Tales of Beacon City: My Fair Franny Chapter 12: Looping Habits, a misc. comics fanfic

My Fair Franny

A Nandroid Fanfic by Scraps the Fool

Chapter 12: Looping Habits

[*]

1 Week Later

Saturdays in the Stemley household was a coin-flip of either being too lax or too busy, busy with errands, or because Dad needed help with a project. Today was going to be one of those busy days, with dad and me building a new shed in the backyard. With the foundation already constructed, all that was needed was to install the walls and paint them, install the roof, and shingle it, and then just set up the shelving and tables inside.

The shed was supposed to have been completed earlier in the year, but when Dad has his cancer scare a while back, the project was put on hold. But as of today, Dad had decided to complete the shed, and as usual, I was conscripted into service. Julian was unable to help as he and Russell were taking Addison to Hawthorn Zoo today. I can already hear him laughing at my predicament as he and his daughter antagonized the baboons.

As much as I love my Dad and respect him, one of his fatal flaws is his inherent desire for perfection in his crafts. All materials need to be *just* right, the measurements need to be *just* right, and the tools and labor need to be *just* right. This meant that if there was even a whiff of something wrong, such as measurement being off by a miniscule amount, or a piece of wood that wasn't the right color or texture, it would mean that we would hold off at work until the problem was resolved.

"Dad, the board *is* the same length as the other ones." I said, sitting on the ground board as I held the measuring tape to a long board of wood, Dad was on the other side, marking sections of the board with a carpenter pencil. "You already measured it three times. Can we cut the wood already?"

"Ya can't rush this kind of work Laddie. True craftsmanship is all about the precision and details, that's how ya build a foundation that's strong and long lasting." Dad said, drawing a horizontal line across the board of wood. "If ya try to rush through ya work, ya make more mistakes, which then ya gotta fix over and over, which is how they may do things here in the US of A, but back home, we never just rushed through our work, and as a result, we didn't have to deal with bullocks that American architecture has to deal with, like shoddy craftsmanship. Now hold the tape still Raymond, I don't want ya lose my place."

"God help us if you did…" I muttered sarcastically under my breath. Thinking to myself that I'd rather be back in Kanuas getting my fingernails ripped out by the Reds than sit here another minute.

I then looked over to the deck in the back yard. Seeing the human and Nandroid sitting at a table on the deck. The table was a light army green, and the chairs were brownish green with tan and faint maroon patters on the nylon that was stitched into the back. At the deck table sat Franny and Mom, who were drinking tea while painting some of Mom's old garden gnomes and keeping me and dad company during this ordeal. Franny had her full concentration focused on her painting, ensuring the right colors were in the right place. I could see why Dad liked her. She then looked up, noticing that I was watching her and smiled, waving a hand, still holding her brush, at me lightly. I then smiled and waved back, accidentally releasing the measuring tape I was holding, which shot back and smacked Dad right in the face. I gasped as I watched Dad fall onto his back with his hand over his mouth.

Franny and Mom continued their touching up of the gnomes, unaware of what happened to Dad. Mom was playing an Irish radio station on the PAL-LITE, which drowned out the argument that Dad and I were having. As "O'Sullivan's March by The Chieftains" started to play, Franny finished the gnome she was painting and showed it to Mom, who's face beamed with excitement.

"I was able to finished painting "Edward" Ma'am." Franny said as she placed the gnome down next to the several others that were done and were drying. She had already completed eight while Mom was still working on her first. "I hope that "he" is to your expectations."

"Oh! He looks good as new, Franny dear. Ya did a wonderful job, as ya always do." Mom said happily as she looked at "Edward" and then to Franny. "I know that Ed would thank ya if he could, as would Brian, Shamus, Ness, and the others too."

"Thank you ma'am, I…appreciate the compliment. I do enjoy crafts like these very much." Franny said, her cheeks glowing from the compliment as she moved on to the next gnome. "However, I should remind you that such services are to be expected from any Nandroid of Sterling Robotics."

