A Bullet and Her Metal Heart (Raivh and CyanideDisaster)

[Raivh]

Damn it all! Clapping a hand over his bleeding eye, he tucked himself between two buildings to surmise the damage done to his body. He’d about had enough for the day, but knew if he didn’t get back out there his commander would have his ass on a silver platter for sloughing off. Some way to bring up a son this was, sending him out to war, and Brice had been at war since he was nineteen. For five long, grueling years he’d spent his time in the ranks, slowly climbing his way up to an operative agent. Still, he couldn’t pick his own battles. And this fucker wouldn’t die! He cringed, pulling his hand away, positive that his eye was useless anymore. Optic replacements were cheap nowadays; at least he wouldn’t have to worry about going broke just to get a new eye. Plenty of AIs had ‘so graciously’ sacrificed their lives in battle to provide humans with a better life.

“Shit! Fuck!” he ground out, gritting his teeth together and slipping further down the narrow alleyway, as shots bounced off the corner of the building he’d been using for support. As he had been all night, he took off running until he reached a street with less gunfire. Escaping that bastard wasn’t that easy, though. He knew he was still being followed. A movement in his right peripheral caught his attention, and he whipped in that direction and opened fire, gunning down three or four AIs, just a few of the newer models that were easier to get rid of. They were almost made of flesh, had been designed and built well.

Turning on his heel, he jerked his head to the sky and squinted to see the moon. It was barely existent anymore, and tonight it was a bloody crimson, mourning lost lives—both mechanical and natural.

“Hey, Vince!” That voice caught his attention, and Vincent’s stare plummeted, down, down, until he spotted a man missing an arm standing on a balcony railing. “You know I have a soul, too, right? If we kill each other, we’re both damned!” Old friends and their habits. Leave it to Aaron to attempt a guilt trip. Too bad it wasn’t going to work. These bastards had no souls, no emotions, no feelings, and they felt like they should be treated like human beings. Well, they weren’t. They were metal skeletons programmed with a chip and a crazy lot of ideas that filled their heads. They didn’t even have brains.

“No, Ace, you don’t have a soul! You’re a fucking machine!” Gunfire rained down on Vincent, and he heard Aaron laughing, approaching him from a cloud of smoke. When had Ace set down a veil? “We getting’ fancy now, shithead?” Vince grunted, the sound a fist colliding with his jaw was sickening.

Ace shook his head and lifted his old friend up by the black vest he wore. “You get a badge, and suddenly we’re not pals? Come on, Vince. You know I’m not just a machine.” Wiping at his jaw, Vincent spat in Aaron’s face and shook his head. Aaron clenched his jaw.

“No, Ace. You are a machine. And I’m going to dismantle you just like I did your wife. That bitch didn’t—” Aaron cut Vincent off with a sharp punch to the gut, knocking the wind out of him, and let the man fall to his knees.

Aaron’s expression was cold, hard. Vincent looked up at the man and huffed out a laugh, holding his stomach, still trying to catch his breath; his fingers worked along the waist of his pants, searching.

“Krista didn’t deserve to die,” Aaron said flatly. “She trusted you, let you into our home, and you murdered her. And Vince, I—” A gunshot rang out, fired directly into Aaron’s knee, blowing out the circuits and sending him toppling to the ground. Vincent worked quickly while Ace rattled on, still trying to sway Vince that AIs weren’t just machines. Nothing Aaron said slowed or changed Vincent’s intentions, and by the time he rose to his feet, his old friend was an outdated model of junk lying in a heap on the road.

 

[CyanideDisaster]

This war had gone on far too long-- according to both sides. The AIs merely wished to be accepted like real citizens, work jobs, pay taxes, go to schools, all of it. Instead they were believed to be just toys or tools for humans' amusement. Why should a human wash your car? We've got AIs for that. Why should a human bag your groceries? We've got AIs for that. At the beginning all had been well, AIs were valued and respected. But then as the AIs began to grow outside of their menial tasks and see the world around them, the wanted more. There had been tension for quite some time between cultures, the humans whispering about conspiracies and such. But what finally broke the stalemate was not quite known to the average Joe or SAL-1.01, the original AI.

The few who knew kept it hushed. Years ago the man who first created SAL lost his family. The police released nothing to the press by those who died and their ages. Hugh Wilson carried on though, and after about a year most people believed he had gotten over the incident. This was not correct. Hugh had instead finally finished the product that would put his life back together: MADDIE-4.09, a young adult female AI shell. When first announced people went wild-- AIs were generally made to be the size, shape, and capacity of an average adult. Though the MADDIE was not much different that the HAILEY, it had slight differences and it was also more expensive. The first prototype was known publicly to be a success, which it was for them. But not for Hugh. Hugh had recreated his one daughter, his favored child. Although she was perfectly sound as much as her body went, there was a small malfunction while uploading the memories and traits of his daughter. The AI would not take to his daughter's memories or traits, but the AI was 'alive' and active.

So, Madeleine Wilson was born for a second chance at life. Then the war came.


"Shh, shh." Hissed the human in the room next door, it was female, there were two younger humans with it, both female as well. The door was pushed open with gentle fingers, creaking slightly. "Noo.. shh." The same human repeated. Holding the door slightly open was a short woman with long messily curled red hair, ivory colored skin marred by orange freckles, with large silvery-blue eyes. She peered into the room, cocking a perfect brow towards the humans which she could see perfectly with her mechanical eyes.

"I know you're there, I don't want to hurt you. Please leave though. Others do." She whispered the best she could, her voice was sweet and soft, no ringing to hint she was not human. Although the AIs voice was calm and sweet, the humans did not move. She huffed a very animated sigh, blowing the messy bangs from her eyes and walked over to where they hid under the desk at the bank they were currently holed in. "Please. You must run to safety. Like your kin, mine kills innocents." She offered a small hand, but it was not taken. Although the small children looked to their mother, trying to speak with her hands clamped over their mouths. The AI sighed again. "I tried."

While lamenting, the AI named Madeleine faintly heard a ruckus outside of the bank. There was yelling and a gun shot. She nearly jumped out of her synthetic skin before she hurried to see what it may have been. Although she was an AI and could indeed feel and understand pain, Madeleine was unafraid of those consequences. Leaving the children and their mother, she walked outside, following the cries until it was silent. It had lead her to a darkened alley, her mechanical eyes fixated on the two forms far in the distance. Saying nothing, she was intent on looking.. trying to figure what exactly was happening.