NOTE: This fic is connected to the other two. To fully understand, read "Never Loved Another" and "Past Mistakes" first!
The next morning, a scout ship shot off to explore the farther reaches, to see what it could find. After some length of time, the radar picked up a faint electrical signal. It was coming from a wrecked block some way off. On checking it with the vectors map, the crew discovered it was the same block Cortes had been found on when sirus had gone missing.
"Should we check it out? i thought they raided this place already?"
"Well, what if they missed something', might be important.."
So they disembarked to investigate the place. They carefully poked their way through the rubble and wreckage. It seemed there was nothing to explain the electrical signal. Until someone spotted a human hand...
Once the discoverer was done screaming his head off at what he thought was a dead body, he called the others over to investigate. Bit by bit they lifted the wreckage. What they found was a badly injured humanoid figure. He had severe burns, but even though the uniform he wore was scorched, the sphere symbol could still be seen.
He was in pretty bad shape. The clothing, thankfully made of fire-resistant material, had born the brunt of the flames. But enough had burnt through to cause serious injury. They though him human, until the seen the melted remains of what looked like...where they wings?
They group looked at each other baffled. The half-dead guy bore a disturbing relation to the guy Cortes was so infatuated with. This one was virtually identical, bar the fact his hair was a pale lavender as opposed to sirus' blonde. And when he opened his eyes a second later, they were a dark violet, almost black.
He took in the people that had hauled him out of the rubble. He'd put himself into standby to conserve the little energy he had left. The flames had died out, smothered by the rubble and dust. He'd gotten there...how he didn't recall, his memory had shut down, he was running on backup reserve.
So he did the best he could. He freaked out, thinking whomever had buried him was coming back to finish the job. Pulling away from them he dived behind a nearby rubble pile, panicking.
"Great..he's a total fruitcake...what'll we do with it?" one asked. The leader shrugged, "bring him back with us I guess, he looks way too similar to the other one. Captain Cortes will want to see this.."
But of course they had to catch him first. It took some minutes, but they eventually persuaded him to come back to the ship with them. On board the ship they noticed the figure seemed fascinated by all the controls. He stared at it all in amazement. He was like a little child.
Getting him off ship again when they got home was another matter. In the end they hand to tie his hands behind his back and frog-march him to the vector. Even then he panicked and fidgeted. Yet he still hadn't spoken a word.
Vector did a double take when he seen the rumpled, terrified figure the scouts dragged in to show him. The moment they let go, the dazed figure lost his balance and sat down with a bump, blinking up at the old man.
"Well, you look awfully familiar.."
Anubis just stared up at vector, wide-eyed and utterly scared. He looked a state, torn and singed clothing, various cuts and scrapes, and his hair had obviously caught a bit of the flame, as it appeared to be a lot shorted then his twins, it looked more like a feathery crop then sirus' shoulder-lengthish style.
The lead scouter shrugged "we found 'im in the wreckage...recharged on the ship, somehow he overrode the security to do so.." here he glared at Anubis, who flinched and ducked his head.
"Hmm.." vector rifled through piles of paper "aha! here it is!" he came back over to Anubis, kneeling down so he could level with him.
"I think id be right in assuming your the twin unit sirus mentioned. Its Anubis isn't it?"
The robot blinked, then nodded. He knew his own name at least. He tried to speak, but smoke inhalation had damaged his throat, and all he could do was cough and choke.
Vector patted his back "take it easy.." he looked up at the search party "go fetch Cortes and sirus, I'll look after this one..."
After they left vector managed to persuade Anubis to drink some water, then sat the addled robot on a couch. The guy sat there, fidgeted, then nearly toppled sideways as he seemed incapable of keeping his balance.
Vector was about to ask if he wanted anything to eat, when he heard footsteps approaching, and familiar voices.
"They cant be serious, if he's alive..he could try attack us again?!"
"I know aran..but it sounds like his memories been erased,"
Those voices...something about the first one made him nervous..and the 2nd sounded familiar..hadnt the old man said he had a twin?