"Aw Dross! That Sterling bloke has nothing to do with it. It's all about ya, and what ya bring to the table dearie. I've said it once, and I'll say it again, ya've been a blessing to this family. Donnie wouldn't have been able to get his bloody shed done without ya help, and I couldn't get all me gnomes touched up what with me arthritis and all."

Franny smiled warmly at the compliments, she then took her cup of tea, a black tea with a splash of milk, and sipped it before going back to paining. It was still a strange thing for her, after all this time, to be drinking tea and talking with humans like she was one of them. She then looked at Dad and me, with me holding the wall up while Dad tried to screw it in. However, I kept wobbling, which led to another argument.

"So, when are ya gonna tell him?" Mom asked as she put down her gnome and picked up her teacup.

"Tell him what?" Franny asked, looking to Mom in confusion by her question. "Who is "him"?"

"Don't play that game with me dearie." Mom said bluntly as she sipped her tea, a smile creeping up on her face as she was ready for Franny's reaction. "Raymond of course! When are ya gonna tell him that ya love him?"

[SYSTEM ERROR: UNKNOWN ERRORS DETECTED! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 34)]

[WARNING: SYSTEM TEMPERATURE RISING! TEMPERATURE SPIKE DETECTED IN PROCESSING UNIT 0X63A82! (Code 92)]

Franny's eyes widened and cheeks glowed brightly as she dropped her paintbrush. She then reached down to pick up her paintbrush and looked up towards Mom, who was looking back at her with a cheeky smile and raised eyebrows as she took another sip of tea.

"I-I-I don't know w-w-hat you mean Ma-Ma'am." Franny tried to lie, which didn't work as her face said everything, as she went back to painting her gnome. "I…I am a N-N-Nandroid of Ster-Sterling Robotics, and I can…cannot-"

"Franny dear, ya can drop the act now." Mom said as she waved her hand dismissively and put her teacup down. "Ya seem to forget who ya are talking to. I've been dealing with love long before ya were even drawn up or thought of, and as a wife and mum, I know a thing or two about what lovesickness looks like when I see it, like I do when ya look at him and talk to him, and I especially did when you and Ray came home from the park last week, with ya all bundled up in his favorite coat and smiling like mad hair. Ya can fool Raymond, but ya can't hide something like that from me dearie, or Donnie either."

Franny flinched at the thought of yesterday. What a pear-shaped series of events. It was nice to see the Flagg twins again, and reunite with her Nandroid sisters again, but that argument with Molly left her more confused than before.

Perhaps Franny always knew she had these Stirrings, but was simply in denial of it, which only made the problem much worst to deal with, especially at night. Sure she could find distractions through her work during the day, but the faux memories she experienced at night were still an issue, plus the "accidents" that had occurred, like the "laundry room" incident and the "ice cream" incident.

"Ma'am…please don't tell Ra…Mr. Stemley." Franny begged Mom, looking quickly at me and Dad to ensure they weren't listening. "I…don't know if what I'm feeling is…normal, but I'm doing all I can to fix it and return to normal."

"Now don't be lying to ya self-there love, there's no such thing as "normal," not in this world and not in ya own." Mom explained as she continued painting her gnome. "Let me tell ya something, me Uncle Ginny never wanted me to marry Donnie, he would rather be in the cold earth with me mother and father than have me marry a brit, especially a protestant one. The next thing he knows, he's walking me down the aisle, weeping like a wee babe."

"But…but that is different. You and Mr. Stemley Sr. are both human." Franny said, taking the teapot on the table and pouring Mom another glass of tea. "I'm not though, I can't have children or grow old like humans do. How would that work? Mr. Stemley wouldn't want that, a…companion who won't change for him."

