Interval 3 PART 2 - Unwanted Attention

-BUNKER-

"Tell me operator 6O, what should I not find out?" Commander White asked 6O.

6O sweated nervously as she looked around in hopes of finding something to get her out of this situation. 21O then put a calming hand on her shoulder, making her jump, and spoke to the commander.

"6O, I believe it would be better for everyone if we say what the commander wants to know." 21O sighed.

"I'm waiting for your answer." Commander White said, stomping the floor and crossing her arms.

"Well…" 6O muttered, pressing a few buttons on her terminal.

A tab named Open Broadcasts appeared, revealing a playlist containing all the episodes broadcast by Alan.

"I detected an open signal on the world data network a few days ago, connecting to the signal revealed an unknown android accompanied by a POD." 6O said, starting one of the episodes for the commander to see.

"And you didn't find it important to report that an unknown android possesses Yorha property?" The commander asked, watching the episode analytically.

"I saw no harm in it, the android known as Alan proved to be a great connoisseur of human history, ranging from society, culture, and folklore. I believe these recordings can improve the morale of the Army of Humanity and Yorha, as well as inform androids about human history." 6O said nervously.

"Hm…" The commander muttered, staring intensely at the recording, 21O and then 6O.

"Send all recordings to my terminal. I will not forbid you two from watching it, but you will only be allowed to watch them during your breaks." The commander said, quickly glancing at the terminals of other operators.

"YES MA'AM!" 6O and 21O responded simultaneously before Commander White left. Then the two operators slumped in their chairs as they sweated and trembled in fear.

"We just condemned an innocent android, didn't we?" 6O asked 21O.

"Probably." 21O replied, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

-XXXXXX-

What a mess! I thought as I entered my room full of scattered clothes, a messy bed, and unread reports. In addition, when was the last time I had maintenance? When was the last time I had an update?

It does not matter now. Maybe someday, when this is all over, I will tidy up this room. As if! I wonder how long I have to perpetuate the great lie.

Then, I sat in front of the terminal at my desk; let us see what is so interesting about these recordings.

-XXXXXX-

This is worrying! I thought, leaning back in my chair.

I could not care less about this android sharing human knowledge; this is a good thing for morale, something to distract the androids from the war. What really worries me is what this android said.

SHADES.

How does an android still remember the SHADES? If I remember correctly, a mandatory update was released for all androids in the world after the last SHADE disappeared.

There was something hidden in the software updates, a code that would rewrite an android's memories, making them think that a certain project went as planned and humans lived in peace.

Now an android appears remembering everything! Did he not go through the update? A total RESET by a virus was the made-up consequence of what would happen if someone did not update, returning the android to its factory version.

What should I do? I need to contact the Army of Humanity! I thought, tipping into my terminal.

-XXXXXX-

Contrary to popular belief, THE BUNKER was not the only space station created by androids to fight the aliens and their machines.

There was a station known as THE LAB a long time ago, but a supposed accident with the black boxes of the androids destroyed it with a massive explosion.

Another station affectionately dubbed the DEATH STAR, is where the androids responsible for leading the Army of Humanity performed their duties.

The highest echelon of the Army of Humanity moved to this station orbiting the planet, to prevent the disorganization of the army from occurring if one of the leaders dies.

In an office inside the DEATH STAR, a male android sitting at a table reviewed reports from his operators. Suddenly, someone knocked on the office's door.

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

"Come in." The male android said.

The office door opened and a female android poked her head into the room.

"Sir, there is an android requesting direct communication with you." The female android said.

"Can't this android talk with one of my aides?" The male android asked.

"Sir, it is Commander White." The female android said nervously.

"Okay, connect it to my terminal." The male android sighed.

"Yes sir!" The female android replied as she closed the door.

A holographic screen opened on the android's desk, showing Commander White's face.

"White." The male android smiled.

"Alexander." White replied, smiling back.

"It's been a while since you last contacted me. What is the special occasion?" Alexander asked, leaning back on his chair and crossing his arms.

"I have found something concerning, which I believe may be of interest." White replied, assuming a serious expression.

"What did you find so troubling that you had to contact me?" Alexander asked seriously, raising an eyebrow.

"An android on earth still remembers the SHADES." White replied, looking Alexander in the eye.

