Axel had grown up on a mountain. The neighborhood curled around it like a snake looking down on the small town below. From there, you could see the neon of the city at night in the distance, but mostly he just tried to ignore it. He lived the kind of suburban life where you had seen your neighbors; you possibly knew their names, but the children didn't play together. Each one had their own priorities with up keeping the beauty of their lawn and the newness of their car. Women made slow walks down the driveways in new outfits to show the progress of going to the gym and how in style they were. Such an odd place to find a catwalk.

Roxas too had grown up in this slice of suburban stability. Both their parents worked for Moshiva after all, that was probably the only reason they could afford to live away from the all-consuming city. "The ocean is pretty." Roxas mumbled stopping for a moment to stare at it over the guard rail. Down beneath them, the sea whispered soft nothings to the cliff face, "The only thing that never changes."

Axel's eyes held Roxas in his entirety for a minute, and then he too turned to meet the ocean, "That's very true. I think that's because humans can't destroy what they haven't mastered."

"Do you think we'll ever tame it?"

They walked some more. Heels dragging against the sidewalk in a slow shuffle, "Maybe." Axel finally spoke, "Maybe we will. We're doing that Mars colony, right? If we can do that-"

"That's not us, though, Axel. That's the AI." The sweet slap of reality stung when it struck the two teens, "Everything is the AI. They're up there with their humanlike vitals, and their fake lungs pretending to be us. People are too afraid to leave the safety of their own rooms to do anything anymore. Hell, even the hospital feels dangerous. Feels like they're…they're judging us, ya know?"

Axel nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, I know."

Coughing a bit, the redhead shot the blond a look of concern, and Roxas shook his head to show he was fine. This wasn't a part of his sickness, and the smaller male had come to terms with his humanity long ago. He realized that his paper thin skin would rot away and his bones would become fossils of a pretty teen whose image would last in a handful of memories. Then they too would vanish like sand in the winds whipped away by the typhoon of time. He hadn't been born sick. It wasn't genetic. Half the time he didn't even know what was wrong with himself. A 'contagion' brought back by his father from when he travelled to one of those 'emerging countries'. Luckily for his dad, his immune system had beat it, but little Roxas' had been weak. Symptoms include erosion of the vessels, rapid cell degeneration, hemophilia or extreme clotting, and death. Panguin, the same thing Axel's father had had.

Sometimes, late at night, he could hear his parents arguing over medical bills that stacked up like overdue fees on a lost library book. It was like he was a dog that they couldn't decide to put down. The voices of anger and denial had made him consider euthanasia a few times. When things got heated and his mother screamed at him, he couldn't help but shout back, "Is that what you want!? It's just a few forms away, mom! I can do that for you! Would it just be easier for you if I went to sleep and never woke up!?"

She would always cry and cry. Face red, low sobs that shook her body as she collapsed against the wall or sunk to her knees.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I love you. I'm sorry." Roxas would whisper sitting beside her, hugging her tightly. He was always trying to make things better. His whole life was cut short from the beginning, and sometimes, he wondered what he would even do if he was fixed. "I'm sorry."

Medication wasn't cheap, and things would get worse, but if anyone deserved a chance in life's cruel game, it was the butterfly with a damaged wing. Doomed to fail before the start.

The door unlocked and opened on voice command, and the two set their stuff down only for a basic AI unit to move in and pick it up. Axel requested that the tiny robot bring them snacks later, "Something different, please." He usually had cheese and crackers with some milk, but that seemed a bit plain considering he had a guest. "Oh, and is my mother home?"

"Your mother is not home, Axel. She left a message. Would you like to hear it?" The world's most patronizing woman must have been hired to do the responses to voice command, and sometimes it made Axel almost laugh.

"Yes, please play." The dial tone signified its' beginning and after the short usual of 'How was your day?' and 'I hope you go to bed on time. Study.' Axel began to move towards the stairs, "So how long have you been into AI?" The redhead questioned the other finally feeling free of prying listening devices and strangers' judgment. It was fine to have AI, but it was considered strange to want to work on them.

"About since I was twelve. My dad used to work with yours at one point. I remember-" He paused cutting himself off before he could say something rude. Cheeks pink with embarrassment, he looked down at the floor and then around the house. Anything to avoid eye contact.

"It's fine. You can say it. You remember going to the funeral." What an awful way to phrase it. Axel was over that, though.

"Yeah, I remember that's about when I contracted what your dad had. It's contagious, but not highly. You have to have a weak immune system, so that's why I'm allowed to come to school. It's highly unlikely anyone will ever get it from me. It was kind of a freak accident thing. My parents both had their immune systems boosted before he left, but about two days after he got home, I scrapped my knee, and he bandaged it up. That's when they think I got it." Roxas shrugged, "So now you know. If you have any questions, google it. You probably already know a lot though, considering…"

The redhead started up the stairs ending that conversation with a single word, "Yeah. So you've been working on them for about four years? That's impressive. Have you ever been able to handle or talk to a Level 7 type? They're really cool. I heard that there are just a few more kinks they need to work out, and then they'll release them to the public."

Roxas followed after him, steps so much lighter than Axel's on the soft carpet, "Yeah, my dad let me come to the lab and talk to one once. He said your dad was the first to start working on it, so most of the code is based off the Brennant model. Do you use that? It's pretty complex stuff. I tried to learn it, but it's tricky to get it to initiate. "

Axel felt a bit proud that his dad had worked so far ahead in the field of robotic science, "No, I use a similar version, but it's simpler. I like what my dad did, but for modern day, there's a bit too much hassle. I'll teach it to you if you want, or I can send you home with some of it, and you can just look at it. Have you made any of your own AI? The level two down there is one of my own. I made it when I was about fourteen."

"Yeah, I used that old Siri program from the 2010's and then added some base commands to it and expanded its' reasoning skills. Then I built the body. Level two's are easier. It's when you start getting to Level threes that I have trouble. Consciousness is hard to fabricate. I can do response, but morality is hard to simulate, ya know?" Roxas felt happiness well up in his chest that someone finally understood besides his parents. Most of the kids at his high school couldn't care less about the levels of morality and smoothness of responses in robots. "So did you start by making Level ones?"

"Yeah, I started with just making voice commands and simple responses. I liked the 'Go left' 'Go right' 'Pick up' aspect of it all. Then I moved to the level two that you saw downstairs where it's more independent and can think for itself based on situation and command. I got into Level threes when I was about fourteen. I finally figured out how to give it the morality, but I haven't built a body for that program yet. I built my first Level 4 last year, and Level 5 and 6 are impossible for me at this point because I don't have the psychological data to conjure a full human mentality. My Level 4 can finish my homework for me or write an essay, but I only use it when I'm in a pinch, because again, a Level 4 is an almost human replica, but it still has flaws."

Roxas listened to the other in utter awe, "So…how soon can I be hired on and be made an apprentice." He laughed as they reached the top of the stairs and moved towards Axel's bedroom.

"Oh, I don't need any help, and my Level 4 isn't what I wanted to show you." A hand rested on the door knob to his bedroom, "What I wanted to show you was this."

"Welcome home, Axel."

And Chapter 3~ Thank you Layla for being the boss Beta you always are~ I'm probably churning out Chap 4 as you read~ Review~