Assassin

------------------------

The red haze of anger that hangs in the air. The undeniable fury that burns within their souls. There is nothing that will cool the fires in their hearts, nothing that will stop their unwavering gaze of pure, black, hate. Nothing can stop a malicious fear so pure, so potentially dangerous. Nothing.

People cease to act human, their humanity having perished in the ecstasy, devoured in the sea of animosity. Only the primal instincts of an animal remain, the urges to live, eat, fight, and reproduce. This incredible feeling of passion is despised because it cannot be harnessed to fit one’s own desire. To humans, it is sometimes known as the uncontrollable sin, the “Riot of the Blood.”

To a robot, it is simply a line of information, a human fault that can easily be avoided by an automated sequence of numbers.

To a soul, it can mean anything.

“I will kill you all.”

...

“It may just be something you forget when you fall into the dark of night
a wavering feeling, a fleeting dream, a tiny tragedy
if you count the falling stars, you'll get tired of crying.
the paleness of the laughing moon will rub the wounds closed.”

--- hide, “Misery”

...

The red static haze suddenly focused into view as scratchy numbers and raw data. Internal processors quickly calculated the system’s next action as a stone cold logic filtered through the available choices at hand. A command was entered, a simple line that the unit had followed many times before. Kill.

“***Double unit mission priorities: #1. Immobilize renegade Edge unit. Combat limitations: none.”

A corazon chip stirred deep within, a human emotion. Hate.

Beneath synthetic skin, Double’s jaw tightened in passive frustration. He hated this, hated his life, his profession, his purpose. There was no challenge, no drive, no goal. Everything about his existence smelled rank of mediocrity and simplicity. There was nothing that could set him apart from his peers simply because that was they way they had all been expected to live. Just another day of work, just another person to kill. That was his job. He despised it. And he had no choice for he knew of nothing else to follow.

“***Immobilize Edge unit.”

Another voice spoke, not his commander. Someone else, not human, not yet another call of selfish greed. Someone more familiar, someone he felt he knew. That slow whisper across the darkness of the world, what was it? The gears in his mind slowly worked to process the information, but something seemed to be prying into his consciousness, planting its subliminal message of mystery and dashing away before he could recognize its face. Could it be his soul?

Something slowly awakened within Double, a previously innate power that he had not realized possession of before. And suddenly, he somehow knew that the day would hold something new and wonderful.

Then the programming came back, the blur, and then it was gone…

…

“You wouldn’t understand. The only thing you need is energy and a warranty bill!” said Yoshime as she plopped down on the hard dust in exhaustion. Edge merely made an expression of complete confusion as she stopped to pull out a bread roll from her pack.

“Humans get tired,” she explained, a mouthful of starch munching hungrily in her mouth. “Like robots, we have a joint system in our body composed of muscles and bone. But unlike robots, we need food and drink to replenish our energy.”

“But that doesn’t explain why you get weaker as time progresses,” said Edge innocently, and Yoshime glared at him.

“Just because your battery runs at its highest proficiency until it runs out doesn’t mean a human’s does,” she said.

Edge saw her pout a bit, learning by now that this meant she was upset with him. He stared down in disdain and traced a small line in the dust with his finger as he tried to figure out a proper retaliation for the comment he had just received. It was so hard trying to understand what Yoshime meant through means of sheer syllogism, for her understandings seemed to flow and twist about all of his own knowledge. Was

that part of being human? He shook his head lightly, wondering how he would ever be able to absorb it all into his own hard drive without burning himself out.

“Gomen,” said Edge softly. “I still don’t understand everything about humans.”

Yoshime looked at him for moment, her cheeks packed full with food, then patted him lightly on the head.

“That’s okay,” she said. “I’ll teach you how to be a human. It’s not that hard!” She beamed and Edge smiled, nervously scratching the back of his head with his right hand in disdain.

‘I wish she would tell me what these things meant more often...’ he nervously wondered to himself.

…

A scan of the area quickly brought the targets into view. Neither of them seemed to be trying to hide despite the hazardous status that had been stamped upon their names. The girl, Yoshime Ozaki, the “psychic hacker.” The Edge unit, responsible for the massacre three months ago, the lives of over a thousand soldiers. Both dangerous criminals of the first degree, targets who had good right to be feared.

