Chapter 4: Artificial Life
I wasn't sure how long I had been standing in complete silence. My eyes never moved their gaze from the mechanical girl in front of me. At this point, I didn't know if I should look away. Was this some kind of joke? Did Rona cast some sort of Hallucination spell on me? I wanted to believe that I misheard the metal lady.
"Um...sorry, what?" I asked hesitantly.
The robot girl cocked her head a bit. As if she was trying to point out how simple a statement it was to understand. Before I could say anything, a large metal ball came spinning out from behind the girl. The thing whirled around maniacally as if it had a mind of it's own. One things for sure, I could tell that it wasn't too happy with me. I wanted to point out how that must of been the ball that I saw come rushing to me when this lady saved me, but I assumed that wasn't a topic to bring up at this point in time.
"So...uh...why exactly do you need to kill me?" I asked, trying to keep a straight face. I figure if I'm gonna die, I want to atleast know why.
The iron woman glanced over me, as if she was trying to verify if I was an idiot or not. When x-ray vision came to mind, I inadvertently started to cover up my important parts. After what seemed like a minute, she finally spoke.
"ArE yoU Not aFrAId?" She said in a calm tone. As she said that, the living ball floated back over to the woman's side.
Now I was even more confused. First, she talks to me with murderous intent in her voice, and now she's talking like she has sympathy for me. Maybe she did figure out I was an idiot...
"Um...It isn't like I'm not afraid. I'm just...more confused than anything. Either way, I'm not really the kind of person that likes pleading for their life. I just want to know why." I asked, stiffening my shoulders, trying to look tough.
After a few moments passed, I slowly loosened my shoulders more and more. The lady just kept standing there...staring at me. All while the ball kept moving like an antsy 5 year old on Christmas. I was sure it was gonna come charging at me any minute.
"yOU're...vErY StrAnGE." The lady finally said.
A quirky cringe came over my face. After all that wait, THAT'S what she says...after a while though, I couldn't help but snicker at the robotic ladies confusion. I guess if I was in her situation, I'd be pretty distraught too. I saw as the ball and girl looked at each other for a second before looking back to me. Great, now I confused the ball too...there's some joke in there...ah, forget it.
"DiD I saY SoMEtHinG aMusInG?" The metal lady asked.
"Haha, sorry, I just love how people always get so confused when I act completely calm about getting my life threatened." I answered.
"I sEE...YoU MusT bE a ReAllY BRaVe pErSOn." the girl responded.
"Eh, not really. It's more stupidity than anything. I'm too dumb to know when I should be afraid." I answered nonchalantly.
There was silence for a few moments again. It looked as if the robotic woman was trying to hold something back. I figured out what it was shortly after when I heard a metallic laugh come from her. It only lasted about a second though before she quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
"HEY, YOU JUST LAUGHED! DO IT AGAIN!" I exclaimed profoundly.
The girl took a step back in shock from my sudden outburst. The ball started frantically spinning in a circle now. I couldn't tell if the thing was overjoyed or pissed off. It's really hard to tell what a ball's feeling...gosh, I gotta stop saying it like that.
"I...I don't know what you're talking about." The metal girl said in an...actually normal voice. Well, as normal as a robot can sound anyway.
"HEY, your voice changed! It's less...roboticy now." I said, cringing at my own made up word.
A look of anger came over the iron woman's face again. Her expressions were alot more lifelike then they were before. It was almost like she was a complete different person...or...robot, in this case. Then all at once the girl straightened herself back up.
"I dOn'T KnoW WhAT yOu'Re TaLKiNg AboUT."
"DON'T DENY ME!"
Without hesitation the metal lady pointed out her hand towards me. I watched as the ball next to her appeared to ready itself. It whirred like a motor starting up. Something tells me I wasn't going to like what happened next.
"RaVAge" The woman commanded.
