Beneath Cold Skin

Hee hee! Hahaha! Wait for me!

Haha! I gotcha! ♪

Hee hee. Now it's your turn to be It, Mr. Red Bit!

You have to count to 10, or it's cheating! No cheating, 'kay?

Oh, that's...

Aww, you got me! Haha!

Oh! I want to play with "Me", too. Come on, let's play tag! ♪

...Hey, c'mon! Come play with me!

......

...You're boring.

I'm sick of tag. No more tag for now!

I try to talk to her all the time. Why does she keep ignoring me?

I promised Me I'd be good, and I am being good.

Me told me I'd get a reward if I was good... How much longer do I have to be good for? When do I get to meet Me again?

Hey. I want to see you... Are you listening?

You there. Can I have a moment?

Huh? You mean me?

You were playing tag with those Synth Bits just now, weren't you? They aren't supposed to be able to take any actions they aren't programmed for. They just can't. And yet you can play with them... How did you do it?

I asked if they wanted to play! ♪

I can go zap-zap to anything that's a computer and make it be my friend.

In other words, you override their central control nodes and their IFF?

Hmph! No. They're my friends!

Friends, right...

Would you be willing to lend me your friend-making power?

Mm, I guess so... Is there someone you wanna be friends with, Mister?

Not anymore. The one I really wanted to be friends with was killed by the humans.

I'll tell you more at my hideout. There are too many Hunters in these parts to talk out in the open. If you feel like helping me, come to the Industrial Ruins. I'll be waiting.

Hmm, I dunno...

The Professor told me not to talk to strangers, but I wanna help out, too. Helping is being good, right?

...Okay! I'll go and find that mister again.

I'm here, just like you said!

I...honestly didn't think you'd come.

Hmph. When someone does something nice for you, you should say thank you to them!

You're right. Thank you for coming.

Ehehe. ♪

You're some manner of cyborg, right? But there's a discrepancy between your apparent and internal ages.

Oh, um, we got into a really bad accident and our head and body had "near fatal injuries."

So our body was made into a machine, and our head had an oxi lary brain put in. ...Is what the Professor says.

...I see. Brain injuries can interfere with bodily autonomy and information retention. That makes sense. The presence of an auxiliary brain also explains the apparent lack of maturation in the dominant ego.

Um...I don't really get it. Is that a bad thing?

No, it's actually very convenient. You see, I asked you here because I have a very important favor to ask of you. Understand?

Yeah! I'm really, really good. I'll fix your problem real fast!

I appreciate that, but you should let me explain what the favor is before you accept it.

Oh, right! Okay, I'm listening. Tell me, tell me!

I don't know how much you know about Synth Humans like me, but we're man- made artificial life forms. But the humans who made us hate us. They treat us like tools to be used up and thrown away when we break. My friends have all been killed, and they were torn apart into scrap. I can't even put them back together.

So the humans are doing mean things to the Synth Humans? Why?

They think it's their right to treat us like that, to kick us around and even kill us whenever they want. They even pull our cores, our hearts, out of our chests and destroy or even sell them to each other.

What happens if they pull your hearts out?

We can't do anything. We can't move, or play, or even talk to anyone anymore.

That's so mean! Why would they do that?!

You can't move OR play OR talk?! That's so awful and sad!

Okay. I'll find all the bad humans who are doing that, and I'll make them all go away!

Make them go away? No, no, I'm not asking you to do that much. I just want you to help me open the door into town, that's all.

Oh, oh, I know that one! That's called an, um, infiltashon! Okay, that sounds like fun!

Thank you. That way I'll be able to take back my friend from the people who took him.

So you have people you miss a lot too, huh...

I'll help you meet them! Being apart from the people you love is really hard and sad.

You really are a sweet kid. Okay, here's the plan. I'd like you to go to the door into Elzion on old Route 99 and open it for me.

Okay, I found the door! I can get this open in no time!

Commencing brainwave interference. Hacking organic detection suite... Suite offline. Hacking automated door servers... Offline. Physical manipulation is now possible. Lock disengaged.

You're amazing. It would have taken me hours on end to get through that security.

All I do is zip-zap the beepy boop waves that come from people's brains, that's all.

It's, um, espansion of the brain's interference domain? Is what the Professor calls it!

I see. This Professor sounds like a very wonderful person.

He is! The Professor is the one who gave me this mercury kitty around my neck, see?

Oh, but me and Me designed the kitty. All by ourselves!

..."Me and me"?

Oh, oh! What door should I open now? I'm really good at doors! You saw!

R-right, uh...that's all the doors. We're going to the scrap shop next. ...I should use my optical camo to disguise myself as a human first.

Okay. Let's go to the weapons shop.

Come on in. Welcome to Ishar's.

I hear you handle scrap. Any Hunters come by recently looking to sell?

You bet. We just got a big haul in. There's some treasures in there, no doubt about it.

...Can I have a look?

Wow, this thing is so weird! What is it? How do I use it?

Ooh, if I pull this back, it gets all springy-powered and goes bawoom! Wow.

Then this long thingy here...

You're a curious one, missy. First time at a weapons shop?

......Grr.

Whoops, did I startle you?

Are you a bad mister, Mister?

W-what? Is my face that scary?

No. Your beard is all scruffy and you look like a big roary lion, but you're not scary.

