Fan Fiction ❯ Blade of the Slayer: Three Warriors ❯ The Android ( Chapter 2 )

Blade of the Slayer

Chapter 2: The Android

"Oh my God! Clara, are you alright?"

"Do I look alright?!" I snapped as I stormed down the stairs to the old man's secret base. As I walked off the last step of the stairs, I leaned on the doorway with my only arm. My other arm had been ripped off, revealing a metal joint and loose wires sticking out of my wound instead of blood and bone as I had expected to be.

"Hmmm…" Ayla pondered, looking over my open wound. "It doesn't look too bad. I don't see anything vital damaged…you just need a new arm, that's all."

"Just a new arm?!" I snarled. "I don't need just a new arm! I need an explanation! I should be bleeding to death! Instead, I have wires sticking out of me!" I angrily pointed at my empty shoulder socket. "Where the hell did this come from? I have a robotic arm? No I don't! I would remember if I had a robotic arm! What the hell is going on?!"

"Calm down." Ayla advised nervously. "Just calm down, and uncle Magus will explain everything."

"He had better."

***

"Old man!" I screamed into the den as I climbed down yet another flight of stairs. The old man, Magus McDuff, was working on some computer program that was magnified on a nearby TV screen. He was startled by my scream, and swiveled his chair around to look at me.

"Oh no!" he worried. "Clara, are you alright?"

"No, I'm not!" I continued screaming, storming over to him. With strength I didn't know I had, I yanked him out of the chair, and to his feet by the collar of his shirt. "What the hell is this?!" I demanded, letting him go and pointing at my shoulder socket. "Where did this come from?! I have a robotic arm, when there's no way possible that I could have one! I never had anything like this attached to me in my entire life! What happened to me, old man?!"

I was making him nervous, I could tell by his wide eyes and shaky frown. He calmed a bit, and stepped to the side.

"Please sit down." He offered me the chair he was sitting in. I sat, since I lacked the option of doing anything else. Magus began his explaining.

"Your name is not Clara Tomoe. Everything you've ever known was a lie until the day you became a Slayer."

"What?!"

"Everything you know is a lie. You were never born in Sunset City, Oregon, you never had a family, or a childhood, or an education. You never went to State University, you never had friends…you never even met Ayla or me until you left for your first mission."

"You've got to be kidding…"

"You're real name is Paris Kid Series 1. You are not a human; you are an android."

I couldn't believe my own ears. I could only listen in horror while the old man continued.

"The dragonoids have existed for over a two thousand years. However, they only existed in their human forms, so there was no actual trouble. For those two thousand years, they gathered life energy from the planet though their magic. The Earth's life energy would sustain their natural forms, the monsters you know them as. Without that life energy, they would remain humans, and be no real problem.

"Only a select few humans knew of the dragonoids and the threat they posed. These few humans kept them in check, because the dragonoids would soon gather enough energy to emerge and wreck havoc on humanity. They would destroy the humans to regain control over the planet. We could not let this happen, or else every human being on Earth would die.

"Fifty years ago, a man designed a weapon that would kill the dragonoids. It would be perfect, a weapon that would wipe out the attackers before they could wipe us out. He never lived to even begin the actual project. He was murdered by the dragonoids.

"I knew the man, who will remain anonymous for the time being, and I recovered his designs. My great-niece, Ayla, and I began building the weapon with the advanced software that would improve the weapon's original features immensely…"

"Me? Right?"

I was ignored.

"The weapon was designed to look like a human in every respect. I had to create synthesized skin, hair, muscles, and other individual cells for physical appearance. It was the first in a series of three, built to look like a teenager, and the blueprints were drawn in the city of Paris, France. So, the weapon was named Paris Kid Series 1."

"Me." I realized. "So, if I was created, why do I have memories of growing up and being raised by a mother and father?"

"Your original inventor only gave you one purpose: to kill the dragonoids. I have built robots before, and once they finish their programming, they are lost, confused, and frightened because there was no other reason for them to exist. I would not make the same mistake with you. So, I gave you a human life to experience for yourself. Now that you know what life itself is about, you have a reason to fight, and a reason to exist after your primary purpose was fulfilled."

"I think I understand." I said faintly. The story was overwhelming. I still couldn't believe it. My whole life flashed before my eyes…but it wasn't my life! I felt a little scared and sad. I was a straight A student my whole life. I was cute, popular, and successful. I loved my family, friends, and "fan club." But what about the event at the State U?

"What about Naappa's attack at the university?" I asked. "And the training?"

"Everything up to January 2, 1999 were programmed memories." Magus answered. "You were programmed to fight with a sword. In actuality, I taught you nothing."

"So, what's supposed to happen to me after the dragonoids are dead?"

