Azim walked towards the front door without saying anything else to the group. Riva got up quickly to follow him. “Wait a minute, wait a minute, Azim, hold on,” she insisted. “What do you mean you know who it is? And what about you? We’ve got to get you some help. What those two did was only short-term.”
“She’s right,” Amira chimed in. “The spell keeps any damage you had already received at the time of activation from getting worse. New damage will still affect you, but the damage you have already taken is in stasis and won’t get any worse. However, that’s only for the next 2 hours. Once those 2 hours are up, the spell’s effects will wear off, and anything that could worsen about your injuries will resume taking effect.”
Still, the android was unwavering. “I understand the severity of my situation, but I also recognize the severity of the problem that faces this town. I know who the imposter is, so I will take care of this quickly. As soon as I am done, we can leave to find a more long-term solution.”
Azim continued out the door, with the other three following shortly behind, all at a loss for words. In the street, the metal man found his suspect and approached him.
“Are you the imposter?”
“What?”
“Answer me. Are you the imposter?” The robot’s tone was more serious and vigilant than Riva had ever heard it be.
“Buddy, you already asked me that earlier,” the man replied calmly, a little confused by the situation.
“I did. Are you the imposter of this town?”
“Azim, my man, I don’t know what you’re talking about. So there is an imposter, what does that-“
“I asked you earlier,” Azim said, cutting Gil off. “You never answered. I ask you now, and yet you still do not answer. It does not matter what you make of the question, for it is of little importance. All you need to give me… is an answer. ‘Yes’. Or ‘No’. Are you… the imposter?”
“Azim, I don’t know what you’re-“
“You know the question. Answer it.”
While the robot’s eyes may not have changed, Gil could have sworn he saw them glow brighter as Azim said the last sentence. They were intense eyes. Soulless, and yet, seeming to see everything within you. And then he ran. Gil spun around and launched back towards the housing section of the town. Azim took off in a sprint behind him but soon noticed how fast Gil really was. The man bolted with surprising speed, reaching the houses in seconds. It was a few more by the time Azim reached the same spot. Gil zipped around the house in an instant, rounding the entire back. By the time Azim made it to the back of the house, Gil was already out of sight. The robot came back around to face the street and everyone watching him, before noticing Riva call out, “He went back around!”
Before Azim could react, he felt a foot against his back. Gil’s kick knocked the robot several feet forward and onto the ground.
“Please, man,” Gil pleaded, saying something else under his breath that Azim couldn’t make out. “You’ve got to let me be. I was just trying to hide out. I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone.”
“I cannot do that, Gil. You are scaring this town,” Azim replied calmly.
“The town doesn’t know, that was the whole point! Even the mayor doesn’t know!”
Azim paused. “The mayor… knows.”
Gil looked over at the mayor, who matched his gaze with a look of disapproval and disdain. He wasn’t sure how, but Azim was right. The mayor was aware of the situation. Without another word, we swung at the metal man in front of him. The rage roared as his fist flew, yet Azim was quick to respond. He turned out of the way and returned a punch, landing on Gil’s side. The two exchanged swings back and forth, yet Gil never seemed to hand a hit and Azim never seemed to miss one. Gil then went for a Hail Mary blow, which Azim was capable of countering. He should have dodged it. Instead, the damage from earlier caused him to twitch for half a second. Half a second was all Gil needed. His punch landed clean across the robot’s face, knocking the metal man off balance. With the sudden shift in the fight, Gil took full advantage, throwing blow after blow at Azim and landing every single one. With another Hail Mary, Azim was knocked to the ground once more.
Riva was panicked and unsure where the fight would end up. Wanting to help, she clutched one hand to her chest and raised the palm of her other to point toward Azim. She chanted, “Null Armor,” and cast a thin bubble of aura that lined the robot’s body before disappearing.
“I’m sorry, man,” Gil offered, standing over the android. “But you just seemed like you were getting in my way. I can’t be found out yet.”
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
As the man said this, he raised a foot over Azim’s chest. He slammed his foot down, expecting to crush his floored opponent and crumble the dirt around him. He was met with a much less extravagant result. Azim was still lying on the ground, with a foot on his chest, yet it seemed like the previous stomp had done nothing to him. As if, despite all that strength behind it, it had no effect at all. Seizing the opportunity, Azim grabbed hold of Gil’s ankle and spun him to the ground next to him.
“Speed Switch!” the man said as he fell.
Gil was quick to get up, bolting off once again. Azim was slower, still reeling from the earlier surprise blast. Despite what the mayor and Amira had done to treat it, the robot found he still wasn’t functioning at his best. If he was going to win this fight, he was going to have to finish it soon. The android looked up to see Gil racing back towards him, now carrying two thin, steel pipes. Where had he gotten those? Azim supposed it didn’t matter right now. Based on how magic had been described to him by Riva, the mayor, Amira, and Orvo, as well as what he had witnessed on his own at different levels, Gil, by his estimate, was exhibiting level 8 magic. Much more than he had at the moment. Azim knew he was not going to win on his own, at least not while also dealing with his declining well-being. If he was going to beat Gil, he was going to need to mix his skills… with some magic of his own.
The pipes ripped out of Gil’s hands, pulling away with such force that they pulled Gil with them, knocking his feet out from under him and tripping him forward. With one arm fully extended and one bent across his chest, the pipes found their way to each of Azim’s hands... mere seconds after the incantation, Return. Processors had been going off, informing him that the optimal action was to disarm his opponent. There was only one optimal way to do so. And he had done it. Azim had done it. He had used magic. He hadn’t thought, simply shut off his internal processors for just a moment and… done it. Properly, without some otherworldly force. The crowd around him was stunned. While most did not understand the truly incredible nature of the situation, two did: Riva, and, a little less so, Orvo. Watching from the doorway of his restaurant, the big man just pumped his fist softly and said, “My man. That’s what I’m talking about.”
