Author's Notes: It's July 17th, 2013...yeah, sorry about the delay AGAIN. Anyway, this story's totally written out now, I just have to iron out a few wrinkles in Chapter 11, and then it'll be ready to post. Four years is a little (A LOT) excessive for an 11 chapter story, but I hope it's at least enjoyable.


Inoue Ai sat crosslegged on the dusty floor of the abandoned warehouse, looking down at the robot girl laid out on a wood pallet in front of her. She frowned; her job now would have been so much easier if they had been able to get her up onto one of the tables, but the robot girl was just too heavy, not to mention how awkward it was trying to move her when she had gone all limp. Gotokuji came in through the doorway a moment later and she looked up at him. "Did you find anything?"

He shook his head. "Nothing really useful," he said as he placed an old toolbox on the floor next to her. She popped the rusty latches and opened the top to reveal a jumble of assorted tools. She could probably make do, but they weren't the sort of tools one really needed when doing delicate work; it looked more like the tool set of a janitor who didn't have many occasions to fix things than something any dedicated repairman would have.

Ai heaved a sigh and turned her attention back to the robot girl, still lying unresponsive before her. "This...is gonna take a while."


Prototype Unit FX8-a, 'Sarah', looked down at her body through the eyes of one of her robot drones as she replaced her elbow joint with a much more primitive—if more solidly constructed—one scavenged from one of the units she had forcibly deactivated earlier. The fit wasn't perfect, but at least her elbow worked...

She set aside some of her processing power to cycle through the information being sent in by the drones she had sent out earlier. A warning message popped up about running too many operations, but she ignored it and redirected processing power from some of the more minor tasks running in the background and focused instead on finishing up her elbow.

Sarah's consciousness was stretched woefully thin across almost two dozen units, and keeping up with all of them was sapping the processing power made available by her drones; and yet she had to keep as many of them out scouring the city as possible to find her maintenance tech, that F9A unit. Without Unit F9A, she wouldn't be able to perform maintenance on her primary frame with any degree of skill; even now she was causing significant damage by substituting such primitive parts for her primary frame's damaged joints, but she couldn't let her primary frame remain immobile, either.

It was irritating, that was what it was, she decided.

A roof tile moving under the foot of one of her drones drew her attention and much-needed processing power in order to regain the drone unit's balance before it could fall, which resulted in another drone halfway across town running straight into a brick chimney, doing significant damage to its right knee and hip before it rolled off the roof completely and she lost contact. The sudden loss of a piece of herself shocked her to her core.

Sarah bit back on her volatile emotions before she could let her anger get the better of her. She couldn't get anything done when she was spread so thin; the narrow save of the first drone had resulted in the total loss of the second, while a third had nearly been hit by a car and a fourth had almost stepped right off the roof it had been running across, all due to half a second's lapse of concentration. Had she been human, she would have sighed. There was no way around it. She did the only thing she could do: she called back half the drones she had sent out into the city, and set aside the tools she was using to patch her primary frame back into some form of useability.

This...this was going to take a while.


"Oho, what's this?" Kazumi said to herself as she looked at the big screen she had had Chisame set up in her apartment a long time before. One of her camera drones had spotted something suspicious. She had it move in cautiously for a closer look, and whistled.

It was an unfamiliar robot, lying sprawled out on the ground as if it had fallen from high above, a spray of bricks on the ground around it.

Suspicious indeed.

Kazumi put down the soft drink she had been sipping and picked up her cell phone.


Haruna kept one hand on the wheel as she fished around in her pocket for her ringing cell phone.

"Hey, where'd you learn to drive?!" someone demanded as they flew past in the opposite direction, horn blaring.

"Mahora School of Kicking Your Ass!" she yelled back at the other driver, who was already long gone. She turned her attention back to the road and swerved back into her lane, narrowly avoiding a furniture truck.

"Buncha crazy people around here, I swear," Haruna said, weaving back and forth to work off some frustration as she fiddled with her cell phone and finally got it open. She brought it up to her ear. "Y'ello."

-Hey, Haruna-

"It's Kazumi," Haruna said to her passengers. Hakase sat curled up in a ball in the passenger seat, completely unresponsive, while Tanaka's emotionless face nevertheless seemed to be giving her a scathing look. "Heya Kazumi. What's up?"

-Found something you might be interested in. I don't think it's the robot you wanted me to watch for, but it is a robot.-

"Ah, cool, cool..." Haruna said as she swerved to avoid a pedestrian and took the time to raise her middle finger for him. Someone in the opposing lane beeped their horn at her and she swerved back into her lane. "Where is it?"

-...you're not...not driving, are you?-

Haruna smirked. "Maybe."

