They were only together for three years… just long enough that, were they human children, they would’ve barely remembered her. But though their souls came from infants, they adapted to their situations quickly. Helyana cherished each and every one of those memories, without really acknowledging what all parents had to one day tell their children.

One of the first things she did was walk them around the city. She was grateful then and now that none of the other citizens seemed to think anything special of it; it gave Rhuni and Mekha time to ease into their life.

“This is Cyrene,” Helyana said, giving a wide gesture around them. “It’s our home. Those things there are other Automations I’ve created—they’re not like the two of you, though. They can’t do any more than follow orders…”

Rhuni tilted her head. “Why’s that?”

“The two of you have a soul. It’s what allows you to think, to feel—to be human. And I’ll be sure to show you all about it, alright? You don’t have to worry about a thing. I’ll be there every step of the way.”

Mekha nodded, then gestured to a couple others. “Are those… humans, then? They don’t look like you—not exactly—but they don’t look like us either….”

Helyana couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yes, those are humans. We’re all quite diverse—no two individuals are completely alike. As Automations, it’s going to be your mission to protect them.”

“Protect them? From what?”

“Demons. In the past couple of years, they’ve gone from minor inconveniences to massacring whole cities of humans… It’s why I made the Automations—to keep Cyrene safe from the dangers around us. You’re more resilient than humans to the attacks of the beasts, and immune to the mind games of the Fallen’s Angels…” She trailed off.

“Is everything alright, Mother?” Rhuni asked. “Your expression changed. It seems… sadder than before.”

Helyana quickly shook her head. “It’s nothing. I just… realized it’s quite a lot to ask of you—to send you out there. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“I think I want to protect these humans,” Mekha remarked. “I don’t know why, but… I feel connected to them. I want to do what I can for them, even if it’s scary.”

Rhuni nodded. “You just said that we’re the most capable of defending them. I’m more than willing to sacrifice myself, if it keeps them safe.”

Perhaps a bit of the Automations’ original protocols were what made them both say that, in the beginning; after all, they barely knew what a human was, or had met any aside from Helyana. But she knew that it changed over time, so that it was more than just their programming that gave them a love of humans and a desire to help them flourish.

“No sacrifice,” she said quickly, nearly panicking at the time. “But… I will respect your wishes. I’ll help you learn how to defend humans from the demons. I know that you’ll do great.”

…

Mekha, especially, was fond of interacting with the kids. At first, he’d listen to the stories the adults would tell alongside them. But then he started telling stories, too, from a book of fairytales Helyana had gifted him. While he did that, Rhuni often helped the adults—Helyana caught glimpses of her as she guided people around the city, or carried something for someone. And when demons were spotted—there were more of them in the three years after their creation, and in different forms too—they were both ready to go.

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Whenever they came back, Helyana guided them to the workshop, and she looked them over for any new scratches or dents… as well as checked their soul, knowing from her research how fragile it could be.

“A few humans weren’t able to get away by the time we got there,” Rhuni said slowly. She barely indicated feeling anything while Helyana repaired her. “We… wanted to help, but we couldn’t. We know how to repair each other, in case of emergencies, but… we don’t know how to repair the humans.”

Mekha seemed more shaken by the fact. “I was able to help a little, by quickly getting the supplies for others. But we could’ve saved more of them if I’d been able to actually do something…”

“Humans can’t… really be repaired,” Helyana said carefully. The idea hadn’t crossed her mind until they said it—she’d been too concerned about her children to think of the others. “Not in the same way the two of you are. ‘Fixing’ a human isn’t as easy as tinkering with something or replacing parts. It often takes bandages, medicines, and possibly weeks of recovery—and even then, there’s no way to completely revert something to how it once was.”

“Is there something you can teach us?” Rhuni prompted. “Something that we can use to help them?”

Helyana nodded. “Once we finish up here, I’ll show you both the basics of first aid. To be honest, I… probably should’ve done that already…”

She’d originally started creating Automations to help humans. Why, then, had she completely forgotten about them?

…

“Rhuni! I think you need to put it a little higher!” Mekha called. Each was on either side of the town hall, holding up one side of a banner. It was the festival of Cyrene’s founding—the last, in fact, before everything fell apart.

She dutifully followed her brother’s direction. “Does that look better?”

“I mean, it looks more even from where I am!” He looked over his shoulder, to where Helyana watched them like a hawk. “What do you think, Mother? Does it look good?”

“I think it looks perfect,” she responded just loud enough for them to hear.

The mayor gave a gesture of agreement. “You kids did great, you can pin them there! Come back down and get some snacks, I think you more than deserve them.” He paused when he realized exactly who he was talking to, though. “Or… I suppose just take a break! I meant what I said about you deserving it, though. I don’t think the others are done with the first task I gave them, let alone the third…”

Rhuni had already slid down the ladder. “I suppose Mother should get some of the credit. She built us, after all. Anyone less talented or less attentive might not have made us so resilient.”

Mekha, only just now reaching them since he’d slowly descended the ladder, nodded.

Helyana grew a soft smile. “Please, I’m not all of it. You both strive for greatness, even without me being there. I couldn’t have asked for better children.”

And to ruin the moment, someone walked over to them. “Hey, Rhuni, Mekha, are you done here? My team could use some help lifting some heavy stuff…”

Both of them nodded and followed the person back to wherever they came from.

“You know, abilities like that are almost wasted here,” the mayor mused once he and Helyana were alone. “I thought all of your original Automations were praiseworthy, but those two are something else entirely! To think—they could probably beat back those demons for good. You’d be hailed as the greatest inventor in the land for your creations.”

“They’re my children,” she said, feeling inexplicably distressed at the thought. Why, though? What he was suggesting was supposed to be their purpose. “I could never send them away. I don’t want anything to happen to them.”

“But they’re practically immortal! You could probably make a hundred more with the money people would pay to have their protection.”

“This isn’t about money, nor fame. It’s about family. And I didn’t work this hard just to lose them.”