Revenge Fantasy

Memphis, Tennessee. "Home of the Blues & Birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll".

It's a city with plenty of history. Memphis was the home of Elvis Presley, the pioneer and king of Rock and Roll, and one of the most influential figures in music. Memphis was known for its roots in barbecue, with its own barbecue regional style and its hosting of the annual World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. Memphis had the National Civil Rights Museum, the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Beale Street (the official home of the Blues), and many other places vital to American history as we knew it.

Many things could be said about what Memphis was.

Now, it's just yet another city destroyed by the Artificial Revolution.

The thing is, Memphis was also one of the nation's leading commercial centers in transportation and logistics. Memphis International Airport was one of the busiest cargo airports, and the Port of Memphis hosts the fifth-busiest inland water port in the United States. When one thinks about supply distribution, Memphis was vital to connecting the U.S. by air, rail, river, and road from coast to coast.

In a country where businesses have become irrationally hyperfixated on material goods, Memphis's history was erased bit by bit to prioritize this commercial role. All Memphis is, now, is another cesspool of a city that's completely and purely dedicated to delivering products across the country.

Air quality in the city went down heavily, and the pollution of America's rivers took a toll on human life. People began fleeing from the city for a better hell to live in. In nine years, Memphis's population dropped to double digits, and is now primarily inhabited by androids dedicated to shipping.

It's almost sickening to see if one navigates its barren streets. Everything that made Memphis human is... gone. It's all just crusty, old, decrepit buildings that make up a "zombie city puppeted by capitalism". The museums are gone, and no traces of music remain. Anything that isn't a cog in commercialism has become moldy and greasy.

"Elvis would be, how you say, 'rolling in his grave'..." John mumbles under his breath.

Shortcake frowns lightly.

"... Okay. Take a right here. This is the place," John eventually instructs, pointing at an upcoming turn.

The warehouse in question is an abandoned, metal shack built the closest to Memphis's center. The owner is someone working for the Underworld itself, preventing any other businesses from claiming or demolishing the building.

Most of Memphis's warehouses, even, are bought by the Underworld, dedicated to anonymous dealings and work. With androids dedicated to shipping and transport, Memphis's warehouses are exceptional covers for the Underworld's illicit activities. The robots are designed to turn a blind eye to someone being murdered as long as it has no interference with getting a box of "happiness pictures" to Michigan.

In fact, the specific warehouse that John's been ordered to meet in is known for the most covert, secretive jobs of the Underworld... its cheap prostitution side-gigs.

It's an unusual place to handle blood transfusions, but John cannot complain. A person will look for food in a grocery store, and a person will see a movie in a movie theater or movie streaming site. Finding Chouko Ashford at a warehouse dedicated to blood and surgery is outstandingly simple, so keeping her at a prostitution site will minimize how many people think to look here.

Shortcake drives the Nissan Versa S into the warehouse's parking lot, slowing down and carefully trying to make sure the car's lined up perfectly...

"Too slow," Yumi calmly tells the android as she holds up a peace sign.

John tenses up, immediately knowing what Yumi's about to do. "Wait, Yumi—!"

Too late. Both Yumi and Chouko disappear and can be seen already halfway to the warehouse entrance. Yumi has taken the time to stop it entirely, just to open a car door and save a few seconds of walking.

"Damn that girl..." John mumbles under her breath, holding a hand to his forehead. Sure, time is of the essence, but there are several precautions that have to be taken before anything...

Shortcake eventually pulls the car into park, letting out a sigh of relief. "O-Okay! Okay. I think I parked it properly...?"

John opens the car door and steps out, taking a glimpse at Shortcake's parking job. The car's off by a small amount, to the point where the entire wheel is in a different spot entirely. "Mm. It's acceptable, Roxie. Come along, now, we need to catch up with Yumi and Ashford."

"Okay." Shortcake gets out of the car, and the two start walking after Yumi.

John takes a quick look around at the parked cars, identifying two particular vehicles. "Okay. Both the blood supplier and doctor should be present..." John mutters to himself, pressing the side of his forehead to give an encrypted signal that he's the client.

Shortcake raises an eyebrow, feeling a conflict in her processors. "Both...? Are... are they not the same person...?" Shortcake asks.

John shakes his head. "No, these are two different people. The doctor's out of Type O, so he included a supplier. In other words, one gets the blood, the other puts it in Ashford."

"Oh," Shortcake mumbles, looking down at the road as she walks along. It's good to have that cleared up. Having inaccurate information in her processors is scary...