"WHAT?!?" Alexander yelled surprised, slamming both hands on his table.

"Yes, I had the same reaction. The android known as Alan broadcasted his knowledge of the human world, but he mentioned the SHADES and how they were everywhere, in one of his broadcasts."

"Didn't we create a mandatory update that secretly altered the androids' memories, making them think the project worked and the SHADES never existed?"

"Yes, apparently this android has not been updated. I also believe you will be interested in this android's appearance."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You better see for yourself, I'm sending you the recordings." White said, pressing some keys on her terminal. In less than a second, all episodes arrived at Alexander's terminal.

"White, I hope what you want to show me is worth it."

"I believe so, Alexander."

Alexander then watched the broadcasts.

-XXXXXX-

"Alexander?" White asked, but her friend did not answer.

"Alexander?" White asked again, but still, no answer.

"ALEXANDER!" White yelled.

"What?!?" Alexander asked, snapping out of his stupor.

"What did you think of what I showed you? Is that important enough to you?" White asked.

"Yes, it sure is. We need to find more information about this android; I will order a search in the Army of Humanity databases for any information about this android, for now, we only have a face, a name, and an estimated age. Since this android knows about the SHADES; it means that he must be old." Alexander replied.

"Right, I'll also order a search in Yorha's database for any relevant information. I will contact you immediately if I find anything important. I also recommend that you watch any new broadcasts."

"Okay, it was nice talking to you, White." Alexander said.

"It was nice to talk to you too, Alexander." White replied.

"So White, do you have a boyfriend?" Alexander asked, smiling teasingly.

Commander White frowned and looked at Alexander irritably before turning off her terminal, ending the conversations between the two.

"HAHAHA!" Alexander laughed, looking at his terminal.

"White, serious, and focused on duty as always, but this is not the time for that; let's see what information we can find about this mysterious android." Alexander said pressing a button on his terminal, then the same android from before entered his office.

"Sir, did you call me?" The android asked, saluting Alexander.

"Yes, I want all the operators to search for any information about a specific android; we have a face, a name, and an estimated age."

"Yes sir!"

"I'm sending the information to you." Alexander replied, pressing some buttons on his terminal.

The android looked at an advanced tablet in her hands, and her eyes widened at what she saw.

"Sir, you and that android..."

"Yes." Alexander replied before she finished.

"I will return with the information." The android said, straightening her stance.

"Right, you can go now."

"Yes sir!" The android then left the room.

Meanwhile, Alexander just stared at Alan's image on his terminal.

-City Ruins-

"Why are we here?" 11B asked Alan as the two hid in an alley with shopping carts next to the two.

"To get money." Alan replied, pressing the button on his thunder knife and watching the electricity flowing through the blade.

"And how do we get money hiding in an alley?"

"That is how." Alan said, pointing to the window of a building across the street.

11B looked to where Alan pointed and saw two red blurs hiding behind the walls beside the windows. Suddenly, metallic footsteps echoed in the distance.

"Here they come, hide, now!" Alan said to 11B.

The two ran deeper into the alley, hiding behind a large garbage can while a group of machines walked down the street, two stubbies and a medium biped.

Devola and Popola waited for the machines to pass the building where they stood and left their covers with staff in their hands when the machines approached the entrance of the alley where Alan and 11B hid.

The twins pointed their staffs at the back of the machine's heads and fired two small magic projectiles, each piercing one of the stubbies; the machines fell motionless to the ground.

The biped turned around, searching for the source of the noise, but that was its mistake, as it did not notice the two red dots approaching its forehead. Two magic projectiles pierced its head before the biped knew what happened, sending the machine to the ground.

Alan poked his head out of the alley, looking to where Devola and Popola stood; both twins gave Alan a thumbs up.

"Let's go!" Alan said to 11B, running to the shopping cart and pushing it towards the fallen machines. 11B did the same, pushing her cart too while POD 000 carried a toolbox.

"What we will do?" 11B asked.

"We will open the machines to get their parts." Alan replied.

"Okay." 11B said, raising her sword, ready to cut one of the machines in two.

"What are you doing?!? Stop it!" Alan exclaimed in panic.

"I will open the machines to get the parts." 11B replied, not understanding the problem.

