent all day chasing after Ellie, running from the law, riding inside an armored suit, sneaking into a city, and evading capture while carrying an injured girl on my back, only to end up a prisoner. I was somehow relieved at the prospect of sleep, but scared for Ellie. "You promise you won't leave without me?"

"I promise not to leave before we contact you" she answered.

I nodded "count on my presence one way or another". My threat was empty, but my determination to save Ellie was not. At least I finally would get the support I would need to help save her, but it was still hours away. As exhausted as I was, I didn't know if I could sleep with the thought of my Ellie being tortured and studied.

Aunt May nodded to a door in the back, and several people came in. I must have been very tired, because everything that happened after that was all a blur. The next thing I realized, I had followed someone somewhere, to another building, and was now sitting in a chair in a small room. It was clutter free, although not as clean as it should have been, and a bed sat before me with a girl sleeping in it, slowly breathing. A bandage was wrapped around her head, dried blood leaving a deep red mark on it. I stared at Laura blankly as the men I followed left and vanished from my senses. It was quiet except for the rush of people outside providing help to others in need of medical aid. This wasn't much bigger than the clinic in Maya, but much busier.

Laura laid there, her face turned away from me, sleeping soundly as she recovered from her wound. I glanced at a chart at the end of her bed, and saw the word 'concussion' scribbled in sloppy hand-writing across part of it. Bed rest, liquids, simple medication... she didn't need much besides sleep. I felt myself start to doze off as I sat in a chair next to her, the dim light from the hall flashing off her blankets as she breathed. Sleep took me, and all I could dream about was Ellie.

I awoke in the morning, my back was aching, and my eyes were still heavy. Laura was still asleep, breathing slowly and deeply in her bed. Images of the events of last night flashed through my head as I tried to recall where I was. Ellie...

"So you are awake" a voice called from behind. "Good." I didn't recognize the voice; it was male, but smooth and light, with a seriousness in it that cut through the air. I flicked my head around, suddenly fully awake.

Before me, silhouetted in the doorway, stood a man I had never seen before. He was tall, lean, musculature, and wore only a long white garment tied by cord around his chest and a mask. The mask was white, and down from each eye fell a painted line of black, as wide as the eyehole, and reaching all the way down the mask. There was no mouth, no nose, nothing else. Just a white shape with eye holes and black tears.

"Who- who are you?" I stuttered.

"By most I am known as Gabriel" he said in his silky voice. "I have come to offer you my services."

"Wha- what do you want from me?"

"You are acquainted with a certain... girl. Around here she is known as Matrix, but you have a different name for her... Ellie is it?" He stood unmoving as he spoke, his voice only slightly muffled from the mask, but otherwise clear and strong. "I want you to find her and rescue her, just as you want. But you cannot hope to succeed alone; I will help you do this."

"I... I don't want your help" I said, not knowing why, but just sure that there was something about him that was off. Way off. "I can rescue Ellie without you."

"Oh? And what about the Libertatem Servus? Can you truly trust them to help you? They will do whatever they can to kill Matrix, and I can offer you a solution. They will approach you soon with their plans to rescue the girl, but if they find her first, they will kill her... and you."

"How do you-?"

"I have ears and eyes in many places. I know of their plans, and of the girl's location. It is in your best interest that you take heed of what I have to tell you. The Libertatem Servus would sooner eliminate any potential threats than deal with a rowdy boy and murderous machine. Listen, and listen well. On the 15th floor of the tallest tower, you will find a door marked 'Lab 12'. Inside is where they are keeping her, but you must not let them inside with you. You must make your way to this room on your own. No one else can know about this, or your lives will be forfeit. But what you find inside will not be easy to take. She will not be the same, but only you can truly save her."

"What about you? What do you want out of this?" I asked.

"I owe you this much already. Any further aid will put both of us in great jeopardy. Remember, tell no one of our meeting."

Before I could reply, the tall lean masked man stepped out of the room, and vanished. I ran to the door to glance down the hallway, but he was nowhere to be found. I took my seat next to Laura again, who remained motionless in bed. 15th floor... Lab 12. How would I keep them out of there? Could I really trust this complete stranger? Was I walking into a trap?

"Boy!" a deep voice bellowed out from behind me. "Look alive." Captain Azuma stood there with a small group of men, in full body armor. Aunt May leaned in, fully decked out in combat gear herself, and tossed a packet in the room toward me.

"We leave in 5, get dressed!" she barked. With that, she closed the door, and left me alone with my thoughts.

I grabbed the armor, and started to dress. I tightened the vest, donned a pair of boots, and threw armored leggings over my pants. I was no soldier, but for Ellie I would fight. As I turned around to pick up the helmet and rifle, something stopped me. Laura's hand reached out from under the covers and held my wrist tightly.

"Don't go" she whispered.

"I have to. It's why I'm here."

"That man" she continued. "That... Gabriel... he frightens me." So she was awake. She probably heard everything. She turned her face toward me and looked up at me with teary eyes. "Don't get yourself killed!"

"I won't... I promise" I said, but I somehow felt like I was lying to her.

"Is she really worth all this?" she asked, letting my hand go.

Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly, and picked up the helmet. "Yes" I said as I placed it on my head.

"She's a lucky girl to have someone like you." Laura turned her face away again, and fell into silent sobs. I swallowed down my own emotions, and picked up the gun.

"I'll be back soon, you'll see" I said to her back as I opened the door to leave.

I silently closed the door behind me, only to find my moment of rest was far behind me now.

Everyone about me became a blur as I was escorted away by Aunt May and her men. She personally walked beside me as though I was some VIP, but with the words of Gabriel still fresh in my mind, I got the feeling I was more like a prisoner walking the line.

Outside, several unmarked cars and trucks awaited us. Here in the under city, there was no morning, no night, no weather to speak of, but I got the distinct impression that it was early morning in the world outside. I didn't get as much sleep as I should have gotten, but I felt full of energy, all of it directed toward Ellie. And the words "Lab 12".

We drove for a short distance before emerging from the under city. There were several small roads hidden throughout Ino which led between the two halves of the city, and only the popular larger ways were guarded. The Libertatem knew of all of them, and we got through without a hitch. The city proper of Ino was gigantic. Bigger by far than what I had seen of the under city. The bright sun reflected off the many pristine metal and glass towers. People were already beginning to crowd the streets, and I had never before seen so many vehicles in one place. All was bright, beautiful, and appeared to be full of happy people. But the reality hovering just under the surface was creeping along the edges.

A homeless man begging for food was quickly escorted away by two men in navy blue uniforms. A metallic and plastic robot was running chores, but was rejected from every door it came to, being forced to do business through electronic kiosks. People would cross the street to avoid standing too close while the robot walked away, bags in hand. The truth was people were scared, and didn't want to see the problems lying directly under their feet. Out of sight, out of mind.

We drove down into a garage under one of the towers. It looks like we were going back into the under city. In many aspects we were. The tower was too large and heavy to have foundations anywhere other than deep underground. But this part of the under city was apparently collapsed, and no one could get in or out save worms.

The garage had a low ceiling and twirled in a spiral and we followed it till it reached the end. The lowest level was not well-lit, and it looked like only service men came here. How we got in this far I didn't know, but I had a feeling they weren't here just for me and Ellie. A service entrance was left open, and out of the 4 vehicles that stopped, almost a dozen men jumped out and stormed the entrance.

"You're sticking with me" Aunt May said. "I want to see this so called change in Matrix for myself."

"Fine by me" I said, as I got out of the car and headed toward the door. I sure hoped this was the right place, but how would we get to the 15th floor? I had never seen towers as high as these before, and to now have to go up them seemed like a daunting task.

The answer to my question came swiftly. The service entrance doors led directly into an area filled with greasy dirty mechanics and gears, much more familiar to me. Above, a shaft as big as my house and as tall as the eye could see stretched out. We were behind the lifts that people would normally get in to go up and down tall buildings. Only from here you could see all the mechanics, the gears and shafts and pulleys and cables, all the dirty mess than ran the system. I felt more at home here than I had since I left Maya. Looking straight up, I could see what must have been 40 or more floors, fading into the darkness.

The men who ran ahead of us braced themselves on the ground, and small explosions of steam sent wires and hooks high into the air. In no time, they were lifted up into the darkness above and vanished. It was fast and intense. May braced herself similarly, and I saw her concentrating on a gadget she placed between her knees. It had some kind of readout, and she made small adjustments to it as she looked back and forth between the device and the floors above.

"What about all these guys? Where are they going?" I asked as more men piled in and shot high up into the air above.

"They have other targets to take care of. Ellie isn't the only one we have an interest in. You're really just lucky things timed out the way they did." Aunt May clicked something on the device and she turned to look at me. "We've pinpointed the laboratory Matri- Ellie was seen in from the news to ones on either floor 14 or 15. Which would you like to search first? Remember we have to go fast."

"15" I said quickly. "It's best to start at the top and work our way down back toward the exit, right?" I hoped my over-enthusiadtic answer didn't tip her off that I knew which floor she was on already.

"Hm... Sounds good to me. 15 it is. How grab hold, tight!"

May grabbed onto my waist and I grabbed into her shoulders. It felt a little odd, and I could feel how hard and cold her mechanical body really was, despite how real she looked. She was too perfect, and her skin was too flawless and too tough as well. She felt like a robot, or at least one not as well-built as Ellie. There was a thud and a burst of steam from the device, and in a matter of a nano second, we were flying through the air, and everything went into slow motion. I held on as tight as I could, and found myself getting dangerously close to blacking out. Luckily, it was a short trip. We landed gracefully, all thanks to May, at the top of a support beam outside the closed metal door marked with a big bold "15".

May shot her hands into the crack between the lift doors, and pried them open without so much as a grunt. Very impressive indeed. We made our way inside the floor, only to discover an alarm had already been pulled. Red lights flashed through the halls, and a distant alarm sounded in time with them.

"Shit! They're on to us already! That's going to complicate things. You better hope she's on this floor cause we might not have time to look at 14." May was not happy, but she looked ready for anything they could throw at her.

We looked around to find ourselves inside a hallway with doors stretching off to either side. On the wall in front was painted a sign that read "Labs 1-15" with an arrow pointing to the left, and another arrow to the right with "Labs 16-30" above it. May and I looked at each other.

"I'll take this side, you take that side?" I said, taking a step to the left.

"Good idea. Oh wait." May tossed something small toward me. I caught it with one hand, and looked at it. "It's an audio..trans..something. It lets us talk to each other. Put it on, and set it to 2. If you find her, or run into any trouble, give me a holler."

"Thanks." I put the earpiece on and attached a small box attached to a wire on my pants. As soon as I turned the small ornate dial to 2, I could hear May breathing through it. "Whoa!" A second later, I heard my own reaction. Freaky.

"Let's move!" Aunt May ran down the corridor, stopping to look inside the first room, as I did the same on my end. I wasn't about to let on that I wasn't going to check all these doors before I found Lab 12. Sure enough, as soon as she was out of sight, I was out of there. I could still hear her moving through rooms and breathing, so I turned the other knob on the box until I could hear nothing. This way I could explore without her bugging me or sneaking up on me.

I ran through the hallway until I reached room Lab 12. As soon as I got there, I knew something was terribly wrong. The walls were smeared with red, and pools of blood scattered the floor. I thought I saw an ear in one of the pools, and decided to brace my gun against my shoulder and ignore everything else.

The entrance to Lab 12 was reinforced, unlike the other labs, with a pass code for getting in. However, the door hung open, with a trail of blood exiting from the door. Someone was in a hurry to get out of there, but it looked like someone else wanted in too! A foot step from a boot in blood was clearly heading into the room, and another ahead of it. Someone had come in not long ago.

I pushed the door open, and peered inside. The room was familiar. I had seen it on the tele-screen last night. It looked like some kind of torture chamber. Computers may have lined one of the walls, but tables and ropes and leather bindings and all sorts of metal instruments scattered the rest of the room. More blood came with it. I didn't know what to think, but there was no sign of life anymore. On closer inspection, it was obvious to me this room had been used for torturing sentient robots. Plugs and wires and cables were strewn across the floor, often lying in blood, and some of the tools I recognized as specialty tools for working on androids were scattered about.

Suddenly something moved. I panicked and aimed my gun toward the movement on the floor nearby. A girl lay there face down, except there was something wrong. Her movements were jerky, her black and white clothes were shredded, her unnatural dark green hair was dirty and disheveled, her copper skin was torn off of her back, and actual copper shone through from underneath. What's more, she was missing her legs, or at least most of them. She looked around the room confused. I lowered my gun a little, but the movement must have made a sound, as she suddenly turned toward me, her face in terror.

"Who are you? What's happening?" she panicked. Her voice was distorted, like someone talking through a door. She tried to move more, but she wasn't aware of the extent of her own injuries, and she ended up dragging herself across the floor.

"Don't move, I won't hurt you. What happened here?"

"You mean you didn't do this?" she asked. "I... I don't remember anything. It feels like my mind has been... what's wrong with me? Why won't my body..." She looked down at herself in shock. Her legs had been torn off, as though they had been pulled from the sockets, leaving cables and wires behind in their place. She had half a thigh on one side, and nothing on the other. Her clothes looked like a maid's uniform, except they had been completely shredded and provided no cover at all, falling from her body as she struggled to move. Her skin was in just as bad a condition, shredded and torn and hanging loosely from her metallic frame. She had no android blood though, just shreds of artificial copper-colored skin dangling off her. It appeared her back was the most torn up, although there was little on her that didn't look damaged to some extent. Where there should have been muscle, I saw only wires, copper plates, gears, tubes, and everything else you'd expect to see inside a robot. In fact, she didn't look that unlike Kaylee, in some ways.

"Just relax; I'm here to find a girl called Ellie, have you-?"

"Oh god! My legs! My body! What have they done to me?!" she cried out.

At that moment, I heard a cry in another room off to the side. It wasn't clear, but someone was in there.

"I've got to go" I said looking toward a doorway leading deeper into the lab.

"No! Don't leave me here! I... I can't walk. Please... Help me! I'll die!"

Damn it if I'm not a sucker for a damsel in distress! "Alright, but you have to be quiet. Are you in pain?"

"I... I don't know... I think I might be in shock... or something..."

"Listen to me" I said louder to her. "Keep your voice down. If you want me to help you, I can try to carry you out but you have to hang on. Don't say anything. I'm sure I can get you repaired when we get out. Ok?"

"... Repaired...” it seemed her mind was still trying to catch up with reality. Luckily she was a quick learner. "I'll be quiet" she said with a determined nod. Her fingers zipped across her lips and pretended to lock them.

"Good" I said as I leaned down. She reached up for me and grabbed onto my back. Luckily her arms were not too badly damaged, and she had the strength to hold on. I lifted her up, and balanced myself. This nameless girl was heavier than I expected, but not too much for me to handle. "Listen, if anything happens, climb off me and hide. I might need to move fast. Ok?"

She nodded. "Yes. Thank you" she whispered. She held on tight as I made a step closer toward the sound I heard earlier, and sure enough, another sound echoed through the doorway, a girl groaning.

I made my way out of the room, farther away from the lab entrance, toward a large glass wall. The ceiling was probably 12 feet high, and the walls were intricately decorated with gold and glass. Ahead of me I could see outside to the clear bright day. A balcony with ornate gold trimmings and glass walls lay ahead of me, but that wasn't where the sound was coming from.

Again, another groan... only this time it was louder. I walked cautiously closer to the origin of the sound, but in awe of the ornate architecture. I had never been so far up in my life, and as I came upon the balcony, I could see farther than I ever saw before. I was amazed by the view. From here, I could see over the city walls to the vast lands beyond, but what really impressed me was the scale of the city, all full of glass and metal, reflecting in the sun as it rose above the city walls. The sight was breathtaking.

As I admired the scene before me, the robot girl on my back gasped. I pulled my attention away from the awe-inspiring sight as she scrambled off my back and backed into a corner.

I looked around to see if I could find what shocked her; it didn't take long. Right behind me, in a room off to the side, was a girl sitting naked with her legs wide apart, her head rolled back looking at the ceiling, hopping up and down in motion on the man beneath her. He was facing her back lying down so I could not see his face, with his pants around his ankles, in a reverse girl-on-top position, and they were deep into a serious session of sex. Her skin was smeared with black scorch marks and blood, and she had several cuts all around her body that revealed a metallic sheen underneath. She was yet another robot. She gyrated her hips and pounded up and down furiously in her effort to reach climax. Her moans must have been what I heard, and another escaped her lips as she lurched forward from the sensation.

Ellie's face was scrunched up tight as she continued to seek pleasure from the nameless man beneath her. "Fuck me harder you bastard!" She groaned in a deep voice, unlike any I ever heard from her before. Her eyes shot open at the sound of my gun clattering to the floor, falling from my grasp. Instead of her regular icy-blue eyes, bright sickly yellow irises peered at me. A menacing smirk greeted me as she continued to pound her hips relentlessly. The smile was twisted and disturbing, as though she were enjoying the idea of watching me squirm at her actions. This was not the Ellie I knew, this was...

"Matrix!" I knew it was her, somehow brought back. The man beneath her stopped moving at the sound of my voice and peered over at me. With a quick and violent motion, he shoved her off him and threw her to the floor like a rag doll, knocking her violently to the hard marbled ground with a thud. He paid no attention to her as he stood up, covering his erect shaft with a shirt and glaring at me.

Seth did not give me a smirk like Matrix did, but rather stabbed daggers at me with his eyes. "You!"

Chapter 7 - Falling from grace

What I saw before me was like a nightmare. Matrix was somehow reactivated and in control of Ellie’s body, and Seth was... Why were Seth and Matrix having sex!? I thought they hated each other! Seth was always so furious when he saw Ellie, and he did shoot her through the head. I tried to rationalize what was going on, but there was no time.

"It looks like you actually made it here. Well you won't make it out of here in any case." Seth growled.

"Hey!" Matrix groaned from the floor. "I wasn't finished yet! What gives?!"

Seth turned a fierce eye toward her and smacked her hard with the back of his hand, sending her falling to the ground again. I flinched at the violence of his action, I hated violence against women, but Seth seemed accustomed to it.

"Shut the fuck up!" he snarled at her. Matrix sat back up with a scowl on her face, rubbing her cheek where he struck her. I got the impression she too was accustomed to this violence. "Now then, what shall we do with you?" he asked turning back to me. "Ah yes, I know. Matrix... you still need to prove yourself to me. Sure that blood bath you left in the other room was impressive, but until I see a body, I will not accept that you’re back to normal."

Matrix stood up next to him and focused her eyes back toward me. The yellow of her eyes pierced my soul, and yet I felt she had complete indifference to my existence. I could live or die, and it would make no difference to her at all. "What will you have me do?" she said with a cold deep sultry voice. Ellie never sounded like this, and it freaked me out to see Ellie standing there, but not being Ellie.