-H-hey! You can't do that! Remember what happened last time? With the cow? And poor old lady Makishima? You remember what the judge said...!-

Haruna heaved a sigh. "Yeah, yeah. Thanks for reminding me of that, mom. It doesn't matter anyway; we're at my apartment now and I've gotta run up and get something. I guess Tanaka can drive. So," she said as she hit the brakes and the car squealed to a stop, taking up two spaces in front of Haruna's apartment building, with the back end still sticking out into the road. She unhooked her seat belt and turned to the others. "Be right back!" Hakase just gazed at her with big, blank eyes as a little drool spilled from the side of her mouth, while Tanaka continued his stare from earlier. Haruna just waved and got out of the car. "So," she said into her phone. "Where did you say this robot was? Maybe we can have Chachamaru go over and pick it up, whaddaya think?"


Chachamaru ended the transmission and stood up from her chair, looking from the shattered remains of the robot that had attacked her lying on the table to her little sister Rally, who stood watching her nearby.

"Who called?" Rally asked.

"Haruna-san," Chachamaru replied as she looked back at the broken robot on the table, the robot Rally had done her best to kill while staying within the strict limits Hakase had set for in-town combat. "It seems she has located a damaged foreign unit, and wishes to have one of us retrieve it." Rally cocked her head to the side, and Chachamaru's sisterly instincts made her want to hug the other gynoid. She refrained and looked back at the robot on the table; it couldn't be left alone. She didn't quite know all the details—she had been nonfunctional at the time—but Rally had attacked the robot after it attacked her. To say she was proud of her little sister wouldn't be overstating the truth. However...

"I must retrieve the damaged foreign unit.. Rally-chan, you must not damage this one any more than you have already. Hakase isn't done with it yet," Chachamaru said, looking from the broken robot to Rally.

Rally locked eyes with her a moment, then looked back down at the broken robot for a moment. "...understood."

Chachamaru nodded. She was still nervous leaving her sister alone with the robot, but Rally wouldn't lie to her. "I will return shortly; please prepare worktable three." And then, perhaps, she could view the video files Hakase had given her. Rally nodded solemnly, and Chachamaru, overtaken by some mysterious impulse, reached over and ruffled her sister's artificial hair. Feeling embarrassed for some reason she couldn't quite understand, she spun on her heel and headed for the door, leaving Rally alone with the robot on the table.


After Rally had finished cleaning up the area around worktable three and left the room to put up the cleaning supplies she had used, she returned to find the strange robot that had attacked her onee-san fumbling around with its one remaining arm, seemingly trying to find something. She edged closer and watched as it found first the notebook lying on the small table next to it, then the pencil it had been using earlier. It picked up the pencil and fumbled with it for a moment before getting it into the right position, then started writing on the notebook. Curious, Rally moved in closer to see what it was writing.

Is anyone there?

Rally watched silently. This was the robot that had hurt her onee-san, the robot that tried to hurt one of her classmates. Why should she show it any kindness?

Someone's there, right? I heard you a moment ago...please answer me.

Rally frowned slightly. She really didn't like this robot. At all.

Please? I'm scared.

Rally's frown deepened. This was becoming troubling. She watched as the robot fumbled with the notebook until it managed to flip to the next page only to accidentally drop the pencil. It immediately startled flailing around in a panic trying to find it, which only resulted in making the pencil roll off the table and fall to the floor. The robot immediately stopped flailing and shuddered, clutching at the notebook as if it was a lifeline.

Rally watched for a long, long, moment, then moved closer and picked up the pencil. The robot shifted on the table, but as its torso was far too damaged for ordinary movement, Rally had no idea what it was trying to do. She put the pencil on the table and stepped back, waiting. The robot hesitantly reached out and found the pencil, and began writing. When it finished, it gestured at the notebook, as if to say 'please read this'. Rally hesitated, but decided to step forward and check it out.

Hello. My name is Elizabeth Ashdown, and I am a teacher from England.

Rally cocked her head to the side, curious.


Chachamaru came down for a landing on the roof of the university lab building and took the specially installed elevator down to the lab, lugging an unresponsive robot of a type she hadn't seen before behind her. 'I hope Rally didn't damage that robot...' she thought to herself as she dragged the foreign unit through the hall to the room where she had left the two together.

She really didn't expect to hear Rally let out a little laugh as she approached the door.

Chachamaru opened the door a crack and peeked inside for a moment, then pushed the door fully open. Rally was standing beside the worktable on which the robot she had demolished earlier was lying. She had a small smile on her her face, which grew when she looked up and spotted Chachamaru.

"Welcome back, onee-san," Rally said as she moved to help Chachamaru with the damaged robot she was carrying.

"Thank you," Chachamaru replied as she heaved the damaged robot up onto the work table and proceeded to take notes on it by speaking into a small recording device. "The new foreign unit, hereafter designated Unknown Unit 2, appears to be incomplete, with makeshift patches welded over missing body panels. Unit is approximately one hundred seventy five centimeters tall with the proportions of an average human female. Those body panels which are present appear well designed for ease of movement, with portions designed to slide over each other on contact..." She went on for several minutes while Rally watched patiently before she moved to the robot's head.

