Borg sighed, sitting in his office as he tapped his pencil to his desk.
"You…" The Overlord rasped loudly. Cyrus jumped a little.
"Oh…It's you…" Borg placed his hand to his chest as he tried to calm down.
"You…Need to…Build up…More of your reputation…" Rasped the Overlord.
"I know, but I can't think of anything else to do." Cyrus sighed.
"Try…Doing a…Seminar…And showing…Pixal and Cynder…Off." Ordered the rasping Overlord.
"Alright…I'll try it…" Borg looked away as he rolled from the room to inform his animatronic children.
Cynder and Pixal were relaxing and watching television, an awkward tension lingered in the air.
"Will you two ever fully get along?" Borg sighed. The two jumped a little at their father's voice.
"Maybe one day." Pixal chirped.
"I do not understand, how are we not getting along?" Asked Cynder.
"Never mind, girls. I would like to inform you that I'll be hosting a seminar, and I need you to be there. It is very important for my work." Cyrus said.
"We will be there." Pixal said, looking at Borg.
"What is a seminar?" Cynder asked.
"That's right, I forgot you're still learning." Cyrus smiled softly.
"A seminar is generally, a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization." Pixal said, looking to Cynder.
"Will the people harm us like the people in the show we are watching?" Cynder tilted her head.
"That has a different situation to it, but I suppose if people are afraid of us that they might." Pixal said. Cynder whimpered.
"Pixal! Cynder, no one should try to hurt you or Pixal. I swear." Cyrus said. Cynder slid back down into her spot on the crouch and slowly put herself into a fetal position.
"Why are you so afraid? We are made from a strong metal. They should not be able to scratch us." Pixal said, monotone.
"If they could harm us in such a realistic looking show, they should be able to harm us in real life!" Cynder yelped.
"They are called movies, and though some things can pierce our metallic flesh, they will not be able to harm us. That is because security checks for weapons before allowing anyone inside." Pixal dully stated.
"That does not make this any less terrifying for me!" Cynder yelped.
"I would like if you stopped acting so emotional. You will be fine." Pixal said, crossing her arms.
"Can we just go back to watching the television…" Muttered Cynder, slumping as she looked at her elder sister.
"I do not see why not." Pixal sat back down.
About a week later.
Cynder's mind was thinking over the seminar and how people could be able to hurt her. She curled into a ball and began panicking from what she could see around her.
Pixal walked into the room, noticing the younger on the couch, she headed over to her.
"Are you alright?" Asked Pixal in her monotone voice.
"No I am not…There are things in here…I cannot tell if they wish to harm me or not but they keep staring! And there are these weird noises and voices!" Cynder squeaked, trembling. Pixal looked around the room before returning to the spot she had been standing in.
"The only things in here are us and some furniture…And the television is not even on…What is going on?" Pixal wondered.
"We are not the only things in here…I swear they wish to harm us…The voices keep saying so…" Cynder continued to tremble.
"Voices? Just what are you talking about? Only I am speaking to you...You are showing major signs of a virus, that or you are going to malfunction." Pixal said, beginning to grow worried.
"There are voices and I keep seeing things…At first I thought they were just images my system was trying to show me, but I was wrong, they are real…They tried to touch me!" Cynder was in tears in a manner of seconds.
"You…" Pixal grew silent as she walked over to the couch and sat beside the younger android, who moved away from her.
"Cynder, please come here." Pixal requested.
"How do I know you will not attempt to harm me?" Cynder asked, crying out of fear.
"I do not know how to fight, and I do not have any weapons on me…And I would never harm my younger sibling." Pixal snagged Cynder's arm and yanked her into a hug.
"You are safe…I will keep you safe. As your elder sibling that is my job, and I will always do it." Pixal said, sighing as she held the younger.
"How do you know if that is truly your job?" Asked Cynder, looking up at Pixal.
"From the humans I have observed who are siblings, the elder one always protects the younger one. And Cyrus told me that I had to protect you." Pixal sighed as she realized just how much responsibility she had now. Cynder wrapped her arms around Pixal.
