Acer

by Kelsey Nicole Price

  “No. You are bonded.” Dr. Shaw said definitively.

  I looked at Acer. “Bonded? What do you mean? I don’t understand.”

  Dr. Shaw smiled. “Something special I slipped into my cyborgs’ programming. To a human it would be best described as falling in love. When one of my cyborgs find their other half, it completes the circuit. Until now, only two couples exist, but it appears we now have a third.

  Acer frowned. “That’s not possible. My core programming remains unfinished. As you just saw for yourself, I remain unstable. The deterioration is happening faster since finding Marley. If we’re bonded, why am I getting worse?”

  Reaper snarled low. “Damnit! You’ve been lying to me.” Reaper slammed his hands down on top of the desk. His nostrils flared and his blue eyes flashed rapidly. “Did you know? Did you help hide the fact that we have a ticking fucking time bomb under our roof?”

  Color rose on Dr. Shaw’s cheeks. Her body jerked back, the chair under her slamming against the wall as she jumped to her feet. She stared down Reaper without an ounce of fear and wagged a finger in his face. “Don’t you get that tone with me, Military Model. Acer is as much my son as you are!” She took a deep breath and leaned against the wall, pain flittered across her face. “It killed me when I lost his brother. I couldn’t lose Acer, too. He was further along in his development, and I knew he would survive if I took him from his vat early. Unfortunately, there were complications. Things I never anticipated.” She shook her head. “I should have.” Tears filled her eyes. “But I was blinded by love. My emotions ruled my decision, and Acer has suffered every single day because of my choice. It’s not his fault. It’s mine.” She stepped clear of the desk and walked over to where Acer stood, stunned. She reached up and cupped his cheek. Acer flinched in response and a look of hurt registered on her face, but she didn’t drop her hand. “I couldn’t let you go, Acer. I know you hate me for it.” She patted his cheek softly. “Do you know why I made you yellow?”

  Acer shook his head. He remained frozen in place, his gold eyes wide as he stared at the woman who called herself his mother.

  “I choose yellow because it the color of sunshine. Happiness.” Her hand fell away, and the tears gathering in her eyes now streamed down her face. “But instead, I damned you to a life in the dark. The fault will always be mine, Acer.” Her voice broke. She lifted her arms, the desire to hold him clear in her expression, but she let them fall to hang limply by her sides. “My beautiful boy, I am so sorry.”

  Acer hesitated then his hands grabbed Dr. Shaw and hugged her to him. Dr. Shaw gasped softly before she wrapped her arms around him returning the hug.

  Reaper and I stood frozen. The stunned look on the Military Model’s face was the same one I was sure I had on mine.

  “I still don’t agree...”

  I slapped Reaper’s arm. “Shh. They are having a moment. Let them have it. They need it.”

  And they did. The guilt of taking Acer from his vat had eaten Dr. Shaw up inside all the while Acer’s hatred of her decision kept him from ever really knowing the woman who gave him life. Dr. Shaw had always been my hero, but she also gave me the best thing I had ever known—Acer.

  The embrace ended, they both turned and looked at me. Dr. Shaw reached for my hand. “All these years, it’s been you who kept him here with us. The bond you developed, the love you share, kept you both alive despite your separation.”

  “Acer is right, he’s been getting worse since he found me. If we’re bonded, shouldn’t he be getting better?”

  Dr. Shaw released my hand and began to pace. Her fingers tapped against her lips, a look of deep concentration on her face. “Maybe? No, that wouldn’t be possible. The red code that appeared in his eyes, I’ve never seen it before. Malfunction? What type? Think. Think. Think.”

  I nudged Acer. “She talks to herself.” I kept my voice low. It was incredible to see her work. I could practically see the wheels turning in her head.

  Her head snapped to me. “And you hum, my dear.”

  I blinked. She knew about that? How did she know about that?

  She gave me a wink but stayed silent; suddenly, she stopped pacing. “I won’t know if it’s correct unless Acer lets me examine him.” She gave a pointed look at Acer. “I’m sure he told you I promised I would fix him. All these years I’ve been trying, but it’s hard to fix something when the patient refuses to come around. Since he appeared to be functioning, I didn’t push him. He hated being around me and the other cyborgs. It reminded him of what he was missing.”

