Thomas is eating the dinner cooked by Kizuna AI in the latter's home.
"You know, you shocked me when you said you're a robot." Thomas told her, "All the robots I see are the metallic grey ones. You're a special one."
"Lots of people told me that when they see me." She replied, "Daddy told me he and his friend specially created my face, my body, and my clothes for me to look just like a normal girl."
"Do you know the reason why he wanted to make you a human-like robot? Or why he calls you his daughter?" She shook her head.
"What does your 'father' work as?" He continued asking, "A CEO? A businessman? A banker?"
"I...don't know that too." Kizuna replied, "Thomas-chan, let's talk about you, shall we? What are your favorite things to do?"
"Let me see..." Thomas scratched his chin, "I like to watch movies, play some basketball, and sleep."
"Sleeping's your hobby?" Kizuna let out a small laugh, "I don't think that's considered one."
"It is." Thomas joked, "What's yours, Ai-chan?"
"I love playing video games." Kizuna replied, "I like having conversations with people, so that I don't feel lonely. So, by having this conversation with you, I'm happy. Usually, it'd be with Daddy. Sometimes he would have to attend to urgent work, like today, and I'll feel lonely because I have no one to talk to."
"Don't you have any friends?"
"I'm home-schooled, so I don't know anyone else. Would you want to be my very first friend?"
"Uhh...sure." Thomas replied.
"Yay!" Kizuna jumped in joy and hugged Thomas.
"Ai-chan, you're squeezing me so hard you're about to crush me." Thomas said weakly, "You're a robot, not a human."
"Oh, I'm sorry." She stopped hugging him and sat back down on her seat.
"By the way, don't you eat, Ai-chan?" He asked her, "You don't eat food or something?"
"Thomas-chan, you're so adorable." She teased him, "Robots don't eat. You're a university student. Surely you should know about this?"
"Right." He knocked his head with his left fist, "I thought you were the real human daughter of Mr Jason."
Thomas quietly continued eating his dinner before she told him, "After this, I'll bring you up to my room."
In the police station, police officers are being called to gather in the meeting room. They sat down on chairs as they discussing about the reason they were being called for.
"Hey, what do you think we're called for?" One officer asked.
"Probably some protest group has made trouble again!" Another exclaimed, "They don't stop chanting and disrupting the peace, don't they?"
"What can we do?" The third one sighed, "The Master now is such a dense guy. Even if we're supposed to stop those protestors, I understand them perfectly fine. I mean, just listen to the rules. Any crime committed results in a death sentence."
"Have you heard of the case of Charlie Lee?" The fourth one questioned, "Just because he snatched the purse off a woman, and he was caught, he was awarded the death sentence."
"Don't use the term 'awarded'." The fifth officer replied, "You make him sound like he's receiving some award or honorary."
"Bro, you'd better not talk about this." The first officer uttered, "If the commander hears this..."
Just then, a police commander slammed the door open and the officers immediately stopped talking. The commander's footsteps can be heard in the room as he walked towards the projector. He then switched his computer on.
"Hello, officers!" He said sternly, "I'm Commander Lee. I'll be in charge of you today. As you have heard, protests have been happening recently. Unfortunately, there seems to be another one in Garderner Street. Our aim has always been the same. To tell them to stop it."
"But what happens if they refuse?" One officer queried, "Especially when we keep telling them to stop and they don't listen?"
"You must be a new police officer, aren't ya?" Commander Lee asked, "Well, if they don't comply, we have every right to shoot them down. The Master gave us the rights to do so, so we shall follow what he says."
He then slammed the table, "Operation starts in fifteen minutes. Everyone, go to the storeroom to take some shields and guns now."
The police officers rushed out of the room. Commander Lee went to his office and grabbed his rifle. As he is about to leave, he saw a picture in a picture frame. He picked the frame up and looked at the photograph. It consists of him and two other guys who looked younger than him.
"Sometimes, the truth is hard to accept." He muttered to himself before placing it back on the table and running out of the office.
In the park of Garderner Street, the protest group are marching down the road. They are shouting "Justice must be served!" over and over again. The man with robotic arms and legs, who is the leader, led the group as they walked on the road.
