Wicca

B I O G R A P H Y

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"Hello there, master! I am your new Wildclaw Companion Android, but you can call me Wicca! How shall I call you? ... Please repeat! ... How shall I call you? ... Please repeat! ... How shall... how... ... ... Battery failing. Please recharge!"

...

...

"Hello there, master! I am..."

Electronic scrap. Wicca completed the sentence in her head, or whatever tidbits of her brain had remained. She had long ago lost the ability to speak for herself. The generic greeting audiotape kept repeating over and over, slowly but steadily sucking the last drops of fuel out of her battery's emergency charge. Soon. Soon, it's gonna be over.

She would have loved to at least close her eyes right now. But no - even such a simple task was impossible to complete in her current state. Instead, Wicca was forced to watch others suffer the same fate as she did - piles of decaying metal bodies, sometimes outdated, sometimes broken, usually both.

Croaaaak. The gate above opened. Wicca knew exactly what would happen next. Clank. The gate closed again. Most of the new arrivals still had some power left, their dim lights lit up the dark place. They were always the same: desperate, lost, erased memory - they tried to climb the smooth, tall walls - only to fail, growing increasingly quite over time until they were but useless pieces of metal, just like -

"Hey!"

The voice behind her was obviously trying to whisper, but its crisp, high-pitched sound failed to do so.

"Hey, you! Wildclaw! Turn around!"

Louder, demanding and almost child-like, the voice was now closer than before.
Wicca remained still. I can't turn around, stupid. Stop talking to me. Her audiotape flipped back on.

Something.. no, someone stepped in front of her. She realized it was a Wildclaw android like her, but... smaller. Younger. Younger? Robots don't age. Still, though he was clearly an android, the owner of the voice had the appearance of a hatchling. Likely a newer model. His white colour seemed fresh and spare for a few scratches, maybe from the fall, he seemed to be completely intact.

The odd creature probably scanned her, his shiny, faceted eyes glimmered.
He then spoke up again, much to Wicca's disdain. "Your battery appears to be entry. So that's why you're talking gibberish!" Quickly going through the bunch of loose cables around them, he grabbed a fitting one and connected their power circuits. "Hold on for a second!"
Leave me alone, leave me a-
Surprised, Wicca felt energy run through her body for the first time in what felt like forever. Slowly but steadily, she started moving her rusty body parts, amazed by whatever was happening to her right now.

Insert Quote Here

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B I O G R A P H Y

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Seeming pleased by her revival, the creature suddenly started looking around as if to check for danger. Of course, no one was there. At least no one strong enough to speak - or move, for that matter. "Listen," he tried to whisper. "You guys here aren't alone. There are dozens, hundreds of unwanted androids out there that are treated like trash by... Project." Wicca noticed how the hated company's name was the only thing so far he had managed to say quietly. "But there is hope for you, and it goes by the name of FL/GHT. They're going to save us. They'll save us all. We deserve better than this, 'kay?," he explained. "But... we have to go now. We have to hurry." The tiny Wildclaw turned around, apparently eager to leave this rotten place.

Wicca hesitated. She had only listened so far, the first words she spoke came out hoarse and barely understandable. "Why me?"
The other robot stopped moving, turning to face her again. "Well, you... are me, but older, you know? I'm from the same product line, Wildclaw Companion Androids. Call me PawX, better than Project's Artifical Wildclaw Gen X", he replied with a cheeky grin. It only lasted for a second, though. "I don't know anyone here, so my choice hardly matters. And also... I can only bring one other dragon with me." He said dragon. Not android.
So she had been right, he really was a newer version of herself. Shrugging it off, Wicca thought about her options. What choice did she have, really? She was doomed anyway.

Getting up in slomo, she finally nodded. "Alright. I'm coming with you."
PawX's face lit up, even brighter than before, and he stretched out his hand. "Awesome! Let's go, then!"
Wicca took the small one's hand, but she couldn't deny her feelings of doubt. "Hey... Paw-thing... my wings don't work anymore. How-"
Croaaaaak. As the door above opened once more, the light seemed brighter than ever. She looked up - a silhouette, or maybe two, was standing in the gate.
"Now, quick!," someone hissed.
Before she knew it, Wicca felt her feet leave the ground. She was being lifted up by someone - and they were moving, levitating, flying towards the gate. The masses of trashed androids below her seemed smaller and smaller, and she could have sworn there was envy in their otherwise emotionless eyes. Was she dreaming? No way. Robots don't dream. Wicca was certain: This was her one and only chance for a new life. A life in freedom.