Contraband

[Linnies]

"Ohhhhh SHIT!" Katie cried out, clinging to Hilda's arm tightly as she dug her face into the older woman's shoulder.

Hilda, seated beside the restless girl was un-phased as the impact showered the sparring area with wild gouts of plasma. With the military strength shielding protecting the spectator from any collateral damage, she focused instead on the performance of the fighters.

In the arena, the towering robotic knight, twice as tall as the average person, shifted its weight to press its massive two handed sword harder against the shimmering barrier. The smooth motion of precise and unyielding machinery worked in unison to transfer floor rattling force against a red-tinted membrane thick as a soap bubble. Yet it was the four tone machine who’s clawed feet dug grooves into the concrete floor that was pushed back.

Hilda could see the young Arcadian Lord's arm trembling just slightly, his teeth grinning in a wide smile as he struggled to keep his magical barrier steady.

"Master Leonard, watch out!" Katie shouted into the arena.

"Don't bother him, he'll be fine." Hilda said, pulling Katie back into her seat.

"But… if…" Katie started before being cut off.

"If the 281 Kilogram metal sword without its fermionic detribalization field will penetrate a magical barrier sustained by an Arcadian Lord? Not possible." Hilda explained.

“What? Magical barrier? This is not a joke ma’am, master looks like he’s in serious danger!” Katie protested in a panic, her head scanning the arena like a frightfluff trying to find its burrow.

Hilda took her eyes from the fight and squinted at the girl. Lord Leonard had brought Katie to his private training session, and from the looks of the girl, she was another addition to the ever growing list of companion androids that he kept. Her perfectly rounded face with carefully maintained blonde hair that covered the side of her face, her white glossy eyes that reflected more light and sparkled more than it should, and her soft pouty lips that practically jiggled as she panicked, were all clear signs of her function for anyone to see.

However, Hilda could not find any usual identification markings on her face or neck. Even for an android made to mimic a human as closely as possible, the law of the empire required clear identification for all androids. Leading to only one possibility…

Back in the arena, the knight twisted the other direction and brought its weapon in a wide arc across, building up momentum that crashed explosively into the red tinted barrier again. This exercise Hilda had seen countless times on almost a weekly basis, the knight's reflexes were fast enough to turn the blade last second as to not chop the lord in half. Of course, there were cases of fatalities during training, it was just how things are. The strong rule, and the weak die. It was the way of all nobles of the empire.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god I can't look at this anymore!” Katie covered her face with both her hands and shook as if she was in fear… or in tears, most likely both.

Hilda couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer. Her job was to tend to the armory of combat androids the lords used for practice. She was one of the best, chosen to serve the important task of repairing and maintaining the most impressive murder machines in the galaxy. With the lives of the empire’s current ruling nobility depended on it. As such her natural attraction to the curiosity of foreign and exotic androids was expected, and it would be reasonable of her to act on such curiosities.

Without a word, Hilda stood from her seat, and grabbed the front bottom of Katie’s loose crop top and pulled it up past her head.

“Eeeek!” Katie exclaimed as she moved her hands to cover her bare breasts that seemed to explode into Hilda’s face.

“What… What are you doing?!” Katie added.

It was obvious she didn’t need under-garments to hold loose fleshy appendages in place, a design flaw that all humans regrettably shared. However, Hilda frowned as she saw no marking on the girl’s body either. The usual places between the collarbones where control panels are conventionally placed, under either breasts where manufacturer’s markings would be hidden, on the belly that normally were labeled, denoting how to access the most important components of an android. All of these places were empty, only slight variations of blemishes and bare skin could be found. Not even a seam, or a port for charging or data-transfer could be found.

All of this only further fueled Hilda’s interest in the girl. The companion android was definitely foreign, now on top of that, she looked expensive as well. Could she be a class B, or even a class A android? The Empire was un-matched in android technology, with its neighboring rabble nations and kingdoms almost completely relying on their exports, it would be a surprise to see a working, sentient, and life-like android from the others. Could Katie be made by NanoNexus? StellarBots? There were no candidates Hilda could think of that could reach this level in at least a century.

Not wasting any time, and just like the guardians and warriors under her charge, she hit the girl with a combo attack. With Katie’s arm raised protecting her top Hilda grabbed the girl’s skirt with both hands and pulled it down past her knees that was answered with another sputtered out complaint and tightly crossed legs.