"We can't let the Master have his ways again!" He screamed, "He has taken away many lives unreasonably! Do you think this is fair?"
"No!" The other protestors yelled.
"Do you want to have the same thing happening to your family members?" He asked in a loud voice.
"No!" The protestors replied in union.
"Then we got to show the Master that he's in the wrong! Not only does he outrageously gives the death sentence to anyone committing a crime as simple as pickpocketing, he also can't stop the bigger criminals doing evil stuff, and only concentrates on the small ones! He always gives excuses! Today, if we don't fight back, he will never listen!" The group roared in agreement and continued to scream, "Justice must be served!"
The police officers came in their cars and vans. They took out their tranquilizer guns and aimed at at the protest group.
"To the protest group at the front, please stop what you are doing." One police officer shouted, "We don't want to shoot anyone down."
"We have the rights to protest!" One protestor retorted, "The world has been an unfair place ever since the new Master took over! We're representing those suffering in silence! Those whose family members have been unsparingly slaughtered due to the new rules! Justice must be served!"
"Stop right now!" Another police officer screamed, "You're disturbing people's peace and sleep!"
"Nothing is more important than justice! Give everyone a second chance! If we don't protest, the Master ain't gonna hear us!"
"We're giving you one last chance, guys." Commander Lee cleared his throat, "Disband right now, and return to your homes. We'll have to shoot you down otherwise."
"Is this how the Master shut our mouths?" The man with robotic arms and legs asked, "He's being a really big pussy. He knows he's doing a really shitty job, yet he needs his people to cover it up for him. Don't be the Master's dog, Eddie."
"You're not listening to us, aren't you?" Eddie shook his head, "Alright, don't blame us for being mean. Officers, shoot them."
"Yes, sir!" The officers then reloaded their guns and started shooting. In turn, the protestors started fighting against them. Some of the protestors turned unconscious after being hit by sedative darts.
The leader of the group went to Eddie and tried to punch him, but Eddie dodged and used the back of his rifle to hit his body. As the leader stumbled back, Eddie ran and jumped before landing a punch on the former's face.
The man immediately got back up and carried the police commander before slamming him onto the floor. The man then took a fire hydrant and tried hitting Eddie with it but the latter rolled to the left, making the fire hydrant break upon being smashed onto the floor.
Eddie jumped up and aimed his rifle at the half-robot, "Stop this instant, Simon Costner."
"What are you going to do? Shoot me?" Simon laughed, "If you do, you'll..." He then got hit on the stomach by a sedative dart. Eddie turned back and saw an officer aiming his gun at the now-unconscious leader.
"Thanks." Eddie muttered.
Back in Kizuna's house, she brought Thomas up to her room after his dinner. He was shocked when he first heard about it. He isn't sure about how to feel going into a girl's room.
"Don't you think this is weird, Ai-chan?" He asked her as they are walking up the stairs.
"Weird? What's weird?"
"You bringing me into your room? Don't you think that's a tad strange? You're allowing a man to enter your room. Doesn't that seem odd to enter?"
"I don't see anything wrong with it." Kizuna causally replied, "I'm just showing you around my room."
"You should feel worried." Thomas looked at her, "What happened if I were to see things I'm not supposed to see?"
Kizuna laughed, "I don't wear any of those, Thomas-chan. I only wear clothes. Under them is my pure robotic body. Are you expecting to see something, Thomas-chan?"
"N...no!" He stuttered, his cheeks turning red.
The two of them then entered the room. The walls are pink. To their left is a small cupboard with a 40 inch LED television on top of it. Beside the television is a small room with tools. To their front is the window and curtains. To their right, in the middle, is Kizuna's bed. On the bed's left is a closet of clothes. On the bed's right is a glass cabinet filled with figurines.
Thomas looked at the cabinet and looked at one of the figurines closely. He felt a connection to it, as if he had met the person before.
"That's a Spider Man figurine." Kizuna explained, "The character was created in 1962 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. That was like a thousand years ago! He can shoot webs, cling onto walls, and has superhuman strength, speed, and agility. He also has a sense to warn him of danger. He's really cool, and I liked it, so Daddy bought it for me."
"This Spider-Man thing..." Thomas muttered, "It feels like I've been him before. In my previous life, I guess?"
