Ashes to ashes, and clay to clay... ( 2/2 )

“What?”

    In utter surprise, Marnie glanced at Kiseki. Did she rave? Maybe it was a desperate tentative to avoid her all that pain. The latter frowned at her father, thinking it was an absurd lie…

    Nothing seemed to make sense anymore and Woodle refrained from commenting, his eyes sharply following the unfolding scene.

    The mayor let out a sneer.

“What a loss of effect. It sounded so dramatic. A poor little girl killed by her own mother. Hence you spoiled that, Kiseki.” the mayor commented, though displaying an amused smile all along.

“This is the sheer truth.”

    Reaching for her watch, she touched her screen and the mayor's appearance, her silhouette, began to flicker. Two appearances seemed to be superposed. Woodle squinted his eyes to that sight.

    A mere hologram.

    As it dispersed, giving way to her true appearance, the silhouette of the mayor shaped into an old woman with scarlet eyes and elegant colourless hair in a bun.

    Marnie was voiceless and Woodle was dazzled by this unexpected turn of events.

“…Donna Merlish?!”

    The mother of the authentic mayor.

“Surprised? That's legitimate, I used this hologram as a mask for so many years, now. Not that convenient for daily life.”

    A sudden revelation that let the Players silent for a few moments. Was Lucy Merlish nothing more but an illusion from the very beginning? Was she even real? Truth and lies, they were all mingling together, shaping into an orchestrated reality. A twisted play whose public was the whole Asperian people.

“I can't believe my eyes. But, in this case, where is the true Lucy Merlish?”

    Before the mayor had time to react to Woodle’s inquiry, the answer had come out of Kiseki’s lips.

“She's deceased. Donna… murdered her eight years ago.”

“Indeed. Though this was her sole fault. If she obeyed me and did all I requested her to do, then she would be alive. I merely wanted her to control the city for me. Yet she repeatedly mumbled as an unbearable fly that she couldn’t do such a thing. That it would be lying to her citizens. That even criminals didn’t deserve such a fate. What an ungrateful daughter she was…”

“I don't allow you to say this… Lucy was wonderful. And when she suspected you to be able of executing her, she brought our daughter to an orphanage, so that she would be safe. She…”

    Feeling dizzy, Kiseki put a hand against his wet forehead.

“That means… She did that solely to spare my life?” the lassie hardly realized the truth. All that she believed for years seemed to actually be made out of lies and misunderstandings. She looked haunted as she tried to assemble pieces of an untold past.

“…I always thought I was hated by life itself.”

“No… Neither she nor I… hated you. Though we were clumsy… Though we were weak… We tried to protect you, to… the very end.”

    A thud succeeded. Unable to hang on any longer, Kiseki hit the ground.

    Meanwhile, the circus fulfilled its ascension and was now directed by Mekko to the city centre thanks to Haru’s guidance.

“You have gone so far to achieve your goal that you finished committing the greatest crime. You stole an existence and lost your humanity. Not only you killed your daughter, but you used her image, you used her folks, all that was hers as your own possession. Such cowardice…”

“A thug lecturing me? Please stop being that embarrassing. Enough. Time has come for all of you to die. You didn’t think I came on my own, did you? Let me show you the achievement of my researches. A271!!”

    At her call, a silver armoured silhouette appeared by Donna Merlish's side in no time. Its body was covered with steel, seemingly quite sturdy. Its presence itself was sufficient to inspire danger as would do so a mighty tiger facing an innocent cat. Any opponent of the mayor felt oppressed, though Woodle didn’t give out any feeling of fear. His eyes stuck on the android, he was considering it seriously, though remaining nothing but a new threat to handle.

“An android with a human conscience.”

    She let out those words with considerable pride in her voice. Donna Merlish presented the consecration of her dreams as to flaunt her success.

“With a human conscience?…”

    Woodle’s brain cells were linking together the different pieces of the puzzle. The mayor stated before she aimed to create androids with human feelings and autonomous thoughts. Hence if she studied human brains… did she perhaps try to transfer the conscience of a human being into a machine? That was a mere supposition. However, if that happened to be true, would that mean the android facing him had been previously a human being?

