Author's Note: Inspired by Chobits, even though I have never actually read the manga or watched the anime. I only have a general idea of what's going on in that series, but I still thought it was pretty interesting :)
And holy crap, while working on this, Tumblr suddenly decides to spring all these lovely Robot AU fanart on me. Talk about timing, I tell you. I did look at an outline of the AU written by Tumblr user hicstreme (who I believe is the person who started this wonderful thing), and I guess it's safe to say that my take on it is distinctly different. Still, hicstreme's ideas are really awesome, as are all the fanart, so go check them out!
I doubt this story could ever hold a candle to 'Imprint', a tragically beautiful piece in the Robot AU written by Tumblr user Spacey (which you should definitely read armed with a box of tissues or a pillow), but please enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or How to Train Your Dragon.
Sentient
Prologue
Friday evenings were often spent in the park.
It was a place where there was no shortage of children running around and near unlimited potential for fun to be had. Without fail, at the end of almost every week, he would stop by after leaving the center and head towards his usual bench, passing the time people-watching and basking in the sounds of nature and laughter being weaved into a melody of life.
And to think that after five hard days of work, most might assume that a daycare worker would be glad to retire to his home for two blissful days of peace and quiet.
Don't get him wrong, he loved the weekend, he really did. But sometimes his apartment felt a little too empty for its lone occupant and he found himself gravitating towards the park to stave off the solitude. He would watch the children play games, smile wistfully at couples spending time together, admire the tranquil yet lively scenery, and generally stay outside for as long as the sun allowed, trying to hold back the hollow feeling that would inevitably envelop him when he returned home.
But as was to be expected, the park eventually grew quieter with the darkening sky, indicating that his time was up. Having prolonged his week for as long as he could, he would then slowly trudge back to his apartment, melancholy heavy in his steps.
It took months of thought and careful planning before one Friday evening finally saw Jack standing in front of a particular shop. Recently, he had found himself eyeing its displays after walking past them every day on his way to work. The sign on the front, 'Santoff Workshop and Repairs', stared back at him passively. Taking in a deep breath, he pushed the door open and stepped inside, eliciting a jingle of bells from above the doorway.
"Welcome to my workshop! How can I help you today?"
Jack's head turned towards the source of the Russian accented voice and he saw a large man smiling kindly at him from behind the glass counter. The long white beard and prosperous figure in red attire reminded him of Santa Claus, but the heavily tattooed arms quickly put a stop to that notion. Unless… wait, was that 'Naughty' and 'Nice' inked on each arm?
Clearing his throat awkwardly after a moment of staring, Jack returned his focus to the task at hand. "Hi, I'm here to buy a homundroid."
"First time?" the man asked, earning a nod. "Well then! Let's get started!" Clapping his hands with the cheerful exclamation, he stepped out and ushered Jack towards the shelves at the side of the shop.
North (or so his nametag read) started by introducing him to the newer models, pointing out the latest homundroids that had just been delivered earlier in the month. Jack was asked if he had any preferences, like gender and special capabilities, to which he shrugged indifferently and shook his head.
Homundroid technology was relatively new, having been developed in the past few decades. The rapidly growing market had spurred a whole new frontier of design and innovation, producing generation after generation of homundroids within the span of several years. Each and every fresh batch from the assembly line came with newer designs, increased functionality and smoother operations, or so the countless advertisements claimed. Homundroids were moderately priced and not that expensive to maintain, so it was rare to go into town without seeing at least five out on the streets with their owners along the way.
A flash of black caught Jack's attention just as he was led towards the section housing the more popular models. He paused in his step and turned around, spotting a dark wing sticking out of something covered with a dirty white sheet, tucked into a corner. Curious, he left the still-talking North and approached the mysterious object, reaching forward to pull away the cloth when he got close enough.
So far, none of the homundroids he had seen really stood out or perked his interest, but this… This… Jack couldn't help but let out an impressed whistle at the sight before him.
The homundroid looked to be a young man in his late twenties, no more than a few years Jack's junior. It had shaggy auburn hair and a youthful face dotted with countless freckles, and it was dressed in brown pants and a long-sleeved green tunic. A set of black leather shoulder pads covered the top half of its torso like a piece of armor, and there was a pair of black draconic wings and a long reptilian tail sticking out of its back. From the knees down, its legs had been replaced with scaly black limbs just like its forearms, which consisted of large black paws with sharp claws protruding out at the tips. Gingerly turning over its arms, Jack discovered that the underside of each paw contained a circular opening where a distinctively human (and freckled) hand could be seen.