"What did you say, Thomas-chan?" Kizuna asked. Thomas shook his head and looked at the cupboard under her LED television.
She walked to him and opened one of the drawers. She took out a bunch of CDs out and showed them to Thomas. He looked at them. The Matrix, Wall-E, I Robot, Terminator, Artificial Intelligence, and Robots.
"You really have a lot of movies involving robots." Thomas commented.
"Daddy told me to watch all these films, so that I could get a feel of the robots living in this world." Kizuna replied, "I didn't really enjoy watching them, except the Matrix. The Matrix is so damn awesome. Especially when Keanu Reeves was dodging all those bullets in slow motion. What do they call it? Right, the bullet time effect. All these movies were made more than a thousand years ago. I wonder how they made such advanced things back then."
"Looks like you really know your stuff, Ai-chan." Thomas said.
"Wanna watch The Matrix with me, Thomas-chan?" Kizuna asked, "I can grab some popcorn and drinks up."
"Sure..." As soon as Thomas said that, his phone rang. He answered the call.
"Thomas Springfield!" A woman's voice is on the other line, "Where the heck are you? You're promised me you'll be back by nine!"
"Alright, Mum. I'm going back soon." Thomas then ended the call before turning to Kizuna, "Ai-chan, I'm sorry I can't accompany you today. I got to go back. My mother's screaming at me already."
"It's okay, Thomas-chan." Kizuna smiled, "Another day, perhaps."
"Sure." As he was about to walk out of the room, Kizuna ran to him, "Can I have your number? It's for contacting purposes, and for me to invite you here again."
"Okay." Thomas passed her his phone. She typed her number in before giving it back to him.
"I'll see you soon." Thomas waved goodbye before walking down the stairs. Kizuna looked at him for a while before going back into her room.
In the police interrogation room, the robotic powers have been greatly reduced, which weakens the robot. Simon sat down on a chair, his hands handcuffed. Eddie sat opposite of him.
"You're making it seem like I did a crime." Simon told the commander, "But yet again, committing a crime will result in a death sentence. So, why am I in this room? Am I awaiting death to come knocking on my front door?"
"You did not commit a crime. Protesting isn't." Eddie explained, "However, you're disturbing everyone. Causing public nuisance with your group of uncultured swines. A day of probation isn't working. Neither is a week, nor a month. This time, it's going to be a year. Soon, it'll be a decade, then a century. When will you ever learn to stop doing useless protests like this? The Master will never change just because of you. How many times do I have to tell you? Master did this for the safety of the world."
"Eddie, I find you very funny." Simon stated, "I don't know why you're siding the Master. Don't you find no justice in this world? A hundred and forty five years ago, there was. You and I...we are very similar. We both suffer personal problems, right?"
Outside the police station, a limousine stopped at the gate. A man came out of the limo and walked to the entrance.
Back in the interrogation room, Simon continued talking to Eddie.
"We're just different by this one factor. It's about how the Master affected us. For me, he didn't find the motherfuckers who cut off my arms and legs, and he doesn't give a single damn about it. So I have to live with this body. What about you? Eddie, your brother's killed. Just because he fucking stole a granny's wallet. What a joke."
Eddie started clenching his fists.
"Eddie, you know I really pity you." Simon looked at him, "You're still supporting the Master even after he gave your younger brother the death sentence. You're such a naive person to think he's such a good person. He's not his great-grandfather, Eddie. He's not Hideki. Wake your damn mind up."
"Shut up before I rip your balls off." Eddie growled.
"Aw, look at that." Simon laughed, "Creases on your forehead. Don't get too stressed out. Maybe you should tell your children next time to not commit any crime, or they'll end up like their uncle. Poor Charlie. A life taken away because of some stupid rule. But for him to resort to pickpocketing, his older brother must have been either stingy, selfish, or he didn't teach his younger brother well."
"Shut the fuck up!" Eddie shouted furiously as he pushed the table away and stood up. He then held Simon up by the neck and held onto it tightly.
"Yes, Eddie!" Simon smirked, "Show me what you've got! Let out all the anger that has been built! Express to me your dissatisfaction that your brother has been killed! Vent all those frustration, anger, sadness that has been consuming you!"
