Artificial Memory (DISCONT'D BUT WILL UPLOAD UNEDITED CHAPTERS)

Chapter 1: I Get My Ass Handed To Me By High School Kids

"It was nothing."

I responded as I wiped the blood from the rest of his face.

Once I'd finished, I continued by wiping clean the injuries on his arms and shoulders.

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask you something."

He sighed.

I stood, rinsing the cloth under the tap.

"Ask away."

I murmured nonchalantly.

"Can you teach me how to fight?"

He asked me.

I twisted my mouth from side to side thoughtfully, tossing the cloth into the laundry basket situated beside the toilet.

It wasn't that I liked fighting, but for some reason, I was incredibly good at it. I knew dozens of ways to take down a single opponent, yet I had no idea why.

"I guess I can if it'll make you feel better."

I replied.

I kneeled down and began bandaging Distance's injuries in silence, focusing exclusively on the task at hand. However, as I continued, Distance asked,

"Why don't you go swimming anymore? You used to constantly talk about how much you like water and about the time you'd finally show me what you look like in your Siren form."

I frowned. Yeah, I was part Siren and as such, my legs became a long, scaled tail whenever I entered any water body. This rule excluded rain and knee-depth water as it wasn't enough to trigger a drastic change.

However, I no longer wanted anyone to see me like that.

Why? Because I'd been spotted by another half-Siren in the river outside Dillion and he, along with two others, had opened my eyes to what I really looked like. I had a black tail unlike any other Siren with white fins.

As in, I was disgustingly different from any other Siren with their colourful forms.

"I still like water. I just don't feel like showing myself to anyone anymore."

"But-"

"I don't want to talk about it, so can you please just leave the subject alone?"

I said in a slightly raised voice.

Distance paused, then nodded.

"All right. I won't bring it up again."

I smiled at him gratefully, standing up and commenting,

"You look a lot better now. You gonna shower?"

Distance stood back up, clenching and unclenching his fists to test the bandages on his hands. Once he seemed satisfied by my handiwork, he shook his head.

"I'll shower in the morning to wake myself up for what you're gonna teach me."

He responded.

I smiled, laughing as I washed my own bloody knuckles.

"Ok, then I'll shower right away. I'll go get groceries after I do that."

"All right."

Distance called as he exited the bathroom.

As I brought a folded white towel out of the hall closet, clothing slammed down on top of my head and obstructed my vision.

"You'll need a change of clothes, dumbass."

Distance muttered.

When I took the clothes off my head, I saw that Distance had already begun to make his way downstairs.

He had selected my signature outfit: blue T-shirt with a black heart bleeding red over my own heart, my blue and white striped scarf, and my pale blue jeans in addition to a change of underwear. I smiled. He may be cold and distant, but he was definitely a nicer person than people thought.

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I heard the water turn on after a few minutes, then continued into the living room.

Memory was so touchy about his Siren form for some reason and I didn't know why. The bastard wouldn't tell me. I suppose I could've entered his mind while he slept and found out myself, being a Dreamwalker, but I didn't like to be invasive with my powers. It made me feel like an asshole.

Anyways, when I stepped into the living room, I saw my mother sitting on the couch.

"Are you feeling a little better, kiddo?"

She asked me with a soft smile.

I gave her a crooked smirk as I never gave anyone a real smile. I hadn't really smiled since my dad walked out on us when I was twelve due to my choice to become genderfluid...and the fact that my mother supported my decision.

"Yeah, Memory fixed me up."

I responded.

I took a few steps towards the couch and paused when my foot bumped against something on the floor. Glancing down, I noticed a sketchbook open to an unfinished sketch of a sparrow and a few sketching pencils. A silver sharpener and neat piles of pencil shavings lay on the coffee table.

I smirked.

Memory had a knack for art and he loved to draw, play videogames, make music, and sing. The singing was an aspect he liked to keep more discreet, but I loved hearing his voice at night when he sang on the roof.

Sirens naturally had beautiful voices which they could use to hypnotize people if they chose to. Memory didn't need this ability, since he could lock eyes with someone using his Aberrant Eye and command them to do whatever he wanted, but he used his voice. As in, he loved to sing random songs he made up or songs he heard on the radio.

Depending on how tired he was at the end of the day, he would sing anywhere from two lines of song to an hour of song.

Either way, his voice must've had some kind of effect on me.

I kneeled down, inspecting the hyper-realistic sketch of the sparrow's head and upper body.

"He's really talented, isn't he?"

My mother asked.

I nodded.

"Yeah. Its nice that his headaches seem to be going away, too. Less risk of him returning to Shale's control."

Let me explain who or what Shale is.

Most religions have a belief in two great forces--one good and one evil. Imagine the being known as Satan. You know, a demon.

Now imagine there's only one huge demon with no physical body who can have hundreds of hosts at one time. It looks like a shadow and takes over a host by asking them a simple question.

As soon as you let a single word out of your mouth, it takes over and twists your wish to its advantage. For example, if you say you want to be courageous, you will never feel fear or pain but you'll lose your mind and Shale will replace yours with its own.

Shale is very commonly-known and there's not a single child in any division who hasn't heard scary bedtime stories about how bad children get 'taken away' by Shale.

My mother nodded thoughtfully.

"I feel like he's my own son now. I'd be devastated if he lost himself."

I kneeled beside the sketchbook, then I glanced at mom.

"Would he mind if I looked through this?"

"Would you mind if he went through your manga collection without asking?"

She replied mischievously.

I bit my lip. Thinking about the fact that half of all the manga was yaoi and that all of them were in mint condition, I quickly replied,

"Yeah, I'd be pissed."

"Then don't rifle through his sketchbook. He spends lots of time on his drawings and he'd be upset if you smudged some of the finer pencil lines."

I stood back up. I'd ask Memory if I could see his drawings later.