"Good morning, darling."

These were the words that greeted me as I opened my eyes. I could feel the breeze through the open window blow through my hair and the smell of a fragrant morning met with my nose. I rubbed my eyes and looked towards the voice.

Milky white skin untouched by blemish, equally white hair without a strand out of place, golden eyes that glistened like freshly-cut citrines - Selena, my girlfriend of three weeks, was leaning over me on my bed, staring down at me with a cool expression. Her cheeks were flushed with a light coating of pink blush, matching the glossy peach-colored lips just beneath.

"Morning," I replied.

We shared a kiss, her lips as warm as my own, but no true love was there. It was the same in anything we did together: cooking, cleaning, holding each other - all things felt mechanical and a part of a course rather than a relationship between two loving people.

I can't blame her: when we first met, she had come from a cardboard box that was delivered to my front door, in a multitude of pieces I had to assemble. When she first came to life, her first words were equally soulless as her purpose for living: "Please select a name for me."

"Selena."

"...Selena selected. What shall I call you?"

"Call me... darling."

"...okay, darling."

And that was how we met, grew to know each other, and became a couple.

Her personality, I grew to learn, was cold, detached, and aloof, perhaps a personal fetish of the guy who designed her - though maybe it was simply just her unfiltered programming showing through, ones and zeros conglomerating into something resembling a human. Regardless, that was how Selena was, and to be honest, I did not want it any other way - it was a reminder of how low I had stooped to fill the gap in my own heart, not with flesh and blood, but with plastic and steel.

I got out of bed naked and started getting dressed. Her cold eyes followed my every movement, remaining silent and now sitting on the bed. I had gotten used to the feeling of her eyes on me so I just continued getting dressed. Then, without saying another word to her, I left the bedroom and went downstairs. Sure enough, I could hear her footsteps follow on behind me like a poodle.

As I entered the kitchen, a vibrant aroma met me. The table was aligned with breakfast: toast, bacon, and eggs with a light dusting of pepper and shredded cheese. A thermos filled with coffee, enough to make it through half a day of menial work, also sat on the table. I pulled out the chair and sat down before tucking in - yes, cooked to perfection, as always.

Selena just stood beside me and watched me eat - being an android of course meant she never had to eat. The only thing she "consumed" was from the power bank under my bed which she plugged herself into before going to sleep. While I had heard of people forcing their androids to sleep on the floor or in a closet or whatever, I allowed her to sleep in my bed mostly because it felt nice to have something lying next to me, even if it were just a sentient hunk of metal.

"Is it enjoyable?" she asked.

"Yes, very," I replied with my mouth full. "You never fail to cook a perfect breakfast, that's for sure."

"It's in my programming to always provide the top quality food with the ingredients provided for my darling."

"As you say."

I took a sip from the thermos and got up - time for the mind-numbing journey to the wonderful place I call work. I made sure I had everything with me before I went to the door. She followed behind me, saying nothing until I had opened the door and stepped out of it.

"Have a nice day at work, darling."

"Thanks," I replied, shutting the door and locking it. It was not like she had anywhere to go anyway.

Little did I know that a locked door was not enough to stop her.

----------------------------------------

The commute to work was a relatively short one, but it felt like an eternity. When I got off the bus, I had to walk for about fifteen minutes on the sidewalk of a busy street to get to it - a small copyediting firm that drained the soul from my body.

Pedestrians, from office workers to the tired mother, walked past me, their faces blending into the monotony of the city landscape. The buildings here near the town center were tall concrete and glass rectangles that shot up into the sky above, their appearances modern, minimal, and bland beyond comprehension. I remembered a time in my childhood growing up in the countryside finding old dilapidated ruins of small cottages scattered within the woods and despite their state, I would take one hundred of them over the uninspired lumps of capitalistic boredom that constituted the city landscape around me.

There was never a moment of silence in a city like this. Cars flooded the streets like worker ants clambering their way to their various destinations, filled with equally tired and bland people just trying to get from point A to B. Of course, their blandness is nothing but a way to fit in rather than a reflection of their true character - I believed that inside everyone, there was a distant morning star flickering in the distance that only faded when cynicism latched onto them like a leech.

These faceless people, every single one of them, had a dream. Most of them, however, are not living it.

Including me.

I heard a bang go off in the distance. At first, I thought it was a fender bender so I paid little attention to it.

Then, there was a second one, louder this time.

It finally got my attention and the moment I looked where I heard it, I saw a dark mass hurtling into the sky. Squinting my eyes, it took a moment until I realized what that shape was - it was a person.

A flash came from the person and a bang rang out before a couple more distant bangs followed suit. Then, I saw the figure jerk a little and soon I realized they were falling from the sky - and were heading towards me.

I dived out of the way before hearing a loud crash behind me. People started screaming and scrambling but I just stood up and looked behind me.

There laid a girl, dressed in a Victorian maids costume, unconscious. By instinct, I ran to her and knelt beside her to see if she was okay.

"Ma'am, are you okay?"

No response.

