《The Android Project: Legacy of Souls》 Prologue - An Unknown Threat === Author''s note: If you find any mistakes or misspelling, please let me know about it! === === Reading Notes: SOUND EFFECTS "RADIO CHATTER" ''MIND CHAT/TELEPATHY'' "CHANGE IN VOLUME" === == Fallen City == == A-Dust == Five. My mind retreats into its inner most depths and I make myself as small as I can, hiding behind the rubble of a ruined hallway of an old office building, underneath a broken table that somehow made it''s way to hallway. If I had the luxury to laugh at my current state, hiding like a child in the most obvious place, I would. Unfortunately, when your life is in danger you can afford precious few things. Breathing the stale, humid air was also very, very optional. Concentrating on myself, I slowed my heartbeat at will and silence my breathing. If they find me here I''m as good as dead. Four. Six sets of footsteps finally make it into the hallway. I hoped to God they won''t find me and continue walking. It was dark, but if I take a peek out of my cover, I''m pretty sure I would meet six pairs of glowing red orbs. The telltale sign of them using their helmet''s goggles in not only night vision, but infrared and heat as well. Each of their step was heavy and mechanical. There was no malice in them, They only act. Still, should they find me, I have no doubt they''d fill me with lead. They didn''t speak. No sounds came from their mouthes except for every breath they took behind their mask as they scoured the ruined floor for me. Three. "A-Dust! Your orders are to retreat! Repeat! Withdraw immediately and get to extraction!" "Shut up! They find this signal I''m dead!" "And if you get hacked we lose EVERYTHING! We repeat! Withdraw to extraction NO-" I cut the signal. Those dam egg heads don''t know a dam thing about the battlefield. I can still do this. I can still rescue my team. I only need these guys to pass me by. Come on you fucks! Two. They''re right next to me. Just a few more steps! I readied myself. This is the critical moment. I stop my heart and was still as a stone. Even if they used sonar or heat vision, they wont find me as I''ve already programed the nanomachines in my combat suit to camouflage me in every available spectrum there is. The only way they''ll see me is if we lock eyes together. One. They''ve passed me! Come on! Just a couple more steps and you''ll be right under my trap! I gripped the thread in my hand even tighter. One little tug and this game of hide and seek is mi- One of them turned around and looked my way. Ah shit! ZERO! I pulled the string and the sound of grenade pins being pulled echo through out the narrow hallway and half a dozen grenades falls right on top of the six stooges. "HOSTIL-" one of them tries to scream but the grenades already dropped and explode right on top of them. But that''s not enough to kill them, I''m sure. I jumped out of the rubble and right into the mess my grenades created. Dust, debris, and smoke all came crumbling down and scattering everywhere. Forget night vision, you can''t even see anything properly in infrared! But I could see thanks to the nanomachiens inside their suits scrambled to restore them back to health. To my vision, they each glowed a color. Their heads bright with activity. I pull out my magnum pistol, one of the last of my weapons and aimed at the six shining silhouettes of my teammates still crumbled on the floor. The world felt like it was in slow motion as heads enter my sights and I pull the trigger. BANG! BANG! BANG! Shinning brain matter scattered everywhere. I could hardly hear the roar of my magnum. I think I''m partially deaf thanks to the grenades too. BANG! BANG! BANG! -CLICK!- 6 bodies lie on the floor, as I spend the last of my bullets. Rubble from above still pour down from the ceiling. Shit. I think the building is coming down too! I had no time to analyze how structurally sound the whole building was and just hoped it could take the grenade trap earlier. Looks like I gambled poorly. I don''t waste time and started running to the direction I knew the streets were. The only thing blocking me was 10 inches of old concrete. I readied my fist and loaded it with nanites. Swinging it, my arm exploded in power and the wall was easily blown off, and I jump out into the open air of a ruined city of a country that no longer exist. I hit the ground rolling off the momentum and immediately set of in a run as rubble start raining down. I run past broken and decaying cars and even jumping over some of them as I run down the street. I spot a toppled cargo truck and decide to hide behind it, just in time as the whole building collapses and floods the already dusty street with even more dust. I changed my vision back to the normal spectrum. Now its all back zero visibility. "A-Dust, was that you? Please report your status!" A female voice calls me through the communicator in my ear. The one which I didn''t block. Looks like I made her worry. "I''m fine C-Moon. I took out the 6 of them and buried them under a building." "W-will they be alright? They had their minds hijacked." "They''ll be fine, but it''ll take them time to get back. Before they do, we need to deal with the threat. Is she still following you two." The threat. She came out of nowhere. As we we''re about to head home for extraction. It was then she appeared. A single girl walking casually through the dust blown streets of the now desert and deserted city. We perceived her as just some lost girl or a lucky survivor of post-nuclear apocalypse. She wore nothing but a white jumpsuit that covered her whole body except her head. Her initial black hair was left alone being blown away by the hot wind that passed through the city. The six teammates I buried under a building went near her and as they we''re about to take her with us, she suddenly turned hostile. She tapped into the virtual space we all connected ourselves with and did the impossible. She hacked into each and every one of their minds, completely overpowering their nanites and hijacking their bodies. "We''re not sure. I think we may have los- SHIT!" "C-Moon! Report! What happened!?" Damn it! This was never a good sign. Using my nanites, I called up the local map in the cornea in my eye and a window popped into my HUD display. It showed a 3D scan of the city within a 300 meters radius around me. They were just three blocks away from me and around a corner. I could get there in a few seconds. "It''s her! She got around us! Shit, the area''s starting to freeze! L-Heinz, run! Just keep running!" "C-Moon! Are you alright? REPORT!" No answer. I minimized the map and started powering up the nanites in my legs to jump long gallops. I switched the call to L-Heinz, the last man in my team that I think haven''t yet lost. "L-Heinz! Report! What the hell is happening!?" "C-Moon''s frosted! Shit, I''m starting to freeze too! Her nanites- I can''t counter them!" "Hold on! I''m coming to your position now!" I kick off the ground and run as fast I could, making small craters in the street after each step kicks off. I waste no time and vault over the cars and trucks the littered the street, some even being crushed under my feet. In seconds I turn the last corner to where C-Moon and L-Heinz last position was. And I see the impossible again as freezing cold air assault me, even inside my nanosuit. There right in the middle of a desert, sand covered city was ice and snow. The rubble and cars in the street were covered in a thin layer of snow and spikes of ice jutted out from the ground and from the buildings along the street. And right in the middle of it was her and my last two teammates. C-Moon was already lying in a heap just by her feet and L-Heinz was held in a choke hold, even from where I stand, I could already see the mental hijacking being completed. I was the last. The threat released her grip on L-Heinz and he crumples to the ground next to C-Moon. She turns her head slowly to me. Her expression blank and empty, but her eyes and hair glowed blue, while the latter floats in the air slowly like it was underwater and ignoring the violent wind the blasted through the city. Anger rose in my stomach. How dare she do this my team!? I saw my two teammates already twitching from where they lay and start to rise mechanically like dolls in strings. They start taking steps forward, a little ways away from the girl. Even with their helmet mask on, I can tell they wore the same blank expression as the girl. Was the girl being controlled too!? Dammit, there are too many unknowns! Grabbing the last weapon I have at my waist, I unsheathe the long dagger and twist the handle, releasing the lock on the blade as it extended out into a short sword instead. I hold blade to my side and prepare for combat. I''m one of the close combat operatives and so I didn''t worry as my two former teammates aim their submachine guns at me. As soon as they pulled their trigger, the street is filled with the roar of the weapons and I dash forward. Their aim didn''t waver and with their nanites, they could suppress the recoil of their weapons as if there was no recoil at all. That made it easy. Bullets flew at me in straight lines. Predictable and easy to follow with my enhanced vision. I dodged left and right, avoiding the rain of bullets. When the two stream of bullets crossed, I cut through them with my blade, slicing the bullets mid-air. In a few heartbeats, I''m already in front of the two of them. C-Moon tries backing away while L-Heinz tries to swing the stock of his weapon at me. I ignore L-Heinz. He is too slow and I went after C-Moon. She aims her weapon at me again. With my current speed, I was sure I''d be