A. X-5's Story

Aiya saw the chair crush and crumple in the grip of who she saw as her adversary. No it wasn't just that. He wasn't just an opponent in the arena. This was something much, much worse. She felt like, well an idiot, but that was nothing new. Men always seemed to make an idiot out of her, whether she liked them, hated them or fought them for a job. But right now she felt wrong. Everything was going wrong. Her strong facade she put on every day had gone the way of the chair, all squashed up and launched away.

The fact it came so close to hitting her, the fact it could have killed the and the force it was thrown with was lost on her, but not her AI which had enabled a sudden protective layer of shield in case things escalated further, a very slight blue shimmer possible to notice coating her body. Millions of calculations were being processed, raw data drawn directly from her brain to be computed then fed back to her in ways she could more easily understand and handle. While it served as a different entity, she was practically part machine like him, though more human.

And that was what she steeled herself around. For all the compromise she had made in her life on her integrity she would rally on the idea and ideal that she was human, that she was doing the right thing and she would be the hero in this stupid little story she had pitted herself into. Her jaw clenched and her tears dried leaving raw, red eyes glaring directly at him.

A heel firmly dug into the ground beneath her feet, taking a more solid stance. "Tomorrow," she all but growled back, "Now get the hell out of my way." But try as she might, she just couldn't shake that creeping uncomfortable feeling, the feeling of being wrong.

"Big words; keep up the facade. It'll only sting more when you fail..." He murmured, gesturing with an arm to let her pass. Antagonizing her could not be a more stupid thing to do, but she'd upset him. As she always managed to do. Something about her just seemed to scream insecure, or something similar. He couldn't understand why she'd simply target him for no other reason. Sure, his past slapped a massive caution label on him, but he'd made honest strides in rehabilitating and changing.

Did that truly make him any less of a monster for all the innocents whose lives he'd claimed? Certainly not. He'd always have to carry that baggage around with him. Always have to cast a glance over his shoulder to be sure none were tailing him; no authorities were there to apprehend him. And yet with all of that paranoia, not a single thing had come of it all; as if his potential record had been scrubbed clean. By who? He couldn't be sure. Perhaps the insidious individuals behind his creation? Likely, but he'd never truly contemplated on it all that much.

As he let her pass, and she began to put distance between the two of them; some compassionate side of him did stir to reach out.

"Aya..." He began, suddenly; his voice somewhat more gentle. "Try to rethink all of this. I really don't want to do this. I'm sure Sophie wouldn't either..." He murmured. Sure, she'd see some novelty in the fighting; think it's flashy, but he truly believed she wouldn't inherently enjoy her brother fighting her best friend, if not more a sister-figure than anything.

Aiya pushed on past. She couldn't stomach this any further. Her ears burned and she hated every moment. The only thing keeping her going was practically gut instinct to push forwards. It was what she always fell back on when she wasn't certain about something. If there was an opponent who was out smarting her or more powerful than her, she doubled down and hurled herself at them once more. Sometimes it was enough to catch them off guard or sometimes she could punch through that strength and claim a moment of victory.

It usually didn't work. And even now it didn't feel like it was working. Her legs were like lead. And then he spoke. She had to second guess herself now. Was what she was doing better for Sophie, or worse for her? Breaking her apart from her brother? Saving her from a life of crime? Would she even have Sophie on her side after this? God what would...

No, she knew.

Her jaw locked tight as she turned around and stared at him. Stubbornness turned to steel.

"What would your parents think?" she said.

What would his parents think? Quite the idealistic, self-righteous, stance she'd taken, but she did hold the ball at this point. No amount of technological jumble could sort through any myriad of logical information for an answer to this burning question.

But he had an answer.

"They'd be ashamed. Mortified, even. They'd wish upon me any and all punishment necessary." He explained. "And I wouldn't blame them." He offered with a shrug. "But as a parent..." He began, somewhat unsure of himself. "I'd think they'd still love me, and hopefully understand my pain; the pain I feel for myself, and for my sister. And I'd hope they'd understand that my wrongdoings, though inexcusable, were done out of passion at what I, and Sophie, have potentially lost. Our humanity. Our ways of life." He finished. "But I wouldn't expect you to understand any of that, though I hope you'd take time to reflect on it." He offered, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"It's selfish to say I've done what I have for myself and Sophie. It's all been for me. Every life, every building, street; you name it. I was, and will likely always be, hopelessly angry at what they've done to me, and to Sophie. She's young, but she can think for herself; but while it's not to her benefit with what I've done; I'm just as capable of feeling that hopeless anger for her, too." He murmured.

