I'll Protect You

Grandma Anne felt that the core in her hands started to get warmer so she opened her eyes. The core is shining brightly and the light engulfs the whole field of her vision. Then she saw amidst the light a faint image of a beautiful woman. There's a familiar feeling as she looks at her but she can't tell what it is. The woman has a gentle and warm look on her face.

She looked at Grandma Anne, smiled then flew towards to hug her. As the light from the woman envelops her whole body, she felt a sense of warmth. So warm that she remembered that the last time she felt this way was when her father hugged her when she was still a kid. It's been decades since she last felt this way. She suddenly missed her parents especially his father. She can't stop her eyes from welling with tears.

"Father..."

Then as the core stabilized, the light was gone in a flash.

Grandma Anne stared at the core in her hands, still can't believe what she witnessed and felt. The woman felt so real yet she seems like just an illusion. The kind of illusion that you'll want to become real.

To be able to touch.

To be able to hug.

Wouldn't it be nice if she's real?

She was in a bit of a daze then realized that they still have something to do so she composed herself and looked towards Finnia, "It seems that the core somehow powered up earlier, would you like to re-examine it again?" Then she handed it carefully to Finnia.

Finnia quickly scanned the core. To her amazement, the data crystal is already on an active state as if it is alive.

"Fascinating! Grandma Anne, it seems like whatever you did has somehow awakened the data crystal on this core. Let me try again now," Finnia excitedly cried out.

She poured some energy to help jumpstart it. As the core warmed up she then resent the command for the startup.

This time, the core's surface gradually glowed as code patterns whizzed around indicating that it is finally powering up. After ten seconds, it floated for an inch from Finnia's hand. The core has finished its startup routine and it is now active and ready for use.

Finnia re-scanned it using her sensor and found that the core is now emitting a very familiar energy signature. It's so familiar that she realized what it is right away.

"Is this the long lost Model AUERHUM-000?" Her eyes widened in shock as she muttered this silently.

Back in her time, the faction where she belongs to was under the 'bloodline' of this android model. Basically, every android on her faction was based on this particular model. It is their ancestor. Future models based on the ancestor might be better and more powerful but they were actually nothing compared to it. There's something on the ancestor core that sets it apart. It's an encrypted code that nobody was able to decrypt in full despite countless innovations for two thousand years. Future models were based on the partly decrypted data which has been upgraded again and again.

"I can't believe I actually run into the ancestor." Finnia was still stunned. Does Grandma Anne own the ancestor android? If I haven't met Grandma and haven't powered up the ancestor's core, does that mean we future androids from our faction will never exist? She finds the thought mind-boggling.

Finnia then placed back the core to its chamber and closed the protective layers. She then proceeded to reconnect the separated parts. After around ten minutes, the robot is now whole again. But there's no material for the outer protective layer so Grandma Anne helped put on one of its dresses. This robot has been with Grandma since she was a kid so she obviously has lots of clothes that fit perfectly.

After that's all and done, with everyone full of anticipation, Finnia has powered up the robot.

The robot whizzed to life. It shakes its body and gradually opened its eyes. It looked at its left hand as if trying to examine it. Then it nodded its head.

"Kimi!" Grandma Anne blurted out. She was very happy to see her beloved robot once again looking alive and well.

Kimi shuddered upon hearing Grandma Anne's voice. She swiftly lifted her head and looked towards the source of the voice.

Upon seeing Grandma Anne, she immediately jumped and vanished where she was standing before. And with a flash appeared right in front of Grandma. She wasted no time activating a shield trying to protect Grandma from the two strangers in the vicinity. Even though Grandma looks older from her memories, the voice and the energy signature matched.

Because the three were quite close to each other, the appearance of Kimi's shield forcefully pushed the two of them away from Grandma Anne.

"Anne, let's run at my signal," Kimi said in a whisper to Grandma Anne. The last thing she remembered is that they were in a perilous situation and her shield was trying to hold the attacks. Are these strangers some reinforcements of the enemy?

Grandma Anne just chuckled and instead of running away, she lovingly hugged Kimi from behind and gently said, "Kimi, glad you are back. We don't need to run anymore. These two are my friends."