Simon then whispered to his ear, "Remember to not kill me though. Because if you do, you'll end up like Charlie. Heck, you will be able to see your brother again! Isn't that a win-win solution?"
Eddie, unable to take Simon's taunting, roared in anger and slammed him onto the floor. Eddie's phone then rang. He whipped his phone out and answered the call.
"Eddie, this is the Master." The voice spoke, "Do not kill him. You clearly know what happens if you do."
"Yes, Master."
"I'll be waiting outside the room. I got some things to talk to you. And, by the way, thanks for stopping the group today. Sorry for telling you in such short notice."
"No problem, Master." Eddie then ended the call.
"Oh wow, it's the Master." Simon chuckled, "Has he given you a new instruction to kill me?"
"Shut your damn mouth, will you?" Eddie then walked out of the room. He turned to the two police officers outside the room, "Put him in the probation room now."
"Yes, Commander!" The officers replied before going in the interrogation room. Eddie sighed and walked away.
In Thomas's house, he got out of the toilet as he rubbed the towel on his wet hair. When he walked into his room, he saw a woman sitting on his bed. He placed his towel on a hanger and went to sit beside her.
"So, tell me, Tom, where did you go just now?" She asked, "I'm curious. You told your mother you'd come back before nine, but you only came back an hour and a half later. Did you get caught up in some accident or went to watch a movie with your friends?"
"No, Penny. It's something more interesting." Thomas responded, "I met a female robot today. She's a robot who has artificial intelligence!"
"Tell me more then."
"She's really smart. She cooks for her master, buy groceries, and she evens knows movies related to robots. She could tell me about a movie named The Matrix. She owns some figurines too. She's kinda cool, to be honest."
"That's just knowing a little, Thomas." Penny said, "Her master could have taught her what to say about the movie or something. I feel that she's just a normal robot like any other robot in the world. Emotionless, following their master's instructions, be their dogs. That's all."
"But she's..."
"Enough talk about her. How's your university exam preparations?"
"I think I'm mostly prepared. Just got to study a few more topics and memorize the history of the world. What about you? Enjoying your third year?"
"It's all fine. You know, when I think of university, I always think of how we met. Do you remember?"
"Of course. When you first came into the university, you and some other students were grouped into one group, and I was in charge of showing you guys around. I saw that you were lonely while the rest of then talked to each other, and so I talked to you."
"Ahh, the memories." Penny then held Thomas's hands, "Tom, I really hope we could stay this way forever. Once we finish university, and we find jobs to earn money, we can get married. Then we can start a family."
"Me too." He then planted a kiss on her lips, "Time for you to got to sleep. You got a spelling bee contest tomorrow, right?"
"Right." Penny smiled at him, "I shall go to sleep."
"Good night, and good luck." Thomas grinned. She kissed his cheeks, "Good night, my sweetheart."
She then lied down on the bed and slept. As Thomas is about to turn in too, his phone buzzed. He received a message from Kizuna.
"I was wondering if I can meet you tomorrow morning, since I'm free for the day. We can watch The Matrix if you want to. Or some other movie is fine. Text me back if you see this! ~ Ai-chan."
He replied with a 'yes'.
The next morning, he went to Kizuna's house and knocked on the front door. Kizuna opened it.
"Hai domo, Thomas-chan!" She beamed, "Have you eaten breakfast yet?" He shook his head in response.
"It's okay. Come on in." She allowed him into the house before closing the door, "Wait in the living room for a while, okay? I need to tidy up my room. I don't want you to see my messy room. I'll come down and tell you once I'm done."
"Take your time, Ai-chan." Thomas replied. Kizuna nodded her head and went up the stairs. He looked around the living room and realized it is so spacious.
"Mr Jason must be very rich to own this big house." He thought. He then felt thirsty out of the blue.
He walked to the kitchen and tried to find a cup to pour water in. As he is finding, he heard Jason talking to someone on the phone. He hid behind a wall as he heard the conversation.
"...make sure to keep a close eye on him." Jason is saying, "He's kinda affected by the events that has happened, so be sure to comfort him. Also, tell your officers to walk around the city to make sure there are no more protests happening."
"Protests?" Thomas is surprised, holding his breath.
