Kikaider Fan Fiction ❯ Electric City ❯ Vol. One, Chap. Four: Whirlwind ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Whirlwind
Luke sat back confused. What happened and how did it happen? The whole mess started when he and Tracy found San out in the woods. She was a cybrog girl-child. She acted as if she was autistic. The only thing the cybrog could say was, “San.”
“Maybe she has some parts to her hard drive that are missing.” Tracy suggested. She and Luke were watching San staring at the blank wall of their apartment.
“Can she be repaired?” Luke asked. The android shrugged.
“Maybe,” she replied. “But it's not that simple…”
“What do you mean?” the human asked. Tracy looked away in secret.
“Don't know how to.” she replied.
“Why not?” he asked.
“Only DARK knows that…” the android mumbled under her breath. Luke caught that too well.
“DARK?” he asked. “Who is that and why would they know anything?” Tracy bit her lip hard in shame. The smell of mica came under her nose.
“Damnit, you shouldn't be listening to me while I'm talking to myself!” she said to him. Luke was really curious now.
“What are you talking about?” he asked aloud. Tracy was really stuck now. Sure, she found Luke annoying, but she didn't want to destroy his fragile mind with heavy information just yet. But how to answer without dumping on him? Damn she hated difficult questions.
She was saved when San walked straight into the wall. Luke and Tracy quickly looked up.
“Holy crap!” Luke yelped out. “San, are you all right?” The cybrog looked at him with a blank expression on her face. Something then caught his attention.
“She can't see, can she?” Luke asked in surprise. Tracy thought about that for a moment. She rose to her feet and walked over to the girl child. She slowly turned the cybrog's face to her and examined the eyes closely.
“Ah-ha!” Tracy called out. Luke quickly looked up. The android motioned him over.
“Come look at this!” she said. Luke rose to his feet and did so.
“I don't see anything!” he said.
“You need better light.” the android replied. They took San into the bathroom.
“There it is!” Tracy called out as she pointed into San's right eye. “A wire in her right eye has popped loose right there.” Luke looked in closely. The fat gold wire was rattling around loose in her eye.
“Can it be fixed?” he asked.
“Yep,” the android replied. “Just need the right tools.”
“What will we need?” the boy asked. Tracy thought about that for a moment.
Then she said, “Come on! We're going shopping!” Luke looked at her confused.
“What for? Why?” he asked. Tracy looked him as if he was insane.
“To the hardware store to get her repaired! What else?” Luke suddenly felt stupid.
“Oh!” he called.
“Well come on!” the android ordered. “Her eye won't fix itself!”
“Oh right!” Luke said quickly. Then they headed out the door with San.
That was the first thing. This was where the pile got tacked on. The line was long outside. Tracy had to hold San by her side to keep the cybrog from getting lost. (The lack of eyesight was getting worse by the second.) The group tried not seen by anyone at all. (The last thing they needed was attention drawn to them at all.)
The wait was two hours long. Not good on Tracy's short temper.
“We waited two hours for a stupid argument?!?” she exclaimed aloud. Luke tried to quiet her down again.
“Shhh!!!” he told her. “Yes, that's how it is here.” The android looked at him as if he was crazy.
“Really” she asked. Luke nodded. A pause came over them. *Tracy's face vaults*
“That's so dumb!” she yelled out. The boy shrugged.
“That's how it is!” he replied.
“NEXT!” the man at the front desk yelled. The trip stepped forward. Tracy guided San along the way. The man was a kind old gentleman. He was little up to Luke's chest and bald. His glasses were gold-framed. The man was dressed like an electrician. He looked closely at the trio.
“How may I help you today?” the man asked. Luke opened his mouth to speak, but Tracy butted in.
“This cybrog here needs a few repairs!” she said quickly. The technician looked at San closely.
“What all is wrong with her?” he asked. Tracy turned to the boy.
“Show him the list!” she ordered. Luke looked confused for a moment. Then it hit him.
“Oh!” he called out loud. Then he pulled the list out of his pocket. The technician took it and read it to himself. The boy and the android waited for a response. He looked up at them smiling.
“No problem!” he called out in cheerful tone. Luke smiled.
“Great!” he called. Tracy wasn't finished.
“Can you get the job finished as soon as possible?” the android asked. The man smiled again.
“You got it!” he said. The android smiled brightly.
“Nice!” she called. The technician smiled at them.
“She'll be ready by evening!” he said. Then the man took San by the hand and took her to the back. Tracy nudged Luke in the shoulder. The boy looked up. The android motioned over to the door.
“Let's go!” she whispered. Luke looked at her confused.
“Huh?” he asked. “Why?”
“We'll pick up Blinky later!” Tracy explained to him like he was stupid. “We can't hover around while the nice man works.” That took seconds to sink in. The lights lit up slowly in Luke's head.
“Oh, right!” he replied. Tracy just shook her head. “He's hopeless!” she thought. Then she took the human and rushed him out the door. He was going to need some work indeed.
 