"One man, two men, it doesn't matter," John bluntly says to Shortcake. "All that matters is that Ashford is safe now. Do you understand?"

Shortcake nods slowly. "I do, yes..." She fiddles and plays with her thumbs as they walk.

Eventually, after a few seconds, one of the warehouse's doors begins opening up. The sliding metal door is raised at a very slow pace, taking about a minute to fully open up.

Yumi and Chouko, both of whom have been waiting a distance from all the doors, spontaneously disappear once again in a flash of blue. Yumi is wasting no effort waiting for anything whatsoever.

"Tch... Yumi..." John mumbles in response to her impatience.

"You seem upset..." Shortcake mumbles quietly.

"Yes. To her, it's a... how you say, 'punch first, ask questions later' philosophy," John explains. "It's handy with life-threatening situations and is a detriment for literally anything else. She's just lucky I already warned them of her..."

And warned them of her, they are, as the people in the storage unit are indifferent to the teleporting woman who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Inside the storage unit, Yumi just puts Chouko on the closest chair and quickly looks around the room at the surrounding people. "Aight, doc, get to work," Yumi speaks up, beckoning forward whoever it is that's supposed to be the doctor.

"Ah. That would be me."

One of the people in the warehouse is a man in a white lab coat, wearing goggles over his eyes as his cybernetic left arm is visible. He immediately approaches Yumi and Chouko with his medical supplies, getting ready to begin the transfusion.

"So this is Chouko Ashford..." the doctor mumbles, checking the wounds described to him. "Ah, a wonder she's lasted this long."

Yumi grabs her fist and begins cracking her knuckles idly. "Remember, Doc, she needs to be alive. I'll personally deck you in the head if you think of betraying us."

One of John's warnings prepared the doctor for this reaction, and he nods. "I'm no fool to bother," the doctor answers, examining the arm wound. "You keep your millions, Popovic's reward is sizeable enough for me. If I make too much, I don't get to be a doctor anymore."

"Cool, good," Yumi responds.

"Indeed," the doctor speaks up, holding Chouko's arm and making the preparations needed for a transfusion. Most of the medical details (or lack thereof) have been sent by John, and the situation calls for high urgency and immediate attention. With his cybernetic arm, he begins checking Ashford's vitals, examining heart rate, blood pressure, and so on...

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While the doctor's doing all that nonsense, Yumi then looks at the second person in the room, a man in a black hoodie and gray sweatpants. He stands guard to the side of the warehouse garage door, arms crossed. "Huh. And this guy is...?" Yumi asks, pointing at him with her thumb.

"I'm the supplier," the hoodied man responds, staring at Yumi with a bored look on his face.

"Yes, yes. You can trust him, he's very reliable," the doctor tells Yumi, keeping his eyes locked on Chouko's arm. "I've known him for eight years. We work very closely with one another."

"So no need to punch my shit in or anything," the supplier responds. "Kusuri there's already paid me my share."

"Right. Any chance you got any blood for me?" Yumi asks, smiling. "I'm a lil' tuckered out. My blood's been pretty tired and all."

The supplier scoffs. "Thing is, Flashbang only paid us for this girl's Type O Negative. Best I got for you's a half-melted chocolate kiss, unless you got a little bit extra."

Yumi rolls her eyes. "Well, forget it then, I ain't got much use for—"

"Oh, those are delicious..." Shortcake mumbles, ducking under the opening door and looking up at the man. "I'd like one."

This prompts the supplier to stare at Shortcake with an uneasy look on his face, almost grimacing at this android. Another individual who simply... has caution and disdain for Shortcake's very existence. "And... this is?"

"Roxie," John responds, ducking under the door as well. "A Shortcake Model v2. She has no connection to Sweet Bots' databases or navigation whatsoever. She's clean, Grayson."

The supplier, Grayson, lets out a sigh of relief. "Oh, phew. Good. Anyone else involved in this little operation, Flashbang?"

"No," John answers, wrapping an arm around Shortcake and gently pulling her away from the door. "This is everybody."

"Alright." Grayson then presses a button on the garage door.

In the next moment, the metal door slams shut, loudly echoing out.

Shortcake gets startled and idly jumps at the sound, but John's arm secures her in place. She keeps standing with a slightly embarrassed and scared look on her face.

"Pfft. Android ain't used to these things...?" Grayson asks. "Funny."

Shortcake looks between the two men, clearing her throat. "Should... should I have known about the—?"