"Oh! Don't' worry about that darling, we have lil Addison, plus ya could adopt if ya wanted to." Mom said, taking Franny's hands into her own. "But the important thing to take from this is that you've already changed Franny, in more ways than one. You have changed so much more than you believe you have, and just by being here, you've changed Raymond too. Since you came into his life, he has been the happiest he has ever been. I see that too, he is so eager to talk to you and be with you. Why, he's never even been that way with anyone else, even more so than with that *other* gal he used to be with."

[WARNING: EMOTIONAL MATRIX MALFUNCTION! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 20)]

[SYSTEM ERROR: UNKNOWN ERRORS DETECTED! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 34)]

"O…Other gal?" Franny asked, her eyes widened in surprise as she dropped her paintbrush again, this time not picking it up. "What do you mean… *other* gal?"

"Oh! It was that girl, Sophia Tip…something or other, that he knew and dated right before he met you." Mom explained as she sipped her tea, before looking at Franny, who was still frozen in shock. "Did…he did tell you about her, didn't he?"

"N-no…he did not!" Franny hissed, feeling a pit in her abdomen and her hands tremble as she stood up, a strange surge of energy shot through her like a rocket. "I…I n-n-n-eed to check the…m-m-m-ail…so I…I need to…"

Franny quickly stormed away, leaving Mom alone on the deck, who after a few minutes of looking puzzled, widened her eyes and placed a hand over her mouth with regret for what she had just said to Franny. Dad and I were using an electrical saw to cut a board of wood, too busy arguing about the measurements to notice the conversation what just transpired between Mom and Franny.

[*]

[WARNING: EMOTIONAL MATRIX MALFUNCTION! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 20)]

[WARNING: MEMORY STORAGE ERROR! MULTIPLE FAUX MEMORIES DETECTED! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 28)!]

Franny stormed out of the front door to the house, walking straight towards the mailbox at the end of the driveway. As Franny marched toward the mailbox, thoughts stormed through her head like angry bees and the warnings screamed louder than before. But Franny ignored the cries of the warning, as her thoughts were focused on the "other woman" I was with before her.

"Why didn't he tell me about her?"

"Was she still in the picture?"

"Was she aware of Franny's existence?"

"Was she a Nandroid too"

"Are they're more of them?"

"Was all of this a lie?"

"Was Molly right about him?"

"Was I wrong about him?"

"Does this make me a bad robot?"

"Am I a bad robot…because of *YOU*?"

[WARNING: MEMORY STORAGE ERROR! MULTIPLE FAUX MEMORIES DETECTED! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 28)!]

[WARNING: EMOTIONAL MATRIX MALFUNCTION! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 20)]

[SYSTEM ERROR: UNKNOWN ERRORS DETECTED! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 34)]

These thoughts continued to hound her, just as the warnings did, but for her, these were far worst. Doubt was consuming her. She felt it build in her abdomen as she reached the mailbox, by then she was hyperventilating, the thoughts not turning to what Molly has said to her the other day.

"Your probably just something of a fad to him, a passing fancy that he will enjoy controlling and will eventually discard when he gets bored."

Franny stormed up to the mailbox, prying the door open with her hands and denting it in the process.

"He may have picked you as his Nandroid! But he can send you back just the same!"

Franny pulled the assortment of envelopes out of the mailbox, clenching them in her hand so tight, they were nearly crushed.

"We are not living beings, just plastic and silicon, made in *their* own image!"

Franny realized what happened and tried to straighten them out, only to rip one in half, and then another, and then another.

"Just because Mr. Stemley said a few kind words and did some cordial things for you does not mean that *he* is a nice *human*!"

Franny growled in frustration as she threw the torn envelopes onto the ground. She then saw her reflection on the mailbox, the blood-red light of her cheeks bouncing off the metal surface.

"What makes this "Mr. Stemley" so special that you would risk your entire functionality for him? Why would you risk being sent away again for *him*?"

"I can't stop myself from loving him, and it hurts to know that he can't love me back!"

[WARNING: MEMORY STORAGE ERROR! MULTIPLE FAUX MEMORIES DETECTED! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 28)!]