Something within Double stirred; the urge, the lust, the need to fight. The need for an opponent. The need for blood. And Double wondered why he felt that way, why no other opponent, why no other target had ever made him feel such passion for battle. Perhaps it was the thrill of knowing he could have a challenge, the thrill of knowing that his next opponent was a soldier like himself whose sole purpose of creation had been to render human flesh asunder. That this Edge unit had grinded the muscle and bone of human beings through a distorted wave in the gravitational spectrum that had torn his quarry apart with ease. The danger of his own utter destruction at those uncontrollable powers, the thrill of a challenge within his very grasp. It was maddening. And yet, he beckoned forth the insanity to fill his undefined soul with meaning…

Double’s right hand loosened, atoms of mercury suddenly rearranging themselves to form a wickedly curved scythe that reached all the way to the back of his forearm. Unconsciously, a wide grin appeared on his face and he leapt forward without looking back.

It awakened again. This time, the programming couldn’t hold it back as it broke loose in the deepest recesses of Double’s flight. It flew high and free, and a joy that he could find nowhere else was discovered high above in the clouds...

…

“What the heck...?”

Edge’s sensors suddenly flashed wildly as a warning blared out through his head. A single target quickly descending from above, but who? He aligned his eyes towards the sky to seek out their attacker, his hands tensing with an unsure apprehension. A dark shadow plunged down upon them, its long, vertical spikes of black hair matching the shadows that were strewn across his face, blood-red armor glistening with insatiable bloodlust in the late-morning sun, and a beige scarf trailing from his neck like a majestic cape as he rushed down to meet the ground. Edge’s eyes never left the fierce, red-silver blade that the mecha held high over its head, its glistening gaze heading straight forward for the kill.

Without thinking, Edge shoved Yoshime out of the way and put his arms over his head in mock-defense, hoping he would be able to survive the blow.

“Edge!!!!” shouted out Yoshime, but there was little she could do.

Electricity suddenly sparked in the air and the assassin’s sword crashed down upon a shield of magnetic energy as the gravitational spectrum reshaped itself upon Edge’s unconscious command. The red mecha recoiled from the impact and landed several feet away, immediately whirling about for the second pass. Yoshime noticed the wild grin upon its face, the clear expression of maniacal hatred that would have imbued fear into the Demon God himself.

“What’s going on---?” she stuttered in confusion as she realized what she was seeing. “Another corazon chip android?!” It was unnatural for a common citizen to witness even one of the elusive gears of death and live to tell about it, but two? How could this possibly labeled a mere coincidence?

“You’re nothing,” hissed the assassin, launching itself forward like a bullet, its entire body flowing like water along the ground. Edge tried to land a right punch on him, but the killer slid around the intended blow, retaliating with a wildly flailing helicopter of sharp death. As the tips of his blades let their gentle bite gnaw at Edge’s armor, the mecha smiled with glee, drawing its left arm back in a lance of insanity.

…

Double felt as though he were flying...

Never had he felt such exhilaration! The wonderful thrill of such a battle, an opponent who did not simply shrivel up in fear in front of him but one who reacted, retaliated! One whose power was an equal to his own, fully capable of tearing him into metal shreds of nothingness! A challenge! He had never experienced such a scenario, never in his lifetime of activation. All the government’s jobs, all his previous commands, all of them relied on his ability to eliminate spineless politicians who depended on their pitiful toys to defend them, petty shapes of metal that were no match for a morpher. Even when he had failed in his mission, it was not this powerful exhilaration that grasped his heart with wild ambition but a dead weight of orders failed. He had felt nothing because his destiny had not been cut short by strength and honor in personal combat, but the few and feeble seconds that had slipped through his grasp at the most inopportune of moments. But this, THIS! A wielder of the powers of gravity, one with the potential to scatter his atoms to the heavens if he did so wish, this was the greatest experience of his entire life!

And inside Double, a reborn heart began to beat stronger and stronger, until its loud thumps almost completely obscured the commands of his masters in a sea of passionate sound…

…

Edge turned to meet the mecha on its second strike. He had no idea what he was doing, but his raised hand suddenly caught the crimson assassin in the chest with a mysterious force, sending the red blur crashing into the ground. Edge looked at his palm in wonder, his eyes searching for an explanation to this mysterious power he had just exercised.