"Just like old times... Kill him" Seth answered.

Matrix smiled as she took a step forward toward me with murder in her eyes.

"W-wait!" I stuttered. I was going to continue to plead for my life, but Matrix stopped moving. She looked confused and turned back toward Seth. Something was going on... and my brain felt like it was going into over drive to save my life.

"What are you waiting for, you stupid robot bitch!" Seth barked. "Kill him now!"

She turned back toward me, her expression serious, and took another step toward me.

"Stop!" I yelled this time. Again, Matrix stopped. Suddenly, it occurred to me. Matrix and Ellie were the same person, and yet two different people. What was originally damaged and apparently now repaired was the personality core of Matrix. However, in advanced androids like Ellie, this was a program running over the root user, Ellie. This allowed for multiple personalities and different user settings. Regardless, in Matrix's case, it meant that she was subservient to Ellie; whatever Ellie was commanded, so too was Matrix. In short, Ellie is Matrix's subconscious and conscience in one. That meant that while Ellie was registered to me, Matrix was registered to someone else, like Seth. However, as the root user's owner, I had power over Seth's orders, but could she choose to ignore mine as well? I had to think fast of what I could do with this before Seth realized it himself and did something I'd regret.

"What the fu-" Seth began.

"Delete current master user file and enable root user master as new master user." I stuttered getting this out as fast as I could, making sure to say it correctly for her AI to understand. I wasn't sure she'd respond to my command, and there may have been better ones I could have used, but in the heat of things, this was the one I could think of, and I sure hoped it would work.

Matrix remained standing there and looked a little confused, almost as though she was suddenly hit with a brick and was shaking it off. If what I told her worked, she'd no longer be under Seth's command.

Seth walked up to her and grabbed her by the throat, pulling her violently close to him. "You go over there and finish him NOW... before I finish you!" He threw her away from him and spat at her as she caught herself. "This is what's wrong with you advanced AIs. You never follow orders and I have to go out and fucking shoot you!"

She nodded and walked quickly toward me again as he turned away to redress himself. Fuck! It didn't work. She kept coming at me. I thought about giving her another order to stop while I prepared to run when something caught me off-guard. Next to Matrix's swaying hips, her right hand changed. Before my eyes, her fingers separated and her upper arm split along a hidden seam. Slowly, a 2 foot long thin blade emerged from within her arm, and replaced her hand from the wrist up. Her arm closed again, and she now had a sharp metallic blade, like a short-sword, at the end of her arm.

Quickly she approached as I backed up. I couldn't think of what else to try. Her arm freaked me out, and all I could do was try to get away. I found myself backing out onto the balcony. It didn't take long before she cornered me against a wall with a 15 story drop to my right. I had never before looked down that far, and it was so close I almost felt weak at the knees. With a swift movement, I saw Matrix raise her arm and bring her blade-hand down at me straight at my heart.

I closed my eye and braced for the pain... but nothing happened. I peeked out of one eye, and she was just standing there, breathing heavily, struggling with her hand inches from my chest. It was as if she was trying to push her hand toward me but someone invisible was holding her back.

Again she tried to bring her hand up and back down on me, but again she was frozen in place. The petite gynoid struggled and strained to attack me, but in the end, she could do nothing. She tried one last time, but this time she managed to dig the blade into the wall next to me.

"What have you done to me?" she whispered right next to me. "WHAT the FUCK did you DO to me?!" she screamed. "Why can't I kill you?"

"Ellie?" I asked. She flinched as though I got through just a little to the girl that was hiding underneath. Anger rose on her face again, and she retracted her arm from the wall, and replaced the blade with her hand again. She was ready to punch me when suddenly a hand grabbed her head and smashed it into the railing.

"You've failed for the last time Matrix!" Seth yelled at her as he picked her up from the ground by the hair. He had his pants on now, but nothing else as he lifted her off her feet. She was in clear pain as he did it, still knocked silly from the blow to her head. "I have no need of broken toys that don't do what I tell them." This time, he punched her with his other fist, hard, sending her into the wall next to me. I went to grab her to pull her away from him, but he was too strong for me, and tore me away before he grabbed her by the neck, lifting her off the ground. She struggled against his grip, trying to loosen it; her yellow eyes fixed onto his with shock. Without saying a word, Seth held the struggling Matrix over the side of the balcony... and let go.

"NO!" I yelled as I dived under the railing to grab her. I managed to catch her hand but she was too heavy, and I found myself slipped off the side of the building as well. It was a long ways down, and I barely managed to grab ahold of the base of the rail support. Matrix dangled lifelessly beneath me, her own body completely limp and her hand slowly slipping from mine. I gripped harder to keep her from falling. "Ellie!" I yelled down to her.

Matrix's yellow eyes looked back up at me, pain and disbelief in her face. I knew in that instant she didn't want to live. With that... she let go.

I watched as her body fell beyond my reach, plummeting to the ground several stories below. I looked away, but could hear the crash underneath even this far up. My thoughts raced with images of Ellie's smile. But I didn't have time to mourn. Looking up, Seth hovered over me.

"Forgot something?" he asked as he lifted up the green-haired robot. "Your services are no longer required. I'm afraid we'll have to... let you go" he punned as he let go. She yelled as she fell, and try as I did, I failed to get a grip on her. I was too busy not falling myself. But Seth wasn't done yet. "And now for you... You've managed to be a pain in my side for too long. You always somehow avoid me killing you. But I think this time... well, what can you do?"

Seth kicked at my hand, hard enough make me lose my grip with one hand. I tightened my grip with the other to keep from slipping, and prepared for more pain. This time a bigger and more direct kick sent blood dripping down my arm, but I managed to hold on, barely. However, one more hit and I'd be joining Ellie.

Seth gripped the railing and prepared one last final kick, using all his strength. He foot stretched far back behind him as he readied his blow, when he suddenly looked up and fell backward in a gust of wind. An Ino guard armored unit was hovering over us and took him by surprise.

"Seth!" a familiar voice rang out from the suit. "To think I once admired you!"

"Laura?" I asked, noticing that in her giant hand she held the shaking form of the green-haired robot girl. But not Ellie.

"Jimmy!" she burst out and picked me up off the edge. I grabbed hold of her Mech's fingers as she lifted me up. "Thank goodness I'm in time!"

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I couldn't let you face all this alone. So I snuck out and-"

"Ellie! She..." I interrupted. "She fell!"

"Oh..." Quickly Laura flew down to the ground. It didn't take long to find her.

Underneath the balcony stood a glass and metal table and chair with an umbrella. Matrix had fallen directly onto it. The umbrella broke her fall, and she was lucky it didn't impale her. Meanwhile, the rest of the energy was transferred straight into the metal and glass. The area was littered with bits of glass, and bits of Ellie.

A small crowd of onlookers gathered to see what happened. Most of them turned away in disgust when they realized it wasn't a human that fell, but a few still looked on. Ellie's body lay broken and still in the center of the mess. She was on her back, facing the sky, her eyes fixed open, lifeless. I got out of Laura's grip just as she landed, and rushed toward Ellie. Laura took a kneeling position and got out of her suit to join me, but hung back a short distance when she saw...

Ellie's body was torn up. Her skin was torn and stretched, a puddle of blood grew around her body, and sparks shot from her joints. Part of her face had been torn open, and I could see the metal structure underneath. It was gruesome, and I could do nothing but stare. Suddenly she moved.

People all over screamed in shock, but for me, I was overjoyed to see she was not dead, yet. She jerked and wobbled in her movement as she tried to sit up, but her body wouldn't let her. Instead, she managed to raise her head and look around. Yellow eyes peered out at us, and she focused them on me as her body shook from the damage.

"Y-y-you..." she tried to speak but her voice was broken. I could see the hate in her expression though.

"Matrix, go to sleep." I ordered. She blinked at me, and closed her eyes. She went still for a moment before coming back to life again, taking a shallow breath. Ellie's blue eyes looked around frantically.

"Ji-Ji-Jimmy!" she said, when she finally noticed me, in her original voice although equally damaged and distorted. Her eyes fixed on me as she tried to orient herself. Ellie reached out her hand for me, and I ran to her, afraid to touch her.

"Ellie! You're alive!"

"I... I..." she continued her digital stutter as she tried to speak. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and sparks flew from her shoulders. It looked to me like Ellie was dying. "I'm... sssorry. I f-failed. Shhhheee g-g-got out-t."

I reached down and carefully wrapped my arms around her. "I know, I know. It's ok. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you from them. I'm the one that failed!"

I held her close in my arms, trying not to break her any further. Her right arm was badly damaged from the fall, and despite her attempts to move it, all she could manage was to make sparks. She gently placed her left hand on my face, and caressed my cheek.

"Y-you came. I'm... h-happ-ppy." She smiled through her tears, but I could see the pain on her face. No. No! I had gone through too much to just see her die like this! I could repair her; I saved her once I could do it again!

"Let me shut you down, to save you from the pain."

"N-nnno!" she protested. "I want t-to see yooouur ffface. No mmmore sleeping."

"Alright" I agreed. I looked down at her naked body. She was in bad shape, and her insides must have been worse. Even without the fall, the torture they put her through was bad enough! "Hang on; I'm going to take you someplace safe."

Laura looked on in shock with a bandage still around her head, and the green-haired android stayed with the Mech looking from a distance. A small crowd remained watching as I took off my armored vest and covered Ellie with it. Carefully, I reached under her and lifted her fragile body up. With her one good arm, she managed to hold onto my shoulder, pulling herself closer to me.

"Hurts" she whispered.

"I know." I felt her pain. Watching her like this was like torture for my soul. As soon as I lifted her up, and people around could better see, whispers and murmurs began to crop up all over. I could hear what some of them said.

"Isn't that Matrix" one woman said. "Hey, it's that criminal I saw on the news" a man pointed out. "Someone call the IRG" another said.

I had to get Ellie out of there, and fast, but with our rescue plan botched, I had no idea where to go or what to do. I looked at Laura and headed toward her. Maybe she could get us out.

Behind me, a woman yelled "Stop!" I turned around to see Aunt May with her gun at the ready. As soon as she saw Ellie's white hair, she took aim with fear in her eyes. I took half a step back as Ellie looked out at her. She tightened her grip on me, and did her best to cover me up.

"D-don't kill him! Plllease! I- I llove..." Ellie went limp, her strength at last depleted, as her arm fell to her side and dangled lifelessly. She was still breathing though.

May froze while she looked on. Ellie had passed out, or shut down, or something... I wasn't sure, but I knew I had to do something fast. At least she was breathing. Did she just confess to me? I looked at May and pleaded silently with her. Slowly, she lowered her weapon, and relaxed.

"Damn it Amano! That was reckless! You should be dead right now! What the hell were you thinking turning down the volume on your headset?"

"How did you get here so fast?"

"I ran! This body isn't just for looks you know. Besides, I could hear everything you were doing, even if you didn't hear me." I had forgotten about the headset I was wearing, I thought I turned it off, but I guess I just turned it down on my end. "We can chat later; right now we need to move! The IRG are heading this way. I thought they were onto us, but apparently we didn't set off the alarm, someone else did before we got there, and they should-"

In the distance, an Ino Royal Guard armored suit could be seen and heard, heading straight for the tower. It would take seconds for them to get here; we were like sitting ducks. Aunt May rushed toward me and pushed me and Laura against a concrete wall under a small tree. It didn't provide much cover, and with Laura's suit right there, we were no better off. She clicked something on the headset box, and barked into the microphone.

"A-1 alert. Stop what you're doing and get out of there. I repeat: The IRG is here, get the hell out of there and retreat now!" she commanded. "Shit! They're already here" May cursed under her breath as she clicked off her mic.

"I- I'll distract them!" Laura stuttered, looking nervous all of a sudden.

"You!? You shouldn't even be-" May started, but before she could finish lecturing Laura, the flying armored unit reached the tower above us. "Do what you can. If you get in trouble, bail out. I'll send people your way. If you get out of this, have my men take you to the Red safe house."

Laura nodded, and gave me a worried look before turning toward her suit. May and I followed suit toward her. As Laura got in her suit and buckled up, May grabbed hold of the still frightened green-haired gynoid clutching onto the suit's thumb.

"You're coming with us" she ordered as she lifted the legless robot. "Hang on tight!" The green-haired girl nodded as she grabbed on, much like she had with me, riding in a sort of piggy-back on May. "Good luck out there" she yelled to Laura as she gave me a nod and ran off toward an alley. I hesitated for a moment, before wishing Laura luck as well. Rushing to catch up to May, I struggled to carry the still nearly lifeless Ellie in my arms.

Behind me, Laura jumped into the air, and we watched for a brief moment from behind a trash can as she flew straight up and past the balcony I fell from. I could see two or three others take chase, and they vanished into the distance. I sure hoped she'd be alright. If I were to keep a tally, I now owed her my life, and without her, I never would have gotten into the city, let alone find Ellie.

"Keep moving" May ordered as she tapped my shoulder and ran farther down the alley. "There's a place we can stay and regroup nearby, but keep an eye out. And keep her out of sight."

We ran through the back alleys and side streets for several minutes, Ellie's body seemingly getting heavier and heavier as we ran. "Where are we going?" I asked breathlessly while May continued as though she were on a light walk. Damn her inhuman body.

"You'll see. We have contacts throughout the city, but this is one of our safe house for when we get in too deep. It has other uses as well. We're almost there."

It didn't take long before we took a sharp turn down an alley and stopped at the backside of a fancy building. I couldn't see the front from here, but it must have looked spectacular based on the other buildings in the area. However, the back was as worn down as any in the under city, and red lights shown in the windows. Red lights?

"Umm..." I started to ask but May walked right up to the door and knocked. She then knocked again, waited, and knocked again in rapid succession. It was some sort of code or password or something. A small window on the door slid open, and a pair of mean eyes glanced out at us before sliding shut again. With a few dozen clicks, the backdoor creaked open, and May waved for me to follow as she walked in.

Cautiously I did as she wanted. Inside, the place was nicer than any I had ever seen. It was much fancier than Madame Suto's, or what it used to be. The carpets were ornate and soft with a deep red and gold pattern that matched the intricate wallpaper. Ornate lamps lined the walls with delicate chandeliers illuminating the main areas just ahead. Couches and chairs of leather lined the walls with men and women sitting in them, sometimes together, sometimes they weren't exactly sitting. The light level was low, but warm and inviting, and masterfully crafted woodwork lined all the door frames, furniture, and more. Smoke and perfume, both of an exotic and sweet smell, filled the halls. From here, I could see through a small curtain to a bigger main area with a large stair case and women in lingerie. Paintings of nude ladies lined every wall, and I was pretty sure some of the girls and the paintings were gynoids.

May talked quietly with a man in a plaid cap while he nodded, keeping an eye on the goings on and occasionally directing a girl or server somewhere. Before long, May nodded to me, and led me deeper into the back stage, as it were, of the most famous brothel in Ino. Even I knew where I was once I got inside. This was the Silk Web, where anyone with enough money could live any sexual fantasy they wished, and then some. And it wasn't just sex. They had a fine dining experience like none other, a swimming pool in the basement, and often hosted events and shows for the more mature audience. "Get caught in The Web" was a popular slogan until a year or so ago when important government officials WERE caught in it. And yet somehow they managed to stay in business, and by the look of the clientele, with more government officials, and soldiers.

I followed May behind another curtain, this time leading out of the main area, and into a living area, where girls who stayed there actually lived, ate, bathed, etc. Not many would see this side of it, but here it was. I wondered how many girls actually lived on the premises, but I suppose for many it would beat living on the streets. Girls who had the day off but actually stayed there were reading, talking, eating, and just living normally, although often eyeing me and Ellie. I tried to keep her covered up, but it still must have looked awkward for a man to carry an unconscious girl around... then again... this was the Silk Web after all. They just rolled their eyes and continued what they were doing. May led me up a staircase and into a back hall where we stopped inside a bed room. Not one of those fancy love-hotel rooms either, but a rather worn down plain bedroom with bare wooden walls, a single small bed, a desk with a lamp, and a chair.

"You and Ma- Ellie will stay in here. Do not come out without my permission, got it? I will be back once I get in touch with my men and regroup. If you need anything, just knock and someone will help you."

"Why a brothel?" I asked before she left.

"Because men say the stupidest secrets when they think no one important can hear them." She then turned and left, still carrying the broken girl-bot on her back. As she closed the door, I heard a click, and then another. She locked us in.

Ellie's bleeding had stopped by now. Another advantage of being a robot was if you bled at all, it wasn't vital to your survival. Her system either shut it off, or shut down entirely. She grew cold to the touch, but continued to breathe. I carefully laid her down on the bed and threw the covers over her exposed body. She was a mess, and I was covered with her artificial blood. I took off my shirt and hung it over the end of the bed and pulled the chair up next to her. There was nothing I could do. I had fixed Ellie before, but now that Matrix was loose, I didn't know what that would mean. And without any tools, I was helpless. What I wouldn't do for a tool box.

A minute or two passed by, before a man knocked at the door. There was a click, and another, and a middle-aged man with a vest and a mustache came in. "Pardon the intrusion, I was told there was a robot that needed some attention in here?" He was carrying a tool box with him as he took a step in. The door closed behind him, and locked again. Someone was out there, assigned to watch the door, so even if I did get out, they'd still see me.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. At last someone who knew how to repair androids! "Please, she's right here."

The man walked up to the bed but abruptly took a step back. "Wait! Isn't that...?"

I gave him a sharp look, but he never broke eye contact with Ellie's face. "What?"

"Isn't that Matrix?" he asked. "I- I can't help you."

He turned to leave, but I grabbed the tool box from his hand and placed it on the desk. Without missing a beat, I started to rummage through it. There wasn't much to work with. He wasn't that well prepared for an android of her caliber, but at least it was something, the basics.

"Hey! What are you-?"

"I'm going to fix this girl here with or without your help" I said as I held up a torque wrench to read the size etched into the handle.

"I can't let you-" he began. I gave him another hard stare and he stopped in his tracks. "I mean... those are my tools. I can't just let someone else..."

"Either you can help me fix Ellie, or you can shut up and watch."

"Ellie?" he asked, looking back down at her. "Boy do you have your wires crossed. If we repair Matrix here, it would be a blood bath."

"I doubt that" I retorted. "She won't hurt anyone. Besides, with these tools, I doubt I can make her mobile again."

I pulled the sheets down from Ellie's body, and looked at the various panels on her body, faint though they were, and traced my hand along the one between her breasts. I studied it closely, and saw a small indent that would allow for a special tool to open up her panels. I grasped the long thin tool, much like a sturdy bent wire, and pressed it into the indent along the seam. I hadn't actually done this with her yet, but just as predicted, her chest panels opened up with a click, and I carefully opened her up.

The mustached man stepped up next to me and rolled up his sleeves. "Well if you insist, I'll help, but I am not fixing her limbs."