  Acer opened his mouth to reply, but Dr. Shaw cut him off. “It’s okay. I understand. I want you to know I never gave up trying. A few weeks ago, I believed I finally had a breakthrough, but with Reaper and Theo getting kidnapped and Marley’s arrival, I hadn’t found a time to tell you yet.”

  A flutter of hope danced inside my veins, my heart lightened. We could save Acer. We could have a lifetime together. I couldn’t stop the grin that broke out across my face.

  Dr. Shaw resumed her pacing, her fingers tapping against her thighs. “A part of your unfinished core programming is desperately trying to complete the bond. The other part is resisting. The rage, the blackouts, the red code; think of it like a virus. A virus that was created by the part that’s resisting the bond. Every one of your circuits is at war. Now that Marley has finally been returned to you, the war has escalated. In turn, it’s causing a rapid deterioration of your partial programming. How you have remained even remotely functional is a miracle. It’s a testament to how strong you are.” She stopped in front of Acer and looked into his eyes. “It’s a testament to how strong your love is for her.” Her eyes drifted to me. “Marley is your happiness. She gave you the one thing I never could. Her love changed you.” She gently tapped the right side of his head. “And your love for her defied the abilities of your incomplete programming.” Her hand fell, and she let out a sad sigh. “But the procedure to fix you now comes with risks far greater than I first anticipated.”

  My smile fell, the flutter of hope began to die a painful death inside me. Risks? What type of risks? My heart sank, now weighed down by imaging a hundred awful things that could go wrong. This was never going to be a simple, quick fix. The MechTech in me knew that, but it still scared the shit out of me to hear Dr. Shaw confirm my worst fears.

  “What are the risks?” Acer wasted no time and asked the question I could not get past my lips.

  “I must wipe the virus before I can even attempt to reboot your system with a complete core program. The problem is, I can’t just wipe the virus. I have to wipe everything, including the part of you that bonds you with Marley.” Sorrow edged her voice.

  My chest drew tight, and I studied her face. There was more. I knew it. My knees shook. I clutched the desk trying to keep myself upright. “What aren’t you telling us?”

  She released a deep breath. “Best case scenario is that he would remember you and want to start the bonding process again.” Her shoulders slumped. “Worst case, he would wake up and his processors wouldn’t have any memory of you at all. You’d be a stranger to him, Marley. You would be left in love with a cyborg who might never return those feelings.”

  I swayed, pressure built inside my chest as I struggled to breathe. I clasped my chest, my heart throbbed with a hurt so deep it felt like it would shatter.

  Acer grabbed my shoulders, pulling me against him. A strangled sob escaped my throat, muffled by his chest. “I won’t do it,” he swore as he held me tighter to his frame.

  I closed my eyes as I memorized the feeling of his solid frame wrapped around me. I inhaled, drawing his scent into my lungs, metal mixed with warm spice. He smelled like home. I committed it to memory then detangled myself from his arms. Confusion crossed his face while he reached to pull me back, but I shook my head, staying out of his reach.

  “Marley.” My name came out raw and broken. The sound almost enough to send me flying back into his arms, but I forced myself to take another
step away from him. Determination flashed in his eyes, and he advanced.

  I threw up my hands. “Stop!” My arms wrapped around myself. I imagined they were his. “This is your chance. The chance to be whole—complete. Before we walked into this office, you were ready to die. Why can’t you choose to live?”

  “A life where I don’t remember you isn’t worth living, Marley.” Fluid gathered in his eyes. “Don’t ask me to forget you.” Dark liquid slid down his metal cheeks.

  That was my undoing. I launched myself at his frame, tossing my arms around his neck. His frame trembled against mine. My palms ran over his back in an attempt to soothe him. “There is chance you won’t remember. You could wake up and still remember me.” I kissed the fluid from his cheeks, the taste of it coating my tongue with his sorrow.