“Lord Arcadia, it is unwise to be so distracted in a battle.” The deep, intimidating voice of the robotic knight reverberated through the large enclosed space.

Hilda didn’t bother to turn back and look. She was stunned. In the brief moment it took Katie to react, she saw between Katie’s hips, in her clean shaven hairless area, was the faint etchings of Penta Industries, a robotics company owned by the Arcadians themselves. However the markings were not conventional. The font was something Penta Industries never used before, and the word “REHABILITATED” was etched as the first line of text.

“Hilda!”

The girl pushed Hilda off and stood up, pulling her skirt back up.

“You can’t just pull down my skirt or lift my top like this… it's very rude.”

Hilda raised an eyebrow at the very crossed looking girl.

"I… I know you guys here in Arcadia don't have any android rights and stuff… and… and even if that means someone like you can do whatever you want with me. I would still…"

Hilda listened, intrigued by the fervent complaint. Not by what the girl was saying, but by how she was saying it. For Hilda it was the first time she had experienced something like hostility from an conformt android, ironically not wanting to show its own assets in which it was created to use. However Katie's long complaint slowed to a pause as she focused on Lord Leonard approaching them from the arena below. As Leonard walked up behind her, Hilda could feel the passive heat emanating from his body and the faint musk of sour sweat.

"What's happening? You girls starting something without me?" Leonard asked, his eyes beaming with energy contrary to his heavy panting.

Hilda turned to Leonard who casually planted his elbow on her shoulder with a wide smile. She had seen thousands of these practice sessions and had become quite familiar with Lord Leonard, who shared similar interests in androids and robots, unchararistic of Arcadian Lords who actively practiced magic and looked down on synthetics with disdain.

“Master Leonard! Your friend… She just randomly pulled down my skirt and lifted my top!” Katie said accusingly.

“Why would Miss Hilda do that?” Leonard quizzed.

“I don’t know, she was inspecting my body or something…” Katie replied.

“And you didn’t let her?” Leonard questioned again.

“What?… Of Course not! That’s extremely inappropriate…”

“Well, Katie, show Miss Hilda what she wants to see.” Leonard said, with Katie looking shocked upon hearing this.

“He… Here? No! I can’t believe you would ask me that!”

Katie said, her voice turning into the same frustrated anger towards Leonard. Who in return looked at Hilda with a clocked head and a ‘See?’ Kind of look.

“Katie, I command you to show Miss Hilda what she wants to see.” Leonard commanded, his voice assertive and strong.

Katie opened her mouth in protest, but no words came out. Her face subtly shifted between emotions of protest and hurt. Hilda could tell when an android was forced to do something that they were not programmed to want, especially the higher class androids. Except… Katie didn’t seem smart or keen enough to be a class A or B android at all.

“I… I… Fine…”

Finally giving in to the command, Katie reluctantly grabbed the side of her skirt and began slowly pulling it down, with her face flush with red frustration.

“Oh! That’s okay Katie, you don’t need to do that…”

Hilda said, and rushed over and held on to Katie’s arm, stopping her. Katie in return beamed back at Leonard, who returned with a nod. Katie in return puffed up her chest and wrapped her arms around herself.

“Humph! I’m going to leave now… and I’ll wait for you outside, jerk.” Katie said, directed at Leonard specifically.

“Interesting…” Hilda said to Lord Leonard as they watched the girl strut out of the practice arena, with even the intimidating robotic knight keeping an eye on her.

“… My lord, I am just dying for you to tell me where you have procured such a radically altered android.” Hilda said, not bothering to lower her voice.

“From Calma, some trader sold it to me for quite a high price, enough to buy almost ten of the same model which it was modified from.”

Hilda and Leonard stood for a moment in silence as they watched Katie almost slam the metal doors shut across the arena. Lord Leonard, as if reading Hilda’s mind, continued.

“It's a Penta series 11 companion, just came out last cycle… Though I’m sure you know that already.”

Hilda nodded. She kept up with all the new android models the various houses of the empire produced. New models came every year, which were mostly only produced to keep up with population replacement rate, while the remainder were exported to systems and worlds that lay outside the empire. The Penta series 11 themselves were not an exception to the norm. Hardware, software, appearance, and sim updates were all done to keep up with ever changing trends in visual and social standards. Nothing particularly special about them compared to any other class C android in the last century.

Not waiting for Hilda’s reply, Leonard walked back towards the arena, twisting and stretching his arm.