“What is this? he said softly, half in wonder, half in fear. “Wha... what am I?” A strange fear gripped him as he remembered the blood on his hands, the dark stain of human life that had tainted his body. And how had it appeared upon his frame? There was no more logical explanation other than he had put it there himself. Was there? So what did this mysterious force make him in the world, how did it set him apart from this girl he was trying to protect?

Why did it make him so uncomfortable to realize his own strength?

He was suddenly aware of the mecha’s recovery, a huge piercing needle and wild shout aimed straight for his heart. This time, he was fully aware of his power as he met the attack with a wave of sparkling gravity, however much he dreaded its practice.

…

“Come on!” hissed Yoshime under her breath as she yanked cables out from her belt bags. She worked as fast as she possibly could, but it was still a dozen times slower than even the most outdated mech could do. Hastily setting up her makeshift mini-computer- a small rectangle that she could hold in one hand- in front of her, she clicked on the small device that had served her well when government facilities were smart enough to put extra securities on their lines. Her computer had always worked as a backup, never needing to directly connect to the target system to hit the right buttons. It served as the equivalent to knocking down stacked bottles with the throw of a ball rather than a fist. Crude, but it served its purpose. The mech they were facing was definitely of government origin. She could tell by its intricate and complex design, both on its exterior as well as inside its head. Its foundation mattered little though, for she had already cracked many a security gate in her lifetime with a minimal number of errors. Why wouldn’t it work now?

Yoshime stood up, firmly hooking the computer to her belt. She had never attempted a stunt quite like this, but it was only too likely that her new and inexperienced friend would buckle down without assistance.

She silently hoped that government security was slacking off today…

…

Toy saw the connection far before it had even made its attempt to penetrate his defenses. Somebody, an outer link, was trying to sever his signal controls over the Double unit. Yet, it was a very weak connection, one crudely designed and foolishly implemented. Even the smallest of backlashes would most likely send the transmitter a devastating blow to its hard drive. His own defenses would be able to easily eliminate the source of the bug. Time was too precious at the moment to waste. The Edge unit must be deactivated. With a single thought, a deadly virus was sent out on the sea of information to meet the link, skimming through the vast ocean like a shark stalking its meal...

Toy suddenly stopped. An anti-virus had suddenly surfaced in the matrix, swallowing his program whole. Not a trace was left to infect the link, and the anti-viral program diligently kept its position, blocking the way for any more attempts to prevent the disconnection of the Double unit. He watched in confusion as his own defenses for the assassin slowly eroded into useless smidges of data, harmless bits that could do nothing to hurt even the weakest of programs. What had just occurred? In a mere second, his entire plan had been smashed against the wall, but who was responsible? Toy quickly began to wonder who would- who could- attempt such a blatant defiance, who would dare to even attempt to sidetrack his plans. He could think of a few who fit such a description, but there were no proper signs that indicated they were the culprits… unless…

Already? Had that time already come to pass? Had something passed by his eyes and he had failed to notice its occurrence? No. Impossible. It was most likely just a fault of his own lack of action. Toy lounged back in his chair in silence. The anti-virus that had just been sent showed that he was moving too slow...

…

Edge winced as his energy levels plunged, his lack of maturity in battle failing his ability to control reserve power levels. The red mecha was still as strong as ever, dashing forth for another pass as its arms bristled with blades of every shape and size. The grin was now wide on its face as it leapt forward to severe its opponent’s head from his neck. Edge prepared for the impact, hoping he would have just enough in him to keep himself alive. The only thing left was a desperate wish. Wish.

The assassin suddenly stopped, the grin of dreams vanished. The mysteriously maddening light in its eyes disappeared and its momentum brought it to a skidding halt upon the ground, its wild projections of pain having conformed back upon their master.

Edge simply stared at the mech at his feet, then turned his head up at Yoshime in questioning bewilderment. She was sitting on a rock, holding her little computer and smiling proudly. Flashing him a victory sign, she beamed widely at her work. Edge slowly returned the proud grin on her face with his own nervous smile.

…

Toy’s fist was only raised a mere inch above its resting place, but the force with which it was slammed down shook the entire complex. Revisions would have to be made.