"Vector-?! Where are you.." Cortes shouted as he barged the door open. Anubis freaked again. Darting off the couch he hid behind a pile of cardboard boxes.
"right here..." vector said..blinking at Anubis actions.
"Is it true that fruitcake brother of mien is still alive?! Where is he-?" sirus asked in a rush.
Vector pointed to the pile of boxes, which shivered slightly as the hider heard the voices again.
"What the fuhh..." Cortes trailed off "are we looking at the same guy here...the crazy loon that tried to kill us, is a scardey-cat?!"
Vector sighed, moving over to the boxes to try coax Anubis out from behind them.
"With all due respect captain, i think the accident has totally screwed with his system. It must've tried to repair itself..."
"..and gotten it wrong.." Cortes butted in.
"So now his behaviour, is like a little child...he's slightly clueless..the only thing he remembers is his name..." here he spoke to the box pile "come on..your safe enough here, out ya come.."
But the terrified Anubis shook his head, hunched up.
Sirus blinked. He wasn't sure what to make of this...
Cortes at last got fed up waiting. He strode over, leaning over the box pile.
"Oi, crazy-maniac-that-tried-to-kill-us...quit mucking about! youre not fooling anyone!"
Anubis blinked, looking up at this ginger-haired bird-man. He panicked, scrambling up and hiding behind the vector, clutching the old mans sleeve.
Sirus stared. It was Anubis alright, he looked the same...although he looked a little charred and scraped now. But the look in his eyes was different. Where there'd been a homicidal gleam before..now there was just plain fear.
"Aran...wait.." he walked over to the two. "I don't think this is a trick.." he held out his hand to is terrified sibling. "Its OK, I'm not gonna hurt you.."
Anubis regarded the hand nervously, then shyly reached out and took it. The second they made contact sirus was able to scan his twins system files, everything...
After a few seconds he blinked, and looked at his brother "Aran...the vectors right. His system isn't the same one I encountered last time...the backup option has been switched to primary.." he looked at Aran "it's a bit like setting a computer to factory settings...he must've sustained severe shock and cranial injury when the rubble hit him.."
"So..what're we supposed to DO with him?" Cortes asked "most everyone red the incident report about this guy..it's not exactly a safe haven for him.."
"Well it can be.." vector said at last "his memories are gone, his systems been reset..he can start again..."
Sirus smiled at Anubis "sound good to you?"
Anubis looked hopeful for a second, then he caught Cortes glare and he ducked his head again.
Sirus realised what the problem was and smiled. "You know your own name right? Well im your twin unit, sirus.." he pointed to the scowling human-bird "this is my precious Aran" then to the old guy "and the vector.."
Anubis took all this in, still clutching his brothers hand. After a second, he nodded, and managed a faint smile.
Sirus sighed in relief "looks like your memory recording systems are intact..."
There was a deafening growl. Cortes stared, what the hell?!
Vector cracked up laughing and Anubis looked bemused.
"Id say someone's in need of food..."
Anubis stomach growled again, and he swayed slightly on his feet, nearly falling.
While sirus and vector tended to the half-starved Anubis, Cortes just stood there, frowning. He wasn't sure about this. Although sirus looked happy to have his brother back..
--Its just like when i finally got to see Christophe again...i wanted to make sure he stayed close by..i guess i can understand..-- he sighed, rubbing his eyes.
Seeing his lover looking stressed, sirus sat Anubis down on the couch and wandered over to Aran. He slipped his arms around his waist.
"What's wrong love...is it because of what happened before with this guy..."
Cortes sighed "yeah..i guess it is..it's hard to shake off the memories..but since he seems even more clueless then Mahad, guess i cant really shout at him and kick him outta here...afterall.." he nuzzled the other "i can see you're happy he's back.."
Sirus hugged Cortes tightly "thank you sweetie" he said happily, and gave him a little thank you smooch
Anubis, who'd been watching vector poking about for something to eat, turned his head back around just in time to see them. He blinked, turning slightly red. Whoops. He hadn't meant to stare.