“I’ll finish up, I’ll be expecting you at the workshop ASAP.” He noted as he gestured with his hand in a wave.

***

Later in the workshop, Hilda found herself working on the Knight whom Lord Leonard had been practicing with.

"Your emotions distract you, just like our liege."

The voice of the Knight boomed, echoing between the metal plates that enclosed the room despite his efforts to speak quietly.

"Oh! Haha… sorry about that."

Startled, Hilda had almost jumped out of her seat. She pulls back a cut of her hair back behind her ear, and in the same motion made sure the connector on the back of her neck was seated properly. The thick black wire dragged along the floor of the room and ended into a socket built into the wall. Using the connection Hilda deftly controlled a set of heavy robotic arms that hung from the ceiling, performing a cacophony of tasks on the robotic Knight's body.

"Number 671, no errors, responding with delay…"

Hilda nodded silently, as she mentally added it to the list of tasks to complete on the robot, while she reflexively tightened the large plug that frequently came loose behind her neck. The Knight laying against the thick metal slab also shared a connection to the repair bay together with Hilda. Its multiple eyes on its head occasionally scanned the room, and sometimes rested on Hilda herself.

Protocol was she did the maintenance and repairs, while Hilda could only guess what the Knight were up to. The Knights themselves were considered to be Class A robots/androids, they were as intelligent and knowledgeable as the top 0.01 percent of humans. The only masters they answered to were the house lords of the empire themselves. As Class A intelligences were heavily regulated, only the nobility could claim ownership over them.

“Is there something you wish to discuss, Hilda?” The knight questioned.

“No… nothing… Nothing important, just about Lord Leonard, and…”

“As you should. We are all placed in this universe for a purpose, and there is no shame to be drawn by its calling. Even if you know it will burn, maim, and leave you in ashes.”

“umm… okay.” Hilda nodded, not really understanding what the Knight was referring to.

To her relief, the buzzer to the shop sounded and with a wave in the air, Hilda opened the door. Turning around in her seat, Hilda peaked an eyebrow at the lone figure that shyly stepped into the room.

"Where's Master Leonard?" Hilda called out.

"He sent me ahead." Katie said, looking around the machine shop with strange curiosity.

"So why are you here?"

"Im… not sure." Katie said with hesitation.

"It is wise to not lie, android." The Knight said. Even not directed at her, his authoritative voice sending a chill down Hilda's spine.

"No! I wouldn't!" Katie said, jumping back with her arm held up and fists balled up below her chin.

"... Master told me to tell Hilda…"

With a series of electric hissing and whine of mechanical joints rushed behind Hilda, she could see the panic it brought on Katie. The Knights could be incredibly intimidating with their aggressive looking form and structure. Where often the people were more afraid of the Knights themselves, instead of the Lords that controlled them. Though for Hilda herself, she was more than comfortable having the killing machine around and she trusted it enough that it made her feel safe instead.

"... To uh, to tell her that he wants her to fix me."

Hilda perked up her brows. Lord Leonard must have picked up on her curiosity for the modified android earlier, and sent it to her instead of the many other services at his disposal more befitting to work on non murder machines.

"Don't worry girl, our Lord sent you to the right place. That's what all this is about."

Hilda said, gesturing to the half dozen of metal examination tables that sat upright asking an assortment of tools and machinery. One of which was taken by the Knight that was now reclining back into its previous position. As any and all AI was not allowed to modify itself by decree, so the Knight would just have to wait for Hilda to be finished with the newcomer. As a direct request from an Arcadian Lord, Hilda knew the Knight would understand.

Seeing Katie still tense and standing awkwardly, Hilda moved in and reached to grab her hands between her own.

"Don't worry, I work directly for Lord Leonard just like you, so in an way, you can think of us as family…"

Hilda said with a nod towards the Knight.

"... if anything, this is the safest place for you to be. With X8 here, nothing short of a regiment of soldiers could take you."

Hilda joked, trying to reassure the android. Hilda, with her training knew Class C weren't as mentally integrated as the higher level androids, and appeasing some of its situation safety parameters went a long way to get their cooperation and trust, which Katie responded predictably after a short delay.

"Umm… okay, I guess you're right. Sorry about earlier, I guess I was just stressed, that's all."

Hilda nodded and gently pulled Katie in for a friendly hug and a pat on her back, and not wanting to wait another moment dealing with the android's nonsense, led her directly to one of the tables that was already configured to work on human-like androids.