"He can't love me back!

[WARNING: EMOTIONAL MATRIX MALFUNCTION! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 20)]

"He can't love me!

[SYSTEM ERROR: UNKNOWN ERRORS DETECTED! UNAUTHORIZED ACTION IMMINENT! (Code 34)

"He can't!

[CRITICAL SYSTEM ERROR: UNKNOWN COMMAND OVERRIDE DETECTED! EXECUTING UNRECOGNIZED ACTION COMMAND! BRACE FOR IMPACT!(Code 20)

"GRRRAAAAHHHH!" Franny screamed as she ripped the mailbox off its post and threw the mailbox to the ground as hard as she could, the mailbox crumpled onto the driveway like a soda can, the already dented lid and mail flag flying off as it collided with the driveway

Franny just stood there for a minute, breathing heavily as thoughts echoed in her head. Thoughts that she didn't know she had within her. It was a new emotion for her, a sudden change in the Stirrings that she hadn't experienced before, now she had this want and need to…hurt to maim and destroy, to inflict pain upon the one that caused her so much.

She wanted to hurt me, to cripple me, to *kill* me…

…and just as soon as it emerged, it was gone, like a candle in the wind, the feeling was gone as quickly as it had arrived.

As Franny snapped out of her manic state, she looked around, still breathing heavily in confusion and shame. She looked at the mailbox that was now lying, broken, and dented, on the driveway, as well as the chunks of asphalt that had been torn from said driveway from having the mailbox thrown into it. Shocked by what she just did, Franny knelt down to the mailbox, looking at her hands before looking at the mailbox, reaching towards it in a futile attempt to put it back together. Franny felt the pit in her abdomen grow deeper as her vision blurred from the tears in her eyes.

"I…I'm a bad robot…" Franny muttered as she covered her face with her hands as she began to sob quietly. She then heard a pair of footsteps walk up behind her and stopped as she heard someone whistle

"Damn Wayne! Looks like this lil bucket brain's gone off the fritz." The voice said with a chuckle. "Seems to be an outmode in the makin, don'cha think?

"I'll say Chet, it's seemed to 'av gon' "postal" on that poor 'il mailbox." Wayne said in a thick country accent. "Now what supposed that poor lil mailbox gun and don to yu, eh?"

Franny looked behind to see two large gentlemen standing behind her. She gasped as she quickly shot up to face them.

The taller of the duo was named Wayne. He was a young man, roughly the same age as me, and had a farmer's tan with a short buzzed blond hair. He was wearing a grey sweater with sleeves cut off and long goldenrod cargo pants. He was also wearing a black trucker's hat with the words "Firstborn" embroidered in bright white letters.

The other man, known as Chet, was shorter than Wayne by half a foot, He had long brown hair, a pencil thin mustache, and a noticeable right lazy eye. He was wearing a white wifebeater shirt that had faint blue stains across it and dark blue jeans with torn knees. Behind them was a large navy-blue van with the back door open. It did not take long for Franny to figure out why these men were here.

Both of these men looked and talked like the poster children for the very definition of "redneck" and perhaps also harassed humans of different variety, just as they were harassing Franny.

"S-s-sir…this is p-p-rivate property…" Franny stated, stuttering before the two men as she tried to assert herself, the two gentlemen just looked to her with amused smiled. "I am now d-d-demanding that y-y-you need to leave n-now or I will cont-tact the p-police and have y-you a-a-arrested."

"Oh no! Chet! It's gonna c-c-call da pigs on us!" Wayne said mockingly as he placed his hands on his face in expression of shock. "What're we gunna d-d-d-do?"

"Gee, ey duno Wayne, better get outa 'ere before dey get here 'en?" Chet replied. "Ey mean, Ey got dem priors' man."

Wayne gave him a look and sigh of disappointment as he turned back to Franny, smiling at her. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, which he used to pull up a video called "Crazy Nandroid Teacher Yells at Var Veteran" on Youtube, he then paused the video and showed it to the Nandroid.