--The other me likes this human guy? they seem...suited to each other..-- he didn't really understand the concept of love or affection, but it seemed nice, and he felt a sudden longing to know what that felt like...
At last his twin and the ginger-haired human pulled apart, the human slightly red faced. His twin gave him another quick kiss then turned his attention back to his brother, who was sat there staring into a corner (he didn't want to be caught gawping)
He tried to coax his twin to talk, but Anubis still seemed a little frazzled. Vector returned some time later with food...and some spare clothes.
Anubis blinked at the garments, confused. Sirus understood and poked at the symbol on his twins uniform. "You ant go round wearing that...the sphere are gone now.."
Anubis looked baffled, so sirus continued "the people here put a stop to them a long time ago..hey-" On hearing this last part, Anubis had scuttled the far end of the couch, staring bug-eyed at Cortes. This guy was gonna destroy him?
"You can quit giving me that look.." Cortes grumped "I'm not going to kick your ass.."
Anubis looked a little less scared, and vector persuaded him to eat a little. Actually he ate rather a lot. Vector referred to him as "a stomach on legs". Corte sonly replied with" good lord they cloned Mahad!"
"You called?" a cheeky voice answered. Mahad sauntered in, his sister behind him "we heard they found something on the scouting missi- GOOD LORD THEY CLONED YA!" he screeched, pointing from Anubis to sirus.
Anubis ducked his head, putting his hands to his ears. the noise sounded so loud..
"Mahad calm down!" Lena said, shaking her head. She looked at the scared Anubis, who was hiding behind his twin, peering nervously at them.
"Mahad, Lena...this is sirus' twin, remember from the report? Well somebody's got a case of a wiped memory bank...so the scout party brought him back here."
"Memory loss? they wont come back..?" Mahad asked. Vector shook his head.
"Nope..he suffered severe damage, its permanent erasure id say..he quite literally isn't what he used to be.."
"He's very quiet...cant he talk?" Lena asked. Vector frowned and shook his head.
"It would seem not..i would guess his vocal processing unit has permanent damage...and i don't know enough to fix it I'm afraid.."
"Well were stuck then.." Cortes said at last "not being able to talk is a major pain in the ass...i should know.."
Lena thought about it, then walked over to Anubis.
"Its OK, don't be scared!" she said to the cowering angel. Eventually he peered out at her from behind his brother.
Seeing the extended hand he smiled and took it. This meant people were bing nice..
While he was distracted, Lena sent a small shock of energy through him. He blinked, then shook his head slightly.
"Try now?" she offered.
Sirus smiled at his confused twin "try, see if it worked...
"whuh..w-what worked?" he stumbled out with at last. Then blinked, startled.
"Alright Lena!" Mahad grinned "how'd ya do that?"
Lena smiled "sometimes our energy can be used to sorta..jump-start things again...looks like it worked too.."
Sirus smiled at her "Thanks, this'll make it much easier for him.."
Anubis blinked, he hadn't spoken in so long..he was a little unsure..
Vector patted his shoulder reassuringly "don't push yourself, this kind of thing takes time..."
"So what's gonna happen...you'll have to explain this to the rest of puerto angel.." Mahad asked.
Vector smiled and gave a nod "way ahead of you, ill have the updated report information finished by later.."
Anubis sighed and stared at the floor, scuffing his feet "uhm..i-its not good I'm h-here is it...I've b-been here before, haven't I?"
Sirus sighed, how best to explain it; "well..just briefly..."
"A-and I'm guessing i-it didn't g-go too well.." he stammered at last.
"Call that an understatement.." Cortes muttered to himself.
Lena looked back at him. She could tell the captain was peeved the 2nd sky angel was here. Perhaps it was because to him, the guy was taking up al of his 'mate' sirus' time. Or maybe it was because cortes still had a vendetta against this guy for kidnapping sirus the last time. Cortes didn't trust people right away, it took a fair while..
"You don't need to worry about that now.." vector smiled "that's all over and done with.."