filled with holes. So I simply went faster. Nanites roar in my legs and in the next moment I appear right in front of C-Moon. To an outside observe, it would have looked like I teleported the distance to her. I stab my sword right between her breast, piercing her heart and my free hand grabs the hand that held her submachine gun and, with my nanites, gave her nerves a shock, making her hand pull the trigger and shot at L-Heinz, filling him with lead. I push C-Moon''s limp body off my bloody sword and turn back to threat. She simply stood still and watched the entire exchange. Granted, it was only a few heartbeats, but did she perhaps try to get the extent of my abilities? As I was still wondering, she raised her hands toward me and I reactively jump away from where I stood, just as a giant ice spike pops out of the ground. ''Damn! That would have split me in half! She used no weapon and simply just raised her hand... She hacked my entire team too with just her hand... She couldn''t be...'' I came to a conclusion and change the spectrum of vision. The world starts draining of color. Everything is now black and white except for my body which glowed red from the power of my nanites. But when I look towards her, the ice queen of death, she didn''t just glow bright blue. She brimmed with raw power in every fiber of her being. So much so that the nanites stream around her body like a river. She looks like cosmic goddess with a flowing blanket of stars going around her. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ''So it was nanites! But that''s impossible! We''re still experimental subjects! Did the doctors... No, they ordered us to retreat. Damn it, there''s no time to think about this!'' Suddenly, I watch the ice queen flick her wrist and clouds of nanites launch themselves at me, crystallizing mid air to large shards of ice. I weave left and right, disturbing the snow covered ground, then followed quickly by her ice shards impaling where I stepped. Each shard that lands came up to about my thigh. If I get impaled by one of those, its going to rip my limb right off! Damn it! In terms of power, she''d crush me and my whole team in an avalanche! What''s more, her nanites were able to easily crystallize, not to mention they were absolute zero cold. It didn''t look like the ice crystals were fragile either. They were so dense with nanites, she could likely use them as a shield to stop bullets! There was no way to counter the ice. Then the only thing to do is... I was now a fair bit of distance away from her and she kept staring at me, her brows furrowing a little. Was she reevaluating my threat level? I should hurry and finish this as C-Moon and L-Heinz are likely already regenerating. This was a gamble. I could still just leave, but I''m not leaving my teammates behind. Steeling my nerves, I charge my weapon with nanites and dash towards her. The ice queen fired more blue nanites and were forming into crystal shards again, but before they could, I swing my blade, sending a thin red slash of nanites into the air and slicing hers. It worked! Her brows furrowed at this and fired even more clouds of nanites. Its useless! I slashed again and again, sending out my red nanite slashes and slicing all her blue nanites before they could crystallize, causing them to lose their pinpoint accuracy and impaling the ground harmless out of my way! She''s more powerful than me, but I''m faster. A slight etch of panic mares her pretty face, and she raises both of her hands at me, the stream of stars around her stops, then immediately floods towards me like a raging river. Damn it, she''s going all out! I sent out most of the nanites I have in my body and formed a red wedge of nanites in front of me, and used all the rest to my legs, launching me forward and slicing through the river of blue right towards her. Milliseconds pass but each felt like an eternity drowning in a sea of blue as I use all my nanites here. The red glow in my body starts dimming too and grey cracks start forming in my wedge. The cracks grew, and grew, until finally, my wedge broke. Shattering like glass and disintegrating to nothing just in time as she exhausts her nanites and color floods back into my vision. I could see her blue hair turning back to black. She was out of nanites too. As we appear right in front of each other, her eyes shoot open in shock and maybe a little bit of fear because she was within the reach of my blade. I try raising my sword but I''ve never felt it so heavy before. My muscles ache from exhaustion while my nerves scream alarm bells in my head as I suddenly feel injuries from head to toe. Exhaustion is taking control over my body. Damn! So close! My sword drops from my grasp with a clang, echoing through the silent street and strength leaves my legs, making me fall forward from my momentum. I struggle to hold on to consciousness just as I crash right into the ice queen. The last thing that I can feel is that something cold but pleasant is touching my lips while my vision is filled with nothing but her half closed eyes. Her eyes don''t glow anymore, but they are still a beautiful shade of blue but seem so sad and lonely. === Command Room === === Doctor Giller === "A-Dust consciousness has gone offline! " one of our technicians yells as the whole command room is in a state of chaos. "God DAMMIT!" Doctor Reginald slams his fist on the command table, almost knocking over my tea. He is quite healthy for a scientists. And by that I mean fat. Among us five head doctors, he is the youngest in his late 30s. Funnily enough, though he is the youngest, he is also the baldest. The reflected light from his shiny scalp seems to glow more intensely as he get angrier. His brilliance only second to his ambition. Third to his robust stomach though I''m not too fit myself. Like all of us doctors, he sports a medical gown, over his long sleeves and light brown pants, since we are still over seeing an "operation" in the militaristic sense. "We told him to retreat! I told you people we should have put in more measures in our control! Now all that years of work, gone!" "Although I am worried about the androids as well," Anger rose in me. If I could put a hole through his thick skull with a glare, I would. God knows how this man was able to get a doctorate. "I''ll tell you as many times as I have too. We don''t need some controlled dogs! Those men and women are the next step in humanities'' evolution and we can''t have them evolve without their own humanity!" Dr. Reginald throws his arms into the air. "And due that so called ''humanity'' we just lost EVERYTHING." "What of the extraction team we had readied? How long until they get to them? And S-Luna?" Doctor Owen asks aloud, halting my rebuttal. If anyone had asked me to describe Owen in two words, it would be "mad scientist". He is the eldest of us five, already in his seventies, but his hair is always blown up and defying the laws of physics. One of our employed computer techs stands up to call our attention, "The team has been split in three and two are heading towards both locations of the operatives. They''ll get to them in a few minutes. The third one is setting up a comms tower so we can receive video feedback from the other two. As for S-Luna..." The man looks sideways, toward the center of the room. The command room itself is a circular room with a dome ceiling, with levels going down towards the center. Each level had a long row of computer terminals, receiving data and video feedback from the operatives. At the heart and center of the room, a group of scientist, doctors, and engineers stand around a chair, frantically trying to measure, heal, repair, and take apart, all at the same time, at the sole android we have in our hands. S-Luna sat in her command chair unconscious. She is the heart and soul of the Android Network. A completely new field of technology thanks to the nature of our androids and headed by Dr. Owen, as he is the best neuroscientist on the planet. S-Luna started screaming in pain when the threat the other androids found, started hacking into their minds. From the bits and pieces of what I hear from the group, it seems like the girl also tried hacking S-Luna, albeit remotely and virtually. The scream however, was due in part to the pain of the other operatives. Whatever way the threat did the hacking, it did damage to our androids'' minds. We sedated her as soon as possible and that prevented the remote hacking. But with S-Luna out of commission, we also lost our visual connection to all the operatives and stopped receiving data. We only had our communicators to each of them which was nothing more than a glorified phone call. "Sirs!" One of Owen''s technicians calls our attention. "A-Dust mental status remains unchanged. All other operatives mental health also returning to normal, although they are all unconscious." "Does that mean..." "He couldn''t have..." "He must have...!" Hope swells in my chest. With their mental state returning, it means the mental hijacking of the androids stopped. Which means either the threat has left them alone. Or that A-Dust managed to successfully take her down. "We have video feedback from the extraction team!" Another technician called out. God, this room is so chaotic. "Put it on projection." I tell them. The command room dims and all eyes look up towards the ceiling as the projection of the video feed starts. The whole room gasp in shock. What hope I felt in my heart turns to fear. The projection is split in two. One team is digging up through rubble, thanks to their mechanical exoskeleton, they were able to lift up heavy pieces of rock with ease. But it is what the other team