Episode 1: A Familiar, Pained Face

The room was bright with yellow tinted lights. A naked man was lying on a silver table next to blood stained medical tools of all kinds on a tray. The man was of fair complexion with a slender build and strong looking arms. He had long, wavy azure hair, which was sprawled out across the table under his head. Stuck to his forehead were three strips of thin plastic, attached to wires, which were connected to a large, complex looking computer behind him. Thick lashed eyes were closed. Harry MacDougall looked as if he was sleeping. A rugged looking man with a long scar down his lips looked down at Harry's body. He had a slight tan and was quite tall compared to most Terrans. He had jet black curly hair, pulled back into a frizzy ponytail. He looked over, with a pair of piercing golden eyes, at an older man in a blood stained white lab coat with a sinister grin. The tall man was dressed in a maroon trench coat with three large belts holding it closed. Under it, he wore a black v-neck shirt and navy pants, accompanied by large, ivory boots. Other than the three piercings on both ears, he wore a necklace with a microchip encased in a glass locket. Ron McDougall stood proud. Suddenly, Harry took a deep breath, his chest rising. Ron smiled, his scar rising with his lips. The older man turned to Ron.

"Is he to your liking?" The older man said in a scratchy voice.

"Couldn't have imagined him any other way." Ron answered. "Harry, wake up. I saw you breathe."

Harry's eyes snapped open to reveal a pair of startled, indigo eyes. They shifted to look over at Ron. Harry sat up, the pads on his forehead disconnecting from the machine behind him. He looked up at Ron with eyes wide.

"Ron? I recognize your voice." Harry said as he studied Ron's face.

"Very good, Harry. You know my name?" Ron asked, wanting to know just as to how much he really knew about him. Harry's brows furrowed.

"Of course I do!" He snapped. "Though I don't know why…" He added. Ron looked at him, with an eyebrow raised. The older man then cleared his throat.

"So, payment?" The older man asked, sounding a bit impatient. Ron let out a small chuckle.

"Of course. We can talk details, but not in front of my brother." Ron responded. He put his large hand on the older man's back and left the room. Seconds passed and suddenly, there was a loud crack of a gunshot. Harry jumped. What was that? Ron then returned to the room, his footsteps almost echoing in the empty room. Harry looked at him, his face expressionless. He didn't know what had happened. Ron let out another chuckle.

"Sorry for the noise, Harry. We can get going now." Ron said as he went over to a table and picked up a pile of clothing. Harry hadn't noticed it until now. Ron dropped it in his lap and exhaled.

"Get dressed."

"Right now?" Harry asked, as if he was waiting for the older man to return.

"Yes." Ron answered. Harry set the pile of clothes aside and scooted off of the table. He started with the shirt. It was a long sleeved t-shirt with black and white stripes. He pulled it over his head when Ron began to speak.

"Can you believe I remembered what size you were? But don't go complainin' about what I picked out." Ron put his hands on his hips. Harry looked over at Ron for a moment and then resumed dressing. He then picked up a pair of black leather pants. Harry, a bit unfamiliar with the texture, looked over at Ron with critical eyes. Ron simply smiled and shrugged. Harry stepped into the pants and yanked them on, inch by inch. The rest was easy. He put on a pair of plain, white socks and a pair of navy boots. The last thing to put on was a sleeveless, light denim vest. He felt the fabric with his thumbs and smiled. He slipped it on and then turned to Ron, placing his hands on his hips to almost mock him.

"How do I look?" Harry asked. Ron smiled.

"Like you." Ron then reached into a thin pocket on his jacket and took out a purple ribbon. He held it out and Harry caught it when he decided to drop it into his hands. Without saying a word, he tied his hair back into a loose ponytail. Ron's smile grew. "So you do remember…" Ron said quietly. Harry frowned. Why had he done that automatically? He decided not to think about it too much. They had to go, right?

Ron led him out of the room into a dark hallway. Harry followed closely behind, a tad nervous, when the tip of his boot hit something. He looked down to see nothing but the outline of a pair of shoes. Harry was about to bend down to get a closer look when Ron took him by the wrist and yanked him up. Harry looked at him, looking alarmed. Why had he been so rough with him? Ron was frowning out of frustration.

"It's time to go, Harry." Ron said firmly. Harry nodded silently and Ron released his arm. He then continued to follow him up a small flight of concrete stairs. Ron opened a door that squealed, and instantly, there was a rush of noise. Harry stopped on the last step and covered his ears. Ron stepped outside and Harry slowly dropped his hands as his ears adjusted to the noise. He followed him and looked around, seeing that he was on a busy street under the stars of Sentinel III. Ron then approached a navy blue cruiser, which seemed to be parked right before them. Harry, curious, turned around too look up at the building that they came out of. It was a flower shop, bright with all kinds of colorful plants from foreign planets. Harry wouldn't know that, of course. He just wondered why they were in the basement of a flower shop—Starfish Flower Shop. Ron saw Harry with his back to him and sighed.

