MEMORY LOG: 4-AE

FINAL MEMORY LOG

YEAR: 2239

---SUBJECT: 4-AE

---[ANGEL CLASS ANDROID]

---FEMALE

---SUPPORT SPECIALIST

---REASON FOR DATA END:

[SUBJECT TERMINATED]

................................................…

4-AE opened the door to her room. It was directly across from 4-HN's. Or, as she liked to call him, Ahn.

"Saying your serial number every time I want to talk to you seems like such a pain," she had said.

Ahn turned, putting up his masquerade of cheerfulness. "I suppose you're right," he had replied, giving a forced smile.

"I'll call you Ahn. You know, cause '4' kinda looks like 'A'," she determined. "You should come up with something to call me! We'll give each other names!"

"I don't know if I could," Ahn had said, a hint of blue in his eyes.

That had been four years ago. Now, they had more pressing matters to worry about.

4-AE walked into the long white hallway, seeing her partner standing at the end of it.

"Good morning!" she said cheerfully.

Ahn turned and smiled, responding in a similar fashion. "Morning!"

4-AE sighed. He always did this. While he would say these things, seemingly with as much energy as she had, 4-AE knew that his words were meaningless. He was just going along with his program. The scientists at EDGE would say that he was "functioning properly", or that he was "doing what he was supposed to".

He acted upbeat and cheerful, and was good enough at it that anyone who didn't know him like she did would think he was simply an energetic android. This, of course, was not the case. As he continued to move his mouth and lips to form these bright sounding words, his eyes remained a dull gray, only occasionally bordered by other colors - none of which were happiness.

It had been like this for the past five years, ever since they were made together. The scientists set them both to have cheerful attitudes, to always agree with each other, to stay upbeat. This worked, at least on the outside, but these androids could feel emotion. Their personalities would mold with their experiences. In their cases, those experiences consisted of being sent to slaughter people they knew nothing about, day after day.

Or, more accurately, Ahn did the killing. He was a marksman-type android, specializing in ranged combat, while 4-AE was optimal in a support role. She used two carbon fiber shields, one in each hand, to block incoming kinetic blows while she focused her core's energy into producing Ranged Impact Shields to block plasma bullets. She was also able to eject her hands and use them as grappling hooks, allowing for both increased mobility and the ability to bring enemies to her, giving Ahn the chance to finish them off while she held them in place. She wasn't efficient when it came to attacking, so she would take the brunt of the onslaught while Ahn killed everything in the area. This tactic made them an incomparably strong team.

Today's mission was especially important. They were to infiltrate a research facility of Core Incorporate and steal the blueprints they were developing for androids of similar caliber to the ANGELs. EDGE had managed to hack into Core Incorporate's servers, revealing that the plans to create these androids were being kept in a laboratory under the guise of a train station. These trains would come in once a day at noon, delivering large shipments of electronics, which would then be used to make cutting edge weaponry.

The shipment today was supposed to contain the parts to build those androids. Ahn seemed to notice that 4-AE was lost in thought. "Are you nervous?" he asked. "I don't know how I feel about this assignment. It's a little daunting."

"I'll be fine as long as I have you to back me up," she responded. Unlike Ahn, she truly meant her words.

He nodded, not knowing how to respond to this, the fake smile slowly drifting off his face.

It was 11:30 AM. Five minutes until their mission. 4-AE was going to talk to Ahn about the facade he always put up when they got back, she decided. She was going to bring the real Ahn out.

"You guys ready?" Dr. Samuel asked, startling 4-AE as he walked up behind them. "It's about time to go."

"Yep!" 4-AE said, now mimicking Ahn's smiling act. She couldn't determine what it was about the man in front of her, but she absolutely despised him.

Ahn nodded in agreement.

"Alright!" Dr. Samuel clapped his hands together. "Get going." His tone changed, dropping all the friendliness that was there just a moment before. This guy put off a strange vibe, 4-AE thought. She shrugged, her attention diverting to the task at hand. She looked at Ahn. 'Let's go,' his voice rang inside her head.