is looking at that shocked everyone. We had deployed the androids to their final test to a ruined city, with the terrain turning into nothing more than a wasteland desert. It should be all brown and dust from sand, but what appears on screen instead is ice and snow. The team slowly advances through a wide street. The whole area was covered in a blanket of snow and spikes of ice jutted out, angled towards the center. Most around the area only came up to their knees, but what stood at the center is a giant formation of ice. It looked like an avalanche of water was suddenly poured in the middle of the city, and right after hitting the ground, the water froze, turning into deadly spikes jutting out in every angle. The team soon finds the bodies of C-Moon and L-Heinz, and they quickly check their bodies. Their regeneration was complete, but they''re still knocked out cold. Their nanosuits were also filled with holes. Particularly L-Heinz, while C-Moon had a big one right over her chest, exposing some of her cleavage. But the video feed continues onwards. Right into the heart of the frozen avalanche. Strangely enough, it looked like a giant sword had gone right through the middle, splitting the ice in two. The team advances carefully through the gap as the ground was now covered in ice and some of the team could be seen slipping up. I hear a round of giggles go around, but it dies quickly. Finally, the team reaches the center to find A-Dust. ... ...... ......... Right on top of the threat. Literally. If I have any other way to describe it, they were, in all seriousness, tangled in each others arms like a pair of unconscious lovers. Somehow, A-Dusts'' helmet was apparently blown off and revealed his face and swept back black hair. And due to his helmet missing, A-Dust lips were connected with the threat! At the unexpected state of our operative, an awkward silence fills the room as if we had just caught two lovers making out. "Ahem. Extraction team, please check if A-Dust is alright." I cough. The team jerks into action. Prying A-Dust off the ground and immediately checking for injuries. "What about the girl?" One of the extraction team ask. "Disconnect her immediately from any outside connections, but keep the connections she has to the other operatives! There''s no telling what could happen if we cut the connection prematurely." Dr. Owen replies immediately through a microphone. Of course, he is the most concerned when it comes to the mental stability of our operatives. "Doctor Giller, what do you think we should do about her?" Doctor Arthur asked beside me. I think for a moment and weigh the risk. My hand slowly reaches for the button to reply to the team and I spoke clearly. "Sedate and restrain her. Then bring her home." === A/N: IT''S FINALLY DONE DOOD! What? Did you think us prinnies would do nothing but slaughter each other in the netherworld for the Overlords? Psha. We need hobbies too dood! Even if the pay is piss poor. I''ve actually been pretty hesitant on uploading this fiction. For the sole reason that this isn''t exactly the "start" of the whole story, but this IS the start of THIS story. Anyway, I threw caution to the wind and decided to go with androids, and robots, and other futuristic stuff instead of writing sword and board and magic. In any case dood, I hope you enjoyed my fictions'' prologue! I''ll try and update a chapter every Monday and Friday (SGT/HKG time). If things seem unexplained, like Nanites, the Android Netowrk, etc. I meant it that way! It''s the prologue dood! I''m not going to info dump you. All things will be explained soon~. Let me hear your thoughts okay doods? Sayonara for now! Chapter 1 - From Darkness, Let Light Be. == Council Room == == Doctor Giller == We sat in silence in a dark room around a circular table. The only light we have comes from our computer terminals as we read the reports. Silently, we reviewed the reports and thought about all that transpired hours ago. The extraction team encountered no obstacles and quickly recovered our android team. And one new additional android. We only found out she was one as the extraction team disconnected her from outside connections. At first, they wondered how they would even disconnect her, having no idea what she was. She had flesh and blood, but didn''t seem to have any equipment or devices that would let them "disconnect". Having no other idea, they went with the most available decision. Analyzing her just like all our operatives. They found her entire body eerily familiar to our androids. As the team arrived back, and safely home in the middle of the night, we called for all technical and medical personnel for emergency duty. A quick examination showed no signs of irregularities. However, the nanites of the girl remained in their bodies and they wouldn''t wake up. Most concerning however was the girl herself. As we analyzed her body and blood. We could confirm that she wasn''t anyone from the city from our database, however we found her nanites much more powerful than any we could produce. As the lead researcher in nanite technology, I oversaw most of the report and what I found would make Doctor Reginald giddy with happiness. This girl''s nanites gave her no room for control. They were powerful, but they basically knocked out her consciousness. Not only that, but her nanites damaged her body with each use. It was a wonder how she was even able to produce so much ice to fight against our androids. Or stand up for that matter. Her bones were fractured beyond repair by conventional means and her nerves basically turned to ice themselves. Her nanites producing ice was another wonder to me. They sucked all energy in the air and turned the moisture to solid ice, forming dense crystals that could slow down an entire clip of bullets from a machine gun. I will have to study them for a later time though. With her consciousness out, the nanites were easily controllable remotely. You only need an access point and a converted virtual control helmet which is highly available in this day and age. Although you''d have to have a quick enough mind to even control 20% of an androids full potential. Whoever was controlling this girl was either a super genius or a super computer themselves. And there are no computers more powerful than the human mind. Except, of course, our androids. Especially Ippolita, code named S-Luna, in her command chair. But why waste a capable mind and body when you can have two? Whatever her case may be, I quickly restricted access to such information, not giving Reginald even an inkling of an idea. It wasn''t hard. Since all important doctors, researchers, and engineers under the nanite project answered to me directly. The only thing left is to make sure they never learn that she was being controlled. "I think... It is time we discuss what we do with the girl." Doctor Ross says aloud. He was the second youngest with graying hair at mid-forties, but with a face of a late-twenties. He specialized in surgeries as well as plastic surgery. He worked wonders on the nanites for our androids'' facial features changes in their skeletal structure. "Agreed." Arthur voices. "We aren''t getting any younger here Gill and I desperately need my sleep. Its what... three in the morning?" I sigh. They were right. I''m exhausted as well and could feel my bones aching. I''m no longer built for long nights of research without rest. "Of course... What do you suggest we do with her?" "Kill her." I could feel the migraine as Reginald stares at my direction intensely. "I agree. She''s much too dangerous! Look at what''s she''s done to the androids'' mental map!" Owen complaines then brings up a hologram projection in the center of the table. A blue-orange brain hologram rotates at the center. The orange pulses repeatedly, occupying over 60% of the hologram. It was also indicating where her nanites damaged and forcefully took over our operatives minds. "On second thought, is it possible for us to replace Ippolita with her?" Reginald asked. I cringed at his idea while Owen lookes utterly angered at the notion. "You want to place a rogue android in the middle of the command room who, by the way, could turn everyone in the room into a Popsicle? Yes. Wonderful plan Reginald. And they call me the mad scientist!" I see my chance. Its now or never. "Well... Perhaps she isn''t completely out of our control..." Everyone turnes their gaze at me. Reginald most of all was slack jawed at my suggestion. "Gill... What are you suggesting? You''re not one to compromise the android''s freedom." Arthur asks. "Indeed. Have you finally gone senile?" Ross comments. I roll my eyes at the suggestion. "I am still for the androids freedom. What I am saying that its possible for us to... Nudge her towards a direction we desire." "What... Are you planning doctor Gill?" Owen squints at me in a half glare. Ignoring the stares, I took control of the hologram and start giving commands to simulate what I want. I keep the mind hologram there, then bring out 2 sets of nanites. One red, and one blue. Ours, and the girls, and set them on different sides from the brain. At that I start running the simulation. Everyone watches the simulation unfold, and as it progresses they stare wide eyed at where I take the simulation to. As it ended, everyone voiced their doubt. "... We won''t know if that will work Gill." "Its foolish! We should just forget this whole ordeal ever happened." "I can see the merit in it, but, like Owen said, my idea was foolish. Its best we forget it." "I''m sorry Giller, but I do hope you didn''t take my senile comment in the wrong way." I shake my head at their concerns. "Gentlemen, you all aren''t looking at the bigger picture. What we have here is an android that is far more powerful than ours and to throw her away would be casting pearls at swine." Ross grimace. "I don''t think the other androids would like the idea of an outsider joining their ranks. Especially someone they remember as someone who quite literally beat most of them at a wave of a hand." My brow rose. "Who said they''ll remember?" Ross''s eyebrows shot up. "Have you gone insane Giller!?" "Is it mad scientist day today!? I have to check my calendar!" "What are you planning Gill? This isn''t like you." I raise my hand to still everyone and silence returnes to the room. "Yes, we lose everything, yes we''re taking risk, but the potential we could gain would be so much more not only to one android, but to all of them! If we do this, it would be as if we gained several generations worth of advancement and data! We don''t gain just ONE new android, we gain ELEVEN powerful and STABLE androids. That opens their eyes up. If we weren''t so sleepy, they would probably fall out of their sockets. They all look towards one another, purely just to make sure they all heard the same thing. Not like anyone but our androids are telepathic... Except perhaps for our unknown enemy, but that''s another worry for another day. Now, I''m just eager to fall down on my bed, sleep, and embrace my wife... Once they''ve decided to go forward with my plan. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Arthur was the one that lead the vote. I could always rely on him. AHEM " all in favor..." "Hahaha this mad! Fine! I like it!" Owen raises his hand. "In. favor." I looked towards Ross. He smirkes as our eyes met. "I take back what I said." He raised his hand. "In favor." Then I glace towards Reginald. He has his eyes squinted at me. Perhaps he found it odd I would take his idea seriously? He raises his hand nonetheless and simply grunted. And with that, I met Arthur''s eyes once more with myrth in them. "You always were a cheeky bastard Gill." He raises his hand. "In favor." == At Another Place, In Another Time, Of Another Life == == ??? == I am awakened by the sound of distant sobbing. I try opening my eyes to see where I am but they seem to still be closed. I will them with such volition that I feel like they would pop out, but still all I see is darkness. Am I blind? I struggl to rise but find I''m already standing. No... That''s not it. For me to stand my feet would have to be on something solid, but my feet touches nothing. I flail my arms around and they too touch nothing. I was in a world of nothing. Panic rose within me and I start breathing rapidly. Am I dead? Is that why I hear crying? ... Am I the one crying? My hands go to my face, but find it dry. The cries aren''t mine then. I see nothing so I could be blind but I''m not deaf. I can touch and feel, and the air I breathe taste stale and dead. If there was even air here... Having no other option, I did the only thing I could: "H-hel...lo?" My voice is coarse. I could now feel my throat dry and the air that passes down my throat feels like liquid sandpaper, turning to thorns in my lungs. I wished I couldn''t feel. The sobbing stops. HIC "... Is... Is someone there..? Please... Someone..." "I... I am... he...re! I... Can''t... See y-" "I''m over here! Please! Follow my voice!" The cries turn begging and is filled with desperation. "I''m scared of the darkness!" I twist and turn. Desperately craning my neck to see something. Anything! "H-here! *sob* I''m here! Please... A-ato, ven?, flaz?l ?gnu?!" Was that another language? What language are we even speaking? But before I could continue pondering anymore, warmth starts flooding on my back and I turn around. There, was the sole source of anything that was here with me in this world. A girl hugging her knees with one hand while tears streaming down her face, her red hair amok, and the only thing she has on her body was what looked like it could have been a beautiful white robe but was now in taters, and dirtied with ash. Her face is ashen and her whole body is covered in grey ash. Even the flaming crimson of her hair was muted with grey. The only color on her are the whites of her eyes turned red and sore from her crying. I could only see all this with what was in the palm of her other hand. A fist sized red flame blazed with no source of fuel, but burning continually and it filled my body with warmth. I didn''t even know I was freezing. "K-kitty! Please, come here!" She called out almost a yell. I took a step forward and landed on something solid. I didn''t think much about that as I wondered... Kitty? Am I a cat? Or is that my name? But before I knew it, and as soon as I was in arms length from her, she grab me with her free hand and drags me to her bosom, which was bigger than I thought. Her other hand went to my head. Her other hand which has the fire in the palm! I panick and started struggling, but her embrace was firm and the more I tried, the more desperate she clings to me. "Please! Don''t leave me! E-everyone left me! I... *sob* I can''t follow them! I don''t want be alone again!" She starts crying again, and she was panicking for a whole other reason from me. Then I realize my hair isn''t on fire. I squirm my head out of her bust, only to glimpse the ball of fire floating in mid air above us and I breath a sigh of relief. "Please kitty. Don''t leave me... Please..." Her voice was truly desperate, filled with pain and longing. Feeling empathetic I wrap my arms around her, ensuring her I wouldn''t run away. I mind my current position and due to that I was partly sure I wasn''t a girl as it isn''t only my head that blood rushed too. Eventually, her grip loosenes and I pulled back, but I hold one of her hands. in this dark world, I don''t want to let go of the only other person here. "*sniff* I''m sorry kitty..." She gazes downwards and wiped her tears. "I-I was so scared... I-" "W-won''t... Leave..." I croak, causing her to look up. I wonder why she calls me kitty when I''m apparently taller than her, at least, as both of us are on the "ground". I move beside her and sat down. Now our eye sights are somewhat level. I still hope I am slightly taller though. "W-will stay... Wi...th *COUGH* ... you..." At that, she embraces me again, but much more gently this time. She rest her head at the crook of my neck. "Thank you..." She whispers. In turn, I place one hand on her back and start stroking her head, as our breaths start going in sync to one another. We stayed like that for a long time... For seconds... Minutes... Hours... Days... Weeks.... Months... Years... Decades... Centuries... An eternity... Finally... We close our eyes, and we returned to darkness yet again... === A/Note: If the second POV felt vague, I meant it to be. But what I hope is that you guys instead felt the emotions. Let me know in the comments! Chapter 2 - Androids and Rampaging Thoughts === Author''s note: If you find any mistakes or misspelling, please let me know about it! Tell you what though, getting the tables to work is a pain in the ass. === === Reading Notes: SOUND EFFECTS "RADIO CHATTER" ''MIND CHAT/TELEPATHY'' "CHANGE IN VOLUME" === == ??? == == ??? == Blinding light. That''s what greeted me as I opened my eyes. ''Too bright!'' ''Who said that!?'' ''Wha- where am I!?'' And voices. Loud, obnoxious voices. I shut my eyes tight and grab my head, they scream in my head as if they were my own thoughts, but louder, and all the simultaneous voices made it hard to understand and gave me migraine. I try shutting them out by using the pillow I am using. No luck. "Shut up!" I yell out loud. ''You shut up!'' ''Who made you the boss of me!?'' ''Quiet!''''Kitty?''''So noisy.''''Get out my head!!!''''You get out!''''Stop thinking!Kitty!Shutit!OhmyGod!Kitty!Someonehelp!Kitty!GetoutofmyheadkittyAGHHHHHkittykittykittykittykittykittykitty''. At some point, I hear several voices scream, but one voice keeps repeatedly screaming in my mind, sending what feels like tendrils of ice to my gut and sending my heart panicking. In all our minds. That''s why they all shut up. My head feels like exploding but I will an eye to open. I am lying down in a hospital bed, in a row with other patients and we all wore the same thing, a light blue-grey wrap-style hospital gown, similar to a robe, forming a V around the neck. It reaches all the way down to our legs and as one fold reaches our right breast, cuts straight down and having knot ties to secure the robe around us. Two rows of beds formed against the wall, with each bed facing against another, leaving a path at the middle. I am at the end of the row, next to a wall with an open window that let in sunlight and wind in the room. It was a simple room if a bit long. All it had were eleven beds with some sort of machine overhead, embedded into the wall to so that it didn''t fall. It has an LCD screen, showing off charts and other things I had no idea were. Aside from that, each bed had a pair of thin and thick drapes that went around it for privacy. Currently they were all pulled back. Opposite my open window was a closed metal door. I find nine other men and women, all holding their heads in pain like me as that one voice kept repeating over and over in our heads. My eyes landed to the tenth persons, a girl with raven black hair, sitting up from her bed across from mine. She was the only one not holding her head but looked completely terrified and kept looking around the room like a cornered animal. ''Kitty. Kitty. Kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty.'' Enduring the pain, I struggle to slide out of my bed and stand, only to find my legs wobbly, like I haven''t used them