I placed my fingers on her neck and checked for a pulse - nothing. I gently put her down on the ground and was about to start performing CPR when I realized something - in her chest were half a dozen or so bullet holes and soon the bangs from earlier made sense.

But something else did not - she was not bleeding. I could not see a single speck of blood on her despite her injuries.

That was then I realized that I was not dealing with a human at all - I was looking at an android.

Suddenly, I felt a little bit of relief - after all, it was only an android. Androids are replaceable after all, and whatever situation the girl was in was probably not one I wanted to dip my toes into.

I was about to walk away when suddenly I felt something grip my arm. Turning back around, I saw that the girl, or rather the android had woken up and was holding onto my arm. Her hand was warm and felt... human. When I looked at her face, I could see her blue eyes as mere slits through her partially closed eyelids.

"Please..." she said, "help... me."

Before I could respond, I heard someone approaching us.

"My my seems like you need to work on your aim a little, Ana."

A woman approached us alone, a handgun to her side and her other arm with her hand on her hip. She was dressed in a black smart suit with fine white stripes that highlighted her curves, her shirt beneath unbuttoned a little to allow her breasts some breathing room. Short black hair cut shoulder-length swayed as she walked. Her face was pretty, with a small pointy nose and a beauty mark just left of her bright red lips. Too pretty to be human.

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The android named Ana tilted her head towards the businesswoman before letting out a gravelly, "Fuck you."

I imagined if Ana had any strength left in her, she would have given her the finger, but her arms remained limp by her sides.

"And who is this boy who is beside you? Not only are you a disobedient little shit, but you have also been seeing someone on the side. And a human nonetheless."

I could not believe what I was hearing.

"Uh, sorry miss, but we just met."

"Ahaha, now your boyfriend abandons you to die, how comical." She let out a hearty laugh but to anyone's ears, it was a mocking one. Then, her face turned serious. "But seriously, human, you should be going now, this isn't your business after all."

"...considering she almost flattened me like a pancake, I say it is my business." I stood up, feeling somewhat emboldened.

"No, don't, just... leave..." Ana whispered, her electronic voice box crackling.

"Ah, shall I now deal with you, human?"

"You're an android, right?" I asked her. "You can't touch a human being, it's against the law, right? So don't even think of laying a hand on me or that girl, or you'll be in a garbage dump before you can count to five."

"...hmm, you are correct, I'm afraid." The woman said, giving me a sad look. "Whatever, I'll just have to destroy you completely and make sure not even a shred of sinew remains." She pointed the gun at me and I felt my heart beginning to race - no, it was already racing, but it had gone from a horse's sprint to a fighter jet. "Now, last warning: get out of my way."

I swallowed the saliva that had built up within my throat. I imagined the next few seconds vividly, the two scenarios racing through my head - my body getting shot to bits and then Ana, or watching as Ana gets finished off by some dominatrix office lady bitch-bot.

My legs started shaking, but I remained where I was, staring down the barrel of the gun. "Fuck, you."

She smirked. I closed my eyes.

And then there was a bang.

...

...

...?

I opened my eyes.

Dominatrix-office-lady-bitch-bot was still pointing the gun at me, but I noticed that her arm was shaking and her eyes were wide open. Before I could say anything though, she collapsed onto the ground. At first, I was confused as to what was going on, but then when I got a closer look at her, I realized something:

A freshly made bullet hole had made itself a resident on the side of her head, piercing through the upper portion of her left ear before burrowing deep within her cranium. Still in shock, I turned to where the bullet came from and noticed a very familiar figure standing some ten meters away, gun lowered to her side:

"Selena?"

She approached me in silence, keeping her eyes on the bitch-bot on the ground and firing a couple more shots into her head. "Are you hurt, darling?" she then asked me.

"...no, I'm fine. Why are you here? How did you get out of the house? Also," I said, pointing at the gun by her side, "how did you get that?"

"I can answer your pointless questions after. We need to return home, immediately, as the police will be here any minute now." She grabbed my arm and started pulling me away.

"No, wait, first of, those questions weren't pointless. Second, we can't just leave Ana here."

"Ana?" Selena said, before resting her eyes on the hunched-over figure against the wall. "No, she'll slow us down. We need to hurr-"

I broke free of Selena's grasp when I felt it lighten and I went to Ana, kneeling beside her. "Can you walk?" I asked her.

She shook her head.

"Alright." I grabbed ahold of her shoulder and tried to lift her before immediately realizing how heavy she was. I expected this and said to Selena, "Help me carry her."

"Darling, I-"

"That's an order," I said, still trying to lift Ana from the ground. In the corner of my eye, I saw Selena's eyes widen slightly - it was, after all, the first time I ever strictly demanded something from her. Then, her face returned to neutral and she nodded.

"Understood."

She came over and, without even a single bit of resistance, she easily lifted Ana from the ground and started carrying her on her back. "Now we must go."

"Alright," I replied.

And then we began running.

----------------------------------------

Despite the city being filled with surveillance cameras and curious onlookers, Selena had plotted a path that took us into dark back alleys and underground walkways that saw little traffic and had no cameras (or had cameras that were not working). Why an android knew such a thing, I did not know at the time, constantly wanting to broach the subject with her but realizing it was probably best to leave it until we got home.