They were less than a hundred meters away from the false train station when the driver stopped. "If we just drive up to the building, we'll draw too much attention," he said. "You two know what you have to do."

Core Incorporate had done a good job with their cover as a "train station". A set of tracks ran through the externally run-down brick building, accompanied only by a few tinted windows a couple feet off of the ground. Nobody would expect it to be a weapons laboratory without seeing the inside.

4-AE scanned the building for heat signatures, finding that, to her surprise, there were none. 'Ahn,' she thought to her partner.

'I know,' his voice came back. 'We still need to be careful.'

She nodded.

As they approached the building, nothing happened. No security measures; no turrets, no electric grids, no cryo pads, nothing. It was as if the lab had been abandoned.

Ahn, after testing the door for traps and finding none, gave the signal for 4-AE to enter. She kicked the door down, holding her shields up, ready for a surprise attack. None came.

The concrete floor was spotless, the building empty save for the tracks running through the middle of the large room. There was no equipment, no tables, no chairs, no materials. No people.

What could have happened? They had gathered intel the day before and found that the building was heavily occupied. Something was wrong.

On a whim, 4-AE decided to scan the area for electronics. Two marks flashed on her interface. They were both humanoid. Androids. They were closing in quickly.

"Ahn!" she yelled. A plasma shot was already illuminating the room, flying straight toward Ahn's chest. 4-AE reached out, deploying her [RIS] in front of him. The shot dissipated, leaving behind the glowing blue hexagonal grid that the [RIS] formed when it received a hit.

Ahn drew his pistols, searching for the origin of the shot.

Two androids walked through a doorway on the other side of the room. They didn't have any discernible gender, lacking a specific shape to their bodies, or even facial features. They instead had metal masks where their faces would have been, a red glow emanating from the slits where their eyes would be.

They both had slim builds, and were about the height of an average human male. One held a steaming plasma rifle, grenades lining its forearms, similarly to LiFE Enterprise's design. The other had heavily set legs that were largely disproportionate to its body, having no weapon aside from fingers that were nearly twelve inches long, each ending in a sharp blade. Its arms were long enough that they dragged across the ground, leaving a trail of sparks as the faceless android walked.

That was why nobody was there. The androids were finished. EDGE's intel had been wrong.

The two groups faced each other across the train tracks, standing still as if waiting for the other to make the first move. Ahn broke the standoff, firing a series of shots at the opposing android with the rifle.

It stood motionless for a moment, letting the shots hit the hexagonal red barrier that formed in front of it.

4-AE stepped back in shock. They had their own version of the [RIS]?

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, both of the opposing androids sprung to life.

The clawed enemy closed the gap in under a second, slashing at Ahn before he could react, sending him into a wall, then turned to 4-AE, swinging in a wild frenzy at her.

She was able to block this series of attacks, but wouldn't be able to maintain her guard for long. It was just too fast. Ahn got up, raising his guns again, only to get hit by a plasma shot to the knee from across the tracks, sending him back to the ground.

Seeing that Ahn was temporarily not a threat, both of the opposing androids now focused on 4-AE, further increasing the already massive offensive pressure she was struggling to keep up with. She was now taking frequent hits, sparks flying from the gashes the large claws were leaving.

Ahn struggled to his feet again behind her, this time quickly dodging to avoid getting hit again. He fired at the clawed android, hitting it once in the back.

It let out an ear-piercing screech, rushing at him. 4-AE was able to react this time, blocking it off with an [RIS]. The ranged opponent took advantage of 4-AE's attention shifting, shooting her three times in the torso before she could block.

The enraged clawed enemy saw that it wasn't able to attack Ahn, and had taken a bit of damage in its attempt to do so, opting instead for mindlessly slashing at 4-AE again.