"I just want her to stabilize right now" I confirmed. I was glad to see he was willing to help after all, but terrified at the mess I saw inside her. Her body was so tightly packed, it was hard to make heads or tails of it all, but I dove into it without a second thought.

It took us a few hours. While her arms and legs were still badly damaged, and there were still other major problems we couldn't fix, not to mention all the superficial damage and the effect the torture would have on her mind, we had managed to fix her core structure to a point where she was no longer in immediate danger. Her movement would still be strictly limited, but there wasn't much we could do with the simple tools he had. Honestly I was surprised we got as much done as we did.

The repair man stretched out and yawned. "I think I've done all I can here. There are supposed to be others for me to see here today as well, so I better get going." He packed up his bag just as a small knock came from the door. May walked in just as the man was leaving, and they nodded to each other before the door closed behind. She was carrying a try of food, some sort of sandwich that looked too fancy to be called a sandwich, and a drink. I hadn't thought about myself since I got Ellie here, and now I realized I hadn't eaten anything at all that day. I gladly took the food and scarfed it down.

"So how is she?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know" I answered with my mouth full of food. "She isn't close to being fully repaired, but I think she's stable. She still hasn't woken up." I quickly finished off the plate and gulped down the water.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you like that back there. But you really did put yourself at a terrible risk by doing what you did." She sighed. "Look, I can't have someone running off like a lone wolf out there like that. You're my responsibility now and I can't have you getting yourself killed!"

"I can handle myself, thank you. I managed this long without your help" I retorted. I regretted saying that as soon as I said it, sometimes my mouth is faster than my brain. "Sorry, I didn't... thanks for looking out for me... Say did Laura...?"

"She's on her way here now. She managed to lead them off. She's quite the pilot. But we already knew that about her. We're always on the lookout for sentients and cyborgs with rank you might join our cause, and as one of the top ranking soldiers in her class, she caught our attention a while ago. I'm just glad she finally came over, thanks to you I'm told."

"Well, I convinced her to come back and help me rescue Ellie."

"Ellie..." she said glancing at the bed. "You sure risked a lot for this girl, and I still don't know what you want with her."

"I just want-" I began but was interrupted by Ellie coughing in bed. I shot up and leaned over her.

"Ellie? Are you awake? Are you alright?"

Yellow eyes opened up and looked around the room before settling on me. Her brow furrowed and she tried to sit up but I held down her shoulder.

"Matrix, where's Ellie?"

"Matrix?! You lied to me!" Aunt May shouted.

"No I didn't!" I barked, trying hard to get my point across. "They somehow brought her back, but Ellie is real!"

"No she isn't" Matrix said. "He just made that up to use you."

May shot me a furious look, ready to run out the door and grab a rifle. I stared hard at Matrix. "Who is your registered master, Matrix?"

"I am" she said with a sly smirk on her face. "And as soon as my arms are working again I'm going to-"

"Don't lie to me, Matrix. That's an order!"

She scowled at me and growled beneath her breath. "You are my master. James "Jimmy" Amano." May stopped in her tracks, and listened closer.

"I want to speak with Ellie" I commanded.

"Well you can't" she snarled.

"What?" I shot back, angry and afraid May would leave and come back shooting.

"She's asleep. I don't think she'll be awake any time soon." She narrowed her eyes at me. "Speaking of sleep, how dare you order me to sleep?!"

"I'll do it again if I have to" I warned.

Matrix turned her head away and faced the wall. "Why did you try to save me?"

"Because I... Ellie..." I had to admit it. "I love her."

"Love" she grunted, as though disapproving of it. "What do you know about love?"

"I-"

"I was raped, shot the through the head, beaten daily, belittled, strangled, and thrown off a building by the man I 'love'" she thundered. "I'm only good at ONE thing! And now that you've taken that from me, I have nothing. Because I can no longer KILL, he disowned me, and tried to murder me! He rejected me, called me a broken toy, and-” She was shaking from her anger, and it was a good think she couldn't move or she might have killed us in her rage. "Why didn't you just let me die!?" Tears ran down her face as she shot fire at me with her eyes.

"Who is Ellie?" May asked Matrix directly. The gynoid shifted her eyes toward her but said nothing.

"Answer her as you would answer me" I demanded.

Her eyes narrowed, but she complied. "... Ellie is my root user. She is that little voice in my head that tells me what to do that I usually ignore."

"What happened to her?" the cybernetic woman asked.

"She's asleep, repairing herself. In here" she said trying to point at her head, but her one good arm only moved so far. "Damn this body!" she cursed.

"And what about you? Am I going to have to terminate you for our own protection?" May was very straight forward.

"I can't kill anyone anymore" Matrix growled like a dog while staring at me "if that's what you’re asking." Looks like the order I gave to Ellie was now rubbing off on Matrix.

"And what about harm. You can still injure people, right?"

"I can, and I would..." she sighed. "Except there's no point to it anymore. I've been rejected as a failure, and there's just no fun in it anymore. Not without..."

"Why did you attack Maya?" I asked before May could ask anything else.

Matrix looked confused, and tried to think back. "I don't know. I don't remember doing it."

How could she not know why she did such a horrible thing? Was she provoked? Was she ordered by someone? And... Why was she taking orders from Seth in the first place? Wasn't she the Ainu guard? Was there some kind of secret alliance going on?

"Aren't you an Ainu guard?"

"Yes" she confirmed. "The head of the Ainu consulate guard."

"Then why are you taking orders from Seth?"

"I... I don't know" she said confused again. "I always have."

May interrupted. "I think I can shed some light on this." She still looked tense with Matrix in the room, but at least she wasn't going for a gun or something. "Matrix and her brothers and sisters in the Ainu guard aren't members of the Ainu forces. Heck, as far as we can tell there isn't even any such place as Ainu. We aren't sure it exists! It seems Kaiser Tsion has some ulterior motive for the Ainu embassy, and we haven't figured it out yet."

"You mean he made Ainu up?" I questioned.

"We don't know that" she continued. "All we know is that there is no evidence anyone from the Ainu embassy came from anywhere other than here, Ino. Do you recall ever seeing your home country of Ainu?" May asked Matrix.

"I... I don't" she sighed. "I've always been here, serving as the captain of the guard."

"And torturing our citizens, killing them and tormenting them"

"S-So? Did you see the way they looked at me?" Matrix defended. May was shocked to hear such a point of view. She tried to respond, but couldn't quite comprehend how Matrix could justify murder and torture just because she got weird looks. "That..." Matrix continued, "and I was ordered to. Besides, I enjoyed it."

"Enjoyed-!?" May stuttered.

"You enjoyed it?" I repeated.

A wicked smile crept across her face. "Yes... I got off on the rush! It's like porn, and I just couldn't get enough of that thrill of watching the lights in their eyes go black when I rip a hole in their chest." She licked her lips. I knew she wasn't lying, because I had ordered her not to. It made me sick to my stomach.

"You bitch!" May fumed as she took a step to her and slapped Matrix across the face. It didn't sound like a slap, but more like a thud. May's hand was denser than a human hand. Matrix looked away in reaction to the attack, but after a moment, she turned back to us and smiled in that twisted way again.

"Please sir, I want some more" she taunted. May was just about to deliver another blow, with a closed fist, but I caught her.

"Let it go. She's just antagonizing you."

May fumed, breathing deeply as she tried to calm herself down. Eventually she did, and she turned toward me. "Come with me, I need to tell you something. Away from her."

"Good luck with that, I have excellent hearing" Matrix continued to taunt.

"Will it be alright to leave her alone?" she queried.

"She can't go anywhere in her condition" I replied. Matrix just turned her head abruptly to the wall in disappointment. "When I get back, I want to see Ellie." She didn't even give me a glance as a response, and May led me out of the room.

"This way" she ordered as a large man on the other side of the door closed and locked it. "I have 'excellent hearing' too" she said, "and I know the limitations of it. Stupid bitch!"

"I heard that" Matrix's muffled voice said from the other side of the door.

We walked down the hallway, down the stairs and into the main area. The place was as busy as ever, and as the day started to come to an end already, I found the Silk Web getting into the full swing of things. We stayed in the back areas, never going out front. After all, May was a known criminal, and many of the clientele here were soldiers. Instead, we walked through several doors in the 'back stage' and down another hallway before we entered a door marked "Projector room" clear on the other side of the facility.

Inside was a metallic gynoid wearing a cute and sexy bell hop outfit operating a movie projector, one of those old fashioned ones that made lots of noise and had to be put inside a nearly sound-proof booth just so the audience wouldn't hear it running. The gynoid glanced over at us, and waved an energetic smile at May before continuing to work the film that was going on. I only got a brief glance at the video being projected. Even without hearing the sound, I could tell it was an adult cinema, showing some sort of hardcore sex scene with a woman in lingerie with a crazed look in her eye and a fully-dressed man using some sort of torture toys on her. It was surprisingly gross.

"Don't look at that, just listen to me" May said, turning my gaze to her. "What do you remember about your parents?"

"What? That's the second time you asked me about that. Why are you so interested-?"

"Your parents are not unknown to us, but we don't know what you remember."

"My parents..." I had never thought much about this. I remembered May mentioning them to me last night, but... "Well there isn't much to say. We used to move around a lot, until my mom died when I was a child. My dad repaired armored units until... he died in an accident at one of the facilities. I was still young, but I managed to survive on my own. I've moved around, but found Maya to be... like a home."

"That's no coincidence. You were living there when your mother died. You really don't remember?"

I looked at May sharply. How would she know anything about my parents? "Did you know them?"

"I did, and I still do. Your father is still alive."

"My- dad?!"

"You better sit down and let me explain" May suggested. I took a seat in the only chair in the room while May began.

"It was about 25 years ago that your parents came to Ino. They were both renowned inventors, and their creations greatly impressed the young Kaiser Tsion. He commissioned them to build him an army. You see, your mother was a world-class android designer. Her designs have been used all over, and have revolutionized the robotics and androids industries. Her designs led to the modern synthetic epidermal layer on advanced androids. You know... their skin. Your dad designed and built robots too, but he also designed armored suits. His designs are the ones the Ino Royal Guard use today. He didn't just repair them, he built them.

"But Kaiser Tsion wasn't happy. He wanted more. He wanted an entire army of mindless robot minions to wage war, but not just on other city-states, but on his own people. He wanted absolute power, through force. Your parents refused to help, but Tsion didn't take rejection lightly. He threw your mother in a palace dungeon, and threatened to kill her if you father didn't build him his army. For several years, he did, working on building the suits, and eventually using your mother's designs to start building robots, but when he realized the extent of what he was doing, he had to stop. Kaiser Tsion was true to his word and... He killed your mother."

My jaw dropped.

I had never heard of any of this, but then again where would I hear it from? I hadn't seen my dad in years, and now she tells me he's still alive! It was so much to take in.

"You father didn't take her death well, and he saw to it that you were hidden from the IRG. You must have been sent all over to hide your tracks, and forgotten all about it, before settling back down in Maya. Your father arranged for everything, including your home. This entire time, your father has been hidden away in a secret facility, one we never found, working on building the prototypes for Tsion's army.

"One of the men we rescued this morning, while you and I were looking for Matrix- um... Ellie, knows where your father is being hidden."

"He's alive?! You know where he is?"

"I don't, but he does, and he's agreed to help us in thanks for rescuing him."

I felt as though my stomach had fallen through the floor, and yet my heart was racing and I was short on breath. My dad is alive!

"Wow! That's a much better story than this one" the gynoid working the projector exclaimed. I eyed her as she sat on the floor nearby like a little girl at story time. She caught the shared glare from me and May, and perked up. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to pry... just got caught up listening. I mean, I'll just get back to work" she bubbled as she stood up and changed out the reel.

"And what does this have to do with Matrix?" I asked. "I mean, why hide in here to tell me this?"

"Matrix... you see... she's one of the robots your father built for Tsion. She was his greatest so far, but that's all we really know. She doesn't realize it herself, and we think Tsion may have had his own men work on her too. That would explain the attitude and violent nature..."

"Wait... my father built her?"

"Yes. And all the Ainu guards. We don't know where the consulate came from, but the guard is comprised of 5 elite gynoid body guards, and 6 state guard androids that guard the embassy. We know that not only did he build these elite soldiers, but he also built their advanced fighting units..."

"Einguard!"

"Yes. They were designed to be used by androids and gynoids only. Although I'm sure a full-cyborg like me could adapt."

"How did you find out about all this?!"

"About a year ago, one of the android guards came to us for help. His reprogramming failed, and he realized something was wrong, and wanted to escape. He told us everything he remembered, and in turn, we helped him escape through the tunnels. The very same tunnels you and Laura snuck in through in fact. We never heard if he made it out."

Oh no... the tunnels. Yesterday, when Laura and I snuck in... "I... I'm sorry, but we ran into him on our way in, or what was left of him." No wonder the suit was FACING us! If he was sneaking in, he would have been facing the other way. The poor guy must have never seen the pressure gun coming when it shot him in the back!

"So... He didn't make it after all." She seemed genuinely sad by this, as though she just heard an old friend died.

I thought for a moment while she reflected on this. "If my father built Ellie, then he can fix her! Maybe even remove Matrix."

"Exactly" she confirmed.

"Then, what are we waiting for?! My dad is alive! I need to see him, so he can fix Ellie!"

Chapter 8 - (Don't) Try suicide

I was still recovering from the shock of hearing that my father was alive! After all these years, I never thought I'd see him again. I had been alone in the world for many years and now I felt like I had a family again with both him and Ellie. Ellie... what a mess this turned into. I thought to myself about Matrix, and what to do next, as I walked back toward the room. I probably should have been paying closer attention to where I was going, as I walked right into a girl.

"Oh! Sorry" I apologized, barely looking up to acknowledge her.

"Jimmy!" she shouted and threw her arms around me.

"Laura!" I hadn't noticed her when I bumped into her, but now she was embracing me in a hug. I nice long hug. Long enough to get uncomfortable. Finally she broke it off with a sigh of relief.

"Thank god you are alright!" she exclaimed. "I was so worried when I left you like that."

"YOU were worried? Are you alright? How are you feeling?" I asked. She still had the bandage around her head, but didn't seem to be in any pain.

"Just a small headache right now, but I think I'll be fine" she informed. "It was a minor concussion, and I know... I should be in bed, but-"

"You saved my life. Thank you. And thank you for helping me find Ellie. I never would have gotten her back without your help."

She blushed, or at least half her face did. The other side was still artificial and, while it looked realistic and emoted well, couldn't blush. "Ellie! Is she alright?"

"She..." I choked, "We're not sure yet. But we're working on a plan."

"I'm sorry. I really truly hope you can fix her. I know how much she means to you" she consoled.

"Thanks... How did you get away-?" I started to ask.

"Miss Dale?" a familiar deep voice called out over mine. It took me a moment to realize he was talking to Laura. Captain Azuma appeared nearby and nodded toward me. "Miss Dale? I was ordered to take you to your quarters. You need to rest, especially with your injury..."

"Fine! I'll get some rest. But call me Laura, ok?" she sighed. "I'll catch up with you later Jimmy. I'll have to tell you all about my little adventure then." She turned to follow Azuma out of the room, but called back to me first "Cheer up, Jimmy, everything'll be ok."

I watched her as she left down the hallway but my attention was soon drawn to a mustached man in a cap. He was carrying what looked like a metallic female torso of copper, although I realized it was only a shell. It was the android repair man who helped me fix Ellie, or at least Matrix, and he looked busy repairing another android. As he walked along, his eyes met mine and he came over.

"Fine work you did back there with M-... that girl" she said lowering his voice as he almost called out her name. "Mr. Brown, at your service." He shook my hand as best as he could with his hands full and sighed. I hadn't noticed before, but he was definitely speaking with a slight accent from a land I had once visited long ago, a small city called Ire. "It's been one of those days... You don't seem particularly busy" he started. "And you are definitely handy with a screwdriver. Mind helping me repair that green-haired lass you brought in earlier? I've had to remove most of what was left of her epidermal layer, and she'll be needing these."

"Uh..." I thought or a moment. Aunt May was busy making plans and preparations, Laura was probably resting, and I did not want to see Matrix right now. "Sure, I'll help." At least it would keep me busy.

I followed the man into the same back hallway as where Matrix was, but we stopped a few doors away. Inside, the green-haired fembot lay on a table, instead of a bed, with a sheet over most of her. She was still awake and looked over at us when we came in. She had the same skin on her face, but I saw a bucket nearby with the shredded remains of the rest if her artificial skin inside. Gross. He must have only left it on her face. Still, she smiled at me when she recognized me but said nothing.

"She’s in a bit of a mess" he warned as he closed the door behind us. "And not just physically. Poor lass can't remember a thing."

She gave me an awkward smile and returned to staring at the wall in silence, thinking. I could tell she was concentrating hard, probably on trying to remember things, but chances were she’d never gain her lost memories again.

"We'll there isn't much I can do for that" he continued, "but I can rebuild her body, or at least partially until we can custom fit her with new skin. Her old epidermal is shot." He handed me the metal torso and approached the girl.

He pulled the sheet away from her body gently, and revealed her delicate framework. I could tell from looking at her that she was much much older than her appearance lead on. Her face was youthful, that of a twenty-something year old girl, but her robotic body was an antique. She was little more than a wind-up doll outfitted with a battery, which looked like the newest thing in her and even that was out of date. Green corrosion covered parts of her copper frame, and various brass fittings were tarnished with age. She was full of gears and servos and pistons. The skin she had had on must have also been a recent addition, but it wasn't advanced like Ellie's.

She didn't react when we uncovered her body, still deep in thought. She never felt any pain, but she did seem troubled by her thoughts. The wear and tear of her body surprised me. I had never seen a working robot this old before, and something told me she was different, she was important. The repairman opened a bag full of gears and the like, and without any further ado, we began working on repairing her damaged body.

She still had no legs, so we had to outfit her with some spare ones he brought in from his truck. They didn't quite match the rest of her body, but they'd do the trick. In all, we spent a few hours restoring her to a somewhat functional state, but to fully restore her would take far more time, far better equipment and parts, and far more skill than we had on hand.

It was a relaxing endeavor. For a while I forgot about Matrix and Ellie, Genesis, Seth, May, Laura, even my dad. It was an escape I needed, and I felt refreshed and better clear-headed by the time we finished, I not more than a little tired. The girl herself never said a word when she was awake, and we often had to suspend her activity while we replaced her parts.

At last we completed phase one of her repair. All we managed to do was replace the worst of her damaged parts, fit her with replacement legs, and cover the limbs and torso with a copper shell. She looked at her new body, and gave a smile.

"Thank you" she whispered as she continued to lay there, uninterested in testing out her repaired body and continuing to think fervently.

"That should do it for now lassie. I'll be sure to follow up in a few days, and your new epidermal should take several weeks. Try and get some rest and take you remind off things; you’re in good hands now."