The ball then charged at me with full force. If I blinked I knew for sure that I'd of been plowed over. I instinctively hurled my body to the side, throwing myself out of the way of the rampaging metal ball. I could feel the gust of wind that it picked up when it whizzed by me.
"HEY, can we talk about this!?" I asked in as sweet of a voice that I could muster up under these circumstances.
The robotic woman paid me no head as she then pursued to point out more commands. Before I had time to think, the ball came back towards me at lightning speed. I picked myself up into a bear stance, and lunged to the side once again. This time not completely succeeding. I winced as the ball grazed my right leg. It felt like I had been nicked by a Cannonball.
"I don't remember Dodgeball being this violent and deadly!" I said, clenching my slightly injured leg.
The clockwork lady appeared to pay my snarky remark no heed. Once again she pointed her hand back at me, commanding the ball to charge at me for a 3rd time. The ball readied itself, and came back full force. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to dodge it this time. Was this it for me? Was I really going to die by getting a ball smashed into my face?...again, I NEED TO STOP SAYING IT LIKE THAT!
"ORIANNA, WAIT!" I yelled as loud as I could. I knew this was probably the more pathetic last ditch effort, but what other choice did I have?
I closed my eyes and readied myself for the inevitable…...I waited there about 5 seconds before I realized 'I should probably be dead by now'. I reluctantly opened my eyes to see the ball a mere foot from me. I wasn't sure whether to breath a sigh of relief, or close my eyes again.
"YoU...hoW dO yoU KNow My nAMe? The woman asked.
I reluctantly let my hands relax as I looked back up. Orianna now had a curious look on her face. The murderous intent in her eyes were gone. Talk about having a 180. I didn't want to get to comfortable though, that ball was still giving me the stink eye.
"I...told my friend about you. When you saved me from falling to my untimely death. I really wanted to know who you were. You know, cause I thought I might of just dreamed it all. She then gave me a book, and it had a picture with you. I was happy to find that you were real." I answered.
Orianna cocked her head slightly in interest. I could tell that she wanted to ask more questions. Even though she was a robot, she was pretty easy to read. The ball then gradually whirled it's way back to the woman's side. I finally let myself relax this time. Maybe I could actually get through to her now.
"Look, I'm not sure what I did, but I'd like to atleast know WHY you want to kill me before you actually do." I asked earnestly.
The Metal Lady continued to examine me. It was like she was scanning for drugs or something. Then, she started to walk towards me slowly. Surprised, I inadvertently took a few steps back. The ball flew high into the air and made a few circles around me.
I could swear that the thing was creating a magical cage to trap me in.
"whY...DiD yOu WaNT tO KnOw wHo I WAs? dID I Not fRiGHteN yoU?" The woman asked, continuing to walk towards me at a slow pace.
"Well...I mean, ofcourse I did. You saved me afterall. However insignificant that may be to you, it's important to me." I responded.
Orianna stopped walking towards me. It was hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure what I said surprised her. The ball shot back over the woman's shoulder. It nudged her a bit like it was trying to tell her to snap out of it.
"wHat...iS YoUR nAmE?" The woman asked.
Now it was my turn to look surprised. From starting out with wanting to kill me, to now this, I wasn't sure what to make of the situation. One things for sure, I could tell that her desire to kill me wasn't that strong. So long as she didn't want to actually kill me now, I figured that I might as well let the topic drop. I could figure out later, why...hopefully.
"My names Mykale. I'd ask what yours is, but we kinda already established that." I said with a chuckle.
The clockwork lady stood there for a bit, just staring at me. It would of awkwarded me out if she wasn't a robot. I figured that was a pretty normal thing for them to do. Especially one with this high of intelligence. A part of her seemed almost too human to be machine.
"My...kALe?" The robotic girl said.
"Yep, that's it" I responded.
After a bit the woman started walking up to me again. I would of backed away, but I saw no murderous intent in her glowing blue eyes. I figured I would just let her do her robotic thing and examine me all she wanted. Well, I mean...NOT EVERYTHING! Had to keep a few things secret.