"You will decrease the sale value of the parts by damaging them!"

"What do you mean?" 11B asked confused, lowering her sword.

"Listen, the resistance camp androids collect machine parts to fix their equipment or repairs themselves. And before you ask, yes, androids use machine parts to make repairs; this is the truth that everyone prefers to ignore."

"Hm… Please continue." 11B replied, disconcerted by the information.

"Most parts end up sliced, crushed, or pierced by bullets when androids fight machines, and the surviving parts end up damaged, which reduces their sale value. Devola, Popola, and I kill the machines precisely, to disassemble them calmly and carefully, ensuring that the parts are in perfect condition so that we can sell them for the highest possible value. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Yes." 11B nodded.

Then Alan, 11B, POD 000, and POD 001 carefully dismantled the machines, while Devola and Popola provided cover from their hiding places.

Alan used screwdrivers to separate the limbs from the torso while 11B used the tip of her sword to open the biped's torso from top to bottom, separating the two halves and exposing the parts.

Therefore, the process repeated itself for most of the day. Alan and 11B hid in the alley, waiting for a machine to pass, which did not take long. Devola and Popola would kill the machine before Alan and 11B exited the alley and dismantled the machine.

11B also tried to kill some machines doing as little damage to the parts as possible, so she entered one of the buildings, climbed up to the fourth floor, and waited for a group of machines to approach.

Three medium bipeds walked together, two in the front and one in the back. 11B waited for the group of machines to pass the window where she hid. When the group got close, 11B jumped from the fourth floor and landed in the middle of the group of machines, surprising them.

11B swung her sword in a circle, cutting off the heads of all three machines, a perfect cut separating the heads from the bodies, thus keeping most of the parts intact.

11B then waved at Alan as she smiled. Alan waved back, smiling nervously due to 11B's brutal efficiency.

The shopping carts were full of machine parts when they finished, so Devola, Popola, Alan, 11B, and the PODs met at the alley.

"We will go to the resistance camp to sell these parts. Are you two coming too?" Alan asked the twins.

"No." Devola replied.

"We would like to stay here and explore the city a little bit." Popola said.

"If that's what you want, we'll meet at home for dinner." Alan spoke, pushing his cart toward the camp.

"Leave it with us." Devola replied, walking away with Popola beside her, disappearing in one of the city's alleys.

-XXXXXX-

Devola and Popola walked through the city streets, dispatching any machines on the way. A serious air surrounded them, and the twins walked side by side in silence, stopping in front of a familiar building.

"Devola, are you sure about that?" Popola asked worriedly.

"Yes, I am." Devola replied, staring at the building with determination.

The two then entered the building, passing through luxurious corridors and large golden halls.

The twins went up the stairs, reaching a room with bodies scattered on the floor, wearing desert tribal clothes and wooden masks with drawings on them.

A body stood out from the rest, wearing black robes with gold trim, and a brown wooden mask with white lines and red eyes painted on it.

The twins approached the body and Devola bent down, picking up the mask, and revealing a pile of bones underneath it.

"Hello, King of Faced." Devola said sadly, tucking the mask under her arm.

"We are sorry for everything, but this place cannot continue to exist. I hope you found peace with Fyra." Popola spoke in the same tone as her sister.

Devola and Popola continued going up the floors until they reached a large room full of curtained windows with a bed full of flowers and toys on the other side.

"We live a big lie, don't we?" Popola said, picking up a teddy bear and caressing the toy.

"Yes, I know, you know and Alan knows, but we keep perpetuating the great lie for the good of the world. We live as if nothing happened, as if everything went as planned." Devola replied, approaching one of the windows and opening the curtain, letting in the sunlight.

"We need to put the past behind us, what's done is done, we're alive by a miracle, we've been given a second chance, and we can't let the past torment us." Popola said, putting the teddy bear back on the bed.

"What about the twins who live in the camp? Should we tell them the truth? That they are not to blame?" Devola asked.

"We'll tell them when the time is right; I can see you're not ready for this." Popola replied standing beside her sister, and together, they watched the city.

"I think we've stayed here long enough." Devola said, summoning her staff.

"I agree." Popola replied, doing the same.

Together, they swung their staffs and the room caught fire with a magic wave.

