Tolly: And now the real story begins. You are all caught up with Karin Starsen's part, right?

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Metal stood on the hill, looking back at the remains of the lab. She and her sisters had been held prisoner there. Together with her sister Lily, also called experiment L4, she had demolished it, and now, at last, they were free.

"Well," said Lily. "What now?"

Metal shrugged, not able to tear her eyes away from the ruins. All the scientists, all the caregivers, even her tutor. They were all dead. She might have cried, if she was an ordinary child. But machina don't cry.

Lily kept talking. "There's a village about a day's walk from here. If you're up to it, we could start heading there now. Metal? Metal, look at me."

Metal nodded, still looking at the lab. Suddenly, she felt a magnetic force pulling at her, forcing her to turn away. She scowled at Lily, who smiled weakly.

"Sorry, but you might have stood there all day."

"I don't care." said Metal. "I don't like it."

"I promise not to do it too much. Only when I absolutely have to. Do you forgive me?"

"I guess." Metal tried to stay mad, but she couldn't, especially when Lily started tickling her.

"Okay," said Lily. "Let's go."

As they walked, Metal looked at what their godfather had done to Lily. There weren't a lot of exterior alterations. Shining platinum strips formed intricate designs on her hands, while a platinum tiara sat fixed on her head. But Metal knew they had done more than that. Lily had been designed to control machina through magnetism, ice and water. The changes they had made to her were as extreme as what they had done to Metal and Kiki, but in a different way.

Metal could remember a time before the experiments, although, not all her memories were very clear. One memory that had stuck with her was her father's wedding. She had been five, Lily was ten and Kiki was twelve. Their father was getting married to Kiki's mother. She remembered standing next to Kiki and Lily, all of them wearing white dresses, and watching the wedding ceremony. Kiki's mother had been commenting on her three lovely daughters, and Metal's father was smiling. She could almost remember how the cake had tasted. But such happy times were only memories now. Metal looked down at her iron-coated body. Just memories, she thought.

Lily saw Metal's face and stopped walking. She took Metal's hand in her own. "It'll be alright." she said softly. "We're free now. And we're together."

Metal looked at their two half-human, half-machina hands, and back up at Lily. "You're right. Let's keep going."

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"How much longer?" Metal whined. "I'm starving!"

"Metal," sighed Lily. "We just ate. How can you be starving?" The two had found some edible plants a little while ago, but they were still miles away from the town.

"Not for that…"

"Oh, right." Lily suddenly remembered Metal's thing for gold, silver and copper. "Well, it'll have to wait."

"I want some now!" Metal stomped her iron-clad foot defiantly, just like a normal nine year old would.

"Maybe when we get to town. Now come on, we've still got a lot of ground to cover."

"No!" Metal abruptly sat down and crossed her arms.

Lily groaned and tried to lift her up. Not only did Metal have the added weight of iron, but she stubbornly dug her claws into the ground. Lily gave up that idea and held out her hands. "I'm really sorry, but if you're going to be difficult, I have to."

Metal cried out as the magnetism took hold. Still fighting, she tried to take hold with her feet as well. But it was no use. The scene was comical in a way: Lily walking on, and Metal being dragged, leaving long furrows in the earth.

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Tolly: There is definitely more coming. Please review!