Orianna came only a few feet from me before she finally stopped. I could finally get a full view of her. Her entire body was made up of a beautiful Silver with Brass trim on her joints and other various places, including her hair. Yes, her hair was even made of metal. But somehow it managed to sway in the wind, almost like real hair.
I was in such awe, that I didn't notice the woman's hand come up to my face. I jumped a bit when the cold metal touched my skin. Definitely wasn't expecting that. I'd ask if she's ever heard of personal space, but I'm pretty sure I could already guess the answer.
"My...kALe...yOu...hAve A sTRaNgE FacE."
…...
…..
…
...well then...didn't see that coming. After gawking dumbfoundedly at the woman for about 5 seconds, the whole hilarity of the situation got to me, so much so that I started laughing. I laughed so hard that I almost fell down. Orianna inevitably backed away from shock
"yOu LAugH AgAin. wHY dO I AmuSE yOU So mUCh?" The robotic woman asked.
"Haha, I just wasn't expecting that. I know I've been called strange by a good many people, but that was the first time someone ever said that I had a strange face." I responded.
The woman looked at me confused. She cocked her head to the side, letting her metallic hair sway in the wind only slightly. Her eyes seemed to lock onto mine, as if she was staring deep into my soul. I could feel tension in my spine, making my body shiver.
"yOu MIsUndErStaND Me. YoUR fAce...Is hOnESt. I sEe...TRutH...pUrITy. It iS sTRaNge BeCAusE...iT Is SoMeTHing I hAvE NEveR sEen BeFOrE." Orianna responded.
If ever there was a moment in my life that I was utterly speechless, it was right now. I stared at the metal lady with wide eyes, trying to process what she just said. Honesty...Truth...Purity...she saw all those things in me? I felt an imaginary weight fall onto my back, as overwhelming responsibility to be a better person washed over me.
"I...uh...eh, are you sure you're looking at the right person? Because that doesn't sound like me at all. I mean...I'm just a normal guy. No more, no less." I answered.
Orianna looked at me as if I was the stupidest person in the world. Why does it seem like everyone gives me that look the first time they meet me? She made it blatantly obvious that she opposed what I said. Crap, maybe I should of just agreed with her. If she hadn't told me that I had an honest face I wouldn't of felt so inclined to tell the truth.
The metal ball, that had been rolling around in the grass for the longest time, bored out of it's mind, shot back up into the air. It rushed over to the woman's side and started frantically hissing it's gears.
The robotic lady gave the mechanical sphere a concerned look before patting it a few times. A meek smile colored her face, making her look more human than machine. The ball appeared to calm down with every pat the woman gave it. I couldn't help but smile along with the robot.
"That ball, is he your friend?" I asked.
Orianna didn't pay me any head for a while. I thought she might of not heard what I said. Soon enough though, the woman responded with a mere nod of her head. The ball spun in delight from the metal ladies affection. I had to admit, seeing two machines interact with each other in this way...was pretty amazing.
I flinched as I felt a strong gust of wind hit my face. It was as if something had flown right past me at lightning speed. My thoughts were soon confirmed when I heard a large clunk. I watched as the ball got flown back with that same heavy force. Orianna belted out a robotic gasp, before running over to her friends side. I saw now what the heavy force was. An arrow, jutted out of the side of the ball.
My first initial thought was how an arrow could possibly penetrate a solid steel ball, but my focus quickly went to who the culprit was. I threw my head around in every direction, trying to see any sign of anyone.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" I yelled.
I jumped back as another arrow planted itself in the ground, right in front of me. I just about lost my balance. The arrow that had been shot went through the ground almost completely, only the feathered end could be seen sticking out of the dirt. Whoever was shooting knew how to use a bow, I knew that for a fact. I came to attention when I heard the voice of a woman.
