This was the worst experience that Sai had had in all of his life... and Shawn's too, he guessed. Just sitting quietly inside a case in who knows what bureaucrat's office. No scenery or reliable way to keep track of time. No stimuli at all. If he didn't have context of other prisons, this would seem inhumane. Then again, was he even human? As he pondered this, he heard Tak's voice. "Sai, I need your help conducting the scan. If I do it myself, we will have to compensate for the shift in concentration."

Chuckling, he walked over and began the scan, snarking, "Sure thing, bossy." She cleared her throat and he chuckled, "Sorry, Doctor Bossy." She nodded in approval as he ran the scanner over her head. As he did so, he found the silence eerie. He continued to wonder about that man from the tournament. He knew so much about the manipulation of space and time for the sake of more effective movement and timing within combat, but that man was doing something else entirely. And what was worse is he felt like he had heard those words before. The dismissal of him as an artificial warrior. A cheap copy.

As he began to get lost in these thoughts, Tak spoke up, "Even in countless lifetimes of knowledge, I've never seen a Goddess Elevator. Can you explain how Crossflows work for me?" Her tone poorly disguised her true intention. Leading him through a line of logic where she ends by trying to make him feel better. He sighed and finished the scan, clearly communicating his lack of desire to respond. Turning to the console to observe the compression of the data he had scanned, she hugged him from behind and asked again, "What makes a Crossflow happen, Sai?"

Realizing she wasn't going to let him get away with ignoring her, he jumped to the end, "You are saying because I was able to trigger one, that should be proof enough I'm alive."

She laughed playfully and reassured, "And if you are alive and not just a phantom, then you have a whole life ahead of you. So, don't let the rants and rambles of some nobody get in the way. We are going to find our own way. You away from Shawn and me away from The Original. I'm sure by the time we save him he won't even recognize you."

"A touching moment. I'm sorry to intrude, father." Sai froze at the comment and turned, narrowing his eyes for a moment before they flew open in surprise.

Seconds later that surprise was replaced with flustered outrage, "WHAT!?!? Tai! Why the hell are you calling me that?"

The discreet and soft-faced red haired man smiled and stated, "After you left on your mission, I pondered if you and she were my equivalent of parents. I referred to her as Mother and she encouraged the term. When I asked if I should call you Father she insisted that I must." Sai could feel the memory of the brain scan fading as this new information completely overwhelmed him. That was far too much far too soon and there was no reasonable way he could respond. After what felt like an eternity had passed, Tai stated kindly, "You have guests who would like to speak to you. They saw you were dreaming and didn't want to intrude."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"I was dreaming? Crystals can dream?" The concept was one Sai had never had to even consider before. Tai opened the door further and a stone faced man with purple hair and golden eyes stepped into the room. Shortly behind him was a figure he knew all too well. "Oh, wow! I know you don't remember what I do, but it's good to see you again, Blaze." The black armored automata circled him a few times in almost violent curiosity. "Buddy, I'm gonna need some space, okay?"

The purple haired man stated with a monotone, "Since you know Blaze you must be familiar with myself. We are Bioelectric Living Automata. We were contacted by Mr. Thalheed through various intermediaries to provide a more personalized shell for you. One of those intermediaries was a direct associate of The Phoenix Emperor. Many of your associates have accepted his aid in returning one Douglas Visagi to the world. Or at least that's the name we have found in your memories."

Sai was about to snap at him when he realized who this truly was. Recognizing his misplaced anger, he stated, "You must be Bioelectric Living Automata Memento." Centering himself he stated, "Yeah, it is rude to dig through people's memories without permission, Blame."

Blaze scoffed, "Well they weren't really yours to begin with from what we heard. I didn't expect you to have opinions. So since I'm the one who told him it should be fine, I'm sorry."

Sai looked him up and down and received the same examination in kind. Eventually he said, "I am just a replica, so it was an honest mistake. Guess that makes us even for what happened on Iota."

Blaze froze for a moment before chuckling, "Oh? Isn't that interesting..." he straightened up and waved his arm, "Well, that wasn't you and it never happened here anyway. If it has to come up, I'll discuss it with Shawn myself when he gets back." The black clad machine turned to his 'brother', "He's definitely one of us. You can give him one of my old backups for modification. I recommend the Mark 12 due to the high memory storage and modular plates." Sai blinked and called after him, but Blaze brushed him off as he walked for the door, "Keep your opinion to yourself and welcome to the family."

Sai stared in confusion and disbelief as Blame asked, "Why does that bother you? Did you not tell your opponent the same thing before the Crossflow?" Sai turned in surprise, nearly forgetting that the two had sifted through his mind. He hesitated to respond before the 'man' responded in his stead, "You are not alone. I am what I am. A living Automata. Alive. Growing and expanding. Automata. A machine built for an express purpose, in this case cataloguing and maintaining the research of my creator. A man intent on exploring and creating new life. I do not share my brother's emotions or intuition. Yet I grow and live." He approached Sai coldly, "What do I appear as in your 'perspective'? Man... or machine? Should it matter to me which you see?" Blame picked up what looked like a photo album, not seeming to care for Sai's sudden nerves. After a moment, he put it down and spoke at a lower volume but no more emotion than before, "Whatever your perception of yourself, you cannot control what others see, only embrace the truth of it. Please inform your son of what modifications you would like to have made and we shall see it done for you." Blame walked out the same door as Blaze and Sai was alone again in his memory of Tak, this time their time in the simulation when he was first created. He stared into the sunset in thought, his emotions shifting the memory some so she was hugging his arm.