"Dis is you, ight?" Wayne asked Franny, pointing to the still of her standing next to me as I was telling Ms. Kinsley off. "I'm askin cause my friend and I've been hired to "relieve" you from your situation, and by da looks of things here, ya ain't using all of ya cylinders. Ey mean look at dis right here."

He then gestured to the busted mailbox. As Franny looked at the mailbox, she felt a pair of hands grab her from behind and hoist her up. Franny screamed as she began to flail about, while Chett laughed in amusement.

"Dayum Wayne, ya got'et gud!" He giggled. "Look at it flappin like a hooked piggie."

"Dammit Chett! Shut the hell up and get its legs you inbred igit!" Wayne shouted as he struggled to hold Franny, clamping his left hand over the Nandroid's mouth as he wrapped his right arm around her torso. Chett rushed over to try and grab Franny's legs, struggling to do so as she was flailing them as hard as she could.

"You know, we've been paid quite handsomely to find you and deliver you in one piece. trash bot!" Wayne hissed into Franny's audio receptor. "But since that you insist on bein a *bad robot* for us, we might have'ta just bring you there in pieces. How does dat sound for yu, yu bot bitch?"

"I…I'm a bad robot."

[WARNING: EMERGENCY SENSORS ACTIVATED! THREAT DETECTED! UNABLE TO CONTACT EMERGENCY SERVICES DUE TO INTERFERENCE! (Code 13)

"I'm a ba-bad r-r-robot…"

[WARNING: EMOTIONAL MATRIX MALFUNCTION! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 20)]

"I…I'm a b-b-ba-bad-d…r-rob-b-bot-t…"

[WARNING: SAFTEY REGULATOR MALFUNCTION! UNAUTHRIZED DEFENSE MEASURES ACTIVATED! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 21)]

"I-I-I-I…a…a… b-b-b-b-ba-ba-bad-d-d-d-d r-r-ro-ro-rob-b-b-b-ot-t-t…"

[CRITICAL SYSTEM ERROR: UNKNOWN COMMAND OVERRIDES DETECTED! EXECUTING UNRECOGNIZED ACTION COMMANDS! BRACE FOR IMPACT!(Code 21)

Upon hearing those words, Franny widened her mouth, causing Wayne's fingers to slip into her mouth as she then bit down on said hand. Wayne screamed bloody murder as he let go of Franny, who proceeded to kick Chett in the face and sending him stumbling back

"AUGH! YU FUCKIN MECA-CUNT!" Wayne screamed as he held his hand, the ring finger bitten off. "CHETT! GRAB IT! GRAB IT NOW YA DUMSHET!"

Franny made a break for the house, only for Chett to rush behind Franny and grab her by the back of her hair, yanking her back. As she screamed from the pain of being pulled by the hair. Chet laughed grossly as he then grabbed Franny by the wrists, only to notice Franny's palms opening up and small metal barrels emerged.

Franny then sprayed her emergency mace from her hand barrels right into Chet's face, causing him to scream in pain as he fell to the ground, rolling on the driveway as he tried to wipe the mace from his eyes and mouth, only making it worst.

Just as Franny was free of Chet's grip, Wayne ran over and struck Franny with a magnet, which stuck to the back of Franny's head and her charging port. As she then felt something large hit her on the back of her head, right onto her charging port. Franny tried to reach for the object, but then all of her systems suddenly began to blare alarms as they began to overload and shut down.