“Attack them all! No mercy.” Donna ordered.

    Instantly, the android hurled on Marnie, trying to smash her in-between his hands. The latter had a lost, wet gaze.

“Marnie! Go away, now!”

    As the leader of the Players urged her, the lassie eventually gazed at the incoming threat, sinking in the ground at the latest moment.

    Forthwith, multiple metallic spheres collided on the ground all around the android who took a look at one of them. An explosion suddenly burst, spreading all over their new enemy, disappearing in a mist of flames and dust.

“It should have been damaged, but stay alert…”

    Wise of him, since a silhouette soon emerged from the dusty clouds, walking straight to Woodle. Apart some scrapes on its shoring, the android didn’t suffer from any particular damage.

“You are wasting your time. This model is quite resistant. It had been enhanced years along until reaching its full potential.”

    A sufficient smile upon her face, Donna Merlish commented the vain attacks of the Player whilst he was jumping from a place to another, avoiding the android hurling on him, repeatedly trying to punch him. Every single time Woodle threw another spheres at the android, though these didn’t explode, unleashing energetic discharges instead on their target.

    Suddenly, Woodle jumped backward and immobilized, crouching a hand on the ground while his enemy pounced on him.

“Ahh, in that case… I suppose I should resign myself to my fate.”

    Raising his head just before the android would knock his face, Woodle displayed an amused expression.

“Just kidding.”

    The metallic fist merely bashed the air as the leader of the Players turned into a shadow, instantly merging with the ground. The android punched the dark shapes at his feet, though they were already gone. As it raised its fist again, the ground crumbled around it, an impact mark remaining.

    A few meters behind, Woodle and Marnie were standing side to side. The leader took advantage of the situation to throw a metallic sphere, though not aiming A271. Merlish’s gaze followed its trajectory as it reached the light suspensions. As a result, a spotlight broke away falling right overhead the android.

“Above you A271!” Donna sharply yelled.

    Though it scarcely had the time to stand up and look upwards that the spotlight abruptly collided with it.

    A silver helmet rolled on the ground. Electrical sparkles sizzled at the base of his neck, at the top of his head, here and there as the shock damaged his circuits. He had mid-long apple-green hair, slightly shorter than Woodle’s.

    The latter was wide-eyed while the android turned round to face him. An indifferent expression upon his face, a thick hair strand veiling his left eye, A271 fixed his emerald right one on the young fellow. His gaze was empty, devoid of any feeling.

“So you were enough lucky to manage seeing the face of the one that would slaughter you. Congratulations. He was formerly a searcher at Orwell Labs. Unluckily for him, he had the unpleasant habit to put his nose into other’s business. What already was his name?… Oh, never mind.”

    A step, another. Woodle Bomme approached the android at a sluggish pace. The latter didn’t move, as considering the possible trap this odd attitude hid.

“Leader!! Don’t go any farther!” Marnie warned, at a loss about his reaction.

    However the latter didn’t respond, focused on the android. A blank look on his face, he finally uttered a name.

“Ernst…?”

    Taking a glare at Woodle, the android didn’t answer him. There seemed to be no reaction at all on his side. Though there was no possible mistake. How could Woodle ever confound his face with another one?

“Elder brother?… No. This can't be. You died seven years ago…”

    He scarcely had ever been more confused that in this moment. Ernst Bomme. This was the identity of his deceased brother. Did Merlish dare to use him in an experiment? Was it really him? Woodle stared at the android in utter disbelief, however soon another feeling began spreading in his mind. Anger suddenly filled his gaze.

“You can’t obey her! Of all the persons on this earth… Wake up, what are you doing? Ernst!!”

    The android didn’t grant him any more second. As his opponent didn’t seem to prepare any surprise attack, he dashed towards him.

“This name… is no longer mine.”

    Ernst was incredibly fast. He outstretched a hand towards Woodle and the following instant, blood gushed forth in Woodle's back.

    The latter, in utter pain, lowered his head to behold the android's arm passed through his stomach.