"I am terrified…" Cried Cynder as she trembled.
"It will be alright, I will protect you." Pixal soothingly said, she began to rub Cynder's back.
"I am curious of how you have tears…" Pixal whispered to herself.
"I do need to know something, Cynder. Do you know what is causing this?" Pixal asked.
"I do not know…" Mumbled Cynder as she sniffled.
"Interesting…Maybe it is an error or a glitch with in your system." Pixal said, making sure she made a mental note so she would remember to inform Cyrus.
Cynder ended up falling asleep in her elder sibling's arms.
"You are certainly different…" Chuckled Pixal as she realized her younger sibling had fallen asleep.
About two hours before the seminar.
Cynder was huddled in the corner in fear. Pixal walked over to the younger and hugged her.
"I do not want to go out there, sister…They will be staring at me…I do not want to be stared at. Besides for all we know they could attempt to hurt us." Cynder trembled as she returned the hug, she was nearly in tears.
"You are worrying about this too much. Did I not tell you that I would not protect you?" Pixal sighed softly.
"I know you would protect me but that does not make me feel any less fearful of what could happen." Cynder muttered, as she began crying. Her trembling began to get worse. Pixal looked away from Cynder as she tried to think.
"I am not sure of what I can tell you that would help you…I am new to this just as you are new to living…" Pixal rubbed the back of her own neck.
"That did not make me feel any better…" Cynder buried her face in Pixal's shoulder.
"I know it did not help, but we need to do this for our creator, our father…This is important for his work, so we must help him. Besides I will be right beside you the entire time, I will not allow anyone to harm you." Pixal said, flashing Cynder a warm smile. Cynder slowly nodded.
"I am still afraid to go out there…" Cynder muttered, rubbing her eyes.
"No one will harm you, I swear." Pixal broke the embrace and got up. She grabbed Cynder's hand and pulled the younger onto her feet.
"Alright…" Cynder timidly mumbled.
During the seminar.
"I would personally like to welcome everyone to this engineering seminar. I, Cyrus Borg, am quite pleased to be showing you the next two inventions that will change technology forever." Cyrus said into the microphone.
"I would like to welcome Pixal and Cynder to the stage." Borg smiled.
Pixal and Cynder walked onto the stage. Cynder was holding Pixal's sleeve and walking behind her. The two stopped in the middle of the stage.
The crowd stared in shock, wondering what was standing before them.
"As you all can see from their complexion, they are animatronic. They do have feelings, but they do have issues. Though I have been trying to fix them, I have yet to figure out how to fix every issue. I will continue to upgrade them as I figure out how to fix said issues." Borg said.
Pixal smiled and waved. Cynder's grip on the left sleeve of Pixal's dress grew tighter. Borg noticed how Cynder hid behind Pixal.
"What's wrong with Cynder?" Borg rolled closer, concerned about one of his invention.
"She did not wish to come out onto the stage. She told me that the thought of all these people staring at her was frightening her." Pixal sighed, concerned for her younger sibling.
"Well Cynder, you have no reason to be afraid. They're all staring because they're curious about you; none of them plan to hurt you." Cyrus said. Cynder's eyes bolted around, in panic.
"Systems malfunctioning, shutting down!" Cynder screeched. Her eyes grew dark and she fell backwards, ripping Pixal's shirt in the process.
Pixal yelped when the fabric began tearing, leaving her arm and some of her chest exposed. Some of the audience hollered loudly at the sight.
"Stop cheering! They are not built for that purpose!" Shouted Borg, angered by the fact people would think he would ever make something like that.
Pixal, on the other hand, did not care about the audience's thoughts; her mind was on her sister. Pixal whipped around and kneeled down.
"Cynder? Are you alright?" Pixal asked. Upon noticing how her sister had not immediately rebooted, she began to feel nervous and a bit upset.
"Mr. Borg, Cynder is not rebooting." Pixal said, getting up and turning to face Borg.
"Give her a moment." Cyrus sighed, nervously. Something then occurred to him.