"You there, what do you think you're doing?" the voice asked. I readied myself for another arrow to come.
"Me? I should be asking you that! You're the one shooting the arrows!" I responded.
I looked back to check on Orianna. She had already pulled the arrow out of the ball, and was petting the spot where it hit. I saw a look of sorrow in her metal face. Definitely not something you see in a robot too often. My attention was grabbed again as I saw another arrow out of the corner of my eye, fly overhead me. It headed straight for the mechanical lady. I felt an instant rush of adrenaline as I took off towards her. I was sure I wouldn't make it in time, but my body just moved on it's own.
"ORIANNA, WATCH OUT!" I yelled.
In the blink of an eye, I saw the robot fling her arm around and smack the arrow out of the air. I was so surprised that I almost tripped while running to her. I looked to see the eyes of pure rage from her. The same look she had when she first started attacking me. I felt a shiver run down my spine.
"My my, you sure have some quick reactions, don't you? I must say, I'm impressed. Maybe you'll actually prove to be a challenge for me." The woman said, still outside of my vision.
Orianna stood back up on her feet. I saw her pull out some sort of star shaped objects from her side. I wasn't sure if I should get close to her anymore. She looked like she would kill anyone that even tried to approach her without a second thought.
Before I had time to make a decision of what to do now, another arrow came flying through the air, right towards the robotic girl again. This time the arrow seemed to have a tornade riding around it. I could tell right away that it had been hexed. Whoever shot the arrow knew how to use magic as well.
The Metal Lady threw her hands out infront of her. A glowing yellow light appeared from her palms, and shaped into a large magic shield. I stared in awe. I had never seen magic like that before. Especially done without a wand. I watched as the arrow went into the shield, and consumed it hole, evaporating the shield as it entered.
"ReTurN"
With a burst of magic, I saw as the arrow came back out of the chrome ladies palms, heading straight back in the direction it shot. As well I saw her toss one of those stars she held, right behind the arrow.
The arrow soon went out of view and exploded somewhere far in the distance. For a while, there was silence. I thought that maybe the robotic woman had done it. That idea was soon put down as I started hearing footsteps. I looked into the darkness where the arrow had left, and saw a woman slowly start walking out of it. The first thing I noticed was the star weapon that Orianna had thrown, lodged into her shoulder.
"Yes, really impressive. You used repel magic to turn my own attack against me, and knowing I'd dodge, you attacked back predicting where it is I'd dodge to. The trajectory of my shot told you exactly where I was too, didn't it? Not too bad at all." The woman said as she pulled the star weapon out of her shoulder.
The woman finally stepped into the light, and I got a good look at her. She wore tattered leather armour. The kind that you'd normally see bandits and outlaws wear. She held a brick red recurved bow in her right arm. Her short, pitch black hair blew frantically in the breeze. I'd say she looked fairly attractive if she wasn't trying to kill us at the moment.
Orianna held her ground, and just stared down the bandit woman. She readied two more of her throwing stars, one in each hand. I knew things were about to go down when I saw the black haired woman sheath another arrow, and notch it on her bow. I had to find someway to stop this or one of them was going to die. I threw myself up onto my feet.
"Stop! Why are you doing this!?" I yelled to the archer lady. My attempts were unsuccessful as she launched the arrow from her bow. Another tornado formed around it, same as before. It moved so fast, I could barely even get a good look at the thing. Thankfully, the robot had quicker reactions than me.
The metal lady threw her arms up in the air and threw both of her stars, one after the other. I watched in amazement as the first star cut through the tornado like a butter knife, completely dispelling the magic around it. The next star then cut through the arrow itself, splitting the thing right in half. It all happened so fast, I couldn't believe that I was actually able to see what happened.
The black haired woman's face turned to a pure white.
"What!? How did you...you dispelled my magic! Don't tell me those puny little stars did that?" The bow woman asked.
