Author's Note: First of all, no amount of apologies can be made for not updating this story. However, after several revisions, I can say this story will be complete after two more chapters. I would like to give a big thank you to SynchronicityBlack for the encouraging reviews and I hope that everyone continues to be healthy and safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Circuits
Worthless
Kari immediately bolted up in bed when she heard the sound. Leaping off the bed, she darted into Tai's room, shaking him awake.
"Tai, Tai, TAI!"
"Mmmm? What…what is it, Kari?"
"I think something's happened to Matt!"
Hearing the dread in her voice, Tai became alert. He threw off the covers and ran down the hallway into the living room after his sister. There, by the light of Christmas tree, they saw the sprawled outline of Matt.
Without a moment's hesitation, they rushed to the cyborg's side.
As the lights in his eyes flickered and went out one by one, Matt's vision grew distorted with static as he watched Tai and Kari kneel next to him as they carefully eased him into a sitting position.
"What's wrong, Matt?" Tai asked, "What happened?"
"Please tell us," begged Kari as fresh tears welled up and spilled from her eyes. "We'll help you. You're…you're gonna be okay."
Looking up at his owners, Matt weakly stretched out his hand, gently wiping the tears away from Kari's face. He then turned to Tai, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.
Then he said something.
At first, the two siblings almost didn't hear it because Matt's voice was so faint.
"Huh? What's that?"
Kari grew hopeful. "W-what did you say, Matt?"
The artificial blonde repeated the word again and this time, they were able to hear him.
"Thank…you…"
His eyes closed and his hand slid off Tai's shoulder, falling limp at his side.
"Matt? Matt?"
"MATT!" Kari burst into tears once more. "No, Matt! No, please come back!"
"You can't leave us like this, Matt!" Tai cried as he started shaking the robot's shoulder. "You just can't!"
"Kids, what's wrong?"
Tai and Kari looked up to see their father walk into the living room, tying on a robe.
"Don't you two know how late it is?" the older man scolded but then he saw the fallen android.
"What happened to Matt? Did he short out?"
"We don't know." Tai responded, his voice barely a whisper.
Kari cradled Matt in her arms as her tears dripped down onto his golden locks. Tai remained vigilantly by his sister's side, rubbing her back to comfort her, fighting back his own tears.
"I'll…call up the factory to see if they're open," Susumu stated, "if they are, maybe they can fix Matt."
Kari's head shot up.
Recalling what Matt had told her, she knew too well of the fate that awaited him.
"What did they do to the maid after that, did they try to fix her?"
"No ma'am, they dismantled her immediately and threw her away, muttering, 'Reject' as they went to test out another android."
"No, Dad! Don't call them, please! Surely, Izzy can fix him! Even Yolei could do it!"
At first, Tai was puzzled by Kari's suggestion but then he remembered his sister's fear for Matt as well as the factory's true intentions.
"It's worth a shot, Dad! Besides, Izzy's a genius!"
Susumu shook his head. "Izzy and Yolei may be smart when it comes to technology, but I'm sure they won't appreciate being woken up this late in the evening."
Despite his children's protests, Susumu refused and phoned the factory, which would send a pair of workers to their apartment to take Matt back to be repaired. It took only half an hour for the men to arrive at the Kamiya apartment, though one of them was more displeased of having his Christmas disrupted instead of doing his job.
"What a shame." one of the workers said, taking pity on the Kamiya family. "Robots like him are supposed to last up to twenty years."
"Eh, who cares," said the disgruntled one, who lacked the sympathy that his colleague had, "those cheap things always break down and this one's no different from the other models. It's just a worthless machine."
Tai clenched his fists as he stood up. "Matt's not worthless," he muttered darkly. "He's family."
"He wasn't just a machine," the short-haired brunette said quietly and then, raising her voice, "HE WAS REAL!"
"Kid be reasonable." the annoyed employee said, "I know you're upset, but you're making this hard on yourself. Now let us take that thing off your hands…"
"NO!" Kari screamed as she tightened her hold on Matt's lifeless form, "YOU CAN'T TAKE HIM!"
The young girl continued to hang onto the blonde cyborg until her older brother and father albeit reluctantly, started to pull her away from him. As a last-ditch effort, the Bearer of Light grasped onto Matt's wrist and held on but slowly, her grip shifted to his hand, then his fingers until she was pried away from him allowing the workers to retrieve the deactivated robot.