in a while. I make my way slowly across the room and as I near the end of her bed, she looks at me with her face contorted in fear with her eyes wide open. My feet start getting cold. ''Kitty!? Kitty!? Kitty!'' She keep calling out for some damned cat in her mind, even when I stood right next her. I wanted her to shut up, but I only feel sorry for her as her face goes wild with fear and confusion. With a gentleness that surprises me, two words come out my mouth: "Kitty''s here." ''...'' Immediately silence fills our thoughts, and the cold gripping sense in my gut disappears, and is immediately replaced by warm, overflowing feelings. "Kitty!" ''Kitty!'' For a short moment at least. She screams out loud and in her mind as well, right before lunging at me and burying her head in my chest. I expected her tackle to hurt, but it didn''t and, in fact, she feels soft and her hair quite silky. I guess I''m sturdier than I thought. I lay one hand on her back and the other on her head, gently patting her, calming her down. "There, there. I''m right here." ''Does that make me kitty?'' "Don''t think!" Someone shouts behind me, and I crane my neck and twist my torso slightly to look behind at the other people... Patients I suppose. "Whatever you do, don''t think! And that goes for all of us. I''d rather not get into another screaming match." It was another girl that spoke out. She has long black hair and had a heart shaped face with bright hazel eyes. She was sitting up in the bed next to the one that had her arms wrapped around my back, meaning heart-girl is right behind me, facing my back. I see the others nodding their heads and voicing their agreements. Somehow, we all keep our thoughts silent. "Mu?" ''Kitty?'' Well, except for her. At least this time, she wasn''t screaming in our heads. I stopped patting her head when I looked at the others and I guess that caused her to wonder what happened as she looks upwards to me. I resume patting her head and she smiles smugly. If not for the whole kitty thing, I would call her beautiful. Her eyes were round and had a beautiful shade of blue. Her slim nose tilted cowards to her rosy pink lips. Her upwards glance is also quite a formidable look. I''m not sure if I could say ''No.'' to it. "So... Where the hell are we?" One of the others asks behind me. I glanc at the window to try and get an answer. What answered me was green garden, and blue skies. It looks very calming and reassuring. I would have thought we were all dead and in heaven, if not for the fact that I see tall buildings a little ways away. Unless heaven had architectural marvels. "Actually, the more important question is, "WHO the hell are we?" I don''t know about you guys, but I have no idea who I am." Another voice asks. At this I turn back to them, seeing them all shake their heads at each other, they turn towards me and the girl in my arms. "What about you ''kitty''?" The girl next to us asks. "You two seem to know each other." I shake my head in reply. "I just... Said that to calm her down... And so far, she''s only said kitty and nothing else..." I turn towards to hug-girl. "Hey you, do you know who are?" "Don''t just call her ''you''!" Someone behind me yelled but I ignore them. Hug-girl merely tilts her head at my question. "Kitty?" ''Kitty?''. I close my eyes a little irritated. She knows nothing but saying "kitty". "Great... Were all amnesiacs!" The girl behind claps her hands together. "So let''s assign names! I''m Mary!" She then points towards me. "You''re John, she''s Grace, and you''re..." She turns around and starts naming everyone randomly. A bit too happily at that. Before she could finish naming us all, we hear a set of footsteps outside of our room. "They should all be awake by now." I hear one of the voices say outside. My hearing must be damn good if I hear that from outside the room while being at the other end from the door. The door was made of metal and next to it was a keypad that glowed red. As the footsteps stopped at the door, the keypad turned green and the metal door slides open to reveal the 5 pairs of legs we''ve been hearing. "Ah, good, you''re all sitting up already." One of the doctors said. I say doctor, only because they all wore white lab gowns. That''s about as far as their similarities go as they all looked different from one another. They form a line at the end of our row of beds. "Now, I now you are all confused but first, let me reassure you that you are all in perfectly good hands. Allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Giller Solis. I''m one of the head doctors here in our hospital." The doctor introduces himself. He was an old man around his early fifties with a full set of hair cut short, more black than grey. He wore round spectacles on the bridge of his nose that only made him look older. Under his white lab coat, he wore a simple white shirt and black pants with a red tie on his neck. He wasn''t fit. He sported a small belly but didn''t seem to be bothered by it. The other doctors introduced themselves too. So far, we had a Doctor Arthur, Doctor Owen, Doctor Ross, and Doctor Reginald. "Kitty?" ''Kitty?'' Somewhere in the middle of their intro I stopped patting her head again and she calls me to resume. I sigh. What a spoiled girl I have in my hands... "Oh my, it seems you two have gotten very close to each other already." Dr. Giller said. "Hey Doc, something''s wrong with her. Well, I mean all of us, sure, but she sounds like she has a few screws loose." One of the men said out loud, clearly not pleased with us hearing each others thoughts but more so hug-girls''. "Don''t call her like that!" One of the girls complained. I hear a soft POMFF sound and I guess she threw a pillow at him. "Now, now, no need for you to quarrel. Doctor Owen? If we may." Dr. Giller and Dr. Owen make their way towards us. As they near, Dr. Owen brought out a clear see through device from his pocket and stretches it out. The device activates and words and numbers pops out in reverse from my view. It was a tablet device and from what I could see, it''s reading hug-girls brain, at least I think it did since the screen was showing a rotating brain, next to hug-girls picture. "Now Dante, if you''d please release Beatrice that I may examine her." Dr. Giller says. ''Dante? Is that my name?'' "Hey! No mind juju!" GRUMBLE "I like John better." "Doctors, this might sound crazy but we happen to be hearing each others thoughts and... Well, having ten other people in our heads isn''t funny." To this, Doctor Owen laughs. "Hahaha, that''s your Android Network boys and girls! An amazing device if I do say so myself!" "Wait.. Androids..?" I ask out loud, struggling to get out of Beatrice''s grasp. The more I struggle though, the more she clung. "Kitttttyyyyy!" ''Kitttttyyyyy!'' One way or another, I mostly manage to get out, but she grabs on to my arm and holds on for dear life. I can only scratch the back of my head at her persistence. "Oh yes, you... All of you, are androids." Dr. Giller said matter of factly, as he stretchs out an open palm at Beatrice. She tilts0 her head, and with one hand still vice gripping my arm, she reachs for Dr. Giller. Dr. Giller in turn brings out a small, circular, white device, sticks it on her wrist and releases her hand. He then pulles out his own tablet from his pocket and starts clicking away. It seems that with the device on her wrist, it read her vitals and other things such as blood pressure and heart rate from what I could see. "So... We''re not... Human?" One of the others asks. Curiously, there wasn''t worry in the question. Nor did I myself feel any panic though I feel that I SHOULD. "Oh no, you''re all human. At least, you were born human." Dr. Arthur answers, still at the front end of the room. He brings out his own tablet. "All of you, please bring up your status screen and tell me your psychological health." Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. " " " "Status screen?" " " " Dr. Arthur rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Look at tip of your noses. That should bring it up." Everyone starts looking at their noses and then jolts immediately their beds. I did the same and a transparent screen filled my vision, surprising me as well. "Kitty?" ''Kitty?'' "I''m okay. Just a bit surprised." I reassure Beatrice. She just tilts her head again. It doesn''t look like she understands me. "Someone please tell us how to stop the mind talking thing!" The others voice their agreement. "Bah. You kids don''t know how to appreciate it." Dr. Owen complained. "Fine, fine, just say ''Mind Chan'' out loud and then ''All chans: Disconnect.''" He waved his hand and continue working on his tablet on Beatrice''s mind. At this, everyone says "Mind Chan." Another window pops into my view. It seems like it only displayed in my eye. I move my hand to poke my eye and see if my eye was even an actual eye and not something robotic. Immediately, Dr. Giller slaps my hand away. "Don''t poke your eye out." He says rather robotically and resumes clicking away on his tablet. Apparently, I can still injure my eye so that means its real. Everyone else didn''t do my bright idea, and starts leaving the chat already as the list in my chat started shrinking. I was about to as well, until there was only two of us left.
MIND CHAN
Current Members: DANTE BEATRICE BEATRICE: Kitty? BEATRICE: Kitty? DANTE: Dante? Is that my name? BEATRICE: Kitttttyyyyyy! BEATRICE: Kitty? GEMMA has left the chan... MARIA has left the chan... LUDOVICO has left the chan... IPPOLITA has left the chan... LEONARDO has left the chan... JULIUS has left the chan... VICTORIA has left the chan... DIGGORY has left the chan...