Orianna gave a small nod as she pulled out another star from her side. Where she was pulling these things out of, I had no idea.
"MaGiC cAncElLaTIon." the mechanical girl answered.
I had heard of that before. Some weapons could be given the ability to cancel magic upon making contact with it directly. Only an extremely skilled mage, renowned in the art of aura crafting had the ability to do this. In a way, it was kinda like putting a curse on a weapon. Or maybe in this case, a blessing.
The bandit lady scoffed as she threw her bow back over her shoulders. She sheathed two long, serrated daggers out from her back.
"Fine, then I guess I'm just going to have to attack you directly." the black haired lady said.
In the blink of an eye, the woman disappeared. Before me or Orianna could react, the woman appeared again right behind the metal lady. With her weapons raised, I knew that this wasn't going to end well. I don't think I've ever moved so fast in my life when I threw myself at the woman. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it, but just like before, my body just moved on it's own.
"DIE!" The black haired woman said as she brought her weapons down towards the nape of the robot's neck.
I wasn't sure all that happened in that short span of time, but what I do know is that I quickly felt a sharp pain on my chest. I winced as the daggers cut across my body. How though...I was sure that I wouldn't make it in time. I coughed hard as blood filled my mouth.
The black haired woman took a step back in shock. I'm pretty sure she didn't expect me to be there either. Her eyes went from a look of surprise, to a look of anger really fast.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!? Why are you protecting this...machine? Did you forget that she tried to kill you earlier?" The woman asked in a rage.
I grabbed my chest and clenched it. I tried my best to stop the bleeding. I couldn't afford to pass out now. I stood back up on feet, barely able to stand. My body shook from the amount of blood I had already lost.
I turned back to look at the mechanical girl behind me. Her face filled with confusion and wonder. I could tell that she didn't understand why I did what I did either. For that matter, even I wasn't sure why I did it. I'm sure she could've retaliated back on the dark haired woman. I mean, she is made of metal after all, can she even be cut? I clenched my fist as all these doubts ran through my head.
"Hehe, dang, I guess I really am an Idiot. Not even my own body would listen to me, it just moved on it's own. You probably didn't even need saving. Sorry I jumped in like that, are you alright atleast?" I asked the robot, trying my best to avoid coughing up more blood.
Orianna's face grew bright. I saw her eyes widen in surprise. The blue glow from her pupils began to shine. I woulda swore that she was human after seeing this expression.
"...yOu...PrOteCTeD mE." The metal lady said.
"Hm, yeah...I guess I did. That means we're even now, right?" I responded with a smirk.
Without warning I was tossed to the side like a ragdoll. I yelled as my wounded body skidded across the dirt. My chest burned all over, I felt like I was going to melt. I heard the robotic woman mutter my name in distress as I was thrown. I wasn't sure If I was just hearing things though.
"Well, I can agree with you on one thing, you really are an idiot." The black haired woman said. "Do you really think this thing cares that you jumped in to save her? Here's a newsflash for you, SHE'S A ROBOT! An emotionless, uncaring, unFEELING, machine! Anything human you think you see in her is simply programming. Get that through your thick skull."
I cringed as I held my injuries tight. Was she right? Was everything that I saw from Orianna...just a program? Was nothing she did real at all? I mean...it's not like I wanted her to be human...did I? Now even more thoughts were filling my head. My brain was starting to hurt.
I used all the strength that I had and forced myself back on my feet again. Every muscle in my body was burning. I wasn't sure what kept pushing me on, but whatever it was, it wasn't stopping now. I gritted my teeth as I shot the bandit woman a look of pity. I saw her eyes began to fume with rage.
"Ya know...maybe you're right. Maybe nothing about her is real. Maybe everything I've seen so far...is just a program." I answered back.
I took a few wobbly steps towards the black haired girl. I saw her hold up her blades, ready to strike me down and kill me. I wasn't afraid though...because...I knew now. I finally figured out why I kept pushing myself. I finally figured out why I kept getting back up.