  I grasped his chin in my fingers and forced him to look at me. “And even if you don’t, I promise I will never give up on you. I will dodge your every footstep, telling you how handsome I find you and woo you with outrageous compliments. I will kiss you until your processors spin, and your every circuit can’t stop thinking about me.” I gripped the the back of his neck and kissed him hard, tasting him, claiming him. “I will keep on loving you until you have no choice but to realize that you are mine.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  *Acer*

  “I will keep on loving you until you have no choice but to realize that you are mine.” Could it be possible that even if the worst happened, she would help me find my way back to her?

  My female was a force to be reckoned with. If not for her, I would have descended into madness much sooner, her love, our love, kept me functioning. It kept me searching even when the rational side of my circuits tormented me with the thought it was hopeless.

  I believed I would eventually have to give her up. Now, I had a chance. A chance to spend forever by her side. Marley would never give up. She would fight for me.

  She would lose. You will forget all about her, breaking her heart and destroying her in the process. She would grow to hate you and you won’t even remember enough to know why. The vicious sound of laughter filled my circuits, but I clenched my teeth and refused to give in. I focused every scrap of programming I had on the female in my arms.

  I will not let us forget her. A new voice sounded in my head. I will bury her so deep inside our CPU that not even a complete systems wipe will be able to erase her. Our female is the best MechTech there is. She will find a way to retrieve it. Trust her to bring us home.

  I did. I trusted her with my processors, my every wire and circuit—with the very heart that beat inside my chest. I had grown weary of being nothing but a miserable bag of bolts.

  “I choose a life with you.” I returned her kiss, taking her lips, claiming her as she had me. I scooped her into my arms and turned to Dr. Shaw and Reaper. “Can you give us a moment alone?”

  Reaper crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me. “I don’t think that is a wise idea. You are still unstable and dangerous. You could hurt her.”

  Marley bristled in my arms. “He won’t,” she declared confidently.

  Dr. Shaw gave Reaper a push. “Move, Military Model.” Reaper grumbled but moved towards the door. He stopped in the doorframe and turned his blue gaze on me. “Make no mistake; Marley saved your life, Acer. Whatever you need to do, you find a way back to her. You hear me? That’s a direct order, cyborg.”

  I gave him a nod. “I fully intend to follow that order, Reaper.”

  His lips turned up at the corners. “That’s a first.”

  “Come on, Reaper. Let’s give them some privacy. I’m sure that CPU of yours has thought of a thousand things to yell at me.”

  Reaper snorted. “You know me too well, Doctor.”

  The office door shut, finally leaving me alone with my female. I wanted to say so much, but a lump settled in my throat. I opened then closed my mouth, once, twice, three times—still nothing.

  Marley looked at me, sensing my struggle. “All I need is for you to hold me.”

  I nodded and slid my frame down the wall to sit on the floor. Marley sat in my lap, and I clung to the female in my arms. I drew her into my core, cycling her through my processors. I measured the weight of her in my arms, cataloguing every breath, committing every beat of her heart to my data banks.

  Her fingertips traced my jawline and moved over my face as she mapped me in return. My frame leaned into her touch, and I ordered my processors to remember this—remember her. I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her for the last time. “You will find me if I get lost.”

  “No matter what it takes, Sunshine,” she promised as she placed a soft kiss on each of my cheeks.

  A knock sounded on the door. Our time was up. “I want you to be the last thing I see.”

  Her eyes grew wet as she nodded. Her hand slid down, and I lifted my hips, so she could gain access to button hidden on my frame. Once she pressed it, I would go offline.

  “You are my sunshine,” she whispered as her finger located the button. “My onl...”

  The world went dark.

  *Marley*

  Acer’s hands slipped from my face, and his frame went still. Not one single simulated breath escaped his lips. Great big sobs racked my body while I climbed from his lap onto the floor.

  The door opened then Reaper and Dr. Shaw appeared. Reaper lifted Acer from the floor carrying him to an exam table. I tried to follow, but my legs refused to comply. Dr. Shaw returned to the office, dropped to the floor beside me, and put an arm around my shoulder. Reaper hovered in the doorway. For once, the Military Model didn’t seem to have anything to say.

