>Sleep mode complete

    >All systems functional

    >Commencing start-up sequence

    I blinked slowly, letting my systems wake up. The vid-screen had shut off sometime during my sleep and as I sat up, the motion sensor picked it up and to the same channel it had been on when I had entered sleep mode.

    I waved my hand and the screen turned off. Silence filled the room and I checked the time. It was 4:13 am. I wondered if the vid-screen had woken up Daehyun and stood, walking quietly down the hall to his room. The door was shut, but I could detect a soft, slight humming coming from inside of the room. Knocking on the door received no answer. I tested the door handle. Locked.

    Given what I knew about him, I decided that Daehyun would not appreciate being woken by me picking his lock so I retreated back to the living room and sat down on the couch. I updated my file on Daehyun, giving him a new designation.

    >Daehyun: Ally [protect at all costs]

    After a few minutes I stood again, engaging the mapping software that had been intended for tracking the layout of an enemy base. I should know everything about this place if I was to stay here. That way I could detect any possible security threats and deal with them before they became a problem.

    The living room was easy, I had walked it a few times already. I noted the crowded workspace and although it was a tripping hazard, Daehyun appeared to be in the middle of a project, and I knew the scientists at the center did not like it when someone moved what they were working on. The floor was wood, dark and well worn. Slippery. Not a good place for a fight unless you had the proper footwear. There was a rug under the coffee table, and a plastic mat under the workspace. Both were possible trip hazards.

    I moved on to the kitchen, separated from the living room by about a meter of floor and a low wall, about waist height. I crouched behind it briefly and then stood. A good temporary cover, though it wouldn't stop many bullets.

    The kitchen was extremely clean, painted a soft green and with all of the cabinets and appliances in white or cream. There was a window over the sink and I looked out of it, running through my night, thermal, and electronic sensors. The window looked out over a vacant lot, not much more than dirt and weeds with some cracked blocks of cement here and there. The closest building was on the other side of the lot and it looked to be long abandoned, windows broken and the side door hanging off of its hinges. But the roof had a lot of possible cover for a sniper. I made a note to investigate the building later and drew the blinds.

    Other than the knife block, there were no other threats in the kitchen. Something did seem odd to me, and it took me another look to realize what it was.

    There was no food in the kitchen. I opened the fridge and all it held was a pack of bottled water, an apple, and what I assumed was a block of extremely moldy cheese.

    Perhaps Daehyun hadn't gone shopping in a while. As I was under his protection, it would be in my best interests if he was sufficiently nourished. When he woke up I would suggest going shopping for food. But until then I would continue with my mapping.

    The hallway and bathroom I completed easily. The only concern in the bathroom was the window high up on the wall, which an assailant could slip through if they were slight enough. I made sure the window was latched before continuing.

    The storage room had no windows, and other than the piles of boxes and junk in it, there was no hazards in it. Each box was labeled, with things like "Winter clothes", "Daehyun's books", "knickknacks", and "Youngjae's".

    The last label was on quite a few of the boxes. In fact, a majority of the boxes in this room had Dr. Yoo's name on them. I opened one and looked through its contents. Old school awards and certificates for achievements in science, a gold medal for an elementary track and field competition, essays from several different years of schooling, and a few crude child-like drawings of a robot filled the box.

    Perhaps Yoo Youngjae had lived here before he disappeared. But why had Daehyun kept all of this? Surely after two years, he would have dispensed with the clutter and used this room for a more productive purpose. He could move his workstation into this room and have a lot more space to work on robots.

    It must be a human thing.

    I meticulously replaced the box's contents and set it down. The room's only threat was that if someone hid in it, Daehyun might not notice. I did a quick thermal scan, which revealed that there was a small family of mice living in the back left corner, but other than that there were no living beings in the room.

    The door swung shut behind me as I exited the room, the soft click barely registering in my sensors. There were only two more doors to investigate, both locked. I decided the room I had not seen previously was a higher priority, and engaged my lock picks on the door.

    It was a simple lock, it didn't take long for me to open it. A flight of stairs led down from the door, into an unlit, quiet room. I blinked into night vision and looked around.

    The basement was a huge workspace, filled with machines and parts. In the center was a worktable covered with a tarp. I approached it and pulled the sheet away. Dust billowed up in thick clouds. This place had not been disturbed in a long time.

    On the table was a frame for a robot, comparable to a human skeleton. It was a model I was unfamiliar with, but from what I could see it appeared to be a Companion type robot. I touched it's neck panel, but it did not activate. It had no power core and had obviously been abandoned for a long time. Again, Daehyun's motivations for leaving it down here were unclear. He could have very easily used it for spare parts, or even completed it and sold it to someone as a Companion. But instead he left it down here to collect dust.