"As you can see this is one of the issues I was talking about. I don't know what is causing this sort of reaction from her, so I do not know how to fix it. But as soon as I figure out what caused her systems to freak out, I will upgrade her." Cyrus nervously said, trying to act like this was planned.
"As technology advances, I will be able to perfect both of them! It is now time for a reign of new technology!" Borg shouted. The crowd cheered loudly.
"How can you all be cheering?! She has still not rebooted!" Pixal shouted, on the verge of tears.
"As I said, give her a minute or two. It may take some time considering this is the first time she has had to restart herself. And Pixal, I would be a little more worried about your shirt." Cyrus chuckled, despite how worried he truly was.
"I do not care about my torn clothing! I am more worried about my sibling! It should not take this long for her to restart! Does her suddenly crashing mean nothing to you!?" Pixal shouted, as tears dripped from her cheeks.
So many unknown emotions floated around her head that she didn't know how to act nor did she know what to do.
"Pixal, you know I care dearly about you both, but you know I am busy with this seminar. You know that I don't know what the issue is, you also know that I didn't expect this so I didn't bring my tools with me. I promise that after this seminar is done, I'll find the problem and repair her. But you are going to have to wait." Cyrus sighed at Pixal's behavior.
Pixal knew how seriously Borg took work but she didn't care. Borg knew that Pixal knew that he wouldn't just drop what he was doing to rush to fix Cynder when he didn't even know what the issue is. He also knew that Pixal knew better than to just to have an outburst like this.
"Fine, I will try to help her than." Pixal snapped. She kneeled down once more and picked her sister up to the best of her ability.
"I do not know what I am doing…" Pixal sighed. She leaned forward and placed her hand to her forehead, her elbow rested on the table. Pixal was trying to keep herself from crying, she was so worried and so concerned about the younger.
"Cynder…Please I beg of you to wake up. We are not on the stage anymore…" Pixal grabbed Cynder's hand in both of hers. She continued to clasp Cynder's hand between her's as she got into a prayer like position, placing the clasp to her head.
"I promise you Cynder, if you wake I will make sure father never asks you to get in front of another crowd. Please…Please…I beg of you, please boot back up again." Pixal whimpered.
Cynder's eyes began to glow the color brown. She bolted into a sitting position, her chest heaved as if she needed air, when she was built so she didn't need it. Cynder looked around, her eyes stopped on Pixal.
"Sister, what happened to your clothing?" Asked Cynder, tilting her head.
"Oh thank goodness." Pixal got up and hugged her sibling.
"You did not answer, what happened to your outfit?" Cynder repeated.
"When you crashed, you still were holding my sleeve. You ripped my shirt, but I am not worried. I am just happy you are alright." Pixal sighed in relief.
"Maybe I should add an upgrade to you both. So if one of you breaks, you can repair the other." Borg mulled of the thought as he rolled in.
"Hello Sir. I apologize for my outburst." Pixal released Cynder and bowed in respect.
"It's alright, Pixal, I know you were just worried. All the emotions in your head must have been confusing." Borg said.
"Do continue your conversation, I need to think." Cyrus said, as he continued to roll.
"We should fix your clothing together." Cynder said.
"That sounds like it might be fun." Pixal smiled.
"We should incorporate the tear into the shirt, after adding more fabric so your chest is not as exposed." Cynder smiled.
"It would be great bonding time for you two." Borg said, smiling.
"Yes, it does sound like it would be a good amount of bonding time." Pixal said, before a worried smile touched her lips.
"Cynder, might you tell me why you suddenly shut down?" Pixal asked, tilting her head worriedly.
"I was horrified that sound one was going to try to harm one of us. Though I do not understand or know why my systems freaked out. I do know that I was so terrified that my systems began to get worked up, and then they did not wish to run anymore." Cynder said, sighing.
"That is worry some." Pixal said.
"We'll figure out what the cause of this was together, alright?" Borg said.
"Alright." The siblings said.
"Cynder were you dizzy at all when you walked onto the stage?" Borg asked.
"I was. How about I tell you what I was thinking and feeling?" Cynder tilted her head.
"That sounds like a good idea." Cyrus nodded. Pixal sat quietly as she listened.