…

And in the end, the fact that he had lost really didn’t matter, did it? The win itself was naught but the glitter on the larger prize, the fight, the challenge, the never-ending battle that he had fearlessly thrown himself into. That was what mattered, wasn’t it? That was what he had been deprived of for so long, the one thing that gave life a real, tangible meaning. And now that he had tasted the rare fruit’s sweet juices, he was forever unwilling to go back to that horrible existence that was abandoned in his shadow…

...

…

“You can’t fix him! He tried to kill us!”

But Edge’s plea was barely heard by the working Yoshime in the setting afternoon sun. Double’s neck circuits were exposed to the world as she probed deep into his mind beneath the orange-red sky.

“It was his command system that was giving him the orders to kill us,” said Yoshime, turning up with slight annoyance from her intricate setup. “Since he has a corazon chip, I’ll simply reroute his programming there so he can become an independent android, just like you!” Yoshime smiled broadly, but suddenly wondered how this new mech’s personality would be. After all, the maniacal grin she had saw on his face earlier had reflected those tangled emotions that were born within his chip and perhaps he could still be corrupted with hate. She quickly brushed the thought aside, trying to convince herself that that was merely a side effect of the government’s influence, that the exchange for yet another companion would be well worth the trouble. “You saw this mech’s powers,” she said. “If I can reprogram him, he can be our bodyguard against any other government attacks! If they plan to keep sending guys after us, we might need the help.” But Edge caught the slight falter in her voice, the silent look on his face clearly showing his disapproval. Yoshime just glared at him angrily.

“You can’t be so passive!” she scorned. “Life is full of chances! I’ve lived my whole life taking risks that others would call insane, but I’m still living! I took a chance reactivating you, knowing full well that you were also a government mecha and fully capable of smashing me into bits and pieces, but you came out just fine. I might as well push ahead while I can!” She haughtily turned back to her work, leaving a stunned Edge to contemplate on her words. Suddenly, he frowned, thought awkwardly for a brief moment and looked up at her with eyes full of immature unsatisfaction.

“Don’t be so mean to me,” he tried to say in the firmest voice possible. “I’m still learning, so I don’t understand everything about humans. But I will learn and I will understand someday. Then, maybe, I won’t be quite so confused all the time…”

Yoshime looked up from her work, amazed at Edge’s retaliation. She abruptly laughed as she leapt up and hugged him, her connection wires drawing taunt in their sockets as she laced her arms lovingly about the green-haired mecha’s neck.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “You’re going to make a great human.”

...

“***Command program: deleted. ***Hard Drive commands rechanneled to Corazon Chip. ***Double unit reactivated.”

...

“***Visual sensors reactivated.”

...

…

When the mecha slowly opened his eyes, Yoshime was staring down on him happily. Edge simply sat in the background, hoping that his friend had made a wise choice. The mech suddenly backflipped into a defense position when it saw Edge, brandishing a wicked blade on its forearm, its eyes still full of wild trepidation. But Yoshime quickly stepped between them, raising her arms in a helpless plea.

“Stop!” she shouted. “Fighting isn’t going to solve anything!” The red mech blinked for a moment as its processors tried to sort out its new instructions and surroundings.

“***Awaiting new commands. A new master must be designated before an action can be accomplished.”

“And you’re supposed to be...” said the mech cautiously in its rough voice. “… my current commander?” Yoshime winced at the man’s impolite voice, but nodded. She guessed that that was the nature of his corazon chip, a personality as different as any human’s. And why not? She was open minded enough to accept his difference in attitude.

...

Why didn’t he continue fighting? That was the purpose of his creation, wasn’t it? To kill, to maim, to destroy. And yet, there was something so completely different about this mysterious couple who stood before him and judged him worthy for life once again, about the green-haired renegade that he had been instructed to annihilate. Something…. when compared to his own past, a past of killing human beings who had no ability to properly defend themselves. There was no honor in a fight that was not a fight, but a massacre. And this one who stood before him now, the strength within that one’s body was worthy of clashing with his own. A challenge. That was what he wanted. This new opponent had so much potential, he would surely grow over the passage of time. Maybe, just maybe, he could call upon him then and liberate his own desire with a victory that was worthy of his own pride. But until that day, would his so-called redemption rest in the hands of following a word spoken from his own desire rather than a sterile government list of orders?