John immediately interrupts Shortcake. "No, no, you shouldn't have. This is your first time at a storage unit, let alone one in Memphis. You're okay."

"O-Okay..." Shortcake mumbles, looking around the warehouse itself. "W-Where, uhm, where do you want me, by the way?"

The doctor looks over his shoulder at the android. "Anywhere you want. Just don't get in the way."

"Okay," Shortcake responds, smiling at the doctor. Doctors are nice, and seeing this one brings a smile to her face. "U-Uhm, I'm Roxie, by the way, and—"

"Kusuri," the doctor says, pointing to the corner. "Now, shh."

"... Okay," Shortcake briefly responds, before shutting up and walking to her spot. In the room itself, the makeshift operating table is in the center, so it makes the most sense for her to sit in the corner. She sits on top of one of the crates, getting out of the doctor's way and just sitting there now.

With that, the doctor gets to work on the transfusion. "Alright. Ashford's set for the transfusion. Last check. Is there any pre-existing medical history I must know about?" he asks.

"We got nothing but the blood type, Doc," Yumi explains.

John nods in agreement, walking up to a wall and leaning against it. "Ashford has a day-old bullet wound in her shoulder and two recent wounds in her ankles. The fact that we know nothing is a good sign that she's healthy."

"Got it," Doctor Kusuri responds. "Grayson, if you would."

"Mmm." The supplier walks over and begins setting up the equipment, deploying a metal pole to hang the pack of IV fluids and the pack of Type-O blood on. Once the supplies are set, the lengthy medical process begins, and everyone's left to sit or stand around as blood pumps into Chouko's body.

Shortcake continues to sit on the crate, politely remaining quiet to not interrupt the doctor. Everyone also seems to be quiet throughout the whole thing, with not much coming from John, Yumi, or the two blood people. Everything's quiet, like a mouse, except for Doctor Kusuri's medical stuff.

So far, things seem pretty good. Shortcake's repeating in her mind that these are the people who are going to save Chouko's life, that these people can be trusted for now.

However, as the android is lost in thought, a faint chill goes through her processors.

Shortcake stops repeating her thoughts and registers the chill. She looks around, trying to pinpoint where the chill came from.

An ominous aura then emerges from behind her, coming from the space between the crate and the wall. It's cold and dark, and it sends Shortcake into a shiver.

Shortcake is the only one who feels this aura. Nobody else reacts to this feeling. This is something that Shortcake alone feels, and...

... against her better judgment, she investigates the ominous aura alone.

"H... Hello...?" Shortcake faintly calls out, looking behind the crate.

As Shortcake crawls and faces this aura, a familiar sight appears before her. In between boxes, a child is hugging her knees. She's black-haired and dressed in rags, looking to be no more than 10 years old.

Recognizing who this is, Shortcake's fear goes away in an instant. "Oh... Chouko!" Shortcake speaks up to the child, smiling in surprise and relief. The ominous aura almost disappears, other than making the room look dimmer. It's just some mental projection, a dream-like state.

The last time she saw this version of Chouko, she was crying and screaming, and a monstrous entity pulled Shortcake away from her mental piano. Seeing Chouko is such a relief to Shortcake, and she's processing it as a sign that Chouko's alive and well.

The child slowly looks up, as faceless as ever. No eyes, no nose, no mouth... just a blank slate. Even so, a look of comfort exudes from her as she looks up at Shortcake.

"I... I found you. Shortcake, r-right...?"

Shortcake nods happily to the little girl... uhm, Little Chouko. "Yes, yes, I'm Shortcake! You're right!"

Immediately, a voice speaks up behind Shortcake. "Oi, android, the hell are you doing back there?!" shouts Yumi.

Little Chouko lets out a whimper as she buries the front of her head in her knees.

Shortcake registers this whimper, picking up on Little Chouko's fear. The others may not feel the aura, but they still see Shortcake. She quickly comes up with an excuse to cover for Little Chouko. "Uhm, I- I'm talking to myself, to pass the time! Uh... refreshing my processors and all!"

Yumi has a confused look on her face. "Androids do that?"

"Yeah... I'm sorry, I'll be quieter..." Shortcake mumbles. "If that's... okay?"

John also looks confused, but attributes it to Shortcake's programming. He looks to everyone in the room and gives a faint nod before answering Shortcake. "Alright. Keep it to a whisper, Roxie, okay?"

"O-Okay, okay...!" Shortcake responds, before turning away and looking down at Little Chouko. "We have to whisper now..."

