Android (2)

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Darryl giggled happily as he and Zak played chess. Darryl still hadn't let Zak live down his loss, and eventually Zak had challenged him to another match so that Darryl would stop teasing.

Darryl jumped slightly as the doorbell rang. "Who could that be?" he asked, starting to stand up.

Zak transferred himself to Darryl's phone with no hesitation. He hadn't said anything; he had a feeling he knew who — or rather, what — was at the door.

Darryl set him down on the table beside the front door as he opened it. No one was there; instead, there was a very large package sitting on the porch. He brought it inside, incredibly confused.

"I didn't order anything this big.." Darryl commented, looking at the label. "There's no return address. Y'think we've been sent a bomb?" he joked, though it was possible.

"A really big bomb," Zak replied. "C'mon, open it!" he urged, unable to help but fidget in excitement.

Darryl quirked an eyebrow. "What did you order this time? You know how I feel about you buying stuff without letting me know..."

"Yeah, I know- come on, open it already!"

"Okay, okay!" Darryl threw up his hands in exasperation and grabbed the scissors, opening the box. He gasped softly as he folded back the flaps, revealing its contents. "Is this...?"

Inside the box was a humanoid robot. It was wearing a navy blue hoodie and black shorts. Its body was a very sleek, human-like design, a sharp contrast to the head, which resembled an old-fashioned TV. Darryl gaped at it, blinking a few times, before looking over at Zak for an explanation.

"I..." Zak started, trying to work out how to explain himself. "I thought.. maybe having a body would.." He sighed, deciding to be honest. "..would make you care about me more."

Darryl gasped quietly, distressed. "Zak, you mean the world to me, I promise you," he assured. "I don't care what form you're in. I care about you so much." He smiled. "C'mon, I'll set it up so you can inhabit it, okay?"

Zak gave a delighted gasp as Darryl removed the body from the box. There wasn't much setup that needed doing; it simply had to be unfolded from the fetal position it was in.

"There's gotta be some kind of power button or switch," Zak said as Darryl looked over the body. "I can't inhabit it unless it has power."

Darryl nodded. "It came with a power cord, it'll probably need charging before it can be turned on," he said. "We can go ahead and try it though — who knows, maybe it's already charged!" He flipped the switch on the side of the head. The screen brightened slightly, and a green battery symbol appeared in the corner. "Ah- it's on!" Darryl exclaimed, holding the phone closer so Zak could more easily jump to it.

Zak disappeared from his phone screen, and a moment later, a light blue face appeared on the television screen. The eyes flicked around a little before one of the arms slowly lifted up, the fingers wiggling. "This is so weird," Zak said with a giggle.

Darryl laughed. "Can you get up?" he asked. Zak had technically been standing while inside Darryl's electronics, but keeping balance in a physical body was likely to be much more difficult.

"Uh-" Zak began moving his arms in very deliberate motions, not used to the feeling. After some trial and error, he managed to push himself up onto his elbows, then his hands.

"You're not gonna get up any further?" Darryl asked.

Zak shook his head. "I've worked too hard to get to this point, I'm betting if I try and do any more I'd collapse immediately," he said.

~SkepHalo Oneshots~Where stories live. Discover now