    I moved to the worktables and looked through the notebooks. They were filled with an untidy mess of words and diagrams and drawings. Some of it was illegible to my recognition software, but a few passages were clearer and I was able to read them.

    …making great progress with the new frame, he's up and walking and responding to verbal commands. He still doesn't talk. Even this is a great victory, after so many failures I was beginning to lose hope. But this proves me right.

After that it was more scribbles and drawings of legs and arms and joints and notes and, five pages later, a few lines of a quotation.

    "Every human being has both a body and a mind. ... The body and the mind are ordinarily harnessed together, but after the death of the body the mind may continue to exist and function…"

    The quote triggered a search and the name Gilbert Ryle came up. An English philosopher, he wrote a book that argued with the notion that the body and the mind were independent of each other. I dismissed it, the information was not relevant to me at the moment.

    There was a scribble of "I'm right" with an arrow pointing to the quotation, and a few lines down, a new paragraph was readable.

    He said my name today. It was the first thing he said. I couldn't help it, I started crying. He was so confused, he didn't know what to do, he didn't understand. I just hugged him and asked him to say my name again. He obeyed. Someday I hope he'll…

It turned into scribbling again. There were a few photos of the frame in various poses, sitting, standing, walking, using its arms for mundane tasks, etc.

    I would have read more, but I checked my clock. 6:32 am. I did not know when Daehyun would wake up and he would come looking for me if he noticed I was gone.

    I carefully replaced the journal, and pulled the tarp over the android frame again. I finished my mapping of the room. The only entrance or exit was the way I had come, and despite the size and the amount of objects in the room it was neatly organized. It merely had not been touched since Yoo Youngjae's disappearance, if my estimates were correct. I ran silently up the stairs and closed the door behind me, locking it again.

    I still had time, it seemed, before Daehyun woke, and, as I had caught a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror earlier, I decided to clean up.

    My jeans were burnt and my shirt was smeared with dirt. I should take better care of my clothes, I had a limited amount. My skin was filthy, it was not something I was used to. At the center they kept me in pristine condition.

    I walked back to the living room. The bag with my clothes was still on the couch where Daehyun had left it. I picked out a pair of underwear, a long-sleeved white shirt and a pair of dark pants and laid them out on the couch. Then I stripped out of my old clothes, folded them, and picked up the towel Daehyun had left along with the new clothes. 

    My footsteps were dry and quiet on the wood floor as I walked to the bathroom, where I did one more security check before closing the door behind me. Leaving my clothes and towel on the small counter by the sink, I stepped into the shower and pressed the startup button.

    Unlike most of Daehyun's appliances, the shower was quite modern, with 360 degree water jets, pre-set temperatures and water cycles for three different users. I selected one, 32 degrees celsius, rinse/scrub/rinse, and stood motionless as the shower got to work, spraying me with a gentle rain of water, thoroughly soaking my body and hair. Once that was done the water pressure increased and oscillated in a circular pattern. The water was also foamy and cloudy with soap, and suds appeared on my skin before being washed away by a fresh burst of soapy water.

    The final rinse cycle sent the grey water and suds down the drain, leaving my skin clean. I used the flexible shower head to remove the last stubborn patches of dirt, mainly located in or on my joints.

    At last I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower stall, watching the water drip from my body onto the light purple bath rug. I toweled off and then used the damp towel to wipe off the mirror.

    I blinked at my reflection in the mirror. I would have to change my appearance in some way. Dying my hair would be the easiest and least expensive option. It was not foolproof but it should give at least a few RCS officers a reason to think before they tried to arrest me.

    >new tasks

        >go food shopping with Daehyun

        >obtain hair dye

    The door suddenly swung open and Daehyun took a step into the room, halfway through a yawn. His sleepwear, a large t-shirt and plain black boxers, were crumpled and the shirt hung half off of his shoulder. He finished his yawn, saw me, and froze, eyes growing wide.

    "I-I…uh…" He stammered, staring at me.

    "Good morning," I said, reaching for my clothes.

    When I moved Daehyun seemed to regain motor control and coughed hard, turning away and staring down the hall as I pulled on my underwear, pants and shirt.

    "I am dressed," I told him, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. He nodded and stepped out of the way so I could leave the bathroom.

    Before he closed the door I grabbed it, holding it open. He blinked at me, face a slight shade of pink, and frowned.

    "What is it?" He asked me, opening the door a little more.

    "After you are done with your morning routines, I would recommend that we go shopping."