  I allowed myself a moment to fall apart, letting Dr. Shaw give me the comfort I desperately needed. After a few minutes, I wiped my face and rose from the ground on shaky legs. I couldn’t hide in the office forever. Acer was out there all alone, offline and about to face a complete systems reboot. I wouldn’t let him face it alone. I was the last person he saw. I had to be the first one when he came back online.

  Reaper moved out of the doorway. I walked into the lab, my eyes locked on Acer and his lifeless frame on the exam table. The next table over held Rust’s large, red frame. Memories of being a MechTech washed over me. The sight of cyborgs waiting on exam tables to be fixed was something I could never forget. Many suffered gruesome injuries to their frames. Some had stared blankly, unseeing like Acer, their processors offline as they waited for a program upgrade or repair to their CPU’s.

  Reaper moved, blocking my view. “I think it might be best if you didn’t stay. It is going to be hard for you to witness Dr. Shaw wipe the cyborg you love.”

  “I stay. Try to take me away, Military Model. I dare you.”

  A hint of amusement flashed in his eyes. “Acer has his hands full with you, doesn’t he?” He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “I can see that no one around here is going to listen to a word I say, so I’m going to find my son and female.” He sighed. “At least they pretend I’m still in charge.”

  He stopped at the door and pinned Dr. Shaw and me with his bright-blue gaze. “Good luck to both of you. I’m here if you need me.”

  Under all that tough exterior, Reaper had a good heart. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have ordered Acer to come back to me. I felt my heart start to soften towards the Military Model.

  “Thank you.” I meant it.

  He gave me a small smile and walked through the door.

  “Reaper is right, my dear. Acer’s wipe is going to be tough for you to watch. Are you sure you want to stay?” Dr. Shaw asked gently.

  “I belong here with Acer. I need to be the first person he sees.”

  She smiled. “And you will be.” She took my hand. “Come, my dear, let’s fix your cyborg.”

  I paused by Rust’s table. The red Medical Model was also offline. Dax paced around the table. Worry darkened Dax’s eyes to a deep, olive green, his emerald skin creasing along his forehead.

  “How is he?” I asked s
oftly.

  Dax rubbed his brow. “He’ll live.”

  My hand automatically reached for Rust’s, but Dax batted it away. His green eyes narrowed on me. “Don’t you have your own cyborg to worry about?”

  “I worry about all of them. Including a certain Science Model who I know is not my, or my cyborg’s, biggest fan right now. I get it, Dax. All of what Acer did was wrong.”

  His eyes flashed. “Yet, you are trying to save him. You convinced my mother to waste her time on fixing a cyborg that is clearly unhinged. He should be put down. He’s dangerous.” His large frame cornered me, backing me into the exam table. Dax had always been a sweet and mild cyborg. The few times I had met him, he had pestered me with a thousand questions, wanting to know what I thought about everything. He had no fear of me or any human for that matter. He was the only cyborg all the MechTechs treated with kindness. They praised him, indulged him, and made sure they protected him at all costs. My guess? Dr. Shaw guarded him. He was her personal cyborg. The only one of his model type.

  The Dax in front of me was no longer the same cyborg I met at Global Allegiance. His green eyes glittered with an anger I had never seen. He was a boy protecting his mother. Anyone is capable of things you would never suspect if you threaten the person they love.

  “Dax! Leave her alone!” Dr. Shaw commanded.

  I reached out and gave his arm a squeeze. “It’s okay. He has a right to be angry. Acer hurt someone he cared for.” The anger in his eyes slipped away and he stepped back, allowing me some space.

  “I am sorry, Ms. Marley. I know it is not your fault. I just don’t understand. Acer attacked Rust, causing extensive damage. If I wasn’t as skilled as I am, Rust would never been fully functional ever again.” He green eyes found Dr. Shaw. “He also put his hands on my mother. If she had been fully human, he would have caused lasting damage.” Confusion flittered across his face. “Why are you fighting so hard to save someone who does things like that?”