When we did get home, I watched Selena closely as she pulled out a house key from her pocket and unlocked the front door. As we were entering the house itself, I finally had a good chance to say something:

"So you had a spare key this entire time?"

She seemed to ignore me, carrying Ana into the living room and slowly placing her down on the couch. Selena then knelt down and started inspecting the damage done.

"Bullet entry points, four. Components likely damaged include internal power storage, wiring, and other smaller components. I won't be able to do anything for her without spare parts. There are also various bullet fragments that need extraction which means it needs to be opened up."

"Is she going to die?"

"Androids don't die," Selena said. "Unlike humans, we can have our bodies almost totally destroyed but as long as the main unit present within the head is intact, they can be put into a new body and retain all memories, simulated personality, and settings."

"So it was better to take her with us."

"No, it was better to have put a bullet in its head. Well, more than a few bullets to make sure the main unit was unsalvagable. The second best option was the one you suggested, congratulations." She smirked.

"If we left her there, the police would've likely incinerated her."

"Yes, that would have happened," Selena nodded while inspecting Ana's face. I could tell Ana was out-cold. "Before that, however, they would've searched the bot's memory to find out what went wrong and they would be able to connect you to the scene - I don't think I need to explain why that would not be optimal. ...this android seemed to have disobeyed its owner and went rogue, the other android was sent to stop her, you got in her way, and you almost got killed like an idiot." She sighed. "Anyway, she is currently offline. At best now, she is just a hunk of humanoid metal, not worth trying to repair."

I tried to think of a good counter, but nothing came to me. Despite her words being cold, they were also correct - we had no way to repair Ana, and going to a repair shop was out of the question, both because showing up with an android riddled with bullets would definitely raise suspicion but also because it would be outrageously expensive. Way above my paygrade.

Then I realized something - work.

"Shit, what am I going to say to the boss?" I said to myself, taking out my phone. I dialed his number and filled with nervous tension, I slid my other hand into my front pocket and started trailing the room.

He did not pick up.

I tried three more times, but every single time went straight to voicemail. I left one, making up some excuse about being sick or something and having to take the day off before hanging up and return my focus back to the situation at hand.

Selena was now sitting beside the bent-over Ana, watching my every movement. When she saw me get off the phone, she said, "Yes, I did have a spare key. This was because part of my programming is to make sure you are safe and I cannot ensure that while locked in this house."

"No, your main programming is to be a loving companion and, to be honest, you kind of suck at that."

"I apologize deeply for my incompetence. However, you are mistaken - I am not meant to be a loving companion, that is a different model. I am a Protection Bot Series XII. My purpose is to protect my master from harm, even if it is self-inflicted by stupidity."

"Huh?"

Selena reclined a little on the sofa. "I am not the bot series that usually calls their owners 'darling,' kiss said 'darling' and cook for said 'darling,' though such options were installed in the case that 'darling' decides to have such a proclivity. My main purpose is to prevent you, darling, from getting hurt or killed. And I succeeded to that end today."

"But I ordered a Romantic Bot Series V."

"I am not that."

"So why are you here?"

"I don't know..."

"...shit."

The most likely conclusion was that the orders got mixed up. Somehow, either in the manufacturing or shipping process, my order and someone else's order switched.

"I am surprised you did not even consider something was off," Selena continued, glancing briefly at Ana. "I imagine that you ordered a bot with specifications that differ from my own, so you should have known earlier that the order was wrong unless..." Her eyes flicked to me like a switchblade. "Don't tell me..."

"...I may have been a little tipsy when I ordered the bot."

I was not an alcoholic, but after a particularly depressing few weeks where I had considered ending it all, I decided on a whim, midway through a drinking binge, that I would buy someone who would love me. When I came to the next morning, I remembered what I did but decided not to cancel or see what specifications I chose - a surprise from me to myself, if you will. And when Selena arrived, I was unsurprised by her appearance - it was definitely within my broad spectrum of personal taste.

"Of course."

"Don't just say that like it is something in character I would do!"

"So, what do we do now?" Selena asked, seeming to want to direct the conversation to something more useful. "Do you want me to dispose of this bot? Are you planning on returning me?"

"No, I'm not doing either."

"But this bot is nothing but a hunk of metal and I was-"

"No, I don't care whether or not you were meant to be shipped to me. You are here now, sending you back now would be cruel."

"Actually, I couldn't care either way."

"..."

Did they forget to install any emotional intelligence in you at all?

"Anyway, I plan on keeping Ana here until I can figure out a way to repair her. That is my decision-"

"A stupid one, that is."

"-and that is final. Also, since when did you get off on calling me stupid?"

"Prior to today, I thought of you as having average intelligence. But now, you clearly are below average."

"And that's part of your programming? To call your owner stupid?"

"...maybe it is."

She winked, using her entire cheek to do so.

I sighed.

Maybe this was not the interruption to the monotony I had wished for. And as the coming days would show, I knew for certain it was not.