With Kari no longer supporting him, Matt fell in a crumpled heap.
"N-no, Tai…Daddy…no." she pleaded, her angry tone giving way to grief, "Don't let them take Matt. Please, don't let them take Matt away…"
She tore her gaze from the scene where through her tear-veiled vision, she saw it: Matt's Christmas present, the photograph that she gave him earlier that day, lying untouched on the couch.
Biting his lip, Tai watched as the employees lifted Matt off the floor and placed him on a stretcher. As they walked on past him, Tai took one last look at the android when he saw something that startled him.
He thought he saw what appeared to be a tear, an actual tear slowly trickling down Matt's face as he was hauled away.
Wha-? How can that be? The bushy-haired teen thought as he shook his head. No, I must be seeing things.
The moment they left, and the apartment door closed, Kari grabbed the photograph and ran into her room, shutting the door behind her though her sobs could be heard.
Susumu felt his heart sink as he and his son listened to his youngest child cry. Guilt swept over the man as he remembered how badly he treated Matt following Yuuko's death to the point he threatened him physically and now that he was gone, it felt as though Susumu really did go through with the deed.
"I'll…go check on Kari." Tai said in a hushed tone as he turned to leave.
"Son, are you sure that you and your sister will be alright?"
The brunette teen didn't answer, only continuing down the hallway, going into his sister's room, leaving his father alone with only the Christmas tree for company.
…
Opening the door, Tai found Kari sitting on the floor by her desk, hugging her knees with one hand gripping something in a strong hold.
"What's that in your hand, Kari?" he asked, bending down to her level.
Lifting her head, Kari opened her palm, revealing Matt's nametag.
"This is all we have left of him, Tai."
Kari looked at the nametag in her hand and then to the photograph, now sitting on her desk.
She clasped her hand tightly over the nametag again, holding it close to her as she mourned for Matt's loss.
"Oh, Kari." Tai said in a choked voice, wrapping his arms around her.
He finally let his tears fall as he felt her return his gesture. They stayed like that, clinging onto each other for comfort as they wept.
After a while, Tai got up to leave when he felt his sister tug on the sleeve of his shirt.
"Please stay." Kari begged quietly, looking at her brother with red-rimmed eyes. "I don't want to be alone."
"Neither do I."
Joining her in bed, they soon fell asleep, with Tai holding his sister protectively. Kari still had Matt's nametag tucked safely in her hands, and as the night continued, a gentle snow began falling outside, sprinkling the ground with a layer of white.
…
As the Odaiba district overflowed with crowds of people taking part in the New Year countdown, the Kamiya apartment remained silent only giving a brief, "Happy New Year," to each other when the clock struck twelve.
A day or so later, a letter from the factory arrived but Tai and Kari hardly paid their father any mind as he opened and read the letter aloud to them.
"'Dear Sir or Madam,
We are terribly sorry regarding Model #354's abrupt breakdown. Our workers have tried hard to repair him, but the gears within the robot were too badly damaged to be repaired and replaced. If you wish to receive a replacement of the same model or would prefer a full refund of your purchase, please call the number at the top of the letter.'"
"How about I buy another version of Matt?" Susumu suggested, "He'll be just as good, just as helpful-"
"I don't want a replacement!" interrupted Tai. "It won't be the same!"
Kari agreed. "I want our Matt back!"
Susumu frowned. "I know you're both upset about losing Matt, but the letter stated they did everything they could to fix him."
I bet they fixed him alright. Tai thought sarcastically. Fixed him so he'd be ready for the incinerator.
When neither one answered back, Susumu hung his head in silence. He knew that they were angry at him for not letting their friends try and reactivate Matt, but he didn't realize that their anger ran much deeper than that.
The older man sighed. "Would you both be okay if I bought a different robot model instead?"
Tai scoffed. "It wouldn't change anything, Dad," he said, "the new robot can't replace Matt."
Matt.
Susumu paused as he recalled how the blonde android's presence seemed to have helped his son and daughter begin to move forward following their mother's passing and even after he sent Matt away, Tai and Kari were determined to bring him home. And just as Susumu was starting to see how important Matt was to his family, he shut down, never to move again.
Still, he pondered, what was it about Matt that made him so dear to my children?
-To be continued…