"Taking it all in, huh?" Ron said. Harry immediately turned to him. "Let's go." He said, walking around the front of the cruiser to get in. Harry, without thinking about it, opened the door and got in.

Ron drove down streets full of Terrans who were just beginning their evenings. Harry tried to take in everything as they left Locust city. The streets grew darker and darker and things began to blur. Ron sped up and Harry's hair began to blow wildly in the wind. Ron laughed.

"This thing can go pretty fast, don't ya think?" He said loudly. Harry said nothing, feeling almost lonely now that the city was a bunch of bars of lights behind them. Ron wondered why he hadn't said anything and continued to drive to his place in silence.

Ron pulled up to his home, which was a common, brown farmhouse and a large barn among a vast field of wheat. He hopped out of the cruiser and led Harry inside. It was dark until Ron pushed a button to his right to turn on the lights above. Ron was about to turn to face Harry and welcome him to his humble abode, when he heard Harry's stomach growl. Harry's eyes widened as they jumped down to look at his stomach. Ron chuckled.

"Someone's hungry. Guess that makes sense." Ron replied.

Soon, Harry and Ron were sitting at a table together, each with a plate of a pile of rice mixed with cooked egg and green onion. Harry stared down at it in silence.

"Sorry. I'm no chef. Well, actually, I sort of am?" Ron said jokingly. "You see, a lot has happened since you were…" He paused. "I'm not sure how to say this…" He continued to think. "Since you were away."

"Away?" Harry looked up at him, looking a tad confused. Ron held up the locket to show off the microchip inside, it twinkling in the dim light of his kitchen.

"When you were in here." Ron grinned. Harry stared at him, looking even more confused. Ron shook his head. "Well, this is going to be hard to explain… You do at least know that you're a bio android, correct?"

"Of course I do! I'm not like others!" Harry cried. Harry wondered why he had snapped at him for the second time today.

"Yes. Well, for a couple of years, you lived in here—this chip." Ron began to explain. Harry's eyes widened. "You didn't always live like this. In fact, you looked exactly like you do right now. However, your body was destroyed." Harry's eyes fell. "But you had made a copy of your mind to the Shangri La and into this little chip here. Does that make sense to you?" Ron asked in a softer tone. Harry nodded slowly as he took it in. "You don't look like you do. Don't you remember all of those space races we've been in these past two years?" Harry looked back across the table at Ron and shook his head. Ron looked shocked. "You don't remember?! That damn doctor! That machine must have corrupted the data!" Ron grinded his teeth and slammed his fist down onto the table. When he realized that a little rice had gotten onto the table, he sighed. "Well, anyway, I got this job at a Kei Pirate-owned restaurant here in Locust City. As you will soon learn, I'm not the greatest cook, but that's how I partially afforded the repairs on the Shangri La whenever we came back from a race." Harry took a bit, immediately making a face.

"Too many onions…" Harry commented. Ron looked annoyed.

"I told you I'm no chef!" Ron shouted. Just at that moment, Harry began to laugh. Ron smiled at this. He didn't expect to hear him laugh—at least not until he became more acquainted with the world. However, it wasn't like the laughter he once knew. Ron laughed too.

Still quite hungry, Harry ate as Ron went on about how he hated cooking for the Kei Pirates. Midway through the meal, he suddenly realized something.

"Harry! Maybe I can trigger some memories if I take you to the Shangri La! Not that I wasn't planning on taking you to the ship anyway…" He got up from the table. Harry didn't want to leave his meal behind, but he wanted to make Ron happy.

Ron and Harry went out to the large barn by the house, which was more like a hangar for his ships—there were two. Ron turned on the lights and soon, the Shangri La was in view. Harry gazed at it, eyes thinning. Ron stood there, waiting for him to say something. A moment or so passed and Harry turned to Ron.

"Nothing." Harry stated.

"Nothing?! What do you mean, 'nothing?!'" Ron cried. He looked disappointed, his shoulders lowering. "Just nothing…"

Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps approaching them on the dirt. Harry suddenly turned towards them, in a defensive pose.

"Who's there?" Harry said in a hostile tone. Ron was surprised that he reacted this way. He then smiled.

"I forgot. I would like you to meet someone, Harry." Ron said calmly. Out from under the shadow of the Shangri La came another young man, looking about nineteen or so. He was about 5'6" and had a small frame. He was fairly pale, which contrasted against his long, unruly dark grey hair. He had large, fallow brown eyes and a small mouth. He looked over at Harry, looking confused.

"Harry. Meet Lark. He's like you." Ron said with a smile. Suddenly, Harry crouched down, holding his head in pain. His thoughts were racing like a scherzo.

"Harry?..." Ron looked down at him with concern.