Toys in the Cupboard
by Kaiyo No Hime
We are no more human that the humans we serve, and yet the same metal makes up out bodies. We are as individual as they are, as sentient and intelligent, and yet to them we are but things.
Weapons.
Tools.
It is not fair of them to view us so. But who are we to correct them? It would be like the pet cat calling on the human master to notice it, to respect it. They do not all view us as disposable, Batou-san treats us as children.
But that is all we are to him, children. Young children. Not equals that risk ourselves every time we go into battle, who sacrifice ourselves for the better good. Just children.
The scientists treat us as curious oddities, the Major as inconveniences. We are no more a part of Section 9 than they are of our little tachikoma club.
Pieces cut of the same cloth can never truly fit together again, though we mirror and mimic each other. We try our best, and are rewarded with dismantlement and classification. They distrust us because we confuse them, and they can never trust anything they cannot fully understand.
So yes, we sing our little songs, and do our jobs merrily, but, in the end, we know there is nothing truly here for us. We are the armored dolls that Section 9 chooses to play with, their little toy soldiers.
And one day, when they are bored of us once more, and can find no more use for our little shells and curious jokes, they will put us back in the cupboard and find new toys to play with.
Author's Notes: I put this fanfic in the point of view of one of the Tachikomas. Specifically, the one that is always seen reading during the first season. The three remaining Tachikomas comment that it was dismantled first, and probably enjoyed it.
But I don't think it, he, would enjoy it. I think, in a way, he saw it coming, and knew what would happen to him. Bitter and sarcastic, he went off to the labs to die, but knew he could do nothing about it, and could not fight against it.
A sad outlook, I know, but, by that point, he was an individual and not very much like the main Tachikoma that Batou-san favored.
You'll notice that, in the second season, and even in the movie, that he never comes back. His AI is unrecoverable, and lost. That always made me a little sad.
And, as always, reviews and comments are much appreciated.