The next day Amity awoke and sat cross-legged on her bed, then set Machina on her lap. "What will you teach me today?" she asked, hands pressed to the blade.

"This sword is not a weapon, it is a tool. You must remember this always."

Amity nodded. "Easier said than done."

"It must be done. Without control, Machina's power will cause much devastation."

"You say that…" Amity stared at it thoughtfully. "Yet you have it to me anyway, so you must trust me."

"We do," it shook in reply. "But still this lesson must reside deep within you. Killing is not a blade's sole purpose. It can do far more."

"I see." Amity considered it. "Like cutting someone free?"

"Indeed, that is another use. The more you understand this lesson, the more versatile you will become."

"I understand." Amity stood up and took the blade in one hand. "When will I learn to use it?"

"You may practice swinging as much as you like to find the balance, but there will be little in the way of formal training. One need not know how to fight with a hammer to make use of it."

"But surely I must be versed in all its uses?" Amity swung it casually from side to side.

"In time, yes," it vibrated. "For now, see it as a tool."

Amity nodded and lowered the sword, slackening her arm. "Will that be all for now?"

"It will," it replied. "Ponder your lesson throughout the day."

Gently setting the sword on the bed, she slipped on her jacket and turned to the door. "See you after work."

xXxXx

"What're you so happy about?"

"Huh?" Amity looked up from her shelf stocking to see Vincent staring at her quizzically from behind the counter. "Oh, nothing." Her smile receded and she brushed her hair from her brow. "How's the droid coming?"

"Order cancelled," Vincent grumbled, fixing his view on the machine he was building. "System unlocked itself and they don't need a droid anymore." He snorted. "Heck, the hacker barely touched the data. Sure, a couple records were lost, but the financial stuff wasn't even looked at!"

"Huh." Amity reached into the cardboard box at her feet and took out a handful of gears, then set them on the shelf. Sticking a yellow price tag below them, she glanced back at Vincent. "So why're you still building it?"

"This?" Vincent tapped the machine with his wrench. "This is a toaster. Can't you tell?"

Amity snickered. "No, seriously."

Vincent shrugged. "May still be worth a buck or two. Someone'll buy it." He returned to building.

Amity set a few more items on the shelf, then turned to him again. "Hey, remember that package I got? The one with no return label?"

He shrugged. "Sorta."

"Any guesses what was inside it?"

"A bomb?" he replied unenthusiastically.

"No," she smirked. "But I did check for that. No, it was a sword."

"A sword…"

"Yeah. This really strange-looking sword."

Vincent continued working for a while, then finally responded. "I see."

Amity shrugged and went back to stocking. "Thought you might be interested."

"Hrm." Vincent tightened a bolt and set his wrench down. Propping the cylindrical droid upright on the counter, he peered over at Amity. "Got room in the window for this?"

Amity looked it over, then checked the display window. "I think so. We can shuffle a few things around."

"'Kay." Vincent set a flipper on the counter and stood up. "I'm gonna go get lunch."

Amity glanced at him curiously and picked up the droid. "Lunch was three hours ago."

"Was it?" He shrugged, then took his sandwich from the fridge and headed to the backroom.

Amity shook her head and smiled, then carried the bot to the window and set it on the floor. Moving the other displays to the side, she glanced up and saw a male crane in tan work clothes looking in at her. Raising an eyebrow, she watched as his expression moved from intrigued to flustered within seconds, and soon he was on his way again.

Writing out a price tag for the droid, she set both in the window and returned to her shelf work.

xXxXx

Returning to her room, Amity hung up her jacket and sat down, resting a moment before picking up Machina. "I'm ready," she spoke to it.

"Let us hope so," it replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You must rest now, to prepare for tomorrow."

Amity stared at it, becoming tense. "You expect me to sleep after a message like that?"

"Yes, because you must."

"I—" Amity rubbed her forehead. "Okay, I'll try."

"That will suffice."