 
 
Outside the repair shop was where Tracy and Luke picked up more baggage. They had come around the back way when something caught Tracy's ear. She grabbed onto Luke tightly to listen much better.
“What's wrong?” he asked.
“Shhh!” Tracy replied. The boy nodded. They both listened closely. The android slowly moved her eyes.
“It's behind us!” she whispered. Luke and Tracy turned behind slowly. The android slowly drew out her gun from her short white skirt. Luke's eyes grew big in shock.
“Since when…” he began to ask aloud. Tracy quickly coved his mouth.
“Shhh!!!” she whispered. The android whipped out her gun in a flash.
“Freeze!” Tracy yelled out. “Come out with your hands up!” The intruder did so. The pair got a good look at him. It was a man about eighteen or nineteen years old. He had a red guitar on his back. The man looked like any other human, but Tracy knew better.
“You're an android!” she exclaimed in shock. The man looked at her puzzled.
“Huh?” he asked. “How can you tell?” Tracy shared his confused look.
“You're… like me!” she exclaimed. Her suspicion heightened quickly. She gripped the gun tighter.
“Okay!” the female android snapped. “Did Gill send you to spy on us? Did he send you to steal back to cybrog girl?” Both guys were lost now.
“Gill?” Luke asked.
“Cybrog?” the man asked.
“What's going on?” both guys questioned the female android. Tracy bit her lip again. It was clear that neither man had a clue what was going on. “Now I'll have to explain everything!” she thought. “Shit!” Tracy sighed aloud. She turned back to the other android.
“Name yourself!” she ordered. The other android stood up straighter.
“My name is Jiro!” he replied. “Who are you?” Luke stepped forward.
“I am Luke Monet and this is my android, Tracy!” The female android sighed aloud.
“Big mouth!” she mumbled under her breath. Jiro looked at the pair for a good while.
“Tra-cy. Lu-ke Mo-net.” he pronounced slowly.
“What are you doing out here all along?” Luke asked Jiro.
“I don't know…” he replied. Silence fell everywhere. Tracy studied Jiro for a long time. “He's got a conscience circuit just like mine. Only… slightly out of date.” she thought. “But why? And what are his intentions?
Right then, the back door flung open. All three looked up in a rush. The technician was looking at them.
“Oh,” he said in unsure voice. “Am I interrupting anything here?”
“No!” all three called out. The technician stepped forward confused.
“Okay…” he said. “Anyway, your cybrog's ready!” Tracy smiled.
“Nice!” she said gladly. Then, the technician moved aside and revealed San. The girl-child could clearly see all three of them. A smile came across her face.
“San!” she chirped out. Tracy and Luke were happy and disappointed. The tech guy smiled.
“Her voice chip hasn't set in yet,” he said. “It'll work in a few days.” Luke relaxed.
“Thank you sir!” he said out loud. The tech guy smiled.
“No prob!” he said. Then the boy paid the fee, took San, and the group all left.
 
 
 
*Now*
Luke sat back sighing against the window in his room. The load was a tiger now. San slowly repairing herself, Tracy's load of secrets, Jiro living with them now, Gill, DARK, the list just went on and on. How did it all get out of hand?
Right then, Luke remembered something. “Damnit!” he thought. “I have a history test tomorrow!” He dropped his head back in distress. A mega pile indeed! And it was only going to get bigger with more mystery and tedious with each growing battle.
Data Finished