Anubis sighed, but eventually accepted it. He looked very sad Lena noticed. But then, losing all your memories and being stuck in a pile of rubble for a long time would scare anyone..
"Why dontcha come down to the tavern with us?" Mahad asked. Vector frowned best not yet Mahad..until i have the details finished...itd take a lot of explaining..I'll have it broadcast as soon as its finished.."
"Well I'm starving, lunch sounds appealing.." Cortes muttered and looked at sirus "you coming..?"
Sirus looked about to hesitate, but his brother nudged him "g-go..ill be f-fine for a w-while.."
Sirus patted his arm "ill be back soon, i promise.." and that said he left with the kids and his love.
Anubis sighed, and curled up in a ball on the couch. He pretty soon drifted into sleep...
When they got to the tavern, Mahad told his mom and dad the whole story. Other people crowded round, and soon he was telling the whole tavern about the memory-less angel.
"Yeah but can ya trust him?" someone cut in. One of patrucci's friends Mahad noticed.
"The guys completely defenceless, he doesn't know anything. He doesn't even remember what he did before...its like putting a magnet next to your computer...kaput, data's gone for good!" Mahad stated.
People muttered amongst themselves. Why not give the guy the benefit of the doubt? He probably was, by all accounts, completely clueless. If vector had said so then...
But as usual, there were people who thought it a bad idea. Friends of the idiot patrucci of course. They thought the guy should be shut down, to prevent him from EVER remember. The guy had tried to restart the sphere for heavens sake. Defenceless or not, he could still be dangerous.
Perhaps they should go see him...
"There..done!" vector smiled as he saved the last part of the transmission. "Ill just go set up the broadcast.." he looked at the snoozing Anubis.
"He'll be fine for a moment..."
And saying this, he went up to the upper level of the lighthouse to try sort it out.
A few minutes later, while vector was still cursing the outdated equipment, Anubis woke up by sliding off the couch in his sleep.
Rubbing his face he looked out the window. And see a big white bird fly past. It had pretty feathers...he wanted a closer look...
He found his way down the stairs and outside. Blinking at the bright sunlight, he resumed chasing after the bird so he could get a closer look.
(just like a child...)
He'd just about snuck up on it when the group from the tavern saw him.
"Hey..c'mere.." Anubis stammered to the bird, trying to coax it a little closer.. He got the shock of his life when someone grabbed his arm and hauled him round to face them. He barely had time to get a look at the one holding him, then the guy hit him. Pretty hard. Enough to knock him onto his rear. He stared up at them, wide-eyed, scared. What did these guys want?
"Now you listen 'ere you little traitor...Nobodies gonna believe the old "memory loss" game, not where you're concerned. So why dontcha just do us all a favour and clear off?"
Anubis blinked, the vector had said he could stay...but these guys...
"I don't know what you mean?!" he said at last, desperately confused. He staggered to his feet, only for the second guy to clock him in the gut.
"Ya cant bullshit a bullshitter kid..now drop the act and get lost! Tell vector you wanna go back to sleep...or we'll put you asleep!"
Anubis did the only thing he knew how. he legged it, stumbling down the hill towards the town.
"Quick! Don't let him get away!" the leader yelled "like hell a sphere traitor is staying here?"
"But what about the other one?" his cohort asked.
"Dumbass, he didn't even work for them, he followed that Cortes jerk back here. He aint tried to kill us all..but this one 'as!"
Anubis ran as fast as his shaky legs could. But it wasn't fast enough. With their knowledge of puerto angel, the three soon cornered him in an alleyway.
"Lets get this over with shall we? Teach this traitor a lesson as to why we don't like his kind!"
Anubis felt panic strike full force as the three closed in on him..what was he supposed to do?! He tried to push them off, but all knowledge of how to fight back had been lost when his main memory chip had been badly damaged...he was stuck..
Whee...fic teh 3rd! over 1,000 views on DA and hopefully manyh more to come (once i get drawing again XD)
Random Fact: Arsehats behaving itself, and Beasts monitor needs replacing. help!