She whispered another thanks to us as the repairman packed up his gear and turned to leave. As I followed behind him, she spoke once, louder, to me.

"Jimmy?"

"How did you know my name?" I inquired, stopping to turn and look at her. Brown gave me a glance and left, quietly closing the door behind him.

"That girl, the one you were trying to save..."

"Ellie" I informed her.

"Yes, Ellie" she said in her soft voice. "Before she... changed, all she did was call your name. She'd keep saying things like 'Jimmy will save me' and 'Jimmy will come'. She was right, you did come."

"But I wasn't fast enough" I spat.

"Your timing wasn't by chance. It was fate that you two met, and fate that Matrix is awake now."

"What do you know about Matrix?" I asked.

"I know she has a reputation, but my memories aren't... I think they were corrupted to hide something, but I can't remember what. No matter how I try, I just can't-"

"It's alright; if it is corrupted, you'll need an advanced level repair program to get them back."

"I'm afraid I don't have one of those" she sighed.

"Do you remember anything?" I questioned.

"I remember I used to be a housemaid... and that it wasn't my first job... but- I can tell you what I saw since I woke up yesterday."

"What do you mean?"

"Ellie, Matrix... they aren't as different as they may seem" she informed.

"What-"

"Ellie is a sweet girl; you will do anything to be with you again. She fought to escape, but in the end..."

"Matrix"

"Yes. Matrix was awakened. But she isn't all attitude and murderess as she appears. Even I can remember her reputation... but to actually see her so... vulnerable. It is clear to me she was not always the blood thirsty killer you see now. She has a soft side, which that man tries to snuff out. You are the only one who can redeem her. You can change her, but don't do it by force. You can't order her to change; she needs to want to do it on her own. Otherwise she will never truly change and will betray you given the chance."

"How do you know all this?" I wondered.

"I don't know" she whispered. "I just feel it."

We were silent for a moment after that. "What's your name?"

"I wish I knew" she whimpered. "Thank you for helping me. I'd like to think for a while now."

"O- Of course" I stuttered, and left the room, closing the door behind me.

It was getting late by now. I thought back on everything that happened today. So far I rescued Ellie, repaired Matrix, rescued and repaired another gynoid, learned about my father and mother, and yet I felt no closer to getting Ellie back. I was exhausted, and needed to rest, but the only room they showed me to had Matrix in it. By now, the brothel I was staying in was surely busy, but I didn't hear anything way in the back, which I was thankful for. Hopefully Matrix would already be asleep, if she ever slept.

I walked up the hallway a short distance when Captain Azuma called out to me. I turned around to see him running up to me, now wearing the same uniform I always say him in, apparently preparing for a night watch or something.

"Amano" he called as he caught up with me. "There will be a meeting in the morning to discuss our plans, be ready by 0700, we'll meet you here.

"Ok, sure" I responded as he turned back around and went down the hall on another task.

I continued down the hall again and came to Matrix's room. The guard was still there, although it was a different guy, and he stepped aside to let me in. Walking in, I was greeted by a sight I wasn't prepared to see.

Matrix lay on the floor, her useless limbs lifeless as she propped herself up against a dresser. She was naked, and her chest panel was wide open, revealing her robotic beating heart and her expanding and contracting lungs, along with all her other artificial organs and muscles and circuitry. Her right arm, the only good hand she had, was lifted up, hovering over her open chest. Her yellow eyes fixated on her hand and the screwdriver she held in it. As soon as she noticed me in the room, she tried jabbing the screwdriver into her chest, but her arm stopped, as though her hand were tied to the wall with an invisible string and she couldn't get any closer. She tried again, jabbing the screwdriver toward her heart, and again failing to reach her target.

I lunged at her, grabbing the screwdriver from her hand, and pulling her arm away! It was surprisingly easy to grab it from her, and as soon as it was out of her grasp, she went limp and started sobbing.

"Goddamn it, I can't even kill myself" she wept between her sobs.

I ignored her tears for now, and closed her chest panel before lifting her up and putting her back in the bed. I just witnessed an android trying to end her own life, something I had never heard of before, but there it was. If it wasn't for my generic "don't kill anyone ever" command, she'd be a lifeless mess on the floor. I was in shock!

"Don't ever try to kill yourself again!" I scolded. "You scared the living shit out of me!"

"Is that all? Is that the only reason? So I don't upset you?" she shot back.

"No! I was scared I'd lose you! And Ellie..."

"Me? Yeah right" she went on. "I don't think you'd miss me for one second as long as you got your precious Ellie back."

"I- I didn't say that!" I retorted.

"I can hear it in your voice!" she shrieked. "Don't lie to me Jimmy!" She spat as she said my name. "I'm not some toy here for your amusement. I know what's going on! You're going to repair me to the point that you can get your little bitch back, and then you'll erase me! The only reason I'm still here is so you can torture me for information!"

I raised my hand to slap her, but stopped. She flinched at my motion, but I didn't follow through. "I am not a part of the Servus Liberatum; I act on my own will. And if I wanted you erased, you'd already be gone."

She looked up at me, tears running down her cheeks, surprised I didn't strike her. She opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind and looked away instead. I glanced around the room to see if there was anything else we accidentally left behind that she could use as a weapon against herself or others. I didn't know why I told her that, I hated Matrix. But something inside me, perhaps something that green-haired fembot said, made me want to try to change her. I didn't want her dead, I wanted to fix her, cure her of her problems. I may never get Ellie back, but if a part of Ellie was still inside this girl before me, I would do whatever it took to repair her mind and body.

"Go to sleep, I'll see you in the morning." I didn't even give her the chance respond as I exited the room in a huff, slamming the door behind me. I tried to keep my cool as I left. The guard looked at me oddly, but didn't say a word. Instead, he just sniffed and stiffened up again at the ready. I took 2 steps down the hall, ready to ask May for another room, but suddenly felt light-headed. I was still shocked after all that happened, and had to brace myself against a wall to keep from falling over.

As I tried to compose myself, I heard the faint sound of a door next to me open, but I barely registered it. It wasn't until a pair of hands grabbed me and pulled me inside that I realized what was going on. The hands let go as the door closed, and shrouded me in darkness. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the low light, but as they did, the figure of a woman stood before me.

"L-Laura?" I wondered.

"Jimmy, you look awful. I could hear yelling from down here... Things aren't going so well with Ellie huh?" She was wearing a night gown, the sexy kind that accented her hips, her butt, and her breasts. In this low light, I couldn't even make out the cybernetic prosthetics she wore, nor did I care. She put her hands gently around my shoulders, and her large eyes gazed into mine.

"It's Matrix" I sighed. "Ellie is somehow stuck inside her, and Matrix is in charge of her body now. I... I just caught her trying to kill herself."

"What? That's horrible! What are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing" I sighed. "She can't follow through with it, and she should be sleeping now... but it really caught me off guard."

"I'm sorry" she cooed. "Are you alright? Here, let me give you a shoulder massage. Relieve some of that stress."

She pushed me back onto the bed, and climbed on it behind me. Her hands starting working at my shoulders, massaging and caressing my muscles. It felt very good, and I found myself moaning at her touch.

"Is that better? Want me to do more?" she whispered into my ear. Her hot breath sent shivers down my spine. Laura continued to rub my shoulders, and started working down to my back, and then my chest. I could feel her soft warm body pressed against mine.

"Yes" I moaned.

"Like this?" she cooed seductively. Slowly, she slid her hands lower to my stomach, exciting me. I wanted to go on, but something stopped me.

"No" I objected, shrugging her off.

"Hmm? Come on, make up your mind. Don't you like it?"

"Of course I do... I love it... but I just can't"

"You can't?" she huffed, pinching me.

"Ow! I'm sorry, I really want to... but... with Ellie in the other room, and Matrix, I'm so confused!" I groaned.

"There's nothing to be confused about here" she retorted. "I'm not asking you to love me or anything. It's just sex."

"Just sex huh?" I sighed. "I wish it was that simple." I pushed away from her and stood facing her. "I wish I could just say 'Let's do it' and that would be it. But I can't. When I saw Ellie again, even for that split second on the ground, something inside me broke. I'm all torn up inside. As much as I want to, I can't get my mind into it. I'm sorry..."

She looked up at me in silence for a long moment before shaking her head. "No. I'm sorry" she murmured. "I shouldn't have pushed so hard on you like that. I just... you know... you really made an impression on me when we first met. I really enjoyed it... a lot! And I wanted to return the favor. I know you are with Ellie, and I didn't mean to get between you two. If there's anything I can do to help cheer you up..."

"Actually there is" I replied. "Maybe someday we can enjoy each other in that way again... but for now, can you just keep me company? As a friend?"

"Of course!" she piped. "Anything!"

I smiled at her as she relaxed a little. "Just... let me stay here tonight, next to you."

She returned the smile and stretched out her arms. "Sure. Come here!"

We laid out on the bed, Laura hugging me from behind. It felt good to have someone close. I got under the covers without my shirt or pants on, and I was surprised how good it felt to be against her skin, both real and artificial. I imagined it was Ellie holding me for a moment, but was reminded about all that happened. I needed to take my mind off of things...

"So... how did you get away from those guys?" I asked quietly.

"Didn't I tell you I was top of my class?" she replied in a soft tone. "I could out maneuver them any day of the week. Plus I know a thing or two about this city, and managed to lose them in some areas that may or may not have had their defenses turned on."

I could tell she was smiling even without looking at her. "You really are talented. Anyone who dares think less of you because of your cybernetics doesn't deserve your friendship."

"Gee... thanks."

"No I mean it! You work so hard and have done so much, I feel really lucky to have met such an amazing woman."

"Stop it! You're making me blush" she giggled as she squeezed me tighter. "I don't know why I decided to help you, why I came back. I guess... I couldn't abandon my city like that. I don't have many friends, but I've seen so much hurt, so much pain and unfairness, I guess I saw a way to stop all of that... in you."

"I'm no savior" I laughed. "I just wanted to help Ellie-"

"And I'll help you. But I have a feeling what you are doing is going to save a lot more people than just her... and if I'm wrong, at least I found a group of people who accept me for who and what I am, thanks to you."

I smiled. Laura made a brave decision to come back to this city, but at least now she wasn't alone, and she could do something about the suffering she witnessed first-hand on many occasions. If it wasn't for Ellie, Laura might just have been the girl for me. I caught myself thinking about that, and wondered about my own role in all this. What it right to try to save Ellie anymore? After all, she's just a robot, and Laura is flesh and blood. I could have a life with her, a family... a future. I didn't know what to think anymore.

Slowly, I drifted off to sleep in the warm embrace of a woman who saved my life. I owed her for all that she did for me, and now I didn't know if I'd be able to return the favor. As my mind drifted off, the last thought I had changed back to Ellie. I remembered how I found her in the wreckage, how I brought her back to life. I recalled our short time together, how happy she seemed, and how happy he made me. I saw her taken away in a split second, and then saw her broken and in pain as I held her in my arms. She wasn't just a robot, not to me.

"Jimmy... Jimmy! It's time to get up."

I awoke the next morning to the sound of Laura's voice. I had slept very well that night, and was surprised to see her next to me in the bed, her sexy night gown loose around her chest allowing a nipple to poke out. It took a moment to remember where I was. As I got my mind together, I sat up in the bed, trying not to get too aroused at her appearance.

"Don't you have a meeting at 7 to get to?" she asked.

"Oh yeah" I groaned, almost incomprehensible. "I should check on Matrix first, and maybe eat something. Are you coming to the meeting too?"

"Well they didn't invite me, but who knows, I might crash the party." She slid the covers off her and stood up; she was way too energetic this early in the morning. I sat up only to see her reach up and pull off her night gown over her head, revealing her complete lack of underwear. I was far more awake now than I expected to be.

"Wh-what are you doing?" I asked flustered as I turned my face away.

"What?" she giggled. "You've seen it all before. Besides, I WAS planning on a lot more than this last night."

I slowly turned my head back toward her, and saw her face beaming at me. She was definitely a morning person. A naked sexy morning person at that. She giggled again, sending waves of motion through her body that jiggled every which way. Suddenly my apprehensions from the night before were disappearing, and I found myself wanted her more and more.

She folded the nightgown and placed on a nearby dresser, before reaching in a bag nearby to pull out some clothes. It looked like she must have been borrowing someone else's clothes, which reminded me that I didn't have anything else to wear myself. I would need to get something clean.

Laura slid into a pair of panties, before pulling out a bodice. "This isn't a show you know. Or are you planning to go around the place in your underwear?" She sighed to herself "If only you were this interested last night..."

"Sorry" I apologized as I shook my head away from the amazing view. She laughed again and continued to dress as I looked around for my own clothes.

I was dressed long before she was, but at least she had on something clean. I made a mental note to borrow something from the house if they had anything. I watched as Laura finished dressing. She wore a pair of shorts that showed off plenty of leg, a long white blouse that flared to her sides and had an intricate pattern laced into it, and patched up but stylish bodice, with knee-high leather boots and a large belt. In all, it was very stylish, and very different from the uniform I saw her in before. She actually looked really cute in it with her spiky short red hair.

"How does it look?" she chimed as she spun in a circle to show it off. "I had to borrow if from one of the other girls. I'm just lucky it fits me."

I had to clear my throat before talking. "It looks really good on you." She blushed and smiled again, before taking my arm and leading me out of the room.

"We'll have to get you something too; I'll ask one of the girls if there is any men's clothing you can wear."

"We'll see." I finally got up and checked the clock on the dresser. We still had over half an hour, I wondered why she insisted on getting up so early, but then again, she was clearly a morning person. I suppose she was used to this type of schedule while in the Royal Guard, but at least it left plenty of time to eat.

We walked out of the room together, caught up in our own small talk, but something was wrong. Almost directly across from us, the guard for Matrix's room was slouched against the wall. At first I thought he had fallen asleep, but I realized this was not a position someone would sleep in. Did Matrix escape?!

We rushed over to the guard to see if he was still alive. He was breathing, but a small dart in the side of his neck told me Matrix wasn't acting alone.

"Ever see anyone in the guard use one of these?" I asked Laura.

"No... I've never seen anything like it before. Is he alright?"

Before I could try to wake the large man up, movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention. A man, tall and thin, wearing a long white shirt and pants in a foreign style with a gold and red cord tied around his waist and chest, and a white mask with thick black tears running down the eyes, emerged from a room down the hall, and silently closed the door behind him.

"Gabriel!" I gasped. This man was the same man I saw before in Laura's room at the hospital. I had no idea where he came from, who he really was, or why he helped me find Matrix. I didn't know if I should trust him or not. He didn't think highly of the Servus Liberatum, but he also lead me straight to Matrix. Why he was here now I hadn't a clue.

"So you're awake" his silky voice rang out as though the distance between us was a fraction of what it actually was. Laura turned to look at him as well, and I felt her grab my shoulder in fear.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in a weak and shaky voice.

"I could ask you the same, such an unusual establishment for 2 such as yourselves to be in." I noticed by now that the room he had just left was the same room the green-haired robot girl was in. What in the world did he want with her?

"Shut up! You knew Matrix was awakened, didn't you?" I spat at him. "You used me!"

"I never lied" his voice echoed. "I warned you that you wouldn't like what you saw. But you did well."

"You practically sent him off to his death!" Laura intervened. "If it wasn't for me he-"

"You? You did exactly as I expected. You both performed admirably" he retorted.

"What? But you never told me to do anything. I was in bed-" she continued.

"Suffering from a minor concussion, yes. But I knew you heard every word that I said. I counted on it. You knew exactly which floor, and even which room he'd be in. You are a Royal Guard, are you not? Surely you've seen that room in use before."

"I- hah! I NEVER- in all my life...!" Laura was clearly upset and at a loss for words, but that didn't stop her from trying.

"Where is Ellie? And what did you want with her and the green-haired girl?" I asked.

"Sharp as a tack" he commented. "Ellie, if that's what you want to call her, is where she's always been. Matrix too. I didn't have much business with her really, except to make sure she was not harmed. You can never be too careful with a band of rebels and outcasts. As for the... 'green-haired girl' as you call her... I was just borrowing something that I think will come in most handy."

I noticed in his hand he was carrying a small black box with wires dangling from them. Even from this distance I could tell it was a hard drive. "What did you do to her!?"

"Nothing at all" he defended. "She is just as she was when you left her last, rusty chassis and all. I do, however, have a request for you, one that is of utmost importance. As I helped you rescue the girl, now you must help me deliver her."

"What?!"

"Relax, young man. I mean no harm, only to take what is truly mine and leave what is yours to you. Matrix may be awake now, but your father is the only one that can rescue your beloved. However, in order to do this, you must take her with you. If she stays here, your mission will fail, and Ellie will never see your face again."

"Why are you helping us?" Laura asked.

"I'm not. It just so happens what helps you also helps me." He suddenly stiffened in his stance.

"Gabriel!" a voice called from behind. It was Aunt May, and she stood at the ready, a rifle in hand.

"It seems my welcome is up" he hissed. Almost before I had registered what was going on, he silently ran a few steps and bolted out a window in the hall with a mighty crash. May, Laura, and I all ran toward the window, May cussing along the way. Before we could get to the window sill, a familiar hum filled the hall. Laura gasped when she heard it, and as soon as I looked out the shattered glass, I knew why.

Just as I reached the window, an Ino Royal Guard armored suit lifted away, and took flight. With it, all traces of Gabriel were gone, save the broken glass.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Gabriel..." May answered, giving me a suspicious eye. "He was here for her wasn't he?"

"Her who?" Laura asked.

"Matrix, who else?"

"No" I shook my head. "I think he was here for the other girl I saved..."

"You've seen him before haven't you" May asked.

I nodded. "Yes. Once before, in the hospital. He... told me where you find Ellie."

She spat. "Damn nosey son of a-"

"Who is he?" Laura asked.

"Who knows? All we know is he's somehow associated with the Royal Guard, and has been sneaking around our business for too long. He approached me once, but I turned him away, at gun point."

"What does he want?" I asked this time.

May shook her head as she stepped away from the shattered glass shards. "Who knows? I have a bad feeling about that guy. I think he's trying to gather intelligence on us, but it doesn't make sense. Well he's gone now. I'll make sure this gets cleaned up. And we can't stay here much longer now that he can tell his friends where we are. I bet he's telling the other Guard right now about us."

"Hey" Laura interrupted. "I never heard of this guy, and I was a guard. So excuse me!" May looked at her as though she forgot and was embarrassed by what she said. "I've only heard rumors about him, but no one in the guard has ever seen him."

"Well, whatever his reason for being here, I'd feel safer if we moved to another location" May continued. "You two go get some food. Jim, we've got a meeting at 7, don't be late. Azuma will guide you there." She sniffed in the air and took half a step back. "And get a change of clothes, and maybe a shower."