I could see Beatrice still looking up at me behind the window screens. I sigh. ''Fine... I''ll stay with you.'' ''???'' I closed my eyes and tilt my own head with a grimace. Somehow I just want this day to end already. With my eyes closed, the status screen still persisted and I look it over... [tr]
STATUS SCREEN
NAMEDANTE SOLIS
CLASSBLADE ASSASSIN ANDROID
MENTAL HEALTHOPTIMALEMOTIONAL STATECALM
NANITE LEVELSMAXNANITE REPRODUCTIONSTABLE
PHYSICAL CONDITIONIDEALRADIATION LEVEL0
Everyone tells Dr. Arthur their psychological status. We are all pretty much sane and alright. "What about her?" One of the others ask, directing the query very likely at Beatrice. "I think we should worry more about us." The girl behind me said. "Like, why are we androids? Why are we here? And WHY don''t we know who we are?" GRRRRR The room stopped still, and we all turn our eyes to one girl in bed, trying to make herself as small as possible while her face is beat red with embarrassment. "... Sorry... I guess I''m hungry." And like an animal call, each one of our stomachs starts sounding off. Dr. Giller laughs, followed by the other doctors. "I suppose the top priority right now is to get some food in your stomachs." Dr. Giller then places his tablet away. Dr. Owen did the same. "Wait" I called out. "What''s wrong her?" I point to Beatrice, her eyes big and innocent. "Muu?" ''Muu?'' Dr. Owen sighs. "Unfortunately, the same thing wrong with all of you." "You see, since your androids," Dr. Giller started. "In all your bodies are nanomachines. Nanites for short. And all your nanites are controlled by tiny chips in your brain. Now, about a week ago, when you all were out on your final field test, you found an... Unexpected surprise at the end. Now, because of your curiosity, you approached the unknown element in your mission. However, none of us knew that it had... Er... Let''s call it a computer virus to simplify. The computer virus affected your chips, causing your nanites run a mock, damaging your muscles and knocking out your consciousness in the process." "And the virus was digital in nature, and that spread through the android network." Dr. Owen resumes. "Sounds like the android network is more of a pain..." One of the guys said. "Bah." Dr. Owen scoffs and waves his hand. "It was something out of our expectations. And if you had your memories, you would know how much you relied on the network! In any case, when you all dropped like a sack of potatoes, your chips forcefully enter " recovery mode" and your nanites start recharging and fixing the body. Unfortunately, when you wake up, the virus starts anew and the whole thing repeats itself. We had to sedate you all while we tried to get the virus." "That means... You weren''t able to get the virus..." I said in conclusion. It was Dr. Giller that answers with a shake of his head. "Unfortunately. And how do you fix a broken computer? You reformat it. And that''s what happened to all of you. Why none of you have your memories." "As for how that relates to her," Dr. Owen points at Beatrice. "She was affected most of all. It was as if her chip couldn''t enter "recovery mode" and her nanites damaged both her long term and short term memory." "Meaning right now," Dr. Giller resumes. He searches for something in his pocket and brings out two pieces of wrapped candy. He offers one to Beatrice. Tilting her head, she takes it cautiously. Dr. Giller then unwraps the one he has and tosses it in into his mouth, causing Beatrice to do the same. As soon as she did, she smiles from ear to ear and starts jumping up and down while she sat. "H-hey! Calm down!" She''s still clinging to me and so drags my arm along. "She has nothing more than her basic instincts. Although.. It seems she managed to remember one word... And her closeness with you Dante." Dr. Giller finished. I manage to stop Beatrice frantic jumping and raise an eye brow at Dr. Giller. "Close? We were close?" Dr. Giller shrugges. "Close enough that you''ve shared a kiss. Aren''t you lucky she at least remembers the bond you shared." "Aww..." "How romantic~" "I want to be like that..." I hear the girls moan. ''I don''t!'' I scream in the mind chat. Since its just me and Beatrice and she can''t understand, its fine. ''She''s pretty, and has nice rack, and her lips seem really kissable but I don''t want someone that''s mentally a baby!'' "Muu?" ''???'' "I wouldn''t worry too much about her though. She''s an android too. Once she has some grasp of self awareness, she''ll be consuming knowledge like water in the desert." Dr. Giller said as if reading my thoughts. "What''s more," Dr. Owen again. Did these two always continue off after one another? "With the android network-" okay, so he always answers when its the android network. So I guessing he made it? "You can all share knowledge and experience with one another. She''ll be able to see, feel, experience, and think what a mentally mature person does. That''s why its important for her to have some awareness of her own self." "AHEM" Dr. Arthur coughed. "Gill, Owen. You two have prattled on long enough. Its high time we get them to eat." "Haha, I apologize. I always get carried away when it comes to nanites." Dr. Giller said, "now then boys and girls, we''ll have your food delivered via driods so please stay in the room, though please do try and walk around. And one last thing, we leave Beatrice in your care. Please take care of her. You especially, Dante." And with responsibility of teaching pushed towards us bunch of amnesiacs, we are left to ourselves once again. Chapter 3 - Androids and Sense of Self === Author''s note: Late! This chapter just refused to get written and I had to scrap it 3 times before I got the flow I wanted out of it. Sorry about that. I''ll try and post another chapter tomorrow to make up for it or something. Friday still has a chapter. If you find any mistakes or misspelling, please let me know about it! === === Reading Notes: SOUND EFFECTS "RADIO CHATTER" ''MIND CHAT/TELEPATHY'' "CHANGE IN VOLUME" === == Vadeem Hospital == == Dante == As we are left alone in the room, Beatrice contently clings to my arm while she curiously watches the others getting up and stretching their legs. Well, I say "stretching their legs" but they all start out wobbly like I did. I suppose that''s a given since we we''re all bed ridden for a week. Suddenly, I feel something grabbing hold of my other shoulder. I turn to find the girl that named me ''Joseph'' clinging to me while she is bent awkwardly out of balance. "Haha, sorry! I got too eager trying to stand. Lend me your shoulder a bit okay? Oh, you can call me Gemma by the way "Kitty." Haha!" She laughs loudly and I sneer at her. Which just causes her to laugh even more. I roll my eyes, and turn to watch the others get used to their own legs and start walking. They then start to gather around Beatrice''s bed. I''m not sure why they did. Maybe it''s because I was already there and Gemma is using me as a support pole, but everyone forms a circle around the bed and we start discussing among ourselves. "So she has it worse than us huh..." One of the other guys say. "Apparently." I shrug. "W-what kind of virus causes us to just... Lose it?" A girl with short brown hair ask. She seemed to be the smallest one among us. "Who knows. I just hope it was a one time thing." Gemma answers beside me. "Okay, but what if the doctors are manipulating us?" Another person ask. "A better question is would they be sending us to our deaths?" And another ask. "Probably not? We''re not caged or anything. Hell, there''s an open window right there that leads to a garden. They made it sound like we''re valuable people. Not expendable experiments.¡± "Maybe there''s an alarm if you go out or a force field?" "I already stuck my arm out before. No alarm or force field." DING All heads turn to the door and drop the discussion. A cylindrical droid enters the room. It reminds me of the round mail boxes used by a certain country in the old era. The country itself is no more, but I vaguely recall it being famous for kings and queens and a lot of tea-time posh. The droid itself has a simple design to it, having a body as wide as a persons, with it''s lower part painted blue, and the rest of the body was white. It moves itself by rotating dozens of small spheres at the bottom. The tip of it''s head is wider and displays a screen. The words "Delivery~!!!" rotates around it in bright yellow words. Other than that, the droid has no other noticeable features other than a simple hatch at front of it''s body. "Think we can talk to? We''re anDROIDS after all." Gemma says beside me, causing a bunch of us roll our eyes at her. Once the droid entered, it was followed by another one. And another, and another, and even more! There are about a dozen of them in the room already and they wheel themselves at the edge of our circle. It stops right before one of the guys and the hatch slides upwards, revealing trays and trays of food stacked up. "Damn! That smells good!" "Are those waffles!? I call dibs!" "I want the chicken!" "Everyone grab the beds and form a circle for us!" Gemma announces beside me, and the others grab 3 other beds and move it around Beatrice''s, forming a ''circle'' that looked more like a diamond. Everyone sat on the beds. Some cross legged, while the others, such as most of the girls, were very mindful of their robes and sit very ladylike. Gemma was one that doesn''t seem to care and sits cross legged. I haven''t checked it myself, but it''s pretty breezy down in my crotch. I''m guessing none of us are wearing any underwear. As that fact dawns on me, a battle between reason and desire is waged in my mind. "Here, Dante." Someone calls me from the other side of the bed, interrupting the war. I turn to see a girl with her raven-black hair swept to one side her neck, revealing her pale ear and