But you break the Synth Humans and take their hearts and sell them to people, don't you?

Aah...well, you see, missy, the Synths are like our enemies, and they want to hurt us, so...

Huh?! So it's not the humans who are the bad guys, but the Synth Humans?!

...That's not quite it either. See, they can think and feel just like us, and that means some of 'em see things differently from us. That doesn't make them all bad...but some folks don't see it that way. In fact, most folks don't. People're used to thinking of Synths as bad all around.

......

Is something wrong?

No, it's nothing. I'll pay for this all.

Sorry for the wait. Let's go back to Route 99 now.

Okay! Let's go!

Hey, and... Thanks. I'm glad to know there are humans out there who think like you do.

Huh? What...

Thanks for a good selection. ...Come on. Let's go.

Ehehe. Mission completeted!

Professor and the others don't get it, but I'm really, really good! See!

I can't thank you enough. Thanks to you, I was able to get my friend back.

Yeah! I did really good, didn't I! Tell me I did good!

Haha. Yeah, you did good. You're amazing.

Oh, what are you gonna do for your friend now, though?

If he's all broken apart, can you fix him? Maybe we can ask the Professor to fix him?

The Professor is "an eloosive customer," though, so it's hard to find out where he is...

No. His core is damaged, see? There's no fixing damage like this. Even if we could...he wouldn't be the man I knew. So...I think I'll build him a grave.

What's a grave?

It's a place where humans bury other humans who have died. We were made to copy humans, so...it feels right.

Huh?! But that's so mean! If you bury him in the dirt, he won't be able to breathe! And he'll get rusty, too!

Won't it be sad if you can't see him anymore? Maybe he can be fixed with, um, abances in medical techmology!

You don't understand, miss. When someone dies, it means their whole life is over. They won't move again, or talk again. They can't think or feel anything. Once they die, you can't see them again. No matter how much you want to. Never again.

Never ever...?

Never ever. I'll never get another chance to...

Hey, you! Synth!

I saw you come out of Elzion! I saw it with my own eyes! What are you plotting, huh?!

Hmph! We're not plodding anything! We just wanted to get his friend back!

That's right. All I want is to build a gravesite for my lost friends.

A grave for Synths? Ha, that's rich! I've got years under my belt hunting you buckets of bolts. I know a lie when I hear one!

I bet you're planning to use those cores to make more of you monsters. Not on my watch! Come on, boys! Let's put this Synth back in the landfill where he belongs!

Kyahaha! How was that?! See! I got rid of all the bad guys! Wasn't I amazing?

Now you're the only bad guy left.

Damn it! I'll get those cores, at least!

Nngh!

Couldn't kill 'em all, but at least I'll put a wrench in whatever you're scheming! Haha!

Wait...please... Those are... My...my friends...

Hang on! I'll get them back!

Please...

Iiii gotcha!

Damn, caught up, did you? But once I get into town...

Commencing brainwave interference. Searching. Located. Security module infiltration complete. Locking specified citizen ID code... Citizen ID code locked.

Huh?! Why won't this damn door open?!

Anything run by a computer has to listen to what I tell it, that's why.

Hehe. So there's no getting away from me! Not a chance, no way!

But if you give the cores back, then I'll make the door let you in and I'll let you go. 'Kay?

Hah, like I'd believe a Synth-lover! You'll just make more of them with these. I'd rather smash 'em...

I won't let you!

Bad guys get shocked...

...!!

Eep...!

I'm...I'm a good girl. I'm a good girl...so I won't hurt you.

You gave the cores back, so... So I'll let you go.

But the next time you do something as mean as this, I won't let you go!

......Mercy...

(I should go back to see mister Synth Human. He's probably still where he was earlier.)

Hehe. He'll probably be so surprised and happy when I give him all his friends back!

Look, look, Mister! I got all your friends...back?

Who...are you?

Whoa! Oh, a human...no, a cyborg?

Hey. I asked, who are you...?

Right, sorry. Just didn't expect to see someone like you around here. Looking at those cores, I'm guessing we're in the same line of work?

...Line of work?

Yeah, you're a Synth scrapper too, aren't you? You take 'em apart for anything usable. It's a pretty easy gig, given how many guys out here just want to kill and don't care about the loot.

Take them apart...

Mister Synth Human?

Hey! Mister Synth Human! Hey!

Why won't you reply? Even though I'm calling out to you?

Oh, so you're not a scrapper? You knew this one?

...What did you do to him?

I mean, you can see it, right? I took him apart. He'd already shut down! I won't just leave cash on the table. For all the trouble these damn things give us, at least they're worthwhile when they finally die.

...Give his core back! That's their heart! If you take it out, he'll die without it!

And? What do I care?

...He'll be DEAD!

His whole life will be over! He won't be able to move or talk or play anymore!

I'll never ever get to see Mister Synth Human ever again...

Here I figured cyborgs were mostly human, but I guess some of you are bot-lovers after all. No need to hold back, then. If you're against us, then I'm against you! I'll take you apart too!

Give it back! Give...it...back!!

Khh...

Hey...I put your heart back...

Let's talk again, okay? I'll tell you all about myself, and, and...

I got all your friends back, Mister. I did good, so... So...

......

You can't die. You can't! I-if you die, I...I'll hate you. I will. I really w-will...

I will. I really w-will...

Sniff...w-waaaah...!