[CRI…CAL SY2ui54h2h24hiEM 01010010 01000001 01011001 01001101 01001111 01001110 01000100 00100001 00100001 00100001 00100000 01001000 01000101 01001100 01010000 00100000 01001101 01000101 00100000 01010000 01001100 01000101 01000001 01010011 01000101 00100001 00100001 00100001 00100000 01001001 01010100 00100000 01001000 01010101 01010010 01010100 01010011 00100000 01010011 01001111 00100000 01001101 01010101 01000011 01001000 00100001 00100001 00100001R: M…. RRR SYSYSYSM D8WE9312…URE DET…01010010 01000001 01011001 01001101 01001111 01001110 01000100 00100001 00100001 00100001 00100000 01001000 01000101 01001100 01010000 00100000 01001101 01000101 00100000 01010000 01001100 01000101 01000001 01010011 01000101 00100001 00100001 00100001 00100000 01001001 01010100 00100000 01001000 01010101 01010010 01010100 01010011 00100000 01010011 01001111 00100000 01001101 01010101 01000011 01001000 00100001 00100001 00100001ED! C-ER-CY SERSERVSERV NEEEEEEEEEEE8E039842DO0U32EJ]!

Her vision became frazzled and incomprehensible, the sight of Wayne and Chet standing above her was almost like looking though a cracked kaleidoscope, an intense pain coursed through her body as she felt her legs buckle and lose strength, having now been blinded, crippled, unaware of what was happening around her and in grievous amounts of pain. All she could do now was feel system after system start to fail her until as she sat on the driveway, stammering over and over again.

"Dayum Wayne, it got'ya good." Chet said with a wincing expression as he looked at Wayne's disfigured hand, completely ignoring his own broken nose and missing tooth. "Do'ya think dat she'll "compensortate" ya for ya missin finger?"

"She'd better, dis bot-bitch was more trouble than what its worth. Now shut up and help me carry it into the van, before it's owner com-" Wayne said as walked behind Franny and tried to hoist her up, only to have the barrel of a rifle to the back of his head stop him.

Wayne turned his head slightly to see Dad holding a rifle to his head, staring intensely at the intruder.

"Give me a bloody good reason, you yankee wanker!" Dad hissed.

While Dad had his sights on Wayne, I on the other hand was tending to Franny, kneeling towards her and ripping the magnet from her head, which caused her to seize and then and collapse into my arms.

"Franny?!" I said, shaking Franny as I tapped the side of her face. Her eyes were pure black and smoke was coming out of her mouth. "Franny! Wake up Franny! FRANNY!"

In that moment, Chet bolted to the van, causing Dad to aim and fire at him. At this moment, Wayne turned and punched Dad in the face before bolting after Chet, jumping into the van and the two drove off. As Dad stood back up and ran out onto the street, his nose broken from the punch, he turned to see me cradling Franny in my arms.

"Dad! Call the Bot Doc now!" I said, having prepared him and Mom for this occasion. "Call them now Dad! CALL THEM RIGHT FUCKING NOW!"

Dad pulled his phone from his pocket and called the Bot Doc emergency services. As he rushed to the house, calling for Mom. I just sat there, holding Franny in my arms. My breath became shallow as I felt my chest tighten and my brow moisten with cold sweat.

"Damn me to hell…" I muttered as I held Franny's head under my chin. "I've done it again, didn't I? I've done it again!"

[*]

It was the battle of Kiev during the Red War, my platoon was stationed to attack a important defense post that if captured, would provide us with a clear entry into Russia as well as provide us with intel on the Soviet war machine.

In addition to claiming the Soviet post, we were to rendezvous with the leader of a group of Ukrainian rebels that would provide us with resources, manpower, and a route that would allow us to take the defense post by surprise. My platoon was wary about getting support from these Rebels and insisted on simply finding a route ourselves, but I insisted that we enlist their help to take the outpost and get us an opening into Red territory.

Unfortunately, this choice would haunt me for the rest of my life. It was after meeting the rebels, that I discovered too late that the rebels and their leader were in fact G05-T6 Kamo Kombots, Soviet androids that are disguised as humans, who were programed by the USSR to lead us into a trap. This battle would claim the lives of 53 percent of my platoon, including my friends Chu Lee (caught in Soviet firefight, Shauna Bigsby (bled out after being hit by an RPG), Gentle Mike (sacrificed himself to destroy a Avtomat Kombot) , and Klaus Haus (Shielded us from a cluster mine), but in the end, we did manage to claim the base from the Soviets and eventually drive them from Ukraine.

