CALAMITY CORE : FREE THE WORLD

CH.24 'A SUM OF MEMORIES'

Andrei leaned back on his sword, which had been planted into the ground blade-first for some time. He sat across from the white-haired android, and very obvious threat, Alpha.1, who had planted her own sword in the ground as a gesture of temporary ceasefire. The half-human, half-Chimera boy, sat with his feet forward, legs bent so that he could wrap his arms around them. Small fires still burned around the two as they explained the situation to one another, as best as they could.

It was Alpha who began the conversation. Her voice was monotonous for the most part, but at times, it seemed as though it wanted to fluctuate. "I apologize for the unprompted attack. My most basic systems were not designed with the ability to dictate friendly Chimera from foe Chimera... though over time, I have recovered my capability to decide for myself. It is not something I use often."

Listening, Andrei blinked... an android? With how she talked, and how powerful she was, maybe it wasn't impossible, but in a landscape like this? How was that even possible? He shook his head in acceptance as the machine apologized, and Andrei offered a word of his own. "It's no big deal... You already know, I'm part one of them, so hurting me isn't exactly the worst thing you can do. Just... try not to do it again, if you're going to stick around."

Alpha noticed Andrei's companions watching from a hesitant distance, but she returned her attention to the boy before her. Her processors ran the calculations... the way he spoke, it was nothing like the few Chimera she had met who had the ability to converse. He held an air of humanity to him, like a hero holds their dignity. "For the moment, I have chosen to analyze, rather than attack you. I will not hesitate to kill you should you lose yourself, as many of your kind have in the past." It seemed that her tone grew colder as she finished her sentence.

A chill ran down his spine at the mention of a killing, but then, Andrei remembered what he saw in Scavver when he had lost himself, and how he felt when he had been alone in the Tokyo Dead Zone... two scars that would likely never heal. Something about him was different though, compared to back in those days, only a month or so ago. He smiled. "I'm alright with that. I don't want to hurt anybody else, so that's a promise I hope you can keep."

The android paused the conversation to process the statement. Something that he had hoped she could keep? He wanted to die? Now she was the one questioning him. Alpha's eyes fluttered as she blinked, and she couldn't help but put a hand on her chin. "You're an interesting subject, beast. Do you have a name?"

Locking eyes with the android, Andrei recognized the light in her eyes... It seemed similar to that of Scavver's before he had fallen so far from grace, though it was different in one way or another. He held his smile, and tilted his head a little to the side, closing his eyes awkwardly. "My name? I'm Andrei... and you said your name was Alpha, right?"

She nodded in return, then glanced back over at the encampment of people. With a glance back down at the ground, Alpha spoke once more. "I believe so, but it's difficult. After I woke from... whatever it was that put me out of commission, I had access to very little of my memory or accompanying sub-systems. That name, in essence, is all I have... and even then, I can't be sure that it is my own."

Standing around the camp, Saionji and Shimoda were posted beside a worn Hattori, who for all his fighting with that strange Chimera, had only sustained minor injuries... unlike his brother, who was now seething with pain as the vampire, Hirano, treated his wounds. The twins watched as Andrei and the previously aggressive robot talked, but it was Hattori who broke the silence. "Y'know. I still don't get that kid, for all the walkin' we've done with him... I can tell he's something special, but I can't say what."

Shimoda looked at Andrei as he leaned against his sword in the ground, the chain on his chest glistening in the moonlight, and he shook his head. "Well, it's not hard to tell he's something special." When he said that, it was rather blunt, but Hattori found it somewhat funny.