    "Shopping." His tone was flat with no inflections, and I nodded.

    "You have no edible food in your kitchen. Humans require sustenance and since I am to stay here, it would be better for both of us if you are properly nourished."

    Daehyun was trying to stop himself from smiling. I could tell from the way that his mouth twisted and curled and he alternated between biting his lips and pressing them together.

    "Sounds logical," he finally said, a grin spreading across his face. "Alright. I'll shower and brush my teeth and get dressed and then we can go out."

    He did not put up as much of a fight as I thought he would. It was inconsistent with yesterday. He started to close the door again but I stopped him.

    "What is it now?" Daehyun frowned, just a bit, crossing his arms.

    "Yesterday you did not want to leave the house. But today you are putting up no resistance at all. Why?"

    He chewed on his lip, studying me for a long time.

    "To be honest?" He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, looking off to the side for a moment before looking at me again.

    "Jongup and I, we used to get into a lot of trouble together. Nothing hugely serious, just a few protests here and there, some graffiti, you know, teenage rebellion."

    I didn't know.

    "Well anyway, he was always way more into it than I was, and sometimes he'd go too far and I'd have to clean up the mess or bail him out and…well right now I can't afford doing something like that again."

    Daehyun shrugs and scratches his cheek.

    "So I dunno, I thought maybe it was just going to be another one of his schemes and he got Himchan to try to coerce me into coming. Wouldn't be the first time he tricked me."

    "But this time it wasn't a scheme?" I asked, determining to look up Jongup's name when I was next able.

    Daehyun laughed, eyes curving up as he shook his head.

    "No, not this time. Well, I mean the RCS did show up, but he had nothing to do with that. He hates those guys."

    He pauses and looks at me, biting his lip again.

    "You know, I don't think I thanked you for distracting them. I really don't think we could've gotten away without you. I know Jongup and Himchan are extremely grateful."

    "As I said, it was payment for the repairs." Although it was not only that. Running through my memories of the event, I remembered the signs of fear in Daehyun, and somehow this had influenced my decision to help him.

    Daehyun chuckled and nodded.

    "You mentioned that. Can I shower now?"

    I blinked and released the door.

    "Yes. Shower. And then we will go out."

    Daehyun waved his hand to show he heard and then shut the door. I heard the lock click into place and set a reminder in place to lock the door the next time I required use of the bathroom. From how Daehyun reacted, I did not think he liked it, walking in on my unclothed body.

    I was unsure why. Perhaps it was the fact that my body was not exactly like a human's. Since my main purpose was combat, and I was not designed to accompany or please a human, I had no s. I was also missing s and a bellybutton.

    I touched the spots where I differed from a human and looked down. They told me I was superior to any human. So why did I find myself suddenly wanting to look more like a human?

    My hands dropped to my sides as I walked towards the living room. I the vid screen with a wave of my hand and a news story appeared.

    "The RCS and local police are still baffled by the escape of what appears to be a flying android. The as yet unidentified robot was fleeing from pursuing RCS officers, and when it encountered a barricade, it leapt over a car and, according to eyewitnesses, 'took off like a rocket.' "

The clip from the previous evening, showing me flying off into the sky, played again, as the female newscaster continued in her smooth voice.

    "Anyone with information regarding this rogue is encouraged to step forward. It is considered to be unstable and possibly dangerous. If sighted, the best course of action is to inform RCS and let the trained Robot Control officers handle the situation."

I had the sudden, illogical urge to roll my eyes. I blinked instead.

    "The man in charge of RCS, Commander Bang Yongguk, has released a press statement regarding this flying rogue."

The picture cut to the recording of the press statement and I froze. The stern man gazing intently into the camera, his arms braced on the podium in front of him, was a man I knew very well. He had been there for every step of my development and creation. He had been my teacher, leader, disciplinarian, the closest thing I would ever have to a father.

    Commander.

    "I want to make it very clear," Commander said, his deep voice rumbling through the speakers. "that the RCS will not rest until this rogue is safely out of commission. Many of you are no doubt wondering what kind of robot this is. There's never been a flying android before. Unfortunately, I don't have answers for you, and it's likely we won't have any until we capture and analyze it. It is extremely likely that this is a prototype, the only one of its kind, so any fears you have about being attacked by an army of flying robots can be put to rest."

The unseen crowd of reporters chuckled nervously and Commander continued.

    "There are very few people in this country who have the skills and know-how to create a robot like this, and we will be questioning all of them very thoroughly. I would like to assure the citizens of our great nation that the situation is under control, and there is no reason to panic or fear this rogue. At the end of the day, it's a robot, like any other robot, and we will take it down, just like any other robot. Now, are there any questions?"