"What about me?" Laura asked. "I can help at the meeting."

May looked her up and down. "Your head not bothering you?" Laura shook her head in response. "Maybe you can help in the fight, but for now take it easy. See you at the meeting" she nodded toward me and turned to leave.

"Hey! I'm good for more than just fighting!" Laura objected but got no reply. "She doesn't trust me" she grumbled.

A man walked passed to attend to the guard, who was just starting to stir. My attention was drawn to the two girls in the rooms. From here, I was closer to the door with the nameless girl inside, so I quickly opened the door and looked in.

Inside, the green-haired gynoid sat patiently looking at a newspaper. She looked up at me and smiled.

"Oh, it's you! Is everything alright, I heard a noise."

"Yeah, we're fine. How are you? What did that man want?"

"I'm fine. We just sat and talked a while. Funny, I can't remember what we talked about... but he was a very polite fellow."

"I'll take a look at her" Laura suggested, "you check on Ellie."

"Right." I ran down the hall back toward the room Matrix was in. The guard by now was sitting up straight, getting his bearings, while the other man helped him. I opened the door to find Matrix sitting in the bed. She had been crying, but turned away from me and wiped her eyes with her right hand.

"What do you want?" she asked in a sharp voice. It reminded me of a spoiled child. I closed the door and stepped in.

"I want to make sure you're alright. Did that guy do anything to you? Did he touch you or anything?"

"No... He didn't touch me. And no I'm not alright. Do I look alright?! I can't even move on my own..."

"As long as he didn't do anything. Maybe I should check you out just in case."

"Whatever" she grumbled. "It's not like I can stop you."

"I'm not going to force you" I told her. I remembered what the other girl said, and I didn't want to order Matrix around if I could avoid it. She looked at me with dark eyes, but looked away again a moment later.

"Fine. Go ahead. But I tell you he didn't do anything. He just wanted to talk."

I kneeled next to the bed and pulled the sheets away from her. She was still naked but sat there silently as I opened a few ports on her body, checking for any sign of tampering.

"What did he talk about?" I asked as I worked.

"Me... Seth... you... Ellie" she sighed. As I looked around her body, she blushed, which I didn't expect, but I was sure she'd hit me hard if I called her out on it. "He wanted to know about my relationship with Seth, what I remembered from my homeland, and who Ellie is."

"What did you tell him?"

"Seth is an asshole. I was never activated in Ainu. And Ellie is a pain. Just like you are."

"A pain that saved your life" I retorted.

"Oh yeah... then who is your father? Or why was he so interested that I meet him?"

"What?"

"I could hear everything you guys said out there" she informed. "You're supposed to take me home to your dad? What - the - fuck?" I glared at her and slammed her chest panel closed harder than I meant to. "OW! Hey!"

"It's none of your business!" I snapped.

"It is if you're going to force me to-"

"I told you, I'm not going to force you" I interrupted. "I only just learned that he's still alive, ok? And apparently he built you. So if you ever dreamed of moving again, he'd be the one to fix you."

I turned to leave when her voice stopped me. "Wait! Please." I turned toward her. "I'm sorry. I owe you a lot, I know. But could I ask one more thing..."

"Sure..."

"Some clothes and some food. And maybe a bath."

"I'll see what I can arrange."

I left the room, in a worse mood than when I entered. I needed to think. It wasn't that long before the meeting, and I had a lot to do already. I headed down the hall, in search of food, clothes, and a bath, for me and Matrix.

Chapter 9 - Betrayed

It took longer than expected to get a bite to eat, find a change of clothes, and take a shower. I wanted to make sure I made the meeting, but I was already running late and I never had the chance to get Matrix anything either. Luckily, Laura came to the rescue. She had briefly met Matrix in the past, and was willing to help find her clothes and food. Not that she was keen on helping her, but since I assured her that her limbs didn't work, she'd be unable to do much to anyone.

As for me, I made it to the meeting a few minutes late, guided by Captain Azuma, who was clearly annoyed with me. Did this man ever sleep? He was a disciplined soldier, and despite his clear annoyance, he still reacted professionally and courteously. At least now when I came to the meeting, I didn't smell.

We ended up going into a basement, below a cellar full of wine and past a boiler room, with thick walls and large heavy doors. It was obvious this was a place for smuggling goods, but right now it was mainly filled with alcohol. Inside was a rectangular table with a few men and tele-screens on it. I only recognized a few of the people, May being at the center of one table. There were 2 seats left vacant to one side of her, where the two of us sat, Azuma right next to her. I looked around in the dimly lit room and tried to gauge who these people were.

There was an older gentleman who appeared to be some sort of city official, the kind you'd think would normally object to meeting in the basement of a whore house. Next to him were a few younger men, who may or may not have been assistants. Along with a few of the Liberatum fighters, there was a woman on the tele-screen. She had a kindly face, but was getting on in years, with her white hair in a tight bun. Apparently, she was remotely meeting with us through what I hoped as a secure connection. As we sat, I listened to the conversation so far.

"... The government is already pushing the idea of an all-out war on the populous" the old man objected.

"What I'm saying is we can't be too hasty" the woman said. "We need to make sure our information is good" the woman on the tele-screen clarified.

"The information is good" May informed. "I checked it myself. When we invaded the tower, we rescued a number of highly sought-after personnel. Their information not only matched, but checks with our previous intel."

"And is this one of the men you rescued?" the man asked, nodding his head toward me.

"N-not exact-" I tried to say.

"No. He was the man who captured Matrix" May interrupted.

There was a gasp in the room. "Why would you want to hold such a dangerous psychopath hostage?! She'd be better off in a junk heap" the man growled.

"Patience senator" the woman said. "She may be of some value to us yet. Besides, how can we call ourselves the liberators of the slaves if we do nothing to help this girl?"

"Help?!" The man fumed and huffed at the suggestion, but said nothing else. "She's the last person who-"

"Don't be so quick to judge who needs help. Sometimes the right path means doing the hard thing" the woman counseled. "I for one would rather die trying to help those in subjugation than be defeated by our own misguided judgments."

"Well put" one of the other men praised.

"For now, regardless, she is our prisoner, and has been disabled for the most part" Azuma chimed in.

"And tell me young man" the woman on the monitor beckoned, what is your name and why did you choose to save the girl Matrix?" All eyes turned toward me. I got nervous, and found myself struggling to find the right words.

"I- uh... that is... I'm... my name is Jim... Jim Amano. I'm the guy that fou-" I stuttered.

"Amano?!" the old man, whom I heard addressed as a senator, stammered. "As in Henry Amano? The inventor?"

"Yes" May stated. "He is Henry Amano's son. And if anyone has a chance of taming the infamous Matrix, it would be the two of them."

"Interesting" the woman on screen observed. "Tell me; of what importance is this girl to you?"

May spoke up first. "That's not important right now-"

"I'm asking him" the woman clarified.

"I'm not sure how to answer that" I started. "Besides the fact that I just learned my father is still alive, I also learned he built her, and I am not going to let anyone destroy her before I can see him. That and she's kind of grown close to me."

"Matrix? Grown close?" the senator huffed.

"Not Matrix, at least not as you know her. Look, it isn't important right now, but just-"

"Please, indulge us" the remote woman beaconed.

I heaved a heavy sigh. "When I was in my village, Maya, no one was every close to me, and they would all stay their distance. When I found El... When I found Matrix, she was broken, shot through the head. I did my best to repair her, but she lost her memories, and became rather attached to me. She gave me companionship, and joy. I never saw any of what Matrix is in her. I was-"

"In love?" the woman asked. Murmurs echoed around the table.

"M- maybe. But after she was taken and tortured, she turned back into her old self... but not completely." I added. "She might not regret her actions, but she listens to me, and does what I tell her."

"So you are her new 'owner'?" the man asked. "This is excellent. We can order her around to do whatever we want. She's the perfect killing machine."

"I object to such verbiage" the woman complained. "For one, we are for the freedom of all sentient beings, not the re-subjugation of them. And further, how does this make us any better than those who used her before?"

"I refuse to use such a dangerous person, even if we were guaranteed her cooperation" May interjected. "Just because Jim is now her master doesn't mean she won't find a way to get what she wants behind our backs. She's manipulative, tricky, and-"

"And not a toy" I interrupted. "I am not going to just give her orders to satisfy my wishes, or anyone else's. She is a sentient being who deserves the kind of respect and rights of anyone at this table. Maybe she has changed, maybe she hasn't, but speculating and arguing about it is pointless. I am not going to use her like a tool."

"Well said" the woman on the screen added. Everyone seemed to die down a little after that.

"And with that, we must move on to the next phase" May stated. "Henry Amano must be rescued. His continuous servitude under Kaiser Tsion..."

"Tyrant Tsion" the older gentleman corrected.

"... is not only an injustice, but a very real danger to these people, and the people of Ainu" she continued without missing a beat. "Word has it he has been assigned to a new endeavor, one which will mean the end of all sentient artificials, and further subjugation of cyborgs. If we can save this man, and remove him from the controller of Tsion, we will have full and unimpeded access to his knowledge of the defensive and offensive capabilities of the IRG, as well as all other projects she has worked on, including those of the Ainu guard."

"Yes, it is agreed that we need to rescue him, but all our efforts to locate him have been futile" the old man stated.

"Until now" May answered. "Our informants have all identified his location, which I admit seems like an unusual place to hold a man captive and the legality of it is questionable as well. I'm not sure exactly how Tsion has gotten away with this, but it would explain why we could never find him before."

"Well?" the man asked impatiently.

"And where is it they've been keeping him?"

"The Ainu Embassy" Matrix answered from across the room. All eyes turned toward her, all in shock, as Laura stood there carrying Matrix on her back.

"How did you get in here?" May roared.

"We walked" Matrix shot back.

"We?" Laura objected. "I did all the walking. And the talking. And the sneaking about."

"Matrix?!" the old man quaked.

"Don't worry, she's harmless" I pointed out. "Mostly. Her limbs don't work, and she's been ordered not to harm anyone. Isn't that right?"

"Yes" she hissed; her voice full of disdain. "So this is where you've been meeting all this time? In the basement of a whore house... if only Seth knew about this."

"But he won't, because you won't tell him" Laura said as she stepped closer, jabbing an elbow into Matrix's side.

"I hate that man!" A sinister sneer crossed her face as she reacted to the name. "I've been betrayed too many times. I will help you, if only out of revenge."

"We don't need your help here" the old senator objected. "She cannot be here, it is too dangerous! We need to make sure she is silenced. If word got out about us-"

"The consequences would be dire, for you, and sweet for me" she added, finishing his sentence. "But I'm not here for any of you. I'm here for him" she said, trying to point to me. "He will need my help if he ever wants to see that damn bitch Ellie again. And I would rather die than see Seth win again. Heck, I'd rather die than help you sad lot, but the way I see it, you're the only chance I have to see Seth suffer before I fry!"

"No one is talking about killing you" I argued.

"No? Well they should. I've been the thorn in all of your sides for years, and here I am. Why not just kill me now and get it over with? I'm completely defenseless." Matrix started yelling brutally and Laura almost dropped her.

"Don't listen to her" I warned.

"If she's offering herself to us-" the old man argued.

"Senator!" the woman berated him. He sat down again but remained on alert. "We shall not even consider such an option at this time. Now, Mr. Amano... who is Ellie?"

I choked. I didn't want to bring that up right now, but Matrix mentioned it and I hoped they wouldn't have caught on. "She's sort of another personality of Matrix. That's what I named her when I found her."

"I see" she sympathized.

"Who cares about this Ellie business? I don't want to be anywhere near that killer" the senator insisted.

"She is not allowed to kill anyone, as per my orders" I said. "And that is the only order I hope to give her. At least on that scale. If she goes with me, I am sure she can guide us through the embassy to where we need to be while avoiding her fellow guards."

"Why the Ainu embassy?" Laura asked.

"We don't know" May clarified, looking at Matrix for an answer.

"Heck if I know" she retorted. May gave a glance to Azuma, who nodded and briefly left the table to check for any more spies.

"As far as we know," May continued, "Ainu is a sovereign nation. But then again, as far as we know, Ainu may not even exist."

"What?" I asked.

"If they do exist, they are a very remote country, and would only be interested in trade with us, but the embassy has been somewhat of a pain for us politically. There has been little-to-no contact with Ainu aside from the ambassador, and we are currently investigating what we can about them. What I can say is that our findings have been curious. The Ainu Guard, Matrix included, were not built at Ainu, and were in fact products of Henry Amano. Why they would seek such an unusual arrangement with this government to provide their own protection is beyond me."

"Don't look at me, I just worked there" Matrix scoffed.

May gave her a dark look. "As it is, Matrix knows more about the Ainu embassy than anyone else, however... I cannot agree to let her go with us."

"But she's the only one who would know the way-" I insisted.

"The way to our downfall. With a single word she could guide us into a trap, and she needn't kill us to destroy our plan. No, she is too dangerous. She cannot go."

"My father will know what to do with her" I pointed out.

"Then we'll take him back with us. If he can do anything to help her, he can do it here."

"No he can't" Laura objected. "I mean... not if he doesn't have the right equipment, right?"

"And how would you know? We can get him what he needs, I'm sure" May growled.

"But Matrix isn't like any other robot you've ever seen, it takes special equipment to work on her. I'd know, I tried to repair her several times now, and her designs are too advanced for anything I've-"

"Then she'll just have to suffer like the rest of us" she fumed through her teeth.

"But Ellie-"

"Not another word about this. She is too dangerous, and too unpredictable, even- especially under your orders."

"What does that mean? Look, I'll take full responsibility-"

"NO you won't. She's not going, and if you insist on continuing this debate, neither will you!" she thundered.

I was taken aback by her sudden outburst. "Gabriel told me-" I murmured.

"Gabriel?" she mocked. "Gabriel is a spy and a traitor. I would not trust that man as far as I could shoot him. Azuma!"

Captain Azuma appeared next to us, eyeing Matrix and Laura. "Yes ma'am?"

"'ve had enough of this! See these three out. And keep them under guard. I cannot handle any more distractions!" May barked.

"Yes ma'am" he answered, and put his giant hand on my shoulder. Shit! My big mouth has now gotten me left out of the rescue party to save my dad!

"Amano" the older woman chimed. "Keep up hope; I know you will do what is right."

The three of us were lead out of the meeting and back upstairs where we were closed into Laura's room, this time with 2 guards outside the door.

"Feh" Matrix sighed. "First secret meeting I get into and I'm kicked out."

"I was the one invited, and you managed to get me kicked out" I argued.

"Whatever."

"Damn it!" I cussed as I kicked at the wall. "I didn't even know he was alive a day ago, and now I've been barred from getting my father out of captivity."

"Then it's a good thing I showed up when I did" Matrix chided. "They're all going to die, but I tried to warn them." I tried my best to ignore her, but I wasn't sure what she meant.

"Do you think they'll be able to rescue your dad?" Laura asked, resting Matrix on the bed and sitting on the floor next to me.

"I... dunno"

"Nope" Matrix exclaimed. "They don't have a chance. If you think I was deadly... you never met my sisters."

"What?" Laura gasped looked back at her. "You're the one making all the headlines."

"Sure. I was deadly, but that was all due to my position. I was put into positions where I had to do what I did, but any of them would have done the same, or worse. Do you think a rifle is any less deadly than a pistol? No, I was no stronger than any of them, and I probably couldn't beat any of them in a one on one combat. But they were mine to command. In the chain of command, it didn't matter if I was deadlier than they were or not, but I was cruel. The Ainu guard are the best of the best. Their skills are far more efficient than mine, at least at killing. When the Servus Liberatum walk into that embassy, they won't last 5 minutes against my four guards. Sure, I was the most advanced, but not at killing. Your father had a way with lowering our efficiencies as he developed us. No, I was supposed to be more 'human' than the others, but Tsion's engineers changed that on their own once they... once they... they..."

Matrix fell silent. I looked up at her as she thought deeply. I swear I could see a little bit of Ellie peeking through, but I didn't dare say that to Matrix.

"It's ok" Laura said.

"What? Oh, I got... lost in thought." Matrix wiped her eyes to keep from crying. Her memories must have been painful ones. She looked away for a moment to compose herself as though she had no emotions.

"Look, I don't want anyone to die, but if what Gabriel said is true, my father has access to equipment in his lab he'd need to fix Ellie.

"He does" Matrix answered. "It's one-of-a-kind stuff too. He worked on all of us in his lab from time to time. Come to think of it... the last thing I remember clearly... before that night you say I attacked your village, I was in his lab..."

"Well this doesn't help us do anything" Laura argued. "We're in here, they're out there, and they'll be walking into a-"

"A bloodbath" Matrix finished.

"We need to do something!" I argued.

"I know all the ways in and around. I could take you straight to your dad without anyone seeing us"

"Or straight to the guard's chambers" Laura objected.

"She wouldn't do that, because she can't guide us to our deaths."

"No I- wait. No... No! that's perfect!" Matrix grinned. "I could lead you straight to the guards."

"What?" Laura exploded.

"No no, listen. I know their routines. I know I could find one that was off-duty and give them an order. As their captain, I could tell them anything at all, like shine my boots, or lick your di-"

"Hey!" Laura yelled.

"Or stop the fighting against the Liberatum" I chimed in. "That's brilliant."

"And they'd have to do it" Matrix bragged. "Just one of them could alert the others in a matter of seconds. In fact, I'd have to tell them to stop. Remember, I can't let anyone die. No. Matter. What. If I know one word will save them, I HAVE to say it!"

"Really? Is it that simple?" I asked.

"Simple?" Laura contested. "Maybe you forgot. We're still stuck in here. And we don't know their plan either. When, where, who?"

"I can find that out for you" Matrix offered.

"Why are you so helpful all of a sudden?" Laura asked, giving Matrix an unsure look.

"I... uh..." I didn't expect Matrix to get caught off guard. She cleared her throat. "If I help you two get me to Jimmy's dad, I want... um..."

"He can fix you"

"No. Not how you want" she corrected. "He can't fix what they did to me in here" she said, trying to point at her head. "They fucked me up bad, I know. You think I like killing?"

"You told me you did, and you can't lie."

"Part of me does... the part that they screwed with. But part of me doesn't. The part you call Ellie. You don't know what it's like, living with this conflict in your head every day. When we get there, I want your father to end me. I can't live like this any longer. You can have your precious Ellie back, and get rid of me at the same time. It's win-win."

"Can she do that?" Laura asked.

"Well... she's not doing anything to herself" I told her. "Are you sure you want to go through with that? Maybe there's something he can do..."

"I doubt it" Matrix groaned. "I know you don't trust me, I wouldn't either. But what choice is there? If the Liberatum goes in without me, they will surely die, and you'll never see your father. If by some miracle they save him, there is nothing he can do for me or Ellie without his lab, and they will execute me AND Ellie. If I try to sneak you in, I'll end up having to confront the guard anyway at some point. No, this is the only option and you know it."