"So? What's wrong that needs fixing?”

Hilda asked as she flipped a series of switches and buttons, powering up the station.

"Master Leonard says…"

Katie paused, and continued only when Hilda shot her a glace.

"... Not that it means I'm broken, but he says I'm an uptight prude. I mean, sometimes Leonard can be so crass, you know what I’m talking about right?"

Hilda, finished with the station, stood back and rubbed her chin in thought. She was beginning to understand the picture.

From her guess, Lord Leonard had purchased an modified android from Calma, who gave citizen rights to its androids, and changed their behavior to better suit their new individual status. It was these changes that made its personality more exotic, no doubt it was what attracted the Lord to the android in the first place.

There were just a few things to confirm first.

"Right, I get it. So, you call Lord Leonard master. What is he to you?"

"Well Lord Leonard… he, um… um… um…"

Hilda waited patiently with interest. Watching the android try to work out the question that was obviously giving her trouble.

"Um… No solution found. Ownership Data integration failed. Please contact Penta Industries customer service. Aborting all logic processes."

Katie said plainly as if it was a perfectly normal part of her conversation. Hilda nodded in return. Katie was definitely modified to be operating autonomously, against Empire decree and her original design, which even the Lords themselves were careful to adhere to. So whoever sold her to Lord Leonard had butchered an ownership patch back into the android obviously.

While the low class android stood dumbfounded, Hilda pulled out a standard data connector and pulled the stiff android's silky hair aside behind her neck. After a cursory glance, no connection ports could be found.

"Sealed up tight aren't yah?"

"... huh? Sorry Ms Hilda, I seem to have lost my train of thought."

Hilda held up the data connector in front of Katie.

"Where does this go?"

"Oh, here."

Katie said, promptly raising her left hand, showing Hilda an discreetly embedded connection port on her inner wrist.

Hilda pulled it close and inspected the custom mod. The skin work was flawless, much higher quality than the average domestic class C androids were built with. The indentation to the port was curved inwards continuously without any seams. Then inside, the conductive strips shined with a tint that told Hilda they were made with a rust and scratch proof compound.

It was apparent that even if Calma lacked the tech to do any of their own Android production, they certainly could do good body work, and spent some effort in upgrading some lowly Class C product.

"Well look at that…"

With the connector in Katie's wrist, Hilda pulled the monitor attached to the station in view for both of them. The screen flashed "System access denied, authorization required."

Katie looked at the screen, then back at Hilda with a blank look.

"Back in Calma, only the authorities, or android maintenance centers can work on us. Does this mean you can't… fix me?"

"Of Course not, something like that is not a problem for me at all. Katie can you please undress. Completely."

"Okay."

Katie replied without hesitation this time and began undressing. Her new obedience was expected, it was just how class C androids worked. Ask the right questions, and put them in the right situations, and they were as compliant as an emotionless Class D worker droid. Only difference between the two AI systems was only additional emotional simulation after all.

"Rest against the table when you're done." She added.

"Kay…"

Hilda twirled the now disconnected data cable in her hands as Katie pulled off the last bit of her clothing. From what she could tell, there were absolutely no indications of Katie's android nature aside from the faint markings on her lower navel, which marked just above a thin patch of hair in the arena and the clues offered by her relatively unblemished body work.

"They spent a lot of effort on you, didn't they. Must be nice to get such an upgrade.”

Hilda remarked as she flipped the anti-grav and scanner. Katie, who was leaning against the metal table, slowly rose up in the air. Her hair slowly drifted apart into a crescent before being quickly tied by Hilda.

"I am not sure what you mean. I was always like this."

Hilda paused, halfway pulling the heavy scanner from the ceiling. It was possible the android girl was running totally non standard software as well.

"Who did your sim?" Hilda asked curiously.

"Sim?" Katie asked with a crook of her head, sending waves of her hair twirling in mid air.

"You know… like, where you learned how to walk and talk, math and history, stuff like that."

"Like what you learn in school?"

"Yes, like what you learn in school."

"I learned that in School."

Hilda stared Katie down, drilling into her expression that held an innocent, matter-of-fact look, like "school" was a normal answer to give. Where she was more expecting along the lines of a company or authority. Androids going to school like humans, and learning something was technically possible. However the efficiency of such activity would be entirely wasteful and unrealistic, especially for an Class C intelligence.