I remember after we took the base, I walked back to the battle field to collect the dog tags of my fallen comrades. While doing so, I had found out that Shauna was still breathing. I quickly rushed over to Shauna and pulled her into my arms, she was badly wounded, the left side of her body was scorched and there was shrapnel in her head and neck. I called for a medic team to help her, but by the time they arrived, Shauna already succumbed to her wounds.

I…changed after that day, I felt my soul split apart with each death, each of my friends died today and thus, I died as well. When I got home, all I could see around me were the faces of my men, my solders, my friends, their dead, mangled faces, staring at me. Reminding me of my failure as an officer, and as a leader.

…and now I've failed all over again, haven't I?

[*]

Dad and I had moved Franny into her room and placed her onto her bed just as the the bot doc had arrived quickly and rushed into the house, without a moment's delay, carrying with him a large black case with a symbol of a pair of wrenches in the shape of a cross on it.

Hours had passed since the bot doc started his work to save Franny and it was nearly dinnertime, during that time, police had arrived and took our statements, the thugs who attacked franny were white, middle-age men driving a black van. While this only narrowed the search by a slim amount, it was good to know that the police were there, and they would keep a watch on the street in case they decided to come back.

I sat at the base of the stairs, with Mom and Dad by my side. Julian was also there, having heard the news from Mom and rushing right over.

"What a bloody world we live in." Dad said as he was putting in a fresh cotton ball in his nose, having already applied a splint over the bridge. "What kind of blokes try to steal a Nandroid in broad daylight."

"The police said that they'll have a team investigate this." Julian added, his back leaning agiesnt the wall. "They said that there's been a number of bot nappings that has been occusing since the Expo Incident, but no one who's responsible or why."

"It's cause they're a bunch of sick hick tossers, that's what that is!" Dad exclamimed, pointing at Julian. "And I'll tell you this: If they come back and try this shite again, I'll bloody-well shoot them dead, I promise on my dad's soul, I don't care about going to Nick, no one goes after my family like that."

I was sitting on the lowest step of the stairs, my head in my hand. Mom was sitting next to me, rubbing my back with her hand to comfort me.

Just then, we all heard the sound of Franny's door open as the bot doc emerged, he was a middle aged man with orange hair and a thick moustach. His head was drenched in sweat while the sleeves of his white bot doc coat had coolant stains all over it. As he approached the stairs, all of us sprung to attention to hear the news.

"Well…" Mom said, anticipating what the doctor was going to say. "…is she okay."

"It was a close call for a while, the damage to her battery system was extensive…but she's gonna be okay." The bot doc replied, pulling a hankerchief from his pocket and dried off his forhead. "It's good that you removed the magnet when you did, otherwise it would've been far worst."

The whole house sighed with relef. I knelt over and sighed before I turned to pull Mom into a hug. I then broke from the hug to approach the bot doc and shake his hand.

"Thank you doc!" I said to the doctor with a releived smile. "So is there anything we need to do to help her recover."

"Well I needed to replace a her entire battery and chargeing system with a new one, so she should just rest and charge for the rest of the night." The doctor said as he pulled out a card from his pocket and handed it to me. "Aside from that, she should be good to go by tomorrow. If anything else out of the ordinary happens, just call me and I'll be there ASAP. Oh, and before I forget, all of this is covered on behalf of your coverage plan Sterling Robotics. Have a good evening."

Mom and Dad were estatic, and even Julian was relieved. Mom hugged the good doctor and gave him one of her Gnomes "Nick" as a token of appreciation, to which he reluctantly accepted as he departed. With that, the rest of us went to eat our dinner, to which I barely touched my plate. I wanted to check on Franny and see how she was doing, but Dad insisted to let her rest first. "She's had a pill of a day boyo." He'd say to me. Which only made me feel even worst.