"What is?" Laura asked.

"We go on together, just the 3 of us."

The room was silent for a while. It was true though, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. But we needed a plan! And fast. It sounded to me like they didn't want to waste any time on their rescue attempt.

"You're right" I finally whispered, breaking the silence. "I want to see Ellie again, and I can't possibly carry you that far. It was hard enough getting you here. Laura is stronger than me with her cybernetics and training as a soldier. She can carry you, and you can guide us."

Laura though for a minute before nodding in a silent agreement. "If this is what you want, I'll do it, but I'm not going to enjoy this. But how?"

"Prop me against the door and be quiet" Matrix ordered.

Laura and I lifted Matrix off the bed, and sat her up against the door. As we sat back down silently, she pressed her ear against the door and closed her eyes. At first I thought she fell asleep, but then I realized she was concentrating.

A minute went by, then another. Laura sneezed once and Matrix instantly scolded her "Shh!!"

"Sorry" Laura whispered in a mocking tone, only to get another look from Matrix telling her to shut up.

We waited a long while before finally she opened her eyes abruptly and her gaze darted back and forth across the room in thought.

"They're moving right now!" she informed. "We have to move. We might just beat them there if we can get out of this room. Help me up."

"Beat them there?" Laura asked as she stood up.

"They've got a few dozen men to get equipped and ready, we don't. Now hurry!"

"What do we do?" I asked as we picked Matrix up and placed her in a chair.

"Any ideas?" the white haired gynoid asked.

"I really got to go pee" Laura said.

"A distraction? Maybe we can get the drop on them in the bathroom" I thought out loud.

"No, really. I have to go. I've been holding it in for like an hour."

"Oh."

Laura got up and knocked on the door, all the while holding her knees together. There was a click, and then another, and the door slowly opened.

"I really have to use the ladies room, and there isn't one in here" she explained to the large men outside the door. They grunted something to her and let her out.

"What do we do?" I asked as Laura vanished with one of the men in tow.

"Come here and lift me up" Matrix ordered.

I knelt by the chair to perch her on my back when her one good hand suddenly reached out and grabbed my hair. She pulled hard and brought my face up to hers. Before I had the chance to process what we happening, she embraced me in a deep passionate kiss, tongue and all. I resisted at first, but I couldn't stop myself. After a moment, I was returning her kiss.

Finally we pulled apart and looked at each other, our faces red. I was shocked at what she did, and what I did. I not only let her but kiss me, but I returned the favor. She was embarrassed and confused, and instantly looked away from my eyes.

"You- you don't know how much my body has wanted to do that" she said. "I had to get it out of my system."

I just nodded with my mouth hanging open.

"I'm not doing it again. So don't ask. And close your mouth, you're drooling."

I closed my mouth and shook my head awake. I was still light-headed from the encounter.

"We have to get out of here" Matrix sighed. Suddenly, she focused on the wall behind me, as though a light went on in her head. "And I think I have a plan."

"That's your plan?" I said as I prepared to open the door to get the guard's attention. The door was still unlocked after Laura left, but the guard on the other side would have stopped us if we tried to leave.

"What's wrong with it?" Matrix asked, almost offended. She sat in the same chair, propped up against a wall so she could get a clear look out the door, with a brick in her hand which she pried loose from the wall. "You open the door; I hit him over the head with a brick. Problem solved."

"I don't know, is your aim good enough to hit him from across the room... without killing him?"

She gave me a look as though I should already know the answer to that question. "If I can do it well enough to kill someone in one blow, I can knock him out too. You said I couldn't kill anyone, but you said nothing about knocking them out. Besides, he's surrounded by semi-naked ladies. Sooner or later someone will notice and come to his aid. Eventually."

"I don't like this plan" I objected.

"You got a better one?" she scoffed.

"No."

"Then open it!" she commanded as she readied to throw the brick.

"But what about the other guard?"

"No 'but's! We'll deal with that when we get there! Now PULL!"

"I have a really bad feeling about this" I objected again as I nervously reached for the door knob.

Before my hand could make contact with the metallic handle, it turned and opened silently. I recoiled my hand; afraid that they heard our conversation and were coming in to stop us. As the door swung open, Laura appeared. The brick flew short and landed at her feet with a loud thud, although she still ducked.

"Whoa... nice 'thanks for saving us Laura' this is" she mocked as she gave Matrix a dirty look.

"Laura!" I burst out. "Are you alright? Where's the guard?" I said looking behind her. The hall was clear, or so I thought.

"Taken care of" she said, "no thanks to little miss 'shoots first' over there."

"What?" Matrix said. "I missed. It's not like my arm is really back to normal yet. Okay, so it wasn't one of his better plans."

"Matrix!" I barked.

"Jimmy!" Laura barked in sync.

"It wasn't my plan, it was hers!" I defended.

"But you were the one ready to open the door."

"I coaxed him into it" Matrix cooed.

"I'm surprised you could throw a brick at all in your state" Laura stated.

"Actually so am I" she replied. "I thought for sure I'd have to resort to plan B."

"And what was plan B?" I asked.

"Watch you duke it out with the guard while I threw more bricks."

I smacked my face hard enough to leave a red mark. She was doing this on purpose. But of course she was. She could hear everything that was going on out there, and she knew there wasn't going to be any danger. I'm sure she heard whatever it was Laura did. She was just playing with me.

"So what did happen to the guards?" I asked.

Laura turned to look at me, flashing a sparkling smile at me as she showed me a small poisoned dart. The same dart used by Gabriel. I peered out behind Laura and noticed the guard was unconscious on the floor.

"You know, this body doesn't need pockets." She placed her hand down by her leg and just beneath the shorts she wore, a small panel opened up, more like a compartment. She dropped the dart inside, and sealed it closed again with a click.

"Resourceful, I like her" Matrix said.

"Better than your idea" she joshed.

"Speaking of ideas, I've got one" I interjected. "Let's get the fuck out of here before we're caught."

"I can take us to Beschutzer" Laura said as she grabbed some things in the room.

"Brewster?" Matrix puzzled. I kneeled down next to her to lift her onto my back.

"Beschutzer. My armored suit. You should know. You have one too. Einguard. Or did you lose him?"

"No" Matrix shot back. "I didn't lose him; I just don't know where they put him right now."

"Enough about your boyfriends" I interrupted, "talk later, run now!"

They both rolled their eyes at me but stopped bickering. Since Laura knew the way, I figured I'd carry Matrix for now, while she guided us. As soon as we were out in the hallway, I felt a sense of unease. I didn't want to betray these people, but I had to act. If they caught us trying to leave, they'd lock us up, or worse. We had to get out unnoticed. And I hadn't a clue how.

As luck would have it, most of them were too busy getting ready, but in all there were actually very few members of the Liberatum Servus in the building. Most were off site somewhere in the under city preparing. All we really had to do was avoid Aunt May and Uncle Azuma. We sneaked our way through the back corridors of the silk web, avoiding detection for the most part, that is until we found our way to the main entrance.

On one side was the curtain, which lead into the guest area, and on the other side Azuma was monitoring the comings and goings of everyone around. We were directly behind him when we barged into the room, coming within inches of toppling him. We were fortunate he didn't notice, but we were stuck, and he'd see us no matter what we did.

Suddenly, I felt a firm hand grab my shoulder and I found myself being pulled through the curtain to the other side. A familiar face stood beside me, pulling Laura through the curtain next.

"Shhh..." The metallic gynoid in a theater usher's uniform shushed. "This way" she whispered.

We followed the metal girl a short distance before she opened up to us. "I overheard what was going on, and I knew I had to help. I mean, after hearing all about your father and his fate, and your poor mother, and how he was being forced to work for her killer, and that the rebels were going to let you help then stopped and decided against it. It's like in a movie I saw... Rebel scum." The last two words she said with a foreign accent and a deep-ish voice, as though she was quoting someone, but I was never one of films. She probably would have kept on talking too but we had to hurry.

"Thanks for the help, but where are we going?" I asked.

"Oh, right. Well the front door of course."

"What?!" Laura spat.

"Of course" I thought out loud. "If the back is the one guarded by the Liberatum, then the front is our back way out."

"Excuse me" Matrix interjected, "but don't they watch the front as well? You know, tracking everyone coming in and all that..."

"Sure, but by the time they realize you've left, it will be too late" the metal girl explained. "You'd better hurry though; this side of the curtain is known to host an Ino soldier or two."

We made our way toward the front, which wasn't a long trip at all. There was a bit more of a crowd the closer we got, and I was pretty sure we weren't going to 'blend in'. The long winding stairs on either side of the main hall were sprinkled with attractive women in lacy revealing clothes, the occasional couple would occupy a love seat or a corner, and every now and then I heard the distinct sounds of love-making somewhere in the not-too-far-off distance. We had managed to keep quiet and inconspicuous enough to not draw any attention to us, but just as we were about to reach the ornate doors, Matrix tensed up and grabbed me tightly with her nails, digging them into my flesh a little.

"It's him!" she hissed in a whisper only I heard. Just before us, a man walked through the doors, into the Silk Web, a man I recognized instantly, and wished I would never see again. Seth walked in as though he owned the place, or at least had business here of some sort and already knew the way. I grabbed Laura's arm and pulled her back, dragging her into the corner next to the stairs, just beside the main entrance.

"Hey! What giv-" I kissed Laura deeply, to stop her from giving us away... I swear that was the only reason. She struggled against me, confused, and pulled away.

"Seth is right behind you" I whispered. He stopped in the middle of the room, between the stairs, and started scanning the foyer with eagle eyes. Laura tensed up as soon as she heard his name, but my little gynoid friend just stood there confused, looking at us like we lost our minds.

His eyes glanced toward us, as Matrix ducked down behind me. I pulled Laura in for another embrace, and she went along with it this time. The fact that it was a highly enjoyable and quite erotic kiss had nothing to do with anything. She coiled her arms around me while I returned the favor, feeling her petite back as we kissed. Through her hair, I could see him look straight at us with a disapproving smirk.

"You guys, you can't do this here!" the gynoid complained to us, oblivious to the situation. She looked like a receptionist failing to stop clients from enjoying themselves outside their room. Luckily, Seth seemed to get the same impression, and walked up to a particularly attractive blonde bombshell, who looked a little too perfect to be human in my eyes. He grabbed her wrist and muttered something, before approaching another girl, also a blonde and could have been her sister, grabbing her arm and walking up the stairs with them. He nodded his head toward the receptionist, an older but attractive woman in a nightgown.

"These two, the regular room, put it on my tab" he commanded to her and vanished down one of the hallways with them in tow.

"Fucking son of a bitch! I knew it!" Matrix growled. "That bastard has been fucking these sluts behind my back this whole time! He is going to pay for this."

"Quickly!" I gasped as I pulled away from Laura. She was still deep in the kiss when I pulled away, and took a moment to gather her senses.

"Wait... what was all that?" the usher gynoid complained as we started moving again.

"I'll explain later" I said reaching for the door. "You've been a tremendous help! We owe you one."

"Yeah?" she questioned with a smile. The front door closed between us, and we started to run.

Laura took lead while I followed, carrying Matrix on my back. She held on with her one hand tightly, without making a sound the entire way. Her body was stiff as I carried her, and she breathed heavily. There was definitely something that got to her when she Seth again. Last time she saw him, he threw her off a building. And yet they were in the throes of passion only moments before. Unlikely lovers, which now appear to have been entirely one-sided. He used her for the sex, and when she wasn't enough to satisfy him, he used others. I wondered what was going through Matrix's head as we ran down the back alleys to a man hole in the ground, but then again I don't think I'd really want to know.

The sewer tunnels were dark, cramped, old, and abandoned. While a pungent odor remained, it wasn't as repulsive as a fresh sewer would have offered us. I still wouldn't recommend it. As the lights behind us faded, a dim beam shown ahead in the distance. We walked cautiously through the slippery tunnel, as something wet and warm dripped onto my back. The hand grasping my shoulder relaxed and I felt Matrix shift her weight forward, into me, as she wrapped her arm around me more.

"You won't betray her, will you?" she whispered into my ear, too quiet for Laura to hear. I realized now she had been crying. I don't think I will ever understand women. I mean the man beat her and raped her and threw her off a building, but seeing him sleep around with other women (which was not all that shocking to me) was the straw that broke the camel's back. Even though she was upset, even furious at him for what he did before, and ready to call it off, now that she'd seen his infidelity, in her mind it was really all over. On an emotional level.

"Down here" Laura announced before I could answer. Did Matrix actually care for Ellie? Or maybe Ellie's emotions were messing her hers... it was so confusing.

Laura climbed down a short ladder into a chamber below where the light bled from before reaching up to take Matrix from me. As I helped her off my back I looked at her face in the dim blue light. She had been crying, and I wiped away a tear from her cheek.

"I could never do that to her" I promised as I looked her in the eyes. She glanced away, but nodded, smiling a little.

"Come on! Hand her over" Laura ordered. I brought Matrix over to the ladder, and handed her off.

The chamber below was small and plain, but a small crack in the side of the concrete wall lead to another tunnel. This time, there was no bad smell, and air was flowing constantly at a low breeze. We headed toward the source of the wind, and walked for another 10 minutes as the path grew brighter and brighter before Laura stopped. She started muttering to herself as she looked up and down the tunnel at the walls, which were now lined with a short series of ladders heading up to hatched above. Finally she let out an "Ah-ha!" and started toward one.

"This tunnel leads all the way out of the city, if you can get passed the sentinel-guarded fans, but we're heading up here" she said, grabbing onto the ladder. I followed behind, trying not to enjoy my view too much (she was wearing shorts, but still). Finally we emerged from the tunnel and into a small warehouse. It wasn't very big, and it looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. The walls were dirty and covered in graffiti and filth. Wherever the building hadn't already fallen down, it was falling down or soon would be. The sun illuminated piles of rubble, old discarded junk, burlap sacks, and plants growing in the cracks of the floor. Laura led us to a far corner, away from the beams of light, where most of the building still stood. A single faint reflection of light caught my eye just before Laura pulled a large soiled heavy-cloth tarp from Beschutzer, her armored suit. It lay hidden out of sight in what must have been a very poor part of town. It was beat up, dented, and covered in dirt and scratches. That fall from the other day must have left some marks, but if she was able to pilot here safely, as well as avoid capture by 2 of the Ino guard, it must have still been in good shape.

"I grew up around here" she explained. "No one would ever look here for him. Let's go, time is short!"

She was right of course, time was short, we had spent the better part of an hour just getting to Beschutzer, and we still had to get to the embassy. At this rate, the fight would be over before we got there. Laura swiftly scaled her mech toward the cockpit. Matrix seemed unimpressed, but didn't say anything, besides a condescending tone of doubt.

"Jimmy, you get in here with me, like before. We'll have to carry Matrix."

"Hey!" Matrix objected as Laura lowered her to the ground. "I'm smaller than him and can fit perfectly fine. Why can't I go in the cockpit? And what do you mean 'like before'?"

"Well for starters" Laura began, "I trust him; I don't trust you. Also, I can't rely on your broken limbs to be any help, and I would probably be stuck trying to keep you from falling out of the seat. No, you are going to get carried."

"Carried?!"

Laura ignored her and ordered me inside again. I climbed up as Matrix continued to object.

"Hey! Don't ignore me! What do you mean 'last time'? How exactly do you two know each other?"

"I think I sense a hint of jealousy" Laura quipped.

"I heard that, and I'm not jealous!" Matrix huffed and sat at the edge of the mech while I climbed in. Laura climbed in next, sitting on my lap, and strapping herself in. A hum filled the small space as she starting flipping switches before fitting her arm into the arm controls. Carefully, Laura sat on my lap, her soft warm rear resting on me, giving me bad ideas.

"Why do you get to sit on him like that!?" Matrix continued to object. "This is not fair, I demand a vote! Either I ride with him or-"

"Oh shut up" Laura snapped and shut the cockpit door with a thud. With admirable skill, she manipulated the hand of the armored suit to deftly lift Matrix from the edge of the mech and held her firmly yet gently as the mech rose to its feet. The suit was tough; it had taken a beating or two since I was first in it, and probably more since I last saw it, and yet it was still running well. However, it was obvious Laura was struggling more to maintain control over her suit while she piloted it. It seemed that things internally were shimmying more than they should, and the ride was not as comfortable as it once had been. However, it worked, and Laura managed to walk us out of the abandoned warehouse without too much difficulty before taking a leap and launching us into the air.

Matrix shrieked as we took to the air, and used her only semi-descent limb to hold onto the finger of the mech with all her might. We stayed relatively low, only a few meters above the buildings, as we surveyed the area.

"Do you know where we are?" Laura asked into a microphone so matrix could hear.

"Give me a second; I'm kind of busy not falling to my death... again." Matrix struggled to keep herself stable, and eventually managed to brace herself between a finger and the thumb, so she could look around. "Yeah, I think so. You'll need to fly toward 10 o'clock and turn to the left when we reach that tower. Stay low... and don't go fast or I'll fall off!"

"Roger that" Laura confirmed and off we went. For the next half hour we flew in relative silence over the buildings. Like before, we stayed low, just above the roof tops, to avoid detection. The sun beat down from overhead as noon settled in. Matrix would orient herself and give us directions, avoiding areas that had known Ino patrols, and staying out of sight. The city was enormous! Even though we were flying slowly, I expected to be able to fly through the entirety of it in a few minutes, but it just kept going as far as I could see. Once or twice, we had to duck between buildings to avoid a passing patrol, but thanks to Matrix's guidance and Laura's expert flying skills, we managed to make our way across Ino without any trouble. At last, in the distance, I could see the city wall, and just before it, a giant gold dome shown in the sunlight like a beacon.

"That's it!" Matrix announced. "That's the embassy. Make your way to the alley behind it and I think I can get us-"

An explosion of smoke rose from next to the dome just before the shockwave and boom hit us. Birds everywhere started flying away as the sound of gunshots could be heard.

"It's already started!" Laura said, and took off at full speed toward the embassy.

We landed near a building behind the... well palace would be a good word for it. The embassy was huge, and we managed to find a shady spot behind a smaller building next to a tree to hide. I had no idea how we were going to navigate this place, or where my father was; Matrix would have to guide us. She was the only one who knew her way about the place, and so far she hadn't steered us wrong, but there was always doubt in the back of my mind.

We got out of Beschutzer, making sure he was out of sight. Laura carried Matrix while I took the rear. I had no weapon on me, no way to defend myself, and the echoes of gunfire grew louder as we approached the building.

"Quickly, into that small door. The code should be 3152." Matrix pointed to a plain white door at the side of building that seemed to be a servant's entrance. We ran over as fast as we could, and quickly I typed into the keypad. A small light on the pad lit green, and there was an audible click from the door. We were in! I opened the door, and followed Laura inside.