"In the end, I think my parents would probably be wary of her keeping in my company; but only in the tides of my wrongdoings. As I am now? What I'm trying to be? The strides I've made to correct my mistakes, though they can't entirely be erased?" He paused. "I couldn't say. I'd like to think I could be given a second chance. I want to be better, and I can be better, for her sake."

Casting a glance her way. "And as for you? They'd be gracious for your inclusion in her life. For taking care of her in my absence, and being a guardian where I couldn't be. I really can't speak for them, but I think they'd like you. And I think they'd like us to work together, rather than contend and oppose one another. But, really...what do I know?"

His feet carried him away as he finished. "I'm just a faulty, psychopathic, android...and you're human."

Aiya knew what her parents would think, or at least her father. He wouldn't be feeling too proud of her right now. She was fighting so hard for Sophie's sake that she didn't even stop to think about what Sophie wanted and if it was even good for her. In many ways, she had let what she wanted get in the way of the responsibilities she had taken upon herself. And that just wasn't how she had been raised.

"What a load of self loathing crap," she answered.

In the past few exchanges something had happened that he had maybe missed. She had gone from a breaking point emotionally to soul searching and now she was quickly finding her spirit rallying. A foot came stamping down as a finger whipped out and jerked in the air, a threat carried behind it of something much, much worse than violence; disapproval. Steam was practically rising from her ears as her face filled red.

"You want to be better for Sophie's sake? Well so do I! But I'm not seeing an inch of you trying any harder than 'not-killing' people. You want to know how you can be better for her sake? Stop pitying yourself for all the things that have gone wrong and that you've done wrong, and do something right!"

It seemed like she was just chastising him again, but there was something different about how she talked this time. Her confidence was back and she was no longer trying to pick a fight, so much as challenge him to keep to his word. It was matched by that finger, quickly thrust up under his chin, pushing up on her toes to match his height.

"You're going to go march into that kitchen! You're going to apologize for breaking their chair! And tonight you and I are washing dishes until we've paid off the cost or until closing time! And so help me if I here one complaint about having to do work, I will ground Sophie and she won't get to come out and play for an entire week!"

She didn't miss a beat. He was a robot or something right? He could figure it out what she said as fast as her AI. So she went straight on marching away from him back towards the store front, full of gusto, stopping only for a moment to turn around and shout back, "And she'll do it too!" as if her threat wouldn't ring true otherwise.

He paused. He listened. He took to heart every thing she'd said, if he could even consider it like that. He'd found it plainly obvious how prim and prissy she'd been, in some aspects. The goody-two shoes sort. She had her faults, but he could see she meant well; did the best she could. But to spout off to him like a parent, Gods it made him sick.

"Yeah, yeah. Self loathing. Pity..." He droned on in return. "While you have a point, rather than contest my point, I just wish someone could understand and try to relate, instead." He replied, offering a mild smile despite what he'd said. It finally came to the point he felt a pang of honesty overcome him and he forced himself to admit something. "I guess I'm just afraid of what to do and where to go from here." He murmured. "What do you do when your way of life is changed for you without your permission?" He questioned, although it seemed rhetorical as he waved a dismissive hand. "Never mind. I'll figure it out."

He couldn't help but casually press his forefinger to her forehead if only to push her back away from him, back down upon her heels, with a gentle nudge. "Yeah, yeah. I get it, I get it..." He suddenly lamented. "Let's go be proper, responsible, adults and take accountability and all that nonsense..." He returned, his smile lightening though. Progress. If even just a little bit. He could tolerate the firecracker attitude and the barks of authority. Laughable, but perhaps just a bit cute in some fashion. It didn't matter, really. What mattered, truly, happened to be this opportunity. And he wouldn't mess it up. "Still. You threw it first..." He teased, an eye falling shut as he stuck out his tongue.

Before she could rightly bite off anything in response, though, he sauntered on toward the shop front, meandering around her as she spun to fling out her final threat. "Less of that, more of getting this done." He replied, opening the door only to wait for her so she could pass through first. He could still be a gentleman, despite being inhuman.

Peter slowly walks through Main Street, his heavy metal armor leaving small cracks in the pavement as he takes each step. He looks around as he saunters along the concrete, his eyes searching for a familiar face, although he sees many.