Another thing that had resulted from the flourishing market for homundroids was the flood of customization services. It was no surprise that people wanted to personalize their own homundroids, seeing as they all looked identical when they were first purchased. Customization not only allowed for easier recognition, but it also improved aesthetic appeal, giving homundroids a more life-like appearance.
"I found this one outside."
Jack jumped at the sudden voice behind him and spun around to see North standing a few feet away, staring sadly at the homundroid he had been admiring just moments ago.
"What do you mean, 'found'?" Jack tilted his head in confusion.
"He was abandoned. His owner left him at doorstep and never came back," North explained with a frown. "I fixed him up and reset his systems, but he is old model, not very common nowadays. He's been sitting on my shelves for long time, no one wants him because he looks funny. Also probably not much use with all… this." He gestured towards the homundroid's cumbersome limbs and the awkward appendages on its back.
Its previous owner must have had a dragon fetish or something, Jack thought as he gave the homundroid another cursory once over. The customization made it look somewhat like an anthropomorphic black dragon, though it was clearly more human than reptile. It seemed perfectly fine to him, but he could see how others might find it weird or unappealing.
"What are you going to do with it?" he asked.
North shrugged helplessly. "Recycle, most likely. Some people will come down to clear out old models tomorrow. Too bad, I worked hard to patch him up," he sighed, shaking his head before making to lead Jack towards another aisle.
But for some reason, Jack couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the homundroid in front of him. A piece of his heart went out to the poor machine, realizing that it would most likely end up in a pile of scrap metal by the end of the week, and he recognized the surge of sentiment as sympathy. Despite feeling a little foolish for pitying an inanimate object, there was just something about its loneliness that hit close to home…
"Would you like to have him?"
Jack stiffened and turned to face North, who was watching him with a knowing look on his face. Clearly the older man had noticed his hesitation and caught him mulling over his thoughts, so it was no surprise that he had arrived at that particular conclusion.
"Normally I recommend the newer models, but something tells me he'll be good for you," he grinned, patting his belly in affirmation. Jack raised a brow at the strange action, but he didn't dwell on it as he took a moment to consider the offer seriously.
Finally, he looked up and nodded with a smile.
After taking one last look at the hand-written (and 'idiot-proof', he'd been assured) manual that North had given him, Jack carefully closed up the control panel located under the wing joints of his new homundroid. He had been adjusting the settings in preparation of its activation, and according to the instructions, the first step was to register his voice by talking to it.
Where it stood in the middle of his living room, the homundroid reached up to just under Jack's full height. Getting up from the arm of the sofa, Jack crossed his fingers as he moved in front of the homundroid and reached behind it to press the small button at the nape of its neck.
Nothing happened in the first few seconds, and Jack felt his shoulders sag in disappointment as the anticipation deflated. But then he heard a faint hum of machinery as the homundroid's wings and tail began to twitch, and upon closer inspection, he could see the fingers inside the black paws flex experimentally. Jack bit back a small gasp when its eyelids slid open, revealing bright green optics staring directly at him.
The homundroid looked so alive, and if he hadn't known any better, he'd say there was an actual human being standing in front of him right there.
"H-Hello? Can you hear me?"
There was a pause, and then Jack held his breath when the homundroid's mouth began to open. He leaned forward excitedly, expecting the pre-recorded confirmation message that his vocal imprint had been successful.
*hiccup*
Jack blinked.
Green eyes blinked back.
*hiccup*
If possible, the homundroid actually looked mortified as it slapped its hands over its mouth, muffling the next hiccup that shook its shoulders.
The thought that immediately popped into Jack's mind was just how cute the homundroid looked at the moment, but it was quickly pushed aside as he scrambled for the manual, fumbling through the pages for a clue as to how to fix the malfunction.
After flipping a few switches and re-crossing several wires (apparently he'd missed a paragraph of instructions under the Setup section), he tried talking to the homundroid again. A bright smile lit up his face when it finally lowered its hands and said, "Vocal imprint completed."
Jack laughed with delight, pumping a fist in success. "You're amazing!" he marveled, unable to stop grinning.
"Would you like to change your default designation?"
"Yes." All homundroids were programmed to address their owners as 'Master', but their initial startup came with the option to reset that.
"Please input your preferred designation."
"Jack."
"Default designation overridden. Please input my name."
Uh oh. Jack scratched his head, realizing that the thought had completely slipped his mind amidst all the excitement. Let's see... What do you look like... Chris? Jay? Henry?
The adorable image of the homundroid attempting to cover up its unexpected case of the hiccups suddenly surfaced in his mind, and then Jack was struck with the perfect solution.
"Hiccup," he decided with a smirk.
"Name registration completed. Jack, what is your command?"
Author's Note: If anyone's curious, the term 'homundroid' was the result of mixing 'homunculus' with 'android'.
