A.I. Takuya

Chapter Six: The Gemine takes control

By KellyQ

"Kouji, Takuya! Where are you?" Tomoki called out, worried in his voice.

Both boys turned to see Tomoki running up; Izumi and Junpei accompanied him. The three could feel the tension in the air. Kouji sighed and started to walk back to the run-down hut. Izumi watched the whole thing quietly.

"Come on, let's go in and eat. I'm hungry," Junpei said, hoping the bad vibes would disappear.

"I'm sorry. You guys must be hungry."

Takuya blinked, followed the others back to the hut, and watched her prepare. Junpei sat down at the table, and Tomoki sat across from him. Izumi placed the plate of food on the table. She walked to a flight of stairs that led to the roof.

"Kouji, it's time to eat!"

"I'm not hungry!" Came an angry reply.

"Kouji!" Izumi shot back. "You haven't eaten for the past three days!"

"So? What are you? My mother?" The dark-haired boy countered.

"Fine, see if I care!"

Izumi turned and walked out. Takuya watched the two boys eat, and something told him that what they were doing, Kouji should do it too.

Kouji sighed after hearing the last comment. Kouji didn't wish to do anything much after his twin brother died. He knew that Izumi went out of her way to make something, but he didn't want to eat.

"K-Kouji?"

He jumped a little and turned his head to see Takuya standing there with a plate of food, a concerned look in his eyes. Kouji sighed again and turned his attention back to the stars. Takuya stepped up, placed the plate down, and sat beside Kouji. He couldn't help but stare at the dark-haired teen.

"What?" Kouji snapped. He turned to give Takuya a hard stare. The android looked slightly hurt. "I'll eat later."

Takuya looked away. "It's not that. You look so lonely."

The words hit Kouji right in the heart. How could this robot know that? Kouji went up the stairs again and brought his knees to his chest.

"I guess you can say that," Kouji admitted. "I did have a twin brother. We would always hang out right here and look at the stars together when it was dark ... he died four days ago," he explained, hugging his knees tighter.

"Is that the reason why you won't eat?" Takuya whispered, a sad look in his eyes.

"Look! What I do is none of you're business, okay?" the dark-haired boy snapped. Kouji turned his head and had Takuya glare.

The android tensed up, and fear flashed across his eyes. Kouji let out a frustrated sigh and returned to his earlier position. Robots don't have feelings! They just don't ... he thought. Takuya stared down, his expression dark. He placed his fist on his chest, feeling something in his core.

"So," he said darkly. Kouji turned to look at Takuya. "You're just going to kill yourself because your brother is dead? Have you thought about what the others would think? I may not be human, but I can see you're all in pain, and I'll try to protect you all."

Kouji flinched. Takuya rose, took the plate, and walked to the stairs. He turned and climbed down, his face still slightly dark. Guilt flashed across Kouji's face. He didn't mean to hurt Takuya. Wait! Was Takuya feeling something? How can he? He's a robot! Kouji gasped in realization, remembering what the other robot had said. Could the Gemine be why he could see why we're all in pain? I mean, the Gemine did stop Takuya from killing me.

Takuya walked to the table and set the food down. Junpei and Tomoki had already gone outside. The android was about to sit down when he heard Kouji climbing the ladder. Takuya couldn't help but smile and motioned for him to sit down. Kouji stepped up and sat down. Takuya sat on the opposite side to watch him eat.

Kouji placed his fork down. "I'm sorry that I yelled at you."

Before Takuya could smile, his expression changed to anger. He got up and ran out the door, and looked around. Kouji came out a moment later, watching.

"Come out," Takuya ordered, scanning the area. "I know you're here!"

They both waited for a moment. Suddenly, a high-pitched frequency rang out. Takuya's body jerked violently, and he let out a cry. Takuya covered his ears, feeling a murderous rage come over him. Kouji's eyes widened, knowing that the little robot was near.

"Takuya, snap out of it," Kouji yelled over the pitch sound. He reached out for the shaking android.

"Thought you'd never see me again?" Came a voice.

On top of the roof was 6-2-4. Kouji snapped his head to the right and looked up. He laid on his chest, his chin in his hands, and his legs swung back and forth. His lips curved to show that he was smirking darkly.

Then Tomoki, Izumi, and Junpei saw what was happening. Takuya grabbed Kouji by the throat again; this time, the hold around his throat was tighter. Tomoki looked up at the little robot and growled. He ran into the house, climbed the stairs to the roof, and jumped for the little android.

"Tomoki!"

6-2-4 sprang up. He turned, reached out a hand, and grabbed Tomoki by the throat. He moved to the edge of the roof. "You know? It's a shame I must do this to someone so young ..."

The little robot paused momentarily when he noticed that Takuya had let Kouji go, lying unconscious on the ground. By that point, Takuya was shaking in anger. He turned sharply and gave his brother a look of hate. Saying nothing, Takuya ran toward the little android. He let out a cry of anger. Touching each side of his shoulders with his fists, there was a great flash. Shinya had dropped Tomoki. Izumi ran up, caught him, and moved out of the way just as Shinya whistled.

Takuya dropped with a thump. He got to his hands and knees, shaking.

Shinya snarled, and the high-pitch frequency stopped. Takuya took the opportunity to jump toward the little android. They both went crashing down to the ground, rolling three feet away. 6-2-5 managed to get on top of 6-2-4, pinning him down.

"I want some answers!"

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Ellen's eyes widened as she stared at the screen, receiving a weird signal. Mr. Minamoto placed his hand on her shoulder, and she tensed up.

"What are those frequencies?"

Ellen's eyes slowly changed to fear, and she felt the man's hands tighten his grip on her shoulder.

"You said 6-2-5 went along with everything else in the lab."

"I ... I thought so too," she uttered.

"Where is the signal coming from?" Mr. Minamoto asked.

"Sir?"

"Where is the signal coming from?" He asked sharply.

Ellen started typing something on the computer. "A mile away from the burnt-down lab ..."

To be continued ...