"Alright." Cynder nodded.
Cynder's flash back (It is in Cynder's Point of View.)
I gulped as I stood off to side of the stage with my elder sister. My head was growing dizzy as I saw all of the people staring at the stage. There must have been about a thousand people, maybe more.
I really doubt that security could check every one of these people for a weapon of some sort.
"It is alright Cynder." Pixal tried to reassure me.
"I am not sure it is, I do not believe that security could check all these people for a weapon…" I mumbled, grabbing ahold of my elder sibling's sleeve.
"They would not have let them in if they had not checked for a weapon. If it makes you more comfortable, you may hold my sleeve while we walk onto the stage and well we are on it." Pixal smiled softly. I nodded my head.
"It would make me feel a little better." I mumbled.
"That is our cue." Pixal said when father said our names. I slowly walked out, following behind Pixal.
All of the crowd was watching our every movement. Despite the fact I did not need air, I began to feel as if I did. I took in some air, and started to slightly hyperventilate.
I do not understand why my systems are going crazy. I do not get why I feel like I am suffocating when I did not need air in the beginning and I did not a couple minutes ago.
For some reason my vision was growing blurry and everything was spinning. The world was growing dark despite the fact my sister and I had been in the spot light…What is going on? What is happening?
The present day (Back to third person point of view.)
"And that is when I passed out." Cynder said, looking at the ground.
"The way you explained it made it sound like you had an anxiety attack…I made you more human than I meant too." Cyrus smiled, intrigued.
"I do not believe it is that, I believe it is a glitch or error, maybe even a virus in her system." Pixal said. Cynder shrugged.
"I am not sure what it is. But can we do something else? Talking of this is making me feel uncomfortable." Cynder said.
"I wonder, if you actually act almost fully human if you won't talk as formal, or act the same." Cyrus seemed excited. Cynder got up.
"I am uncomfortable, sister, can we please go fix your shirt?" Cynder asked.
"Sure, let us go fix it." Pixal smiled as she got up.
An hour later.
"I am back with what we need to repair your shirt." Cynder carried some bags.
"Ah, let us start to work then." Pixal smiled, getting up to help her sibling.
The two set up a sewing machine and put in the thread.
"Oh, are you two going to start repairing Pixal's shirt?" Asked Borg.
"Yes we are." Cynder smiled.
"Well before you two begin, there is someone who might start working here that I want you both to meet." Cyrus smiled.
"Really? Might I ask for his name?" Asked Pixal, curious. Cynder, on the other hand, hid under the table.
"His name is Dr. Julien, he created Zane." Smiled Borg.
"Interesting." Pixal said.
"Well considering I doubt Cynder is going to come out from under the table, I feel that you guys should be able to meet him. Dr. Julien, if you want to you can come in." Cyrus said, looking towards the entrance. Dr. Julien walked in, looking around.
"Hello girls, Cyrus has told me a lot about you." Smiled Dr. Julien as he looked at the two.
"Hello." Pixal said, looking towards Cynder.
"Is that normal?" Dr. Julien chuckled as he looked towards Borg.
"Apparently so, I need your help. Pixal and I think there could be a virus or a glitch within her systems." Cyrus said.
"Well it doesn't look like she is. She could just be shy, how old is she compared to Pixal?" Dr. Julien asked.
"This model of Pixal is about a year. Cynder is almost a month." Borg said.
"I would say this is perfectly normal then." Dr. Julien walked over to the table and crouched down. Cynder backed up.
"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you. All I have with me is my cellphone, a key and a screw driver." Dr. Julien extended his hand. Cynder backed into the wall.
"You can hurt someone with a screwdriver!" Cynder squeaked.
"Well…She's terrified of people…" Dr. Julien stood up.
"Yes, we already know that. Can you think of something that could have caused it?" Asked Cyrus.
"I can, have you watched television with her? And did it happen to be a movie about robots and where the humans end up killing them?" Asked Dr. Julien, he frowned when Pixal nodded.
"Then I know the issue, because she doesn't realize it's fake, she's afraid it's going to happen. Showing that to her would be like showing a horror movie to a toddler." Dr. Julien couched back down. He made eye contact with the android under the table.
