Part I
Red cyborg eyes clashed with bright green ones in a locked gaze. The world seemed to hush and grind to a standstill as the last human and the last robot finally found each other. The deafening silence was broken only by the shocked gasp from the human, a tiny slim girl named Skyler. She was the last of her kind, the human race having fled the earth years earlier. And she had assumed she was the only living thing alive on the broken planet but now, she had been proven wrong. At least, partially wrong. As she continued to stare at the rust covered robot, its face mostly hidden underneath a torn robe, body crumpled on the floor, her feet itched to run and never look back. The steady gaze of the robot’s red eyes was sending chills down her spine, warning bells ringing in her head. She felt sick from shock and fear, her stomach churning and twisting like a never ending pretzel. Finally, she made some kind of movement, reaching her hand out to grip the metal pole beside her to steady herself. The robot continued to stare. Skyler was terrified but her feelings of surprise and intriguement with such a find nudged her closer and she stepped forward for a better look at the robot.
“Stop. Stay right there and don’t move any closer.”
Skyler’s heart jumped to her throat as she screamed, leaping away from the robot in fright. He, she, it, glared at her. Skyler wanted to leave. She wanted to run back home, hide under her sheets and forget this ever happened. It was like a bad dream come to life and she wanted to wake up already. Outside, thunder rumbled far off in the smoky clouds, threatening possible storms. Skyler glanced out the window for a split second and when she looked back at the robot, it was on its feet, still shooting angry red eyes at her. Skyler felt her heart drop this time and she gulped.
“Who are you?” The robot questioned, its voice clipped, cold, and unfriendly. Skyler noticed that the tone was masculine though and she assumed it was a boy.
When the robot received no answer from the still shaken Skyler, it scoffed and looked away, pulling off the robe’s hood as it did so and confirming Skyler’s assumptions. The robot raised a hand to brush white strands of hair away from his pale face before stretching out his arm and examining it, carefully. Skyler stayed quiet, watching the robot as he inspected both his arms then glanced, slowly, around the warehouse.
“Well?” He finally said, shooting Skyler a questioning look. “Who exactly are you?“
Skyler froze again as she felt the red eyes boring into her, as if looking through her very soul.
“I-“ she started. “I…I’m Skyler.”
The robot stared at her, blankly. Skyler shrank back, still uncomfortable being in the spotlight of those red eyes. She relaxed when the robot looked away again.
“Sk-yl-er. Skyler,” the robot sounded out, half to himself, his tone softer.
Skyler frowned. He didn’t seem very smart for a robot and he had to have been sitting there for at least ten years. He couldn’t be much of a danger to her or the world. Skyler began to relax as she reassured herself that the broken down robot wasn’t a threat.
“Who are you?” She demanded, harshly.
The robot paused and looked her way again. He seemed lost in thought.
“Who…who am I…?” He finally murmured, eyes drifting to the floor.
“You…don’t know who you are?”
The robot shook his head, looking lost.
“Do you at least know your name?”
The room fell silent. So silent that if a pin had dropped, it would have sounded like thunder against a cool blue sky.
“…yes.”
Skyler sighed as she trudged down the littered streets. She glanced behind her at the robot, Robin, who was walking along behind her, a contented half smile on his face. After Robin had told Skyler his name, he had begged to go with her wherever she went and hadn’t left her alone until she agreed to let him tag along. Now he was acting like a happy child who had gotten his way. Skyler adjusted her backpack straps and walked a little faster. She wasn’t particularly happy about spending more time with the seemingly needy robot but part of her sympathized with him and his amnesia-like condition. He seemed so lost and confused that Skyler felt like she had to at least help him find somewhere to stay. In the distance, the huge skyscrapers of Tokyo rose into the air against the gray backdrop of clouds, growing nearer and nearer and Skyler smiled. She had always wanted to go to Tokyo.
“How long have you been here?”
Skyler jumped. She’d forgotten she wasn’t alone here now. Robin stood behind her, head tilted to the side, questioningly.
“All my life. Why?” Skyler replied, skeptically.
“No reason.”
“I’m guessing you don’t know how long you’ve been here though.”
“No. It’s like…my fragment recollections have disappeared.”
Skyler burst out laughing and Robin stopped to stare at her in confusion.
“F-fragment recollections?” Skyler giggled. “You mean memories?”
“N-no. Fragment recollections are events that have happened in the past and are kept in my mind for me to recall,” Robin explained, still bewildered over Skyler’s outburst.
“That’s what we humans call memories. And when people lose their memories, that’s called amnesia. You, my new cyber companion, seem to have a bad case of amnesia.” Skyler said, still laughing.
Robin stood still for a moment, watching Skyler continue to giggle, then smiled, softly.
“Memories…” he mused.