He pointed to one of the reporters and a new voice spoke.

    "Commander, what do you say in response to the rumors that this is Dr. Yoo Youngjae's newest experiment?"

The screen suddenly turned off and I blinked, looking around for the reason. Daehyun was standing behind me, frowning deeply. As soon as he noticed my gaze, he smiled, but even I could tell that it was a fake smile.

    "Ready to go?" He asked, pausing to fix his hair in the mirror by the door. I nodded and stood, slipping my shoes on and following Daehyun outside.

    He stopped me before I had even walked two steps, frowning.

    "Didn't you forget something?"

    At first I was going to deny it, but then I remembered yesterday and the scrambler face mask.

    "I suppose I did. I am not used to it yet."

    I walked back inside and went to the couch, where the face mask was wedged between two of the couch cushions. I pulled it on and added it to my outside inventory. This way my systems would remind me if I ever tried to leave the house without it.

    I returned to Daehyun, who chuckled and tapped his knuckles against my cheek before walking forward, down the street.

    "There's a grocery store about three or four blocks from here," Daehyun told me, hands shoved into his pockets. "So we can walk there and you can carry the bags back."

    "And why will I be the only one carrying them?" I turned my head to blink at the man next to me. He grinned at me.

    "Because you're the big strong android, remember?" Even though there was no one else on the street, he still kept his voice quiet. It was for my sake. I nodded and looked ahead again, pulling Daehyun out of the way of a sweeperbot cleaning up a pile of trash.

    "Are you planning on buying a lot?" I asked him, while Daehyun grumbled that he could walk on his own. Of course he could, but I found his reaction time lacking.

    He shrugged.

    "I dunno. I don't usually buy groceries."

    I looked at him again, blinking.

    "You don't? Why not?"

    Daehyun laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, looking away.

    "I uh…I can't really cook, so I usually just go out or order food. Or buy like…instant noodles. You can't really mess that up."

    I processed this, looking ahead, and then turned my attention back to him.

    "Cooking is basically following instructions, correct? And using accurate amounts of ingredients with the right temperature?" At its heart, cooking was a science.

    "Following instructions is one thing, I can do that, no problem, but getting it to taste right? That's the hard part."

    I had no sense of taste, so I would not be able to judge if a dish was cooked and seasoned correctly. Perhaps Daehyun had a similar problem. I knew it sometimes happened in humans.

    "Then I suggest you purchase foods that do not require cooking."

    Daehyun nodded and smiled.

    "I'll do my best. So let's see…sandwich stuff, chips, and fruit, I suppose?"

    "That would probably work well."

    We reached the grocery store and the automatic doors slid open silently, letting us inside. Daehyun pulled a cart out and we walked to the produce section. Daehyun got a bag of apples and a few soft peaches, as well as a lemon which looked like it had a face in its pebbly skin.

    After laughing at the face in the lemon for about five minutes, Daehyun moved on to the other sections of the store, picking up a package of ham, whole wheat bread, mustard, swiss cheese, a bag of potato chips, and a gallon of milk.

    "Will this last you for a while?" I asked as Daehyun pushed the cart towards to the registers to pay. He shrugged, lips curling up.

    "Probably. It depends on how hungry I get. But it should last a week or so. And then we can come shopping again."

    I nodded, making a note in my internal calendar for the next week to check the groceries and plan a shopping trip if necessary. I looked down an aisle and paused, sighting the various hair dyes in many different shades. I broke away from Daehyun and strode down the aisle, looking at the brands and colors and trying to gauge which would work best to change my hair color.

    Daehyun continued for what sounded like another aisle before he realized that I was no longer by his side, and I heard him calling my name as he retraced his steps.

    "I'm here," I called back, squatting to read the labels on the lower shelves.

    The cart squeaked as Daehyun approached.

    "Hair dye?" he asked, picking up one of the packages that advertised itself as "Honey Mist Auburn".

    I nodded and picked up a package of "Medium Blonde", turning it over and reading the instructions.

    "Changing my appearance would help throw the RCS off of my trail. Hair color is easily altered."

    Daehyun hummed and squatted next to me, fingers dancing along the packages before he grabbed one and held it close to my face, squinting a bit and making a few faces. Finally he nodded and stood, tossing it into the cart.

    "That one will suit you." He started to wheel the cart away again. I found the section he had pulled it from but it was, apparently, the last box so I was unsure what shade it was going to be. From the surrounding colors, I assumed it was a blonde.

    I joined Daehyun at the registers, where he was just getting his change from the cashier, who looked at us both with an utterly bored expression and then turned away, scanning the next customer's groceries.