"Then you are free to do as you wish, as long as you are alive and happy." He smiled at me. "Now, I know you still have many questions, but you need to get a replacement arm." He helped me up and walked me out of the den. I was too drained with emotion to still be angry with him.

***

The base of the old man was an abandoned mansion near a cliffside overlooking the sea. The entire basement, I found out, was the technical maintenance center, also known as the lab. It looked more like an emergency room to me, with a surgery table and everything. According to my memories, going to see a doctor or a surgeon made me nervous. It was natural for me to shiver upon arrival in the lab.

"Just lay down on the table." Ayla directed, gathering her tools and parts she would need. "This'll take about an hour or so, so do you need anything to keep you occupied? Want me to turn on the radio or put on an audio book?"

"Yeah, turn on the radio." I accepted, laying flat on the table. "You're not going to knock me out or anything?"

"Actually, I need you awake." Ayla said, turning the radio onto a soft rock station. "You'll have to give me readouts and tell me what needs to be replaced."

I sat up in alarm.

"But I don't know anything about that! I don't know anything about being an android!"

"Hey, relax." Ayla assured, gently pushing me back down on the table. "Don't worry, I'll walk you though it. It's easy to learn. Oh, by the way, take your shirt off."

"Bra too?" I wondered nervously, wiggling my only arm out of my shirtsleeve.

"No, you can keep that on." She shook her head, helping me with my shirt. "So, let's talk for a bit. What happened to your arm?"

"Bitten off in battle." I explained, watching her organize her equipment. "A dragonoid named T'Jassie…number…48, I think. Oh, I almost forgot! He was different from the other dragonoids."

"Different how?"

"He looked like what I expected an actual dragon to look like. It stood on four feet, with the long neck, and tail…"

"A WH type dragonoid." She answered casually.

"A what type?"

"Well, there's different kinds of dragonoids, like there's different kinds of dogs or cats. Unlike dogs or cats, however, there are only two breeds of dragonoids. They have names for themselves, but we call them WH and EH. The EH are the human-based ones with four arms, and the WH are the lizard kind like T'Jassie."

"I see."

"EH stands for Eastern Hemisphere, and WH stands for…"

"Western Hemisphere?"

"Very good. Uncle Magus and I labeled them for the side of the world they come from."

"So, how come I haven't seen a WH until…ow!" I yelped. I didn't even realize she started working on my arm until I felt a sharp sting. She was picking at a large cable with an alien pair of tweezers as long as my forearm.

"'Ow?'" Ayla wondered. "I hit your sensory cable already? You're in greater danger than I thought."

"Why?"

"The sensory cable is attached to your central nervous system. If the cable snapped, you'd've lost all communications with the left side of your body. You'd've been lucky to even walk here if T'Jassie snipped it."

"I guess you're right." I shrugged. "Man, that was close."

"Now then, we better get started."

She started making repairs to broken wires, and putting the sensory cable back into place. She helped me tune in with my android brain, and place exactly what was broken an what needed repairs. Ayla didn't get too technical, plus she knew exactly what she was doing.

"Just like a car." She commented, after she replaced the last wire.

"That hurt." I frowned, unamused. Now that I fully understood what I was and what I was created to do, I figured that it would be a matter of time before I went crazy and killed myself.

***

In another three hours, I had a fully operational arm. New metal joints were set in, and the artificially created skin was melded over my wires and metal bones, and set into growth and healing with an ultraviolet light. I was amazed with the technology Magus and Ayla had. I was even more impressed that they had this technology for thirty years.

After my newly functioning arm was attached, I walked down into the old man's den. He wore his usual black shirt and pants, but his cape was left on the coat hanger. He was standing, and staring at the wall. He turned as he heard me enter.

"Ah, there you are." He greeted. "Nice to see you repaired." He had a friendly tone to his greeting, but the tone changed to sympathetic. "I'm really sorry about dropping all of that on you. It must have been overwhelming."

"I understand." I nodded. "You did what you had to, but you should have told me earlier."

"Alright." He agreed with a smile. "No more surprises about who you are. I promise."

"Okay."

"So, now that the android crisis is over, we don't know what to call you now. Will you go by your original name: Paris? Or are you more comfortable with Clara?"

"I prefer you call me Clara." I insisted. "I know I'll respond to that name."

"Okay." Magus agreed. "And to change the subject yet again, I had gone to Sunset City to destroy the remains of T'Jassie. I couldn't find them, or your broken arm."

"It's at the elementary school, by the…"

"No, it's not." Magus shook his head. "It's gone, and so is your lost arm. In their places were dragonoid tracks in the mud." He narrowed his eyes in concern. "They know what you are, Clara."