"Then if you know that, then why are you still trying to protect her?" The woman said in anger.
I looked to Orianna who now had a worried look on her face. Maybe an artificial one...but a worried look none the less. I finally got back to the spot I was at before. Right between the metal lady and the bandit woman. I threw my arms up to the side, and held my ground.
"Why...It's simple really" I said, looking up to the black haired woman with a stern look.
"IT'S BECAUSE LIFE IS STILL LIFE, WHETHER IT'S ARTIFICIAL OR NOT!" I yelled profoundly.
The archer ladies face got so white, I woulda swore that she saw a ghost. The entire area got silent for a pretty long time. I kept standing there with my arms out, looking like an idiot. As time went on, what I said kept sounding more and more stupid in my head. So much to the point that I started feeling ashamed of myself and the fact that I never thought about what came out of my mouth, I just said what I was thinking.
After what seemed like an eternity, the silence was broken when the black haired woman started to break out into laughter. I'm so done now, I don't know what's going on anymore. I just said the most profound thing I've ever said in my entire life, and it came back to bite me in the butt. Just kill me now...I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm close to dead already.
"HAHAHA, You're something else, let me tell you. Definitely would make the record books for dumbest idiot ever." The woman said with a chuckle
All of the rage that came from the black haired girl's expression was gone. Instead, she had a smile on her face now. She sheathed her daggers after a bit, and folded her arms mockingly.
"Alright, fine, you want to protect this machine, then go for it. Sigh, I guess I'll just have to take another 10 bounty hunts to make up for how much I'm going to lose with this one." The bandit woman said.
Now it was my turn to look surprised.
"Wait, bounty...are you a, uh…"
"Bounty Hunter? Yep, that's me. This little lady right here has been wanted for quite a while. 10 million Gold pieces isn't anything to scoff at. Many other Bounty Hunters have tried to catch her, but they've all failed. After seeing her fight personally, I can see why now." The woman said.
Wait...she's been hunted by several different bounty hunters? I turned to look at the mechanical girl again. She still had the same confused look on her face. I wonder though...could that be why...why she tried to kill me? Did she think I was another Bounty Hunter?
"Wait, why was she wanted in the first place?" I asked the black haired hunter.
The woman gave me a smirk before she turned the other direction. She waved goodbye with her two fingers as she started walking away.
"Sorry, but that's something you'll need to ask her yourself. It's too early in the story to reveal that plot point yet." The woman said.
Uhh...wait, wut? Did she just break the 4th wall?
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." The bounty hunter said, looking back at me. "The names Ember. Maybe I'll be seeing you around soon if you're still hanging around with that robot. Toodles" The woman said before finally signing off, and walking into the darkness of the forest.
I really hoped she wasn't being serious about that. Last thing I wanted to do was to run into her again. I looked back to the mechanical girl and gave her a big smile. Her expression hadn't changed this entire time. I wondered whether everything she did really was programming. Even so, I don't regret what I did.
"Welp, glad that's over wiiiiiiitth-"
I felt my body get heavy as pure exhaustion came over me. I guess all the adrenaline I had built up wore off. I collapsed on the ground in a heap. I felt my consciousness slipping from me. For some reason I was getting a strong sense of Dejavu.
Before I passed out I felt Orianna's cold, metal hands touch my face. I don't know why, but the sensation felt really...soothing. The last thing I remember was the metal lady saying to me.
"tHanK YoU."
Then I blacked out.
Thank you guys for reading till the end. I really appreciate the feedback I've gotten so far. It's really helping me to keep writing. I may end up reuploading this chapter because I'm having a friend read it and give me feedback on somethings I should change. I'd wait for him but...I'm too impatient. I mean, I'm not going to change too much if anything...I hope *wink wink*
Anyway, if you want more, then make sure to leave me a comment. It really motivates me whenever I read reviews from you guys. :D