...

The mech let his stance fall as his blade retracted itself, his body loosening into a more casual position. Yoshime breathed an easy sigh of relief she realized that all of her mechanical adjustments had worked exactly as planned. Stepping forward, she prepared to introduce herself to the newest addition to their ranks.

“Well,” started Yoshime. “My name’s Yoshime, and he’s Edge,” pointing to Edge, still sitting on the rock with a semi-bewildered look on his face. She turned back to the spiky-haired mecha to finish the introductions. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Double43260632776703425,” said the mech coolly. “Just Double is fine though, never did like all those stuffy formalities.” Double wiped his nose as Yoshime looked on in wonder.

‘Cocky little bastard...’ she though vehemently. He sure seemed to take off on his own, very much unlike Edge’s beginning. They were different types of androids though, and she couldn’t possibly expect them to all act the same. As long as he made himself tolerable, she refused to loose her temper to her new ‘recruit.’

But before she could speak again, Double pointed an accusing figure at Edge and began a firm advance towards his being.

“You,” he said, and Edge nervously looked around, hoping there would be someone else there.

“Me?” asked Edge, his voice shaken.

Double walked over to him and put a gauntleted hand on Edge’s shoulder. He suddenly burst out laughing and pounded the back of his new associate with much show and gusto.

“You’re the first challenge I’ve had in a long time!” he shouted out. “I thought they would have sent me after another worthless crime lord or something, but a government mech! One with a gravity core too! You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time!”

Edge smiled nervously and tried to laugh as well. He couldn’t help but lack trust for this one who had only minutes ago wished to severe his head from his shoulders, but he tried his best to be sociable.

“Gravity core?” he asked nervously.

“Yeah!” said Double. “All A-class government robots get a specialized weapons system for their jobs.” Double’s arm suddenly shifted form into a huge blade. “I was given a mercury based form, so I can morph my body into physical tools and melee weapons. I was a government assassin so I needed to have plenty of self-made weaponry on hand.” Edge ignored Double’s wide grin of pride and smiled sheepishly as he forced himself to accept the raucous behavior that the red assassin was flaunting about.

“However, I don’t remember what gravity powers were used for,” said he assassin. “Something rather large-scale I believe.”

“How do I use my powers anyways?” asked Edge, looking at the palms of his hands in disdain. “I mean, I haven’t really been able to control anything yet. It just sort of pops up whenever I really need it.”

Double scratched his head as he plunged into a span of deep thought.

“Well,” he started. You should be able to activate them whenever you want to just be thinking about it. That’s what I do. Everything is connected to the computers. All you have to do is put your hand out and---NO!!! NOT AT-----!!!”

Edge had absently waved his arm out towards Double, not realizing whom he was aiming at. A wall of gravitational force abruptly slammed into panicky assassin, sending him flying through the ruins of two skyscrapers before the mecha finally landed in a heap of steel debris. As Yoshime stared at the scene in wide-eyed astonishment, Edge looked on with intense worry at the unintentional deed he had just accomplished.

“Uh... sorry!”

...

The Double unit had failed.

Toy mused in his chambers, hands gripping his cold chair. Double was not individually important for now, but something new had drawn his concern to the renegade gravitational unit. It was learning. Quickly. What did it mean? Edge had gone insane, hadn’t he? He was supposed to be beyond repair. Perhaps he had made a mistake somewhere along the line, perhaps this one held some kind of potential that he had not anticipated. And yet, how much time did he have to spare at this point? The anti-viral program that had intercepted his own invisible attack troubled his plans for the future, but it was only a ripple in the pool of his objectives. He could afford some time to observe his new specimen. Perhaps.

The huge enforcer stared forward, always cold, always silent...

...

“Stop grumbling Double! You’re not going to make anything better by complaining about it!”

The disgruntled assassin tried not to listen to Yoshime’s words as they walked along. At his side, the young girl was busily checking his system for damages, and Edge trailed behind in a constant babble of apologies.

In the distance, the evening sun set slowly behind the shadowed hills...

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean it”

“You’d think proper training would be given, even to renegades....”

“Both of you SHUT UP!!!”

…

End “Assassin”