Gil got up and began to run again. This time, Azim was faster. Winding his arm first, he launched one of the pipes toward Gil, snagging the back of his tunic and sending him flying, before pinning him sideways against the wall of a house. Azim started walking slowly towards Gil, still keeping his analysis programs from firing. Gil quietly muttered, “Strength Switch,” before grabbing at the pipe behind him. It took a couple seconds, but he eventually mustered the strength to rip the pipe out from the building, as well as his tunic, freeing him. “Azim, come on,” Gil began instead of fighting. “I was just trying to lay low. I just needed to protect myself. I overheard you talking about ‘lie-detecting’. I knew you were the only one here capable of exposing the truth about me. I was just trying to get ahead of the problem.”
Instead of replying to the man, Azim gently lifted his free hand toward the pipe Gil was holding and chanted, “Metal Charm.”
Without warning, the pipe Gil was holding smacked across his face. He wasn’t sure what had happened but did not have much time to think about it. The pipe then swung downward, pulling his arm with it and jabbing him in the stomach. The blow took the wind out of him for a moment. The two hist were enough time for Azim to get close. He took the pipe he already had in hand and bent it, slamming both ends into the wall, pinning Gil once more. Not skipping a beat, the android took the second pipe and did the same thing in the opposite direction, leaving the man trapped in an X-shaped restraint that resembled that of seatbelts. Azim then made sure to release the enchanted pipe, which was still shaking despite being in the wall, and let it rest along with the other. Once more, Orvo was cheering the robot on from his restaurant, proud of his pupil. “My man is most definitely level 6, at Least!” The man said to himself, speaking the last word with gusto. He would be sure to let Riva know before they left.
“I would like to give you the opportunity to explain yourself, so go ahead,” Azim stated, staring sternly at the imposter. “However, I would advise that you be quick. I have an appointment in a few hours.”
----------------------------------------
The android was sincere in his offer to hear what the imposter had to say. He let Gil explain everything he felt he needed to, and Azim listened intently to every word. For starters, Gil was not even “Gil”. This was a fake name he had given himself along with his fake identity. Upon chanting “Identity Release”, the man’s entire appearance changed. As the flash of light drained down his body, what remained was a completely different person.
“Gil” had been a slightly husky, fair-skinned man with bright, red hair. He had previously had a puffy face, freckles under his eyes, and a blushed nose. The real Gil had skin darker than Orvo’s, with medium-lengthed twists that drooped to his eye level. He had a much thinner face, a much thinner build overall, and a small scar across the bridge of his nose. He was younger than his disguise, and his name was Leone.
Leone explained to Azim that he had been running from some trouble, trouble that he wasn’t responsible for, and was just looking for a place to hide away forever. He had changed his appearance to hide from the people who were after him and had used a “memory” spell bottle so that he could blend in. He insisted that we did not mean any harm by what he had done. He had merely figured that pretending to have been with the town his whole life would help ease the transition, as well as keep up the facade. Then, if anyone ever came asking for him, all the townsfolk would have “real”, “genuine” memories of him in their lives, and would be able to stick up for him that “Gil” belonged there.
Azim stared for a moment at the new face before him. He watched the man’s eyes dilate as he spoke. He listened to the tone and inflections of his voice. He listened to his heartbeat. He heard the truth of his words. “I believe you… Leone,” the robot finally responded. “You deceived this town, and you tried to hurt me. However, I understand the fear inside you. While I do not agree with your methods, I understand the self-justification of your actions.”
“Hey, boy!” The mayor called out. “Well done restraining the fellow, ho, ho! We can take care of him from here. Don’t you worry.”
The android looked back and forth between the imposter and the townsfolk. “Actually, I believe it would be best if he came with us.”
“What?” the mayor questioned.
“What?!” Leone asked, shocked.
“He is of no real danger to this town, and while he did lie, I sense it was for a greater purpose than his own selfish interests.” Azim turned back to Leone. “Would that be alright? If you come with me, you will have a much better chance against whoever is causing you trouble. You can improve upon your abilities, as will I, and we will both come closer to what we are looking for.”
“Uh… yeah,” Leone reluctantly agreed. “Alright, sure, sounds cool. And... I’m sorry for the trouble I caused.”
“It is okay,” the robot replied. “You are… not a bad person. Merge.”
As the metal man recited the word, he stretched one hand out towards the bent pipes and rusted one hand on his left shoulder. A bright, silver light flashed between Azim and Leone. A second later, the man was loose, the pipes having molded into a plating that now roughly covered Azim’s wound. Back at the bistro, Orvo was still watching as the impressive display occurred. “That… was not me,” he muttered, dumbfounded.
----------------------------------------
Though it took a little convincing, Riva eventually agreed to let Leone join them on their trip. As Azim walked with Leone over to the carriage to get settled, Riva shared some final words with the mayor and his assistant. “Hey, I’m really sorry about confronting you two like that,” the woman apologized. “Especially you, Mr. Mayor. I should not have been so… hostile.”
“Ho, ho! It’s quite all right, dear,” the mayor assured. I understand that tensions were high, and I can see what you might have been thinking. Water under the bridge, I swear, ho, ho!”
Before she left, the old gnome gave her a sizable bag of gold, an actual “thank you” for both finding their imposter as well as being kind visitors for a change. He told her that while he knew the orange-eyed boy did not want it and probably would not accept it, he insisted that they have it for their travels. At the very least, they would likely need some to help with his wounds. Riva graciously accepted the bag and said her goodbyes to both the mayor and Amira. As she walked, she waved over to Orvo, who was waving goodbye back at her. The woman hopped into the carriage, looked at her two passengers with a soft smile, and strode off down the road.