slender shoulder on the other side. She has a warm smile which brings the word "Motherly" to my mind. She''s holding up the stack of trays to me. Apparently when everyone else was moving beds, she went ahead and grabbed the whole stack of food and I got first pick. "Oh. Thanks uh..." "Maria." She answers. "Thanks Maria." "Don''t mention it. After all, you were the first to move to comfort Beatrice awhile ago. Don''t forget to grab her share as well." I take 2 trays of food. Maria then turns around starts giving the others their share as well. I turn to Beatrice who is still watching the whole thing with curiosity. "Hey, scoot over." "Mu?" sigh "I really hope you to start talking soon." I push her inwards with my hip, giving me the space to sit down next to her and place one tray on her lap. She looks at it curiously and tilts her head. I slap my forehead in realization. ''Right. Since she can''t even speak, I doubt she even knows how to eat!'' "My, my. Having trouble already?" It was Maria again, and she finished giving everyone a tray and held her own. I look around to see everyone already dining in on their meal without a care... Some without manners but that should be expected given we haven''t eaten in a week. Maria scoots over to the other side of the bed and sits down besides Beatrice. "Hello Beatrice. I''m Maria. Can you say Maria?" "M... Ma...Ma- ma?" Beatrice tilts her head. "Fufufu. Close, but not quite. Its Ma-rrrriiii-aaaa." "Ma...Ma-ri-a?" Beatrice chokes the word out. "Good girl!" Maria caresses Beatrice cheek, causing her smile brightly, loosening her grip on my arm, and warm feelings start flooding me through the android network. "Maria!" Beatrice almost screams. ''Damn, she''s good!'' "Dante, you can go ahead and eat. I''ll handle Beatrice." Maria offers. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. "No way." I reject immediately. "What about you? How are you going to eat?" "Thank you for worrying but I''ll eat later." "Rejected. You should eat too." "My, your stubborn." Maria smiles. "Very well, how about we take turns? I''ll get her to eat this and you finish as soon as possible." "Deal." I look down towards my tray. It was half a chicken, baked golden brown and gravyed-mashed potatoes with a side of carrots. I start consuming my share of food so Maria wouldn''t be bothered for long. I glance towards the others and some have already finished a tray or two. As soon as they did, another droid comes close to our circle, and out came more trays of food. Three droids start collecting the empty trays and their display changed from "Delivery ~!!!" to red text "Returning." and exit the room. As they did, three other droids came in to replace them with a fresh batch of food. Just how much food did the doctors prepare for us? I glance towards Beatrice and Maria, and Maria is feeding Beatrice her food, which are mash potatoes and a salisbury burger steak swimming in gravy. "Say ''ah''!" Maria holds a spoon full to Beatrice. "Ahhh- ahm." Maria places the spoon in her mouth. "Good girl!" I swallow the last of my chicken and I notice that I am still hungry, but I push the desire away for now. "Okay Maria, your turn to eat." She looks towards me, puffs her cheeks and furrows her brows a bit. I blink. I guess she was enjoying herself? She grudgingly turns to her own tray of food starts eating. Beatrice was already half way done through her plate when I take her spoon. She turns to me and tilts her head. "Kitty?" "Hora, its Dante. I may have just gotten the name but its better than Kitty... Here." I fill her spoon and offer her the burger. Which is a terrible idea. She takes the bite first, then tries speaking. "Dafn-Phe?" Bits and pieces of food fly at me and I see Maria giggling at the corner of my eye, covering her mouth. Grabbing Beatrice''s sheet, I wipe away the mess she made and she looks at me with complete innocence. I try again and offer her food, but this time pull back just before she bites down. "Say Dante first, hug-girl. Dan-te." "D... Dan-te?" "Good girl." I place the food in her mouth and she chews it happily this time. In 4 or 5 spoonfuls, she already consumes her tray of food. "Good job, Dante." Maria says, finishing her own plate. "If you would kindly grab us another set of food please? Its unladylike, but I''m still hungry." I nod in agreement with her and grab another set from the droids. Our meal continues on in the same manner. After about an hour and two dozen droids entering our room, a knock came to the door and it slides open. "Ah, good. You''ve all finished, right?" It was Dr. Arthur that asks and stepps into the room. "Good, good. Now all of you please follow me. We''ll have you changed into your suits and then proceed with your fitness test.¡± ====== It took some time, but with the help of Maria and Gemma, we somehow manage to get Beatrice to walk on her own. It was difficult at first as she simply stomped her feet down, but I got the idea of using the android network and transferred the feeling of walking to her. After a few tries, she managed to walk on her own. ¡°Huh... How did you do that?¡± Maria ask. ¡°I''m still connected to her in the network thing. I just pictured ¡°walking¡± and just.. threw the idea at her.¡± "Dante, Dante!" Beatrice calls out as she grabs my hand. Her other hand holds on to Maria''s. "Eh... I''m jealous. I want to hold hands with Beatrice too." Gemma pouts Beatrice, sensing this Gemma''s woes, tucks my arm in hers and holds out her hand for Gemma. "G-Gem!" She calls out. "Oh Beatrice, I love you!" Gemma says and grabs her hand. "Oi! Its hard to walk like this." We are in the hallway now, making our way to an elevator according to what Dr. Arthur says. The four of us are at the back of the group as Beatrice was hell bent on holding on to us like we''re her stuff animals. Somewhere a long the way I just gave up and just went with the flow. As we reach the elevator at the center of the hallway, we find Dr. Arthur holding it up for us. "If you four are any slower, I''ll have to start writing my will and testament." He jokes and gets on the elevator after us. 12 people stood around in a rather spacious elevator. Dr. Arthur places his palm on a scanner by the door, and out slid a control panel with different floors. I glanced up at the floor display and we are currently at "G". The building itself wasn''t so high, and only goes up to 8 floors. However, going down is a completely different story Dr. Arthur presses a B38 button and that wasn''t the most bottom floor from panel. At that, the elevator starts going down, causing Beatrice to jump. "Ahhh! M-M-Maria!" "Shhh... Its alright." Maria strokes her head, trying to calm her down. Beatrice is facing the elevator inwards with her eyes watery at Maria. "You guys should make her turn around. See if that distracts her." Dr. Arthur suggest. "Alright..." Gemma starts and points to the door. "Hey Beatrice.. Uh.. Look over there?" Beatrice turns to look at the elevator doors and on it, she sees our reflection on the chrome surface. She stares at it mouth agape and she releases our arms. "Beatrice?" I call out next to her. She turns to me, then back to the door and points at my reflection. "Dante...?" She says in a question. "Oh. You''re confused about your reflection huh?" I conclude. I knock on the door, showing its solid. Immediately she does the same and presses both hands on it. "Hey, how long is she going to act like a kid?" One of the guys ask at the back. "Shh! Just let her be for now." Maria says, holding up a finger while intently watching Beatrice. The action attracts Beatrice attention as the reflection moved as well. "M... Maria..." "That''s right Beatrice." Maria smiles at her through the reflection. Beatrice then moves towards Gemma''s reflection. "G-Gem..." "Hey there~" Gemma waves. Finally, Beatrice points to her self with a questioning look. I couldn''t help it as she looks really cute at the moment, with her eyes wide with wonder. "Beatrice..." I poke her cheek as she watches her reflection. She looks at me, then back to herself and pokes her own cheek. "Be...a...trice... Bea-trice... Beatrice..." She repeats slowly. "That''s right." I nod and start patting her head. "You''re name''s Beatrice..." Beatrice look wide eyed at herself and her eyes grew more alive. I can feel confidence flooding towards me through the network. "Beatrice." She points to herself. "Dante." Then to me. "Maria." Then to Maria. "Gem." To Gemma. "Beatrice, Dante, Maria, Gem. Beatrice, Dante, Maria, Gem!" She repeats excitedly. The child like excitement causes me to smile and everyone else in the elevator is the same as we look at the scene. I reach out and ruffle Beatrice''s hair before the doors open. "Nice to meet you, Beatrice." "Dante!" And Beatrice shows her excitement the only way she know how: By jumping up and tackling me in an embrace. ''Oh no. Not again.'' Chapter 4 - Androids and Nanosiuts === Author''s note: Short chapter this time. Less 200 words from my usual 2000 aim, cuz the next scene would be an explanation chapter on how androids work, why they were made, etc. If you find any mistakes or misspelling, please let me know about it! === === Reading Notes: SOUND EFFECTS "RADIO CHATTER" ''MIND CHAT/TELEPATHY'' "CHANGE IN VOLUME" === == Vadeem Hospital == == Dante == DING The elevator opens up to a lobby with a window counter directly opposite the elevator. The window is manned by a single person and he''s hunched down over his computer terminal. Dr. Arthur bids us goodbye and good luck for the test and we exit the elevator and head towards the counter, with the person still hunched down on his terminal. *ahem* one of the guys coughs, he has blonde hair and I noticed he was constanly looking over his reflection in the elevator. "Just go to the door over there." He jabs his thumb to our left. We turn our heads and see a