    Daehyun's three bags were barely a strain, and as we walked back to his home, I ran a few simulations where I would have to either drop the bags or use them as a weapon if we were attacked. Dropping them would be the better option, there was nothing heavy or sharp in the bags and they would tangle easily in my hands.

    I had just finished my fifth simulation, which ended with Daehyun hugging me again, when I realized that we were at the house. Daehyun unlocked the door for me and I shuffled inside, toeing my shoes off and carrying the groceries to the kitchen to put them away.

    It didn't take long, and once it was finished, Daehyun took the bags and knotted them together, putting them in another bag under the sink.

    "Now, let's get that hair changed, huh?" He shook the box and grinned and I found my lips twitching up. Odd. I controlled my expression, pulled the scrambler off, and pushed it into my pocket.

    "Alright." I followed him to the bathroom and watched as he opened the box, taking out the instructions and the dye. He mixed it together and turned to me, pulling on the provided plastic gloves.

    "Okay, sit on the toilet. And take your shirt off, please. We don't want to ruin it on the first day you wear it."

    I nodded and tugged the article of clothing off, placing it to the side before seating myself on the toilet. Daehyun's eyes flicked up and down my body and once again I wondered what he thought of my inhuman body.

    He said nothing, just carefully started to work the dye into the strands of my dark hair. I closed my eyes and let him work. It was not unpleasant, the pressure sensors in my skin picked up on Daehyun's fingers and I searched for "massage" while he rubbed more dye into my saturated hair. The results seemed to indicate that it was a relaxing and pleasing thing. I decided that I liked it.

    When he stopped, I opened my eyes and looked up. I wanted to ask him to continue, but he was already pulling his gloves off and speaking.

    "Okay we'll leave that in for about ten minutes and then rinse it out. And then no one will recognize you."

    He winked and stood, stretching. I set a timer for ten minutes.

    "Ah…I should get to work, I've got an order to fix the fuel line of a first gen android and those can get complicated fast."

    I nodded slowly, still seated, and watched him leave.

    When the timer went off, I was still seated in the bathroom. I had passed the time running simulations and creating a possible meal plan for Daehyun that would make the most of the food he'd bought.

    I stripped out of my pants and underwear, stepping into the shower and selecting a random rinse cycle to get the dye out of my hair. I closed my eyes and let the water wash over me, tilting my head into the brunt of the spray.

    When the cycle ended I stood still for a few moments, my hair sticking to my skin, and then I stepped out, rubbing myself dry with a towel and dressing again. I looked into the mirror and blinked at my new appearance. It was certainly different. Anyone who had seen me before would probably not recognize me immediately.

    I patted the last drops of water from my skin and walked out to the living room to show Daehyun.

    He looked up as I approached, a piece of wire clamped in his teeth and his hands full of parts. When he saw me he smiled and set everything down carefully, coming over to inspect my new hair.

    "You look great. I knew it would suit you."

    I looked at him, his eyes shining and his smile stretching and distorting his face. He had a mole under his left eye. He was not perfect or superior. He was human. Imperfect. Flawed. 

    "Will you teach me how to be human?" I asked, and Daehyun blinked at me, face blank, before bursting into laughter.

    I wondered if I had misspoke.

    "Why are you laughing? Did I say something humorous?"

    Daehyun shook his head, bending over a bit and catching his breath before replying.

    "No, no, it's nothing." He cleared his throat and tilted his head, a smile still playing around his mouth. "So why do you want to be human?"

    I took a moment to organize my thoughts.

    "Perhaps that is not the right wording. I know it is impossible for me to be human. I am a robot. I will never be a human. I was designed to resemble a human but if I am to survive then I need to learn how to act like one. I cannot hide here forever."

    Daehyun nodded.

    "You have a point, Zelo. I don't know how good of a teacher I'll be, but I'll do my best."

    "Thank you." This time, the words did not sound quite so meaningless.

--------

A/N: Yay an updateeeee~ I'll edit this in the morning my plot bunnies have been very busy and kept me up a little too late. Bad plot bunnies. Oh hey it's Yongguk. Show of hands, how many people guessed he was Commander? On another note it's simultaneously fun and frustrating to write Robot!Zelo because I really have to think about how I word things. After all, he's not human, he doesn't have the same senses or experiences or metaphors we do, so how he views something is usually pretty different from how I'd normally write things. Anyhoo it's fun. But then I re-read it and I'm like "dang that is not what a robot would say." Ah I should sleep. Thank you so much for your comments and subs! I'm so bad at replying to comments but I'm going to be better about it I promise. I love you guys!