Ahn was in a disadvantageous shootout with the other gunner - he didn't have an [RIS] system installed yet. His shots bounced harmlessly off of the faceless android's red shield, the only effect being the sizzle of plasma dissipating on the surface of the barrier.

The gunner, however, was able to occasionally land bursts of plasma through Ahn's nimble dodges, leaving the smell of burnt metal in the air. To make matters worse, it would also throw grenades across the tracks, further deteriorating Ahn's physical state.

4-AE was not faring much better. The clawed android's movements were faster than her own by a longshot; she was not optimized for this style of combat. While she was more durable than her partner, she sacrificed speed to achieve this.

The clawed assailant's next series of wild attacks sent her onto the tracks. There was very little she could do to block such a random attack pattern at such high speeds.

4-AE could hardly move. Her legs were badly damaged. Upon realizing this, the clawed android went back to its original target. Ahn was already struggling against one opponent. He had no chance to win against two.

4-AE could only watch as her partner was struck to the ground repeatedly, taking an increasingly heavy beating each time. She wanted to help him. She wanted to reach out to him. She felt helpless.

A deep rumble shook the building. 4-AE felt vibrations coming from the tracks. A train.

Ahn was desperately trying to fight off his two assailants. He was failing badly. There were various holes in his torso, and he was missing a leg. He wasn't going to survive the encounter if this kept up. He staggered to his feet, only to be thrown to the ground again.

The clawed android loomed over him, its sinister-looking hand raised for the kill. Ahn tried to get up, but it was useless. Even if he did, he would only be sent back to the hard surface of the floor.

Suddenly, the android flew backward, as if some unseen force had yanked it away. The incoming rain of plasma bullets stopped, too. What had happened?

4-AE sent her thoughts to Ahn. 'Run.'

Ahn responded. 'What are you talking about?'

She saw him stand up, looking onto the tracks she was laying on. She had fully retracted her hands now, having grappled the two enemy androids to her. They struggled, but despite their efforts, she refused to let go. 4-AE may have been slow, but to say she wasn't strong was foolish.

'Live,' she smiled. 'Take the time you have left to find out who you are.'

Ahn repeated his question. 'What are you talking about, 4-AE?'

'I've seen your eyes,' she smiled. A sad smile, despite her best efforts to come off as positive. 'As long as you're alive, you can still become somebody that you can call yourself,' she continued. Her arms were barely functional anymore; the two androids in her grip were thrashing violently in their attempt to get out.

'Can you honestly say that you have been acting in accordance with how you really feel? Are you...yourself?'

The source of the rumbling had almost reached her.

'What are you saying?' Ahn's pained voice came back. 'We can do that together. Let go, I'll find a way to win. You don't have to worry about me.'

4-AE laughed, in spite of herself. 'I'm sorry.'

Ahn lunged toward the tracks, hobbling on his one remaining leg. 4-AE used the last of her remaining focus to form a circular [RIS] around him, blocking his path to the railway.

'Don't leave me here. Don't leave me alone,' his voice pleaded.

"I don't want to be alone!" He was now shouting out loud, pounding feebly against the barrier. His shouts were desperate, pain bleeding like a mortal wound into his helpless cries.

4-AE looked at the deep blue in his eyes. The color matched his words, for once.

"See? You can do it," she whispered.

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DATA END.

SUBJECT TERMINATED.

TIME OF DEATH: 1200, 4TH OF JUNE, 2239.

CAUSE: SEVERE KINETIC TRAUMA

EMOTION LOG: POSSIBLE ERROR. SADNESS 90 PERCENT. HAPPINESS FOUR PERCENT. UNKNOWN: SIX PERCENT.

DAMAGE IRREPARABLE. NO POSSIBILITY OF RECOVERY. REQUESTING NEW SUBJECT TO BE MADE IMMEDIATELY.

EXPECTED ETA OF NEW SUBJECT: 2242 AD.

LOG TERMINATION WILL OCCUR IN THIRTY-ONE DAYS UNLESS DATA STORAGE IS AUTHORIZED.

LOG END.