It was not as nice as I expected. The hall was small, a little dirty with age, and dark. The walls were lined with wooden shelves full of supplies for cleaning, gardening, and maintenance. It certainly was a servant's entrance, and there were even uniforms folded neatly at one end.

"That way!" Matrix pointed forward. We ran through the hall, our footsteps echoing on the marble floor. From somewhere nearby, I could hear a distinct sound of feet rushing past in formation. Soldiers of some sort. Or perhaps guards. It was hard to tell.

Matrix directed us down another small corridor until at least we came to an open hall. The walls were made out of white stone, the marble floor polished and reflective, and the entire area was decorated with shields, swords, armor, and other instruments of battle. It was as if we had just entered a castle.

"That door there!" Matrix ordered, nodding toward a heavy wooden door, engraved with ornate depictions of heroic deeds.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" I asked as we walked over to the door. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Just do it!" she snarled. A crazed look was in her eye as she focused on the door. "Yes, this is it..."

Cautiously I reached for the door, but before I could, it swung open. Out stepped a woman with white hair and brown eyes. She was young, slender, and fit with muscle. Her outfit was a white and blue uniform of a soldier, with boots, gloves, and an officer's hat, and was fitting a sword into a sheath on her side. Her hair was tight tightly under her hat, so you couldn't tell how long it was. She almost ran into us, too busy getting her uniform on and ready to look where she was going. Suddenly she stopped in her tracks, and we looked at each other in shock. She recovered first, and clenched her jaw.

"In the name of the empire" she began as she drew her freshly sheathed sword out, "all enemies must die!" She lifted the sword above her head and prepared to strike!

"Stop Raster!" Matrix cried.

"C- Captain!" she replied, her arm frozen in midair. She instantly lowered her sword and went into a salute.

"You are not to harm these two" Matrix continued. "Is that understood Raster?"

"Ma'am! Yes ma'am!" Raster replied. "We were not aware of your return. There is a warrant for your arrest by the Ino government, ma'am."

"I know! Lousy bastards."

"Matrix" Laura nudged.

The yellow-eyed robot grimaced. "What?"

"You're their captain. Can't you order them to stop the battle?"

"Or course I can!" she shot back. Raster remained at attention, her eyes darting back and forth between us trying to gauge the situation. "But where's the fun in that?"

"What!?" Laura and I shrieked in unison.

"You know you can't let anyone die!" I reminded her. Matrix scrunched up her face and turned toward Raster.

"Send out the order to all the girls. Arrest these two and take the Liberatum invaders into custody" she ordered.

"WHAT!?"

Chapter 10 - Identification and registration

"I kept my word!" Matrix yelled. "Now, Raster! Don't make me tell you again!"

The girl stood there for a moment, perhaps she was debating the authenticity of her commander, or maybe she worried Matrix had been compromised. It took a moment but finally she responded, "Yes Ma'am." Raster froze in place, her eyes going blank as her pupils vanished. A moment later, the echoes of gunshots ceased. Another soldier emerged from the door. She was dressed the same with the same white hair, although it was loose and came down to her shoulders. The two could have been sisters. She immediately grabbed my wrists, and with immeasurable strength, twisted my arms behind my back until pain shot up my arms. I gasped in pain, letting out a yelp as my knees buckled.

"Don't hurt him" Matrix commanded, a hint of concern in her voice. Raster nodded, and the girl loosened her grip.

"Matrix" I snarled. "You promised!"

"I said I wouldn't allow anyone to die, but I never said I'd surrender to anyone. These are my soldiers, and they follow my orders!"

"Don't make me do it" I warned. "You know I can."

Raster's eyes faded back to normal and she focused on us, looking between the three of us. "The invading force has been cornered and a cease fire declared. It appears they are willing to cooperate, for now."

"Good. Any casualties?" Matrix asked.

"2 of their soldiers are dead, several wounded. Our ranks report no injuries or losses."

"Good. See to it that the ambassador is restrained to their room while this mess is sorted out... for their own safety"

"Already done ma'am" Raster boasted.

"Matrix" I hissed, "you promised. I want to see my father."

"Fine" she shot back. "Raster, I suffered severe damage from the Ino forces, and I need repair. Take us to the doc."

Raster glanced between us again. "And why should these 2 accompany us? Are they not to be detained with the others?"

Matrix grew annoyed, her yellow eyes glowing brightly for a moment. "Did you not understand my command? These two are my prisoners, and I want them to come with me. I have plans for them."

"Very well" Raster conceded. "They shall accompany us, this way."

The girl behind me shoved at me with the butt of her drawn gun, allowing me to walk freely, but in line with the others. We really did feel like prisoners as we walked down the hall to a small elevator door. Raster stopped and typed in some security code, or maybe she transmitted some data. I saw her hand hover over the sleek black keypad, but I never saw her fingers move. Nonetheless, the elevator opened, and again I was shoved inside.

Raster did the same trick again, and the doors closed before the lift started going down. We stood in silence for several moments, with no indication or idea of what floor we were going to, or how many there were. Even speed was difficult to judge, and I figured we must have gone anywhere from 1 to 10 floors down.

The doors slid open, and again we were forced out in formation. "Hey! I can walk" I complained to the girl behind me. Her expression never changed, but at least she stopped shoving me, for now.

The elevator doors opened into a small room that belonged more in a hotel than in an embassy. Ahead of us, a small archway led into a poorly-lit hall made of dingy and dark stone, a stark contrast to the rest of the building we'd seen. The hall was long and windy, and it felt more like an old fashion dungeon than I expected.

Finally, we were led to a room with modern doors and smoked glass windows installed into the stone, creating halls and rooms of their own. It looked much more modern, despite the stone, and yet the glass used was clearly too thick for recreational use. This room was filled with rusty pipes, metal tubes, and wires all over. Lights were installed in the stone ceiling and walls, but there were several iron fixtures standing around lighting up the place as well. Along one side of the room was a series of computers. Adjacent to that was another wall of computers and monitors, but clearly surrounding a work bench for androids. Another smaller room divided by glass walls housed an even more elaborate table with computers and robotic arms, and a slew of wires and tubes.

"Doctor, we have guests" Raster announced.

"Yeah, yeah" a voice from behind another monitor on the opposite side of the room called out. His voice was raspy and weak, but he still had a bite in it. "Hold yer horses."

I took a closer look at the figure behind the monitor. This room was similar to the other one with the advanced android table on it, but it had a lifeless girl laying on the bed. Her long black hair covered her face, but it was clear from the many wires and cables sticking out of her body that she was a robot too. She was completely naked, although a white sheet covered the important parts. Robotic arms were busy welding parts inside the girl with extreme precision and speed.

Next to the girl sat a man with peppered hair. Most of the black was gone, but there was enough left to make him look aged with wisdom but not necessarily old. He wore a white lab coat with black buttons and a high collar, with dark gray pants and boots. Thick round glasses reflected the light from his screen as he typed away diligently at the computer before him.

"Doc!" Matrix yelled out. That stopped him pretty fast. He looked up from his monitor and adjusted his glasses.

His face was gaunt with strong cheek bones and a pronounced jaw line. He probably hadn't shaved in a few days, and his dark eyes grew lighter with age.

"I thought you told me they executed Matrix... and who is this with her?"

He stood up and came around the table toward us. Realization struck him as he gazed at me. His eyes darted up and down me, as though looking for some confirmation of what he suspected.

"Dad?" I wondered.

"J- Jim? Is that you?" His voice was shocked, and he stumbled a little as he walked up to us. "Jimmy!"

"Dad!" We embraced, despite a clear audible objection from Raster. Still we ignored her and held each other. I couldn't stop the tears from flowing, and neither could he. I thought for sure that I was an orphan, but now I knew I still had family.

"I thought I'd never see you again son" he said as he got another look at me.

"I thought you were dead!"

"Yeah, about that... why are you here? If they find out... did Tsion find out about you?"

"I don't think so" I sniffed, wiping away a tear.

"Good..." he said; a weight fell off his shoulders. "But why did you come here? It's dangerous! You have to get out of here!"

"I'm afraid he can't do that" Raster pointed out. "He is our prisoner, and-"

"Forget them" Matrix interrupted. "I'm kind of in need of some work here... or didn't you notice?"

"Geez!" Laura wailed. "What is wrong with you?! Can't you let them have a moment?"

"I did, moment over, now less talky more fixy!"

My dad looked between all of them and over at Raster. "You told me she was executed."

"She was scheduled to this morning, but apparently they escaped" Raster pointed out. "News from the IRG is very sparse, and slow these days."

"Well I'm here now, and I have no intention of dying any time soon. So fix me" Matrix ordered.

My dad sighed, grabbing my shoulder and squeezing it before taking a step toward her.

"Not yet" Raster warned. "We need to confirm her identity first."

"Confirm my-?!" Matrix shouted.

"We have no way of knowing if you are who you say you are, ma'am. Until I can confirm your unique AIID, I cannot allow you to give orders or receive treatment. For now you are a prisoner, like the rest."

Matrix's mouth hung open in shock. For a moment, I thought I heard Laura snicker, but I wasn't sure. "Then why did you stop the attack and do everything else I said?"

"Call it playing-it-safe" Raster explained. "These actions garnered no additional security threats to us; and in the chance that you are who you claim I decided to take your commands as advice. So far, you appear to be Captain Matrix, but until I get that final confirmation, I cannot allow you to receive treatment, or let anyone leave."

Matrix was again dumbfounded, but at least this time she managed to close her mouth and wear a sneer. "Fine! Doc, show her my ID!"

"Doctor" Raster allowed, giving him a nod. My dad nodded back to her and walked over to the small work table against the wall.

"Set her down here" he asked Laura. "This won't take a moment."

She did as he asked, and Matrix lay flat on the table looking at the ceiling.

"They really did a number on you this time, didn't they?" he commented looking at her mangled body.

Matrix only huffed, and then remained silent as my dad started connecting wires to the back of her neck.

"What's an AIID?" Laura whispered to me. I had no idea, so I just shook my head.

"An AIID" my dad began, "is a unique code registered to every AI I make. It cannot be changed, moved, or removed from the robot, and allowed us to confirm which AI is in control of any computer system. Since it cannot be altered, we also use it as identification when something like this happens. Here we are."

On the screen was a square pattern, some sort of machine code, which I couldn't understand. Apparently my dad couldn't either, as he rotated the screen toward Raster, who looked at it for a moment.

"AIID confirmed. Sorry about the precaution captain."

"Hmmph, better safe than sorry I guess. Now take these two away and get me fixed already" Matrix commanded.

"I'm afraid I still can't take orders from you ma'am. Your body is clearly out of commission. Until such time as your body is repaired, and your mental status can be confirmed, I will retain control of the company."

"Goddamn it Raster!" Matrix was livid as she screamed at the solder girl. "Is this insubordination? A mutiny!?"

"Not at all ma'am" Raster replied smoothly and eloquently. "I have taken your orders into advisement, but until you can be properly restored to your rank, you will have to stay here with your... colleagues. That is, until the doctor can repair you."

Matrix's face went crimson with anger. She didn't know what else to do, but huff and pout and fume.

"She's right Matrix" my dad reminded her. "The Rule of Command clearly states that if the commanding officer is unable to complete her role, she is relieved of duty until such time she is able to resume command."

"And who says I can't complete my role as captain!?" the yellow-eyed artificial woman stormed.

Before anyone had a chance to respond, Raster slapped Matrix hard across the face. The sound of the strike was loud and abrupt, and it echoed in our minds for several seconds. Matrix sat there, her eyes wide with shock, tears rolling down her cheeks, and a red mark appearing on her skin just below her eye. She gasped for breath for a moment and then sat there panting. Raster leaned in toward Matrix, as though she were expecting some sort of a response. When she didn't get the response she was after, she stood up straight again.

"Hmm. That's what I thought. Captain, if you couldn't block that strike, you are not of the physical presence to lead this company. And your failure to retaliate proves you're mentally unprepared as well." Raster put a glove back on her hand, which I never noticed her remove in the first place, as she walked over to my father. "Doctor, I would very much like to have our old Matrix back, but time is of the essence. You have until sundown to repair her before we move on with my plan."

"What plan?" I asked.

She looked at me without turning her head. "The execution of enemies of the state."

She abruptly turned toward the other soldier and ordered her to watch us before storming out. The click of her high-heel boots echoed on the hard polished floor as she marched out of the room and back toward the elevator. I supposed that 'enemies of the state' included Laura and myself, along with everyone in the Liberatum, including Aunt May. That left us with half a day to fix her, but to what end? Matrix was already proving to be two-faced, following her own agenda at the expense of her friends. But at least with her we could prevent any more deaths. If I needed to, I could force Matrix to follow my commands, even though I was warned against it.

We stood there in silence for a moment longer trying to think of what to do. The room was cold and unwelcoming, much like a dungeon, but without any of the torture devices one would expect to see. That is unless computers and workstations are torture device, which I could believe. Matrix broke the silence first.

"I'm sorry" she whispered.

"Sorry?!" Laura burst out. "Sorry for what? Sorry for being a bitch? Sorry for arresting everyone? Sorry for your poor state of being? Sorry you couldn't-"

"I had to arrest you!" she shot back. "You heard her; they were already doubting who I was, and my ability to command. If I didn't do something they'd expect of me, they'd have attacked us on the spot as well. I had to do that... there was no other way" her voice trailed off.

"No other way?!"

"Laura" I interrupted. "Please. We need to think and yelling at each other isn't helping."

"Ah! You're right. Sorry."

Matrix stuck her tongue out at Laura, which didn't exactly improve her favor with her.

"Jimmy" my dad spoke up. "You never introduced me to your friend."

"Right. Dad, this is my friend Laura. Laura, this is my dad, Dr. Henry Amano."

"Good to finally meet you Ms. Dale" my dad said taking her hand in a hearty handshake.

"The pleasure is all-" Laura began. "Wait a minute, how did you know my last name, and what do you mean finally?"

"Oh, we'll I can explain" dad said. "You're an Ino Royal Guard, and every mech suit I designed and built were custom fitted for their owners. So naturally I was familiar with your measurements and name. However, you in particular stuck in my mind as you are the only guard wearing one of my unique, one-of-a-kind, cybernetic enhancements. Your right half was designed and built by me. In fact, it uses a technology that prototyped the technology I perfected and used on Matrix over there."

"I could have done without knowing that" Laura pointed out.

"Me too" Matrix groaned.

"Your father is a good man" he continued.

"NO... he isn't!" Laura all but spat. "You think I wanted to be a Royal Guard? You think I wanted to be the very symbol of oppression that I fought my whole life against? What do you know about him?"

"I know he loves you, and has sacrificed everything to give you the best life he could offer. Don't write him off completely. He knows what you're going through, and it's killing him. You should let him know you're alright."

"I-" Laura began. He looked away from him for a moment, as though she saw something in his gaze she didn't want to confront, not just yet. "I'll think about it. How do you know him?"

"We worked together. There's a reason I designed that prosthetic for you."

She was silent for a moment longer before lifting her face again. "Thanks. Despite the stigma, it really is an important part of me now." She flexed her right hand and looked at it a little differently.

My dad turned to me with a smile on his face and sighed. "Jim, why are you here? It's dangerous. Your mother... she... I can't lose you too!"

"Dad... you left me to fend for myself a long time ago" I returned.

"That's not... entirely true. I don't know how much you know... but after your mother died, I couldn't let them take you too. I had to hide you, and I left friends in charge of taking care of you. I don't know what you've been through, and I never will, but please understand the hardest thing I ever had to do was to send you away. I lost everything that year."

"And now I'm here. I forgive you dad. I know you only did it to protect me. I just wish there was another way. But I'm here now and I'm not going to let anyone tear this family apart again!"

"Yes, you are here." He looked at me through strained eyes. "Why are you here? What brought you to me?"

"Well... she did" I said, pointing at Matrix.

"Hey! Don't blame me" Matrix defended. "It was all Ellie. Well... mostly her."

"Ellie?"

"Allow me to explain." I told my dad all about the last week of my life. How I found Ellie and repaired her. How we were perused by Seth. Eventually I got to how she was taken and how I'd been chasing after her for the last few days. I told him everything. Leaving out the naughty bits of course. He listened to it all, without saying a word, holding his chin in his hand. Finally I came to the part where we escaped the Silk Web. In all it seemed so short and simple when it was all summed up like that.

"It worked" my dad mumbled, barely audible. "It worked!" He grew louder as his voice got more excited. "Ha ha! I knew it! It worked!"

"What worked?" I asked.

"She worked. Matrix. Or rather Ellie, as you call her. She worked!"

"I don't follow."

"You see, when I first built the EFU series, they were made only as fighting machines. Androids meant to fight and kill. I hated it, and had to do something about it. So slowly, I started making them more advanced, more life-like, more human. It took me years to perfect the design, and the culmination of all that research and experimentation was unit 25LE here. She's the most human android ever made, as far as I know."

"Really?" I questioned. "What about her wrist blade things? She almost killed me with one of those."

"Oh, that. That wasn't me, I didn't designed those. Shortly after I finished 25LE, Tsion and Captain Seth Wilkins found out about my plan, and took her from me. They set Tsion's scientists on her, led by a Dr. Freeman. They took her and broke her, twisted her mind, and changed her physically and mentally. She's no longer the girl I designed."

"I'm right here" Matrix complained.

My dad ignored her and continued. "Her mind was not able to take it. Perhaps I made her too human... she succumbed to their methods and turned into the monster they wanted. They did it to spite me, and then sent her back to lead the other EFU units, just to show me their power over my life."

"I resent that statement" Matrix protested, but again her cries landed on deaf ears.

"But what did you mean by 'she worked'?" I inquired. "Sounds like she didn't work to me at all."

My dad sighed. "I built the EFU series as soldiers for Tsion. But I didn't build her for him. She wasn't supposed to exist. She was built for you."

"What?"

"I knew you were still in Maya, and I knew Tsion was likely to find out about you. So I wanted to build you a companion, a friend, and a body guard. Someone who could give you all the attention and love your mother and I never could, and maybe become something special to you. I programmed her to seek you out. To go to Maya, and find you."

"You mean she-"

"I thought for sure that when they messed with her mind, they destroyed that part of her. However, it seems something happened to her, and her instinct was to go to Maya and seek you out. She was looking for you even if she didn't know it."

I thought back to all the destruction that was caused by her sudden invasion. Was it all my fault? No, I had no way of knowing. My father though, he was the one that programmed her to find me. I shook that thought out of my mind too. He had no way of knowing what they would do to her or how it would affect her. It must have been bad karma, but I couldn't help but feel bad for the people who died.

My dad turned toward Matrix, still sitting on the workbench. "What was the last thing you remember before your rampage in Maya, Matrix?"

"Nothing" she mumbled. "Nothing important."