Though it would be unprofessional of her to simply assume Calmanian ineptitude to be the norm. There was definitely more done to the android than what is obvious, and to "fix" the problem, she's going to need to know what was done first.

"So, this school, was it simulated or in real life?"

"Umm… in real life I think. I'm not sure, they don't tell us. Though it doesn't really matter does it?"

Katie said, straightening herself out and looking at the ceiling as Hilda pulled the scanner down Katie from head to toe. The data filled the monitor with a detailed scan of her inner components.

"True, normally it doesn't matter, but in your case it does."

Just as Hilda finished speaking, a notification popped up on the scanner's data screen. Strangely the digital window was not from the native scanner program.

Following the prompt Hilda opened the video file which was sent: a 3D panning model of the exterior of an boarding school facility in the middle of picturesque mountains.

Turning around Hilda nodded at the Knight who remained motionless on the metal table. She spun the data monitor around for Katie to see.

"Recognize this?"

Katie took one glance at the video and replied.

"Yup! That's where I went to school!"

Hilda scrolled down on the file list and stopped on one of the earlier files. The video played back in first person perspective of someone's arms swinging, jumping between blocks that hovered on the ground.

"Oh yeah! I remember this. Physical Education was always pretty fun."

Nodding at the reply, Hilda scrolled down the long list of files, stopping at one she picked out in particular. A masked figure sat in the middle of a plain looking room with various objects scattered throughout the floor. The figure's head moved in silent speech, prompting the subject into action.

"... and this one?" Hilda asked.

"Nope, don't remember this at all. Must have been a class that I didn't take."

"Ah good, just a few more…"

Hilda went on to show more and more of the various video files. The first hint of how the Calmanians modified the android became apparent. Penta Industries, like many other various companies within the Arcadian empire not only produced their own synthetic chassis and parts, but also the sims which the androids ran on. The sims, short for simulations, were highly condensed training programs designed to build the AI hardware into intelligent systems capable of operating in the real world.

The most commonly used method of creating functional intelligence is to combine various trained AI together. They contained the basic functionality such as visual recognition, language and speech, motor abilities, and other various functions. Combining these pre-trained systems together is more cost efficient, requiring vastly less sophisticated hardware and orders of magnitude smaller processor cores. The resulting AI system is more rigid and less able to adapt and adjust itself, greatly hampering its learning abilities and overall intelligence compared to a single, all inclusive robust AI core.

In Katie's case, it is clear that while all the secondary AI systems were left unaltered, the core behavior AI had been somehow edited. A task that would be impossible without the cooperation of the creators of the AI system itself. Either there is a rogue high level agent selling empire secrets or Penta Industries itself is violating empire laws. Both cases are serious problems beyond the expertise of what Hilda knew. All she could do is to report her concerns to her master Lord Leonard.

However, Hilda's curiosity was unsatisfied, as well as the tasks her Lord had left her. She would need access to the android's systems at an administrative level. The easiest way now was to simply access the hardware directly. Bypassing the security by bypassing the skin on her body.

"Umm… will this hurt? Should I be in maintenance mode for this?"

Katie said as she eyed the laser cutter arm which lowered itself in front of her abdomen. Its metal tipped head buzzing with electric humming.

"Of Course it will hurt. I'm going to cut an opening in your abdomen, just below your ribcage..."

Hilda said as she traced a rectangular shape with her fingertip on the soft synthskin of the nude girl.

"... since I can't access your systems, it would be convenient if you would enter maintenance mode yourself."

Katie lowered her head with drawn-in lips as a chiming sound played into the room, signaling the opening of the security doors.

"Ah! Lord Leonard, you have arrived just in time!"

Before Hilda could push away the laser tool in her arms she suddenly froze in place. A cold shiver ran down her spine as she heard multiple pairs of heavy boots stomp into the room. Katie acted before Hilda did, jumping off the table and reaching for her clothes on the ground, using it to cover the front of her body from the intruders.

Five brightly colored figures in white and red uniform stopped themselves in an arrow formation, with the leading one pulling her protective visor up to reveal her intense looking face.

By now Katie had already half hidden herself behind Hilda, peeking her head out from her shoulder.

“Where is the manager of this operation?”

The leader asked with a menacing and impatient voice, surprisingly coming from such a short and lanky woman.

“I am.”

Hilda said, puffing herself up as if to show that she was not scared of the woman. Though in fact, she had every right to be. The white and red uniforms all carried weapons with a full array of protective gear, as if they were dressed for war. Everyone knew the android authorities were the police force for the trigger happy psychos or career ladder climbers. Either way the reason for the arrival was clear, and Hilda panicked to think of any possible way to diffuse the situation in her favor.