wooden double door. No locks or fancy hand scanners. "That''s the hallway that leads to the locker rooms. Turn left immediately. Female Androids on the second to the last door. Male androids on the last. Once you lot are done suiting up, go there." The man then jabs his thumb to our right. This time its a double metal door. "That leads to the training room. Once you''re finish THEN you get back to me. I just have to fix this damn computer terminal for the stupid droid that should be doing this job..." The man the continues to grumble on. With nothing else to go on, we shrug at each other and make our way to the locker rooms. "Hey Beatrice, you''re with us this time~" Gemma says and takes Beatrice hand, while Maria takes the other. Beatrice then looks worriedly at me as if I''m leaving her forever. "Dante?" She says. "You''ll be fine." ''We''re still connected to the network anyway.'' I tell her and send a reassuring emotion, at least I think I do, through the network. She pouts, copying Maria''s earlier expression, and follows the girls to their locker room. And now I realize I haven''t talk to any of the guys yet as we entered our locker room. I take a quick glance at them. Each one of us seems to have a noticable feature or two. There''s blonde boy who stands out being the only blonde guy. Another guy has spiky brown hair and seems to always be in a smile. There''s a guy with a swimmers, he has medium length black hair and a somewhat glaring face. And the last guy has an even slimmer body than Mr. Glare and has his hair short. Most noticeable about the last guy is that he''s wearing an eye patch on his right eye. We didn''t say a word as we walk up to the row of lockers. There are five metal, double door, lockers in total that lined one side of the wall. They''re all taller than us and had space in between them. Three sets of benches in front of the locker. The floor is carpeted in this area. To the opposite of the lockers is a shower area with tiled floors. Five showers total with wooden doors. I looked over each locker as I looked for mine. Name plates are embedded on one side of the metal doors for each. Each shined with a red light, telling us they were all locked. A hand scanner was below the light, similar to the one in the elevator. I found mine at the very end. I looked to the others and they we''re all looking at me while they stood in front of their lockers. Seemed like we all hesitated to what could be inside it. "You think any of our past selves hid any chocolates behind these things?" I asked. One of the guys chuckled, another shook his head but smiled anyway, while the other two just rolled their eyes. Hey, two out four. I place my hand on the scanner and it seemed to suck my hand in as light scanned my hand. Immediately, I feel a prickling on my fingers and drew my arm back. I saw 5 small needle pricks in my fingers, which drew blood, but they closed near instantly. KERCHACK The red light turned green and my locker opens. Inside I find a black suit with matching armor, bath towels, a mirror, and some clothes that looked more like uniforms to my utter disappointment. "Nope. No chocolate." Seems like I didn''t hide anything personal in here. "I got some!" One of the guys yell. His locker is next to mine and his name plate says "Diggory" so that must be his name. He has spiky brown hair with medium length, and stocky build while still wearing the robes. "Really??" I actually want some. "Nah. I''m just messing with ya." He gives me a big stupid grin. "Ha. Ha. Very funny Digs. If we have combat training, I''m kicking your ass." Diggory furrows his brows a bit as he looks at me. "Digs... Yeah... I like that..." He starts nodding. "Hey, how''d you come up with that? You know, calling me Digs." It was my turn to furrow my brows a bit, but just shrug in the end. "... I don''t know... It felt like a reflex..." I pushed the thought away and decided to go for a shower. Everyone else does the same thing. The shower seems to function by the three seashells device. As I was about to press one for my shower, the android network starts acting up and I bring up the mind chan. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. [tr]
MIND CHAN
Current Members: DANTE BEATRICE BEATRICE: Kyaaa! Gem? BEATRICE: Shower? BEATRICE: Boobs? BEATRICE: Soft! Ha ha ha! BEATRICE: Maria! Biggger! BEATRICE: Feels weird? BEATRICE: Ahhh- Gem! No!
What the hell are those girls doing!? Oh God, I hope they don''t teach Beatrice anything weird. I finished up my shower and decided not think about the girls shower. For now I exit the shower and find the locker room real steamy, as all of us used hot water. I''m the first one to finish and dry myself up and proceed to my locker. As I opened the lock, the first thing that caught my eye is the mirror which, despite the steam, was perfectly visible and reflected my image back. I got a good look at myself. My hair is black and of medium length. Not liking the idea of just leaving it be, I swept it back, but it refused to totally go down so I end up having spikes pointing backwards. I smiled as I actually like the way it looks. My body is toned but not as much as Diggory''s, who seemed to have the second biggest build, the biggest one I think is blond boy. Estimating my height, I should be around 180 cm. My eyes are dark brown, almost black, while my skin color seems to be in between white and yellow. I picked up the suit and took a quick look at it. It brings up a memory of ancient shadow warriors that clad themselves in black and threw throwing knives shaped like stars at their enemies. This one is just as tactical black in color as them. The whole armor is basically made up of two layers. The first one is a military jumpsuit with the zipper on the torso. It covers my whole body all the way up to the neck, and had metal locking plates on the chest, spine, back, forearm, and shin. Shrugging, I put it on, and found it a little loose at first and zipped it close. The suit suddenly pulses, like its alive and fits itself against my body. Its quite the freaky experience as I suddenly feel suction in places I didn''t even know I had places. But it doesn''t seem to end there. I suddenly hear the suit whirling to life, especially on the metal plates, as they suddenly inject themselves onto my body, piercing skin and down to my bone. It didn''t hurt, but it freaked me out since my spine also has a metal plate. The suit didn''t feel like a second layer of skin. Rather, it feels like my ACTUAL skin and the metal plates on the suit are my bones. Grabbing the rest of the armor, I continued putting on the armor. The upper armor only covers the area around my chest and upper back. As I attached them, they locks themselves into place which again makes them feel like my bones, albeit outside my body. Same goes for the gauntlets and shin armor. There''s a belt that goes around my waist that has pouches, pockets, and holders, but I don''t seem to have anything in the locker that I should be putting on them like weapon clips, bullets or grenades. Essentially the whole suit maximizes mobility and movement instead of protection like a suit of armor would do. The only pieces that I''ve yet to put on are the helmet, the visor for my eyes, and the face mask. "Whoa, looking good Dante..." I turn around to see Diggory and the others, having just finished their showers as well. "I want to put mine on too." I waited for them to finish and once all five of us are in our suits, we start heading out and exit our lockers. "Oh look, the boys are done too." Gemma says as we meet in the hallway. All 6 girls are wearing their armor as well. Their design is similar to ours, with only one major difference. And that is their chest armor takes the shape of their boobs. Gemma''s brow rose. With one hand on her hip, she puts all her weight on one leg, emphasizing her curves. "Like what you see boys?" It was then I noticed some of the girls were glaring at us and Maria is trying to make herself as small as possible behind the group. Immediately I realize I''m gawking at the girls and try to look anywhere but at 6 heavenly bodies in front of us. The other guys also did the same thing. It can''t be helped! Similar to all 5 of us guys where our bodies are well toned, the girls have all right curves, in different varieties too! Maria by far has the biggest rack, the girl with short brown hair from a while ago and a platinum blonde has the best ass, Gemma has the best waist, Beatrice and the other girl seems to have a mix of everything but can''t stand out when compared individually. "So all the boys are perverts huh." One of the girls, the tallest one of them, comments. She has blonde hair and white skin, and I estimate about 185 cm tall. "Oh like you girls aren''t." Blonde boy from us rebuts then curls his biceps. "I''m sure you girls are all wet for these guns!" "Not really." The tall girl smirks and curls her own bicep, showing it bigger than any of ours. Tall girl however is still plenty attractive. I didn''t notice her muscles before because she''s got some fat here and there, making her rather plump. She has an odd combination of muscles and fat, but having the correct curves as well. Was this cause by nanites?! I could see blonde boy''s jaw dropping and could practically hear his confidence shattering to bits. Well... Mine too, but I''m not letting them know that. "Dante!" Beatrice yells, then runs up to me and embraces my arm. Oh Berts, bless your innocent heart! I try and control my smile, making sure its not creepy, and pat her head. "Beatrice! Get back here!" I hear Maria yell while she tries to hide behind tall girl. "Mu?" Beatrice tilts her head, but obediently goes to Maria... While dragging me along. "N-N-Not with him!" Maria yells as she tries to cover her chest by crossing her arms. Her face is bright as a tomato. "Nooooo! Don''t look!"