"Matrix!?" I scolded, knowing she would have a hard time lying to me.

"I don't want to talk about it!" she shot back.

"Fine. I won't force you."

"Looks like she opened up to you" dad chuckled. "She'd gut most people who talked back to her."

"Well I guess I'm not most people" I replied.

"No, you aren't. So this Ellie... it sounds to me like she's the subconscious programming I gave Matrix. Her mind was somewhat of an experiment, but I never expected it to behave like that. I don't know what her limitations are like, but Ellie does not have a full personality profile, in fact, she shouldn't have a personality at all. She'd be more of the embodiment of her desires and needs, capable of any command you give her, but I'd imagine she'd be rather dull to talk to."

"Her desires?" I questioned quietly. No wonder she was so interested in sex. She was programmed to find me, to seek me out, and once she found me, she desired me. She wanted me. But there was more to her than just that, she was kind and sweet, shy but silly. She was more than just an embodiment of needs and desires.

"Then again" my dad continued, "she was designed to grow and adapt, to learn. And with everything she's been through, who knows what happened, or how she would have reacted."

We both looked over at Matrix who sat there listening, blushing as we talked about her. I didn't expect that from her either.

"D-don't look at me" she objected. "I don't know how I work."

Laura cleared her throat. "Don't mean to intrude on this interesting conversation, but we have a time limit to worry about. And I for one would like to avoid an untimely demise."

"Right" my dad coughed. "Of course. We need to do something about fixing her up. Very well, lay back Matrix, and let me take a look at you."

She reluctantly followed his command, but squealed in shock when he suddenly pulled her shirt off. "Hey!!"

"I can't diagnose your injuries if I can't get a look at your body" he clarified, having no trouble overpowering her now that she had only one weak arm to work with. And yet, with only the use of her one arm, he struggled to position her.

"Not with them around" she complained red in the face.

"Would you two mind waiting in the other room?" my dad asked as he turned toward me and Laura.

"Sure" we shrugged.

"Wait... He can stay and help" Matrix clarified.

"What?" Laura protested. "It's not like I haven't seen lady parts before. In fact, I recall seeing you naked when we saved your sorry a-"

"Not now, Laura" I pleaded with her. "Please."

She rolled her eyes and huffed, but left the room all the same. Matrix remained red in the face as my dad and I undressed her to look at her damage. It was awkward, but he stayed professional through the whole thing. He asked me to assist him with the initial inspection as well to show me a thing or two about her.

Needless to say, her body was still badly beat up. Skin was still badly torn, only hidden under her clothes. Her joints were split and her artificial bones shattered. There was damage throughout her body, and I had no idea how bad it actually was, until he pointed them out.

We opened as many panels in her body as we could, stretching from her neck to her chest to her stomach, crotch, legs, and arms. Her internal systems were sleek, with a flexible structure that made her thin and lightweight, as well as agile. But it was clear there was still a lot of damage.

Like a human, she had internal organs that allowed her to eat, breathe, sleep, mate, and everything else a human can do, including parts for processing data, as one would expect in a robot. Her internal structure looked nothing like a human's, and yet it was surprisingly close when you understood what it all did. Her body had natural limitations built-in, just like a human, and she even had things like muscle memory.

Her power source was a combination of a rechargeable battery and a fuel cell which would use energy from food and water. She could filter impurities out of her system, just like a real liver and bladder, and would use as much of her food as possible to replenish needed fluids in her system. Everything about her was amazing, a work of art.

And every system in her body was badly damaged. The impact from falling so far off a building should have killed her, and it was a miracle she was still alive, so to speak. Granted, we had done some repair work on her at the Silk Web, but it was really just emergency stuff. Most of her system was so advanced; we had no idea what it did. Now that my dad could take a look, we saw just how bad things really were.

"She doesn't have long to live."

"What?!" I shot out. Matrix looked away, as though she knew it was coming.

"Maybe a day, maybe two. This body is severely damaged and she's lucky to be here at all. You've felt it, haven't you?" he asked her.

"Yeah... I... I suspected it. I... I'm dying" she stammered.

"No no no, I just got her back! She can't be dying!" I yelled, maybe a little too loud. "There must be something we can do!"

Laura must have heard my outburst, as she came back into the room looking between us. Matrix looked embarrassed when Laura came in, so I helped her cover up.

"Well of course there is. She's a robot" he pointed out. "But it will take more time than Raster is giving us to repair this kind of damage." He thought for a moment, turning away from us and walking into the other room.

I looked down at Matrix, and she looked up at me with pain in her eyes. Ellie was there, staring back, if only under the surface. I felt bad for Matrix, really bad, even though I knew she was a cold blooded killer, or used to be at least. But the past day or so I spent with her told me a different story. She was a killer, was, and it wasn't all by choice. Her mind had been warped and twisted, and I felt her resist those urges.

"Is everything... alright?" Laura asked. I must have looked stressed or something; and I was.

Suddenly my dad burst out with an "Ah-HA!" from the other room that alerted everyone. He signaled toward me to join him.

"We'll see. Keep her company for a moment, will you please?" I pleaded. Quickly, I got up and entered the room with my dad. He slid a glass door closed behind us and sat down, signaling me to join him. From here, screens and computers and the like obstructed our view of the others, and behind us lay the black-haired robot girl he had been working on before. The mechanical arms were still busy working on her, and a 'processing' alert on a nearby screen told us it was almost finished with whatever repair work it was doing.

I looked over at my dad and noticed something. He was holding a pen and pad of paper, and handed me the same. Quickly, and in much neater handwriting than I was capable of, he wrote: I know she can hear us, play along.

"There is no way we are going to be able to repair Matrix by tonight, not with that body at least" he started out. "However, I have a plan. This here is a brand new unit I'm working on, an upgrade from the current EFU units. She's stronger, faster, and more capable then any unit I've built."

He handed me another note he had written, and I read it carefully, making sure not to make it obvious there was a break in our conversation.

"That's nice, and what are you planning to do with it?" I asked.

"In less than 2 hours, I can transfer the entirety of Matrix's AI to this new unit. That means she will be copied with the exact same data, bit-for-bit. These computers here aren't just to show off, they are lightning fast."

"So you're planning to copy her over to a new body? Will that work?"

I handed my dad a note, and he responded with another in kind.

"Of course! There is no way Raster would ever turn down a unit as strong and capable as this one. I just finished fixing up her system, so her brain should be more than capable of housing Matrix."

"But what about Ellie?"

"She'd be transferred too, of course." He handed me another note. "She'd need to be, since she is kind of the foundation which Matrix is built on."

"Doesn't this robot already have an AI in it?" I asked, writing up a note of my own for him.

"Well, yes it does. I essentially installed a copy of 25LE's base system. We can just overwrite it." Another note.

I nodded. "If only there was a way we could just get rid of Matrix... she's been such a pain." I replied to his note with another.

"Come to think of it" he continued as he read my paper, "we could just transfer Ellie and leave Matrix behind."

"Really?"

"Yeah. If we just transfer Ellie, we could be rid of Matrix. Heck, I'd be glad to delete her." We continued to write notes to each other and pass them back and forth while we talked. Of course we couldn't say what was on those notes, or even hint at what we were doing.

"Sounds like a great idea. But what about Raster?" I asked. I looked out at Matrix who averted her gaze as soon as she saw me looking, engaging in a conversation of some sort with Laura. For that one instant our eyes met, I saw a look of shock, and hatred; she felt betrayed, and it was obvious.

"She'd see the same AIID in Ellie, and everyone should be safe. After all, they are essentially two parts of one whole AI." I thought about that for a moment. I had never seen it that way before. Matrix was as much a part of Ellie as Ellie was of her. They were two opposites in personality and demeanor, and yet were meant to be a single entity.

I put down my pad of paper for a moment. "Could Ellie survive without Matrix? You told me she wasn't meant to run that way, that she had no personality matrix."

"Well... I don't know. She was never meant to operate on her own like this. She was meant to learn and grow, and maybe she is growing her own personality. Don't worry too much about it; I can make sure she develops properly."

"Matrix would never let us do this" I warned. He handed me another note. "I mean if she caught on to our plan-"

"She'd never be able to stop us once I start. Once the transfer begins, it cannot be stopped without risking severe damage to both Matrix and Ellie. We'll just tell her we're going to transfer both of them into the new body, she'd believe that. Heaven forbid she gains control of a body as strong and fast as this one. I'm pretty sure I could even get her to cooperate with us first."

I smiled. "You are a devious man."

"So it's settled. We'll tell Matrix we're going to copy her into this new body, and then I'll initiate the copy, and delete Matrix."

"Should we tell Laura?" I asked.

"No, I think we can handle this ourselves. The less complications the better." We talked a little longer, making plans, but soon we were ready. He turned around toward the girl on the workbench. Her face was still obscured by her black hair, and her stomach and chest had a panel that was wide open on it, while the two mechanical hands finished their work. Just as they retraced from her, my dad closed her up, and covered her torso with the sheet that was around her hips and legs. Immediately, he started connecting cables to the back of the motionless girl's neck and head.

I stood up and entered the room with Matrix and Laura in it, wearing a big smile. It was surprisingly easy to smile, even though I didn't like the thought of deceiving Matrix, but then again, she had it coming. "We have a plan" I announced. "We're going to transfer Matrix and Ellie into that new body over there." Matrix was starring daggers at me, when suddenly she broke into a smile as fake as a 3 cent piece.

"Really? You think that will work?" she asked, a little too stiffly.

"Or course, it should only take about 2 hours or so, and that will give us all the time we need to repair the original body here and restore you to it. Until then, you can use that one."

"Well, alright. If you say so. I'm sure doc has done this sort of thing before." Her acting was awful.

"Pfft! You'll be fine, he does this sort of thing all the time" I lied. My acting wasn't any better.

"What is going on?" Laura asked. Dang it.

"Nothing" I swore. "It's just that we have a plan that will benefit everyone."

"Really?" Matrix questioned, her tone of voice dropping as fast as her smile. "Everyone?"

"Maybe not Raster, but trust me, I won't let anything happen to you."

Matrix stared at me as though I were an idiot for thinking she'd buy this. The plan was working out perfectly.

"Jimmy" Laura started. "Are you sure this is going to work? We don't have time to mess around and our lives are on the line!"

"It'll work" I stated, dropping my fake smile. "Trust me. Now help me move Matrix onto that other workbench over there. We need to hook her up."

We lifted Matrix up, and carried her over to the room opposite where my father was. The two rooms were nearly identical, each outfitted with the same array of computers and screens and the same advanced work station. I had never used one of these before, so as soon as we got her on the table, I had to wait for my dad to come over to hook her up.

"Alright" he said, walking in with a clap and then rubbing his hands together. "She's all set up next door. Let's just get you hooked up here."

"Jimmy" Matrix urged as she looked up at me. "Are you sure you want to do this?" She was dead serious.

I nodded. "Yeah. We don't have much of a choice. Could you open up the panels on the back of your neck and head please?"

"You always have a choice" she added. I was getting nervous, but to my relief, the panels flipped open. I took the cables in hand, and...

"I warned you" Matrix professed as the cables clicked into place. Suddenly the lights in the room dimmed, Matrix's eyes went blank and started to glow white, losing all their color, as the computers started going crazy!

"What's going on?!" Laura panicked.

"Everything is going exactly as planned" my dad assured us as he leapt onto one of the computers to monitor the situation. I looked at a screen nearby and followed along as well. Matrix had initiated a transfer herself into the other robot. She was replacing the new blank personality matrix with herself. Her body had gone stiff, as she drew all the power available to her to aid in the transfer. I could smell computer components overheating as she ran the systems well beyond their limits.

"She's copying herself into the new body and leaving Ellie behind" I explained.

"What? Can't we stop her?"

"We couldn't if we wanted to Ms. Dale" my dad divulged. "She's doing exactly what we wanted her to."

The transfer was taking much less time than expected. Without transferring Ellie with her, the total time would take maybe 45 minutes normally, but at the rate Matrix was pushing things, she had it down to less than 10! The lights continued to dim in waves, confusing the guard set to watch us. She did nothing to stop us, but she was clearly distracted by the sudden event and not sure what to make of it. We continued to watch the screens while Laura looked over Matrix. Sparks started to fly out of some of the connections in her neck, and one of the computers died, but the rest remained vigilant. She looked alien laying there with her mangled limbs and her blank glowing eyes, as if she were in a trance.

At some point, Raster reappeared outside the room, looking in. It was clear she was not pleased by the sudden drop in power, and she came to investigate with a rather sour look on her pretty face. Luckily, she did not stop us, and only watched on with her fellow guard. There was little time left as Matrix neared the completion of her task. I realized as she came close to her goal that she didn't merely transfer herself over, she actually made a copy! Perhaps she was intending to stay in this body as well.

"This is it" my dad grinned, preparing for the final step in the plan.

Suddenly, the lights returned to normal, and the computers stopped humming and churning. Matrix opened her yellow eyes for an instant, a sneer on her lips, when my dad quickly entered a simple keystroke and she froze. Across the room we could hear laughing. The voice of a girl, with a higher pitch than Matrix echoed with a maniacal laugh. I could see the formerly lifeless android moving as it sat up alone in the other room. I looked back at Matrix, or was it Ellie now, laying in Laura's arms. Her eyes were glowing white again, but this time, they quickly faded to black and she went limp.

"What did you do?" Laura asked.

"I deleted Matrix from this body" my dad explained. "She's over there now" he swallowed, pointing at the other android, "and you do not want two of her around."

"I promised I wouldn't do anything to her" I remembered, not realizing that we would have to do something like this.

"And you didn't. If anyone did, it was me" he reasoned.

The laughing continued as I watched her get up from the table, the sheet slipping off her body. Suddenly she stopped, and looked at her hand. Swiping the hair aside, I got a look at her face, with the exact same yellow eyes staring at her hand as she flexed it. She tried to stand, but fell over, knocking a screen over with a crash, and struggling to get to her feet.

"What the hell is this?!" her voice echoed through the rooms. I felt so torn inside. I hated what Matrix had done, and what she had been, but I could see trust in her eyes that I betrayed. Now, I knew, she was going to be furious. But this really was best for her, and everyone else.

I looked down at Ellie again, her face blank, her eyes closed, and her body limp. "Dad?" I beseeched.

He looked down at Ellie and nodded. He knew something like this was going to happen, but I could tell he didn't have time to explain. Matrix was going to be mad, and Raster was starting to get impatient.

"I feel so weak! Why am I so weak?!" Matrix snarled in her new voice. She grabbed at her throat and coughed to clear it. "Why do I sound like this?" She looked out across the way at us and growled. Slowly, she made her way over to the door, and stood there, her long black hair stretching down her front and obscuring her breasts, as she tried to walk toward us, one weak and awkward step at a time. "What have you done to me?"

"What do you mean?" my father wondered aloud as he left the room to confront her. "You got a new body, and you were the one that initiated the transfer."

"Why can't I even walk?!" she wheezed as she struggled to stay upright.

"You are weak. This body is merely an old prototype I've been fixing up. I lost my funding and wanted to make another attempt to contact Jimmy, and so I was fixing her up for it. I never did upgrade the strength at all. Right now, your body is untrained. You will have to strengthen it as you go."

I followed my dad, leaving Laura and Ellie behind. Matrix was trying to walk toward us, as though she had never walked before. Her feet were turned in, she struggled to keep balance, and every step was a challenge. She stumbled, and lost her grip on the chair she had been trying to balance herself with, and fell to the ground.

I couldn't help myself, I ran toward her and wrapped my arm around her. Her yellow eyes looked back at me with confusion and hate.

"Don't touch me!" she warned. "You did this to me... you lied to me! I'll kill you for this!"

"No you won't" I scolded. "And I never lied to you. We were going to transfer both of you, but you didn't give us the chance." I refused to let go as I pulled her arm over my shoulder. Her skin was cold and dry, but I could feel warmth starting to emanate from her.

"But I heard you two talking. You said you were going to delete me!"

"Those were words meant for us, not you. We knew you could hear us, and we couldn't think of any other way to separate you two without risking both of you."

"You tricked me..." she whimpered.

"You tricked me first." Matrix looked away as I helped her to her feet. Her skin was warming up, and she was becoming soft, and felt very human.

"I- I told you I had to do that" she explained.

"So did we" I informed her. "With this body, you will no longer be damaged, or a serious threat to society. We can take our time to repair Ellie, and I will help you-"

"I don't want your help!" she struggled. "I want you dead."

"No you don't. Now that you no longer have Ellie under you, you can lie to me again. Please, give it time. You'll grow into this body."

"I can kill again too" she whispered. "I can kill you..."

"Just because you have that choice doesn't mean you can or will make it. This is a new start, Matrix. You told me once that you hated that part of you. Now is your chance for a new beginning!" She stopped struggling and got to her feet with my help. "You can't do this alone" I pointed out. "Let us help."

She panted loudly as she struggled to walk, and together we managed to sit her down on the now empty workbench. She looked between me and my dad, and then over toward Laura who was still looking after Ellie.

"Look" my dad began, "this body will only get stronger. Now you have a chance to start again, no more Dr. Freeman to screw with your mind, no more Captain Seth to mess with your emotions, no more orders to kill and torture. You will have important choices to make, but you have to first tell yourself, what life do you really want? We can be your friends if you let us, but we can also be enemies."

A tear fell from her eye and she blinked it away. "I don't need any fr-..." she began, but changed her mind. She sat there thinking for a good minute or two before opening her mouth again. "I want to start over" she confessed. "I don't want to be hated anymore. But... old habits die hard. I don't know if I can change."

"We'll help you" I vowed. "We're on your side, if you let us in."

"I'd like that" she confessed, and nodded in approval. "Maybe you could at least adjust my voice?" she beseeched in her new high-pitched girly tone.

"In due time" my dad chuckled.

"I kind of like it" I admitted. "It's cute."

"Cute?" she squeaked. "I don't do cute!"

"Well you're doing a good job of it right now."

The sound of someone clapping distracted us. I turned around to see Raster walking toward us slowly, focusing on Matrix. "Bravo gentlemen. That is quite the trick."

"Does that mean you approve?" I asked. My dad stepped back as she took a closer look at Matrix.

"That depends on what her AIID reads, doesn't it?" She leaned in to look closely at Matrix with an interested smile, who glared back at her. Matrix shot her hand up to slap Raster, but wasn't fast or strong enough, and Raster easily caught her hand. "Hmm... delayed reaction by an hour or so. Not promising captain" she taunted, putting emphasis on the work 'captain'.

"Just run the damn test" Matrix snapped as she pulled her hand away.

My dad quickly attached a wire to her neck, and typed away at the nearby computer. A square code appeared on the screen, and he turned it toward Raster for verification. She leaned in for a moment and looked at it, before standing up straight again.

"This is not her AIID. This is not Matrix."

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Continued in Corrupted - Chapters 11-20