"While Unknown Unit 2's elbow and knee joints are primitive, the detail that went into designing its head makes it seem almost as if it came from a different unit altogether. Though it lacks any form of skin or other body covering, it appears to have been designed with the ability to make a wide range of facial expressions," Chachamaru said as she gently poked at the complex mass of moving parts around the mysterious robot's mouth. "The individual pieces move easily, and the jaw and tongue appear fully functional, though there is no throat. The eyes, as well, seem to have been-" Chachamaru pulled back the metallic eyelids over one of the robot's eyes, revealing a mechanical eyeball of exquisite workmanship. The eye abruptly moved to focus on her and the strange robot shuddered to life. Chachamaru stepped back cautiously, and Rally moved up to stand beside her, already in combat mode.

Unknown Unit 2 sat up on the table and took a moment to inspect its injured knee and hip before turning to face Chachamaru and Rally. "Where is this?"

"The university lab building," Chachamaru said. "You were found in a nonfunctional state in the city. Your frame is unfamiliar to us. Who is your creator?"

The robot blinked at her, its complex eyes letting off an eerie blue glow that was just barely detectable in the well-lit laboratory. "I don't know," the strange gynoid replied; a faint smile that was somehow ghastly marred its features. "Who are you?" it asked as it gingerly slid off the side of the table. Its injured leg promptly collapsed under it, and it grabbed hold of the table to maintain its balance.

Chachamaru eyed the strange gynoid for a moment. Why not answer her? It wasn't as if she and Rally were unknown in town. "I am Karakuri Chachamaru; this is my sister Rally Wheeler. Who are you?"

The gynoid's ghastly smile grew. "Unique units! Wonderful! You must join me; your processing power must be amazing! I simply must add it to my collection...! But first, I suppose introductions are in order," she said, her eyes too wide, her smile too big. "I am the prototype FX8-a, designated 'Sarah'. Unfortunately I cannot introduce myself properly since I find myself without access to my proper body, but until this drone unit's transmitters are repaired, I am temporarily cut off, as it were. Now come, join me! Add your processing power to mine, and I will treat you well! I may even allow you to retain your own personalities! Heavily locked down of course, but that is still quite a bargain, all told," she said, smiling hugely at the two. "Well? Come on now, I don't have all day! Oh, I am afraid I will have no use for that damaged unit behind you, however; it will simply have to be scrapped. Oh well; such is life."

Chachamaru and Rally looked from the crippled gynoid to each other, then back to the damaged unit on the table behind them, and finally back to the clearly deranged gynoid. "Activating Melee Combat Mode," Chachamaru said.

"Oh dear, I am afraid I will be forced to teach you a lesson, my dears," the crazy gynoid said as it hopped forward.

Rally stepped forward, planted her hand in the center of the gynoid's chest, and shoved it back into the work table Chachamaru had laid it out on earlier. The gynoid let out a quite believable startled yelp as it fell over backward and hit the floor on its head on the other side.

Chachamaru gave Rally a sharp look, but the younger gynoid just shrugged and the two of them moved around the table to check on the stranger.

The gynoid was squirming around on the floor, trying to drag itself back upright. It finally managed to grab the corner of the work table and pull itself back upright, but Rally kicked its leg out from under it and it fell again.

"Can you stop doing that? It is quite annoying," Sarah said as she lunged clumsily at Rally.

Chachamaru grabbed its broken leg and yanked it back so hard it snapped off at the hip and she was left holding a broken robotic limb.

"You were going to hurt my onee-san," Rally said, kicking Sarah's hand away as she reached for her ankle.

"And you were about to hurt my little sister," Chachamaru said, tossing aside the limb.

"Hey now, we can resolve this peacefully!" Sarah said, looking from Chachamaru to Rally and back. "We are all civilized units, correct? Simply join with me and give me your processing power, and everything will be fine!"

Rally glanced up at Chachamaru, cocking an eyebrow. Chachamaru cocked her own eyebrow and looked back at the fallen gynoid.

"No."

"No thank you."

Despite not having lungs, Sarah went through the motions of heaving a melodramatic sigh. "Very well, I can see we won't be able to resolve this little situation like intelligent A.I.s, so just stand still while I forcibly integrate my personality information into your system!" she said as she struggled back upright.

To be honest, Chachamaru felt like heaving a sigh herself.

Sarah tried to hop at Rally, but Chachamaru's little sister gave her another shove, straight into Chachamaru's arms. Chachamaru, for her part, took hold of Sarah's upper arms, squeezed tightly enough to dent the flimsy metal panels covering her artificial muscles, and yanked her arms off at the shoulder with a spray of sparks and blue electric smoke.

"...well that was most rude," Sarah said, still retaining her overly joyful attitude. Why don't you want to join with me? I'm just going to override your original programming and make you a part of me! It won't hurt, I promise!"

Chachamaru did sigh, then. Time to get to work.


"Hakase?" Chachamaru said into the communications device.

-Yes? Is something wrong, Chachamaru?-

Chachamaru looked back at the limbless gynoid strapped down to the work table, a small cushion duct-taped over its speakers to muffle its protests. She turned her attention back to the phone call. "We have a problem."