"Don't worry, Zane is still terrified of that movie." Chuckled Dr. Julien. Cynder began to tremble.
"It's alright, I don't plan on harming you. In fact I enjoy building things like you and your sister." Dr. Julien smiled reassuringly.
"Please stop." Pixal noticed Cynder was on the verge of tears.
"She is scared. Know your boundaries." Pixal said, coldly.
"Interesting." Dr. Julien stood up.
"Come here Cynder, please." Pixal got up and crouched down after Dr. Julien had walked back over to Borg.
"He is one of father's associates, I believe we can trust him. Even if we could not, I promise I will protect you." Pixal said, sitting down. Cynder crawled over to Pixal and hugged her.
"It is okay." Pixal rubbed Cynder's back.
"Their relationship is certainly interesting. I don't even think Zane would act so protective if I made him a sister." Dr. Julien crossed his arms curiously.
"Wouldn't it take time that you don't have, to raise it if you made one?" Asked Borg.
"Ah, it would. But I believe I trust Zane enough to raise such a thing, or I'd have you, Pixal and Cynder raise her. I don't have enough time in my life to do such a thing though. I wouldn't want to though, Zane is perfect, I wouldn't be able to make another robot like him." Dr. Julien sighed.
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on your son once you're gone." Cyrus said, frowning.
"Thank you, I'll see if I can't help you with Cynder and Pixal well I'm still around. At the moment I think Cynder's a little more interesting considering how she's acting." Dr. Julien slipped his hands into his pockets before he walked over to the siblings.
"Hello again girls." Smiled Dr. Julien.
"Did I not mention boundaries before?" Said Pixal, bitterly. She held her sibling tighter.
"You did, but I do want to talk with your sibling." Dr. Julien said. Cynder hid her face against Pixal's chest.
"I understand you wish to speak with her, but please stop! You are scaring her!" Snapped Pixal. Dr. Julien looked curious.
"Might I be able to poke around your computers and look at your blue prints for them?" Dr. Julien asked Cyrus.
"Sure." Smiled Borg, he rolled from the room. Dr. Julien walked behind him.
"It is alright, they are gone." Pixal said, rubbing Cynder's back.
"They are?" Cynder looked up.
"Yes. Now let us fix my shirt." Smiled Pixal.
Later that night.
Pixal's eyes were both a deep shade of red.
"Sister?" Cynder was woken by the lights being on.
"Go back to sleep, Cynder. I'll be back later." Pixal walked out, holding a knife.
"Wait a minute sister! Where are you going?!" Cynder cried, running after Pixal well holding her stuffed animal.
When Cynder walked outside, Pixal was gone.
"Sister?" Cynder whimpered. The darkness frightened the young automaton, so she ran back inside and back to her room.
"I can't let you know about what I am going to do." Pixal muttered.
"You know what I told…You to do…Now do it!" Yelled the Overlord. Pixal jumped from her hiding spot and ran off.
The Overlord's laugh filled the air of Borg Industries.
"Before…Dr. Julien figures…Anything out…He will die…" Laughed the Overlord. Cynder jumped out of fear.
"Cyrus!" Cynder screamed as she bolted from her bed and she headed towards Borg's room.
Author's note:
Some of the reasons I did some of what I did is because I wanted to put a reason to some of it. Like how Borg knew about Dr. Julien (and that they were friends) and so that's how he knew about Dr. Julien's death (and I wanted to tell some way of how Dr. Julien died), and how Pixal's shirt got that way as well as how she got the piece to be able to repair machines. I hope you all like this, I'm pretty on edge I personally don't think I did a very good job since I'm very dizzy (for no reason might I add, very stressed and am having issues with writers block. You get to see how child like Cynder really is since she's not that old. You also get to see how reliant she is on Pixal, and you see the Overlord's affect on Pixal towards the end. I actually thought it might be a better idea to have Cynder scream "Daddy!" Instead of "Cyrus!" But I'm not sure which works better so I went with her screaming "Cyrus!"