He didn’t consider losing his fragment recollections as anishia or whatever that girl had called it. It was a tragic turn of events, waking up from a black dream to a world more dark and desolate. He had been alone with only the sounds of an old warehouse to keep him company. But now the world felt so much brighter…hypothetically.
“You…sending you to…Tokyo base…every...”
Robin froze. Who was that?
“If you want to come with me, you’ll have to learn to catch up.”
Robin jumped and looked up. Skyler was standing on a rusty metal beam halfway down the road. She was glaring at Robin in annoyance.
“O-oh. Sorry,” Robin stammered, scrambling to catch up with her.
Skyler found herself laughing again. Maybe this guy wasn’t too bad. In an awkward, weird way. But as they made their way into the sea of Tokyo skyscrapers, Skyler began to notice Robin growing quieter and quieter. She had only known him for a couple of hours but she knew the way Robin was acting wasn’t normal. Maybe he was just tired, Skyler assumed. After all, he did just wake up from some long trance or whatever that was. Maybe they should stop.
“Hey, Robin? Are you tired? We could stop if-“
Skyler stopped mid sentence and stared behind her in surprise. Robin wasn’t there. It was like he had vanished into thin air. Skyler glanced around, slowly. She felt her chest tightening with anxiety. Where had that robot gotten to? The dim light from the hidden sun cast long shadows on the ground and the buildings towered above Skyler like huge metal monsters. Then something caught Skyler’s attention. Something that flashed and sparkled in the sunset. A huge round egg building in the middle of a small plaza. The egg was covered in shiny metal plates that shone like diamonds in the graying light. Skyler’s eyes widened.
“R-Robin?”
Robin spun around, gazing down the fifth flight of stairs to the windows below. He knew Skyler was wondering where he was by this point but he couldn’t help it. Bits and pieces of what Skyler had called ‘memories’, were returning.
“Don’t leave anything alive.”
Words echoed in Robin’s mind. Words that made no sense. People he didn’t know were suddenly appearing in front of his eyes. He stumbled up the last flight of stairs, feeling dizzy. The sensation of someone calling him had been too great. It had led him away from Skyler and straight into an egg building. An egg building that seemed strangely familiar. Robin skipped the last step and collapsed on the floor. When he finally looked up, he was met with the bright glow of a thousand light bulbs burning into his head. And then he rremembered.
“Cyborg23Robinson?”
“Here!”
“You. I’m sending you to the Tokyo base. Kill every human there. Don’t leave anything alive. Not even a pathetic animal.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m counting on you, Robinson. Don’t let me down like you did last time.”
The commander turned and left the room, the door slamming shut behind him, the sound pulling Robin out of his memories. He sat there on the floor, horrified. He was the last robot assigned to kill the surviving human population and here he was following one around all day? But there was no way he was going to kill any human, especially not Skyler. She had done too much for him by letting him come with her. But what would happen if he didn’t follow orders?
“I’m counting on you, Robinson.”
Robin shut his eyes, covering his ears with his hands, trying to block out the commander’s voice ringing in his head.
“Robin! There you are! I was so worried, I…Robin?”
Skyler’s anxious voice broke through the chanting of orders and commands. Robin felt her hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently.
“No. You have to leave,” Robin hissed.
What if he was programmed to kill? What if he couldn’t stop himself?
“But, Robin-“
“Go! If you don’t leave now, I might end up hurting you! So leave!”
Skyler just stared at him, bewildered.
“Skyler, if you don’t leave now…I might kill you!”
Skyler froze and took a step back, beginning to feel nervous. Robin shot her a panicked look.
“Go!”
Lightning flashed and Skyler remembered how it was supposed to rain that day. She hesitated, glancing at Robin, fearfully, before turning and hurrying back down the stairs. She ran out into the pouring rain but she didn’t stop running. She was scared. Robin had scared her with his strange behavior and disturbing comments. Was he telling the truth, she asked herself. Is he really capable of killing humans? Tired of running, Skyler found some shelter under a shop doorpost and waited for the rain to let up. She was shivering from fear and cold and all she wanted to do was go home. She closed her eyes, leaning against the rotting wood of the door and listening to the rain. All of a sudden, the rain seemed to let up. Skyler opened her eyes, slowly, and jumped when she saw Robin kneeling on the ground in front of her, holding a dark blue umbrella.
“I scared you, didn’t I?” He murmured, looking semi amused.
“A little bit,” Skyler admitted, sheepishly.
“Sorry. I kind of panicked. It’s okay now though.”
“You…you’re not going to kill me…right?” Skyler stammered, cautiously.
Robin laughed and stood up. The sun peeked out from behind the clouds. Small rays sifted through the atmosphere, barely visible, but they were enough.
“No. I’m not going to kill you. I realized I had a choice,” Robin explained, smiling down at Skyler. “And I chose friendship.”
