Raised by a Metal Monster

The Robotic Child

Echo sat on the floor of the tunnel while the metal endoskeleton known as the Mimic was crouched down next to him. It was fixing the robotic hand of the partially robotic boy and was making sure it was working. Echo grimaces slightly since the Mimic was close to him. It had not been working for a couple of hours and the metal monster was fixing what it had created out of the boy.

"D-Do you k-know what hap-ppened?" the metal monster known as the Mimic asked him. Echo shakes his head. He truly had no idea what happened or why his robotic hand didn't work for a while. Was it because he had gone to the small body of water with the glowing mushrooms?

Echo just wanted some peace and some space from the Mimic. Peace that he didn't get very often.

Was that too much to ask?

"No, sorry," Echo says, a little monotony. The Mimic picks him up and Echo struggles slightly. He hated this metal monster. Hated it more than anything. But he hated himself too. How could he be so blind? He hadn't seen the Mimic until it was too late.

Echo had amnesia, yet he knew that he was a human that had been torn apart by the metal monster. He had just been a normal kid when the Mimic kidnapped him and tore him apart. It was a ruthless killer, yet he had made Echo into a partial robot.

Echo didn't remember much other than that.

He knew that he was somewhere around nine years old, but he wasn't sure what his exact age was. He also had no idea what his real name was. He called himself Echo because of the Mimic. It was just a name and he hoped that he would be able to remember his name eventually.

He didn't want to be associated with the Mimic any more than he currently is.

Echo moves his robotic hand and smiles as it actually moves. While he hated the Mimic and the fact that it turned him half robotic, Echo liked being able to move and work and he was slowly learning how to fix his robotic parts. Not that the Mimic was never around, but Echo reasoned that he needed to know how to fix himself.

"Mi-ini," the Mimic calls for him again. Echo frowns at the nickname. The Mimic referred to Echo as "Mini" because Echo's robotic half was more like a version of the Mimic itself. That was partially why the Echo hated his robotic half. He looked like the Mimic, the thing that did this to him.

"Yes?" Echo looks at it. The Mimic runs its thin fingers through the boy's hair and Echo shivers slightly. He hated this place. He hated this thing. He would escape someday; he knew that for sure. For now, though, he just had to wait. He was patient, after all.

Echo yawns, which catches the attention of the Mimic. "A-Are you t-tired, Min-ni?"

Echo nods slightly. "Yeah, I'm tired. I'm going to sleep for a bit, if that is okay." Echo didn't wait for the Mimic's response before walking over to the makeshift bed that the Mimic had made for him. It wasn't much, just some bedsheets and an old pillow, but it didn't bother Echo anymore. Echo had always assumed it was because half of his body was robotic. He didn't have the same feeling in his body anymore.

Echo laid on the ground on his left side, his robotic side. Unfortunately, from this view he could see the Mimic watching him sleep. Echo groans under his breath and closes his human eye while his robotic eye looked straight ahead.

Nobody knew he was there. Nobody knew how to find him. Nobody knew.

Nobody cared about him. Nobody except for the Mimic.

Echo hated the Mimic, but still enjoyed the affection given to him. He just wished it was from parents that he couldn't remember.

Someday, he would escape, and the Mimic would never be able to find him again. He would make sure of it.

F*** you, you metal monster.