“Don’t lie to me, bot, if you keep it up your owner is going to get into trouble as well.”

One of the men behind the angry women said something behind his closed opaque visor, prompting the leader to dart her eyes towards the back of the room, briefly pausing on X8 lying motionless in the back.

“I’m not some bot, this place is owned by Lord Leonard Arcadia, and we are his direct servants. You should speak to the Lord himself if you have any business with us.”

Hilda said, trying to keep her composure. She knew full well that the authority can have her and Katie arrested, or worse. Both the regular police and android authority operated under direct control of the local head family, who only answered to the Emperor William Arcadia himself. Anyone who is not an actual Arcadia in blood would be powerless to oppose them. The best she could do was to buy time, as she had already sent an alert to Lord Leonard, who hopefully, was already on his way here.

The angry woman tilted her head and placed a finger on her right temple, no doubt activating a visual overlay only she could see.

“Hilda Amersson, full synthetic body with heavy neural modifications. Looks like by decree you're a bot, so that’s what you are to me. So why don’t we skip all the talk and you hand over the contraband for immediate termination.”

The woman said, pointing a finger at a trembling Katie who was now holding tightly onto Hilda’s arms and pressing herself against her back.

“I am acting under the command of Lord Leonard Arcadia, to modify this android to legal specification. If you wish to take her you would have to request it from him. In fact…”

Hilda said as she looked past the shoulder of the uniforms to the now closed pathway. A white lie and little intimidation is fine if it keeps everyone out of trouble.

“… he is coming here at this very moment.”

“I am not here to waste any time. If you wish to disobey us, you can be destroyed together with the abomination.”

The woman said, raising a hand with a casual flick of her wrist, and in reply the uniform to her right held up an unwieldy rifle. Hilda easily recognized the weapon, and more importantly the ammunition it held. The AI subsystem in her brain took control of her body at the sight of danger. Within a hundred of a second it had extrapolated her goals and swung her arms sideways at Katie, knocking her away.

The next instant, before Katie had even hit the floor, Hilda found herself stumbling back a step from a force that pushed on her torso like a gust of wind, leaving her whole body numb. Her vision drifted downwards towards her chest not by her own will, but from a lack of control. Hilda saw her body go limp as she slumped down on her knees. Her clothes from her chest downwards were completely gone, revealing her torso that was totally shredded. Her abdomen now had more holes than skin, with each opening no more than a centimeter wide.

For a moment Hilda wondered where the status alerts on her body were. She had long gotten used to the alerts that would pop up in her thoughts and vision when she would accidentally knick or bang herself. Only through some concentration could she notice the warning was already there.

[System Critical, Catastrophic Failure]

Hilda stared blankly at her malfunctioning body. Liquid oozed out of her stomach from a thousand holes as her body trembled lightly with a chaotic rhythm, swinging several large pieces of synth skin that were dangling loosely from her chest. All of this was illuminated by blinding flashes of red, white and blue in a numbingly silent room. She knew by now her AI systems were no doubt beyond repair and likely were not functioning. Her complete lack of control and sensations were proof of that, leaving her with only a fuzzy vision of her now closed off world.

The dancing light of the room died down and Hilda felt her thoughts slow. The alert in her mind was now gone, leaving her in a state of tranquil numbness. She didn’t know how long she sat like this before her vision began to change. Her head was lifted upwards to meet the face of a pretty blonde girl. Her skin was smooth and clean with a rosy blush that glistened under the light. The attractive girl’s mouth moved without sound, but Hilda found her embrace warming nonetheless. In the background there were pieces of people scattered in a large pool of red, and among the floor people stood a weird looking statue.

The panicked and sad looking girl stopped moving her mouth to turn to look at a caped figure that approached them. It walked closer to reveal an familiar handsome man which Hilda was in love with a long time ago, but she could no longer recall who he was. The caped man waved his arm and the upper body of a woman, cut off at the waist with only one arm, rose upwards head first in front of the man. He looked disappointed and sighed, waving his arm that caused the dismembered body to fall lifelessly back onto the floor.

The handsome man approached Hilda and cradled her face with a smile, showering her with a strong sense of safety and calmness. With his other hand she saw him reach into her torso. Her whole body jerked and Hilda's vision flickered into static.