Calmly, the two left the room, but for a moment, between the flames, the twins saw a gray-skinned being with black wings, this being was holding hands with a younger white-haired girl wearing a long white dress.

The being and the girl waved goodbye to the twins, and the twins waved back.

Soon, the fire spread throughout the building, and the resistance acted quickly to put out the flames, but it was too late, the building collapsed and became a pile of ash and ruins.

The resistance determined that a malfunctioning machine entered the building and exploded causing the massive fire, but high-ranking members of the resistance knew this was just an excuse to hide the fact that no one knew the origin of the fire.

Meanwhile, a pair of twins watched the fire in the distance.

-XXXXXX-

Devola and Popola arrived home for dinner. Opening the door and cleaning their shoes on the welcome mat, the twins entered their house and walked toward the kitchen, a pleasant smell wafting through the air.

Entering the kitchen, the twins saw Alan roasting boar meat on the stove while POD 000 played music beside him.

"Hi Devola, hi Popola!" Alan said, waving at the twins.

"Hello!" The twins replied simultaneously.

"How was your day?" Alan asked.

"Boring." Devola said.

"We just explored the city." Popola replied.

"I'm glad nothing bad happened, but what is this?" Alan said pointing to the mask Devola carried.

"It is just a trinket we found, I will find a good place for it." Devola said, entering the living room and moving some books on the shelf to the side. Devola then placed the mask upright in the space next to the books.

"So, how were the sales?" Devola asked, sitting at the kitchen table.

"Did you get enough money from the parts?" Popola asked, sitting down too.

"You can bet! 11B even bought a new outfit!" Alan replied.

Looking to the side, Devola and Popola saw 11B leaning against the wall with arms crossed. 11B wore black boots, dark jeans, a black leather jacket, black fingerless gloves, and sunglasses, with her hair made into a ponytail.

11B looked at Devola and Popola, and made a V sign to the twins without uncrossing her arms; simultaneously a bubble of gum came out of 11B's mouth and burst, covering her face.

The twins were unsure whether to laugh or awe at the way 11B dressed. Alan then placed a plate of roast beef on the table.

"Do you two want some?" Alan asked.

"Yes please!" The twins replied.

Alan then set a plate for each of them and together they ate.

-DEATH STAR-

"Sir, here is all the information we found about the android." Alexander's operator said, handing him a folder of documents.

"Thank you." Alexander said, reading the files, his face contorting in a frown.

"Is this serious?" Alexander asked after finishing.

"Yes sir, that's all we found!" The operator responded nervously.

"Very well, you can go now." Alexander said.

"Yes sir!" The android replied, leaving the room.

Alexander then read and reread the document, hoping that his eyes were not deceiving him. Alan's photo was in the file with the following information.

NAME: Alan.

RANK: General.

STATUS: Killed in Action.

AGE: UNKNOWN.

YEAR OF MANUFACTURE: UNKNOWN.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UNKNOWN.

FACTORY OF ORIGIN: UNKNOWN.

SERIAL NUMBER: UNKNOWN.

UPDATE HISTORY: UNKNOWN.

Therefore, an unknown android entered the Army of Humanity, became a general, thus receiving the function of leading thousands of androids, and was presumed dead; only to reappear in Japan as if nothing had happened.

This android was not present in any update and because of that, he knows about the SHADES.

White will have an aneurysm and a heart attack when she finds out, but we cannot make hasty decisions; let us keep an eye out to see if Alan reveals any more classified information.

I would like for my predecessor not die before I meet him. Alexander thought as he looked into the void of space through his office window.

It was possible to see the reflection of Alexander's face in the glass of the window, a familiar face, a face exactly like Alan's, but younger and well-kept.

-XXXXXX-

OMAKE: Getting money alternatively

Alan walked through the desert, until he saw a trailer in the distance, approaching the trailer and knocking on the door, it opened, revealing Jackass.

"Alan." Jackass spoke emotionlessly.

"Jackass." Alan replied in the same tone.

The two greeted each other and Alan entered the trailer. Alan and Jackass then put on yellow suits, black gloves, boots, gas masks, and caps.

"Let's cook!" Jackass said as the two approached a table full of lab equipment. There was a box in the corner of the trailer with something written on it.

E-DRUGS

END OF CHAPTER