[*]

Eventually after dinner, Julian went back home to Russell and Addison, the latter of which heard the news and was worried sick about Franny, something that she and I had in common. After Julian departed, Mom, Dad, and I retired to the living room to watch TV, as was out after-dinner tradition. As Dad flipped to the next episode of "Electronica" a limited series which was about the creation of artificial intelligence. I told them that I was going to use the restoom before we started and darted upstairs to relive myself. As I left the living room, Mom and Dad looked to each other and signed.

As I approached the door to Franny's room, I held my hand up to the door, hesistating before I gave a small knock.

"Franny…" I said quietly, hoping that I wasn't disturbing her, but also worried that something went wrong after the opertation. "I-it's me…I mean…It's Raymond."

Just then, the door opened and Franny was standing in front of me. She looked no different, but there was a long charging cable leading from her charging bed, through the chair in her room, and up into the back of Franny's head. Judging from the way the cable was going through the chair, she was sitting on the chair to charge, rather than use her bed. Did the doctor do that, or did she?

"Good evening Mr. Stemley." Franny said plainly, just as the Nandroids at that Sterling School did. "Is there something that I can assist you with."

"Oh! Uh…no, nothing specifically." I said, scratching the back of my head. "I just uh…wanted to see how you're doing since…uh…since what happened earlier."

"The assault had damaged my battery and charging system and they needed to be replaced, but other than that, I did not suffer any critcal damage." Franny explained, her tone was flat and formal, which to me was unlike her, especially when I first met her."

"Okay! That's good to hear." I said, placing the palms of my hands together as I nodded my head lightly. "I…I just want to say that I'm very so-"

"There is no need to apologize toward me sir. I am just a Nandroid after all." Franny said coldly, her expression was still formal, but I could feel the not so subtle twitch of passive-aggression within. "If anything were to happen to me, all *you* would need to do is get a new one, couldn't you?."

That last remark hurt, moreso than any amount of torture from the Reds. I felt my heart drop into my stomach as she stared right through me.

"Uh…well…I…" I stammered trying to speak as she just staired. "Y-you…I…we…"

"Please inform Mr. Stemley Sr. and Ms. Stemley that I will be operational first thing tomorrow morining and will begin my assigned duties as instructed." Franny interjected, placing her hand on her door. "Also *sir, I must ask *you* that going forward, that *you* *no* *longer* provide me *any* prefferanal treatment that *you* would for a *human, as it is against my android etiquette protocolls. If nothing else, I wish *you* a good evening."

"Oh!...ok…" I said, trying to process what exactly was happening. "Uh thanks…good-"

Before I could finish, Franny had already closed the door in my face.

"-Night…" I said softly, feeling dejected as I slowly slumped down the hallway to the living room.

As I walked into the living room, my parent's eyes on me. I sat down on the couch next to Mom and sighed, rubbing my hands with my face.

"So…How is she?" Mom asked, sipping a cup of tea?"

"She's…shes recovering…" I said, my brain trying to process the odd behaviour Franny displayed. "She seemed…off just now. She seems to be…more distant just now."

"She's been through a lot today Ray." Mom said, patting me on the shoulder. "She just needs time to recouperate from the ordeal."

"Yeah, you wait and see." Dad added, picking up the remote and hitting play. "By tomorrow, she'll be right as rain, I promise ya."

As we all watched the show, I looked towards the enterance of the living room, thinking about the attack that commensed by those goons, who were they, and why were they after Franny, and then there was the behviour Franny had towards me. She may have been hiding it, but I could see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice. I had seen and heard it before, when I was dating Sophia, and it only got worse as we reached the end of our relationship, and now I was seeing it again in Franny.

"Goddamnit!" I thought to myself as I stared at the TV, my mind elsewhere. "I've done it again, didn't I? I've done it again!

[*]

End of Chapter 12