The young version of Chouko nods her head, continuing to keep her faceless head in her knees.

"Okay..."

Shortcake lies down on her stomach and looks down at Little Chouko, warmly smiling. "B-By the way, did, uhm, did you know that you're Type-O? That's pretty cool," Shortcake explains.

"Type... O?"

"Yeah, it's a blood type..." Shortcake whispers, smiling happily at the little girl. "That means you have special blood, I think. It's rare and is worth a lot."

Little Chouko briefly looks at the palms of her hands, her expressionless face somehow beaming.

This feeling doesn't last, however, as Little Chouko goes back to hugging her knees.

"... I'm- I'm scared..."

Shortcake blinks a couple of times. "O-Oh...?"

"T-The people in this room... they're scary. I don't like them..."

"Oh, it's... okay," Shortcake tries to reassure Little Chouko. "These people are here to save your life. You got really hurt, and... uhm, we're getting you in a condition that's not hurt."

"W-What happens after, though...?"

Shortcake tilts her head from side to side. She hasn't thought much about that, but... "It's... not something we have to worry about, yet. The important thing is getting you alive and well."

"... But they're bad guys..."

Shortcake frowns slightly, watching Little Chouko hug her knees tighter. The android wants to comfort her, and answers with... faint honesty. "They're... the bad guys that protected us from the bad guys. I think we can trust them. John's really nice, and I think... I think he'll protect us. Or... well... me..."

Little Chouko stares at Shortcake for a while.

"A-Are you sure...?"

Before Shortcake can answer, the sound of footsteps approaches the crate.

Little Chouko quickly reacts, turning her head down to hide her face again.

Shortcake looks over her shoulder, seeing the man in the hoodie walking around the crate. The man checks the back of the crate without warning or notice. He just looks behind the crate.

Grayson's face changes into tension upon seeing the little girl. "The hell...? I thought you said there wasn't anyone else!"

This makes Shortcake's eyes go wide. She was under the belief that nobody could see Chouko! "A-Ah! Mr. Grayson, uhm—"

Little Chouko covers her ears, shaking in mortal terror. She hides her face in her knees, trying her best to shield herself from the scary man.

John looks over to Grayson, confused about this outburst. The warehouse only has one entrance, and the two men here should have surveyed the area. This worries John. "Is there somebody behind that crate?!"

"There's a little girl back here! Ashford's daughter, or something!" Grayson shouts.

"Daughter...? The hell?" Yumi asks, getting up and walking over to check out the crate.

The doctor ignores this and continues the transfusion, but a chill goes down his spine as the data enters his system. Sheer disbelief forms on his face as his medical data starts warping. "W... What the...?"

John, about to check the crate as well, brings his attention to the doctor. "D... Doctor Kusuri? What is it?"

Little Chouko continues to shake as the aura darkens, as the world around her shifts to pitch black. The aura covers the area around the crate, spreading outward with each second.

Grayson, feeling his tense chill, immediately draws his gun and aims at the little girl. They're dealing with someone presumed to be related to Ashford, so it's someone as dangerous. "Hands up, now!" he demands.

Shortcake looks at this, panicking as she scurries to hold her hand out in front of the gun's path. "W-Wait, wait, no, don't! It's fine, I—!"

The sound of the crate being pulled along the ground echoes out. Yumi's grabbing the sides of the crate, taking the time to move the crate to reveal this supposed threat to the rest of the room.

Not expecting this, Shortcake ends up falling forward, falling onto her face.

"S-Shortcake!"

Little Chouko looks to the android with worry, trembling as she watches the white-haired creation hurt herself on the floor.

Then, she looks up at the man with the gun, seeing the gun aimed right at her. The scary man is threatening her with the gun, aiming a pistol right at her forehead.

Grayson's eyes go wide as he catches a glimpse of the faceless girl. His hands tense up, and he feels a morbid chill go through his body. "W-What the hell is that thing—?!"

Following this, an incomprehensible voice echoes out, and a mysterious shroud of pure black fills the entire storage unit. The chaos in the warehouse dies down, with only complete silence and darkness remaining.

Grayson, the first person who caught a glimpse of the faceless monster in the room, feels a morbid chill go down his spine as the little girl disappears completely. Everything goes black for him as he stops seeing the android, the crate, or anyone else in this room. The Serbian Flashbang, his brown-haired ally, and Kusuri... all of them disappear.

In this darkness, all Grayson can see now...

... are two eyes of pure red.