EXECUTIONER

Deallocate.

Running commands.

Pursue target. Eliminate target. Return to base.

Running statistics.

Target lives alone in an old observatory on the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan. Identified as-

Error. Error. System reset.

Starting C.R.O.W. program.

Hello World!

Running commands.

Pursue target. Eliminate target. Return to base.

Running statistics.

Target lives alone in an old observatory on the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan. Id-

Interference: do not continue.

Save and commence.

Mission start.

Grandpa was dying. Seto knew it, but there was little he could do, really. Every day the man grew weaker, his gasping breaths harder and harder to take. All Seto could hope to do was grasp the man's frail, wrinkled hand in his, trying to channel will to the flickering glimmer of life left in him, and pray.

Seto wondered when the old man had come to matter. He would never regret caring, never, ever, but it was still a wonder how humans reacted with one another. Ever since that day when everyone was just gone, still and cold and so horribly wrong, he had only a small hope of finding someone like himself, one who had survived the cruel hand life dealt the planet, but it was still there. He hoped fervently as he traveled around the quiet world starting that summer, ears listening for the slightest sound of intelligent life, eyes trained on anything that wasn't vegetation or dead.

He'd eventually collapsed, foot caught in a root of an overgrown tree that had twisted into his path, and he hadn't the will to pick himself up. The earth underneath him was cold, like the rest of the world, and as he lay staring blankly into the surrounding forest, tears welled up in his eyes, but they did not fall. Instead, Seto closed his eyes, a sluice gate shut, and he dueled with the lump quivering in his throat. He was tired.

He could nap. There was no one around to hurt him, not enough animals to make him their supper. The world was safer, but Seto constantly reminded himself with firm certainty that it wasn't worth the trade of all life. With that thought returning to him once again, he had felt his consciousness fade.

He felt the thumps of heavy footfall before he heard them, the ground vibrating through the numbness of his weary mind and body. The very thought that another human being, alive, could be so close was almost a far off dream, and if it was, then Seto didn't think he had the strength right then to own up to that.

But then he'd been hit! Whatever had struck him was thin and sturdy. The shock caused his eyes to snap open and for him to roll onto his back to stare in some sort of awe at the blurry shape above him. The sleep eventually drained from his eyes and two hawk-sharp eyes were watching him from the sunken face of an old man. He looked a fearsome giant, but at that moment, Seto's heart was light with a joy he'd never felt before.

"A survivor, eh?" the bestial man growled, voice a rasp in the wind. He prodded Seto with the long cane in his hand again, jabbed hard against his rib. "Are you dying?"

"N-no!" Seto gasped through his astonishment. "I'm not, I'm really alive! And you...you are, too, right?" How many times had he been played a fool by ghosts, all with the best wishes but with the wrong methods? "Please, tell me you're human! Tell me you're really here!"

There was a long moment of silence before the old man's fierce visage softened until he just looked tired, like a defeated warrior. "I'm here, boy. I'm alive, too."

Seto didn't know he could smile so wide; he was sure he'd forgotten. "That's great! I'm so glad!"

"Boy, how old are you? You've been out here all by yourself since the world turned into Hell?"

Seto thought that description was a little harsh, even more so now that he knew he wasn't the last human on Earth. "I'm twelve, sir. And it hasn't been so long...has it?" He was surprised how time didn't seem to matter when there was no one around to make sure it did.

The old man made an odd huffing sound before he tapped Seto's foot with his cane. "Get up, boy. You can't sleep there, it's unsightly. Come with me, you can stay at the observatory...but only if you promise to behave. I'm too old to put up with nonsense."

Seto knew he should have been affronted by the man's boldness, but instead he dipped into a newfound energy reserve and sprung to his feet. The old man nodded his acceptance and began to hobble away. Seto kept pace easily, but didn't dare overstep his boundaries. He doubted either party would have cared, though.

"My name is Seto! Mister, what's your name? Thanks so much!"

He never got an answer.

Three years later, clutching a dying man's hand, Seto doubted he ever would. Living with Grandpa in the recesses of the observatory had been a dream come true, a sanctuary for himself and his sanity. As the years went by, Seto began to be sure that Grandpa enjoyed the company as well, losing his defenses and making sure Seto was enjoying himself. Sometimes they played games, other times they sat staring at the glistening stars, just remembering a time from before.

Those happy days were coming to an end. Seto reminded himself of that first wretched summer and braced himself for the emptiness to return. He wrapped the fingers of his free hand around Grandpa's locket, hanging heavy on his neck, and tried not to cry.

A sudden scurrying caught Seto's attention and his gaze shot to the door to Grandpa's library. The sound was too far away to be in there, but that didn't mean the big telescope room was empty. The sound shouldn't have surprised him all that much, being so used to the stray animals that took shelter along with them, entering through broken plaster and windows, unhinged doors and the open skyway.

He began to settle back into his shell when something glass shattered. Rising to his feet, Seto squeezed the old man's hand tight. "I'll be right back, I'm going to go see what broke." He waited for the returning squeeze of acknowledgement before he slipped his hand free and took off through the library and into the main room.

Seto was grateful for the midday sun streaming in from above, knowing how difficult it was to see in this room during the night. Scanning the floor he saw a small pile of glass shards, a light bulb that had ceased to function years back but had always hung dutifully from the ceiling. With his boot he kicked the pieces to the side, uncaring to clean up the mess that soon, no one would give a damn about anyway.

He was about to turn back when he heard a thud and some kind of electronic sound. Seto looked up to the catwalk above and frowned. Stray animal running around up there or not, what electronic was on the fritz up there? Nothing mechanical was up there; having learned that the observatory leaked and rain was dangerous around them, the two had removed them.

Even if some electrical device was up there, Seto would feel bad leaving it for any creature to have a bad run in with it. Pulling on some rough brown gloves from his bag, began to climb the spiraling staircase to the top, staring up over the telescope to see something shuffle away behind the research table.

The doors leading around the catwalk were locked and the keys were long since missing, even before Grandpa had settled in, and Seto doubt he could have climbed or leaped over the mossy wood, but he'd managed to get around before. Cautious of his footing, he climbed onto the giant telescope the observatory had once been famous for (according to the fading newspaper articles tacked onto a board in the library, but Seto had never once heard of the place beforehand) and shuffled across. The power was down and the telescope locked forever in place, so he had no worries about the machine failing him. Any error was simply human.

And he was at peace with that.

Having finally made it to the other side of the catwalk, Seto took careful steps toward the table. The last thing he wanted was a spooked animal, didn't want it to get hurt, and he kept his eyes open for any sparking equipment. The closer he got, the more he smelled something like machine oil and the air felt like static.

He didn't get much closer to smell anything more than that. From the other side of the table a figure lunged, bearing straight for Seto. With a strangled gasp he dodged to the side, stumbling over his boots and whacking his funny bone on a rail. The split second save was just that, a second, and already the quick figure was going in for another attack. Seto cried out and held up his bag as a shield. The impact the being made lurched the entire walkway, but Seto was secretly more relieved that he hadn't been struck in the throat.

There was a displeased snarl from the other side of the bag and Seto dared peek around. A boy with dark hair was standing with his arm thrust at the bag, revealing a knife in his hand stuck in the thick threads it was wound of. The boy was beginning to see that pulling the tiny serrated thing out was going to be a chore and was glaring with peculiar eyes into Seto's.

The boy didn't have to worry, though. Seeing a human caused Seto's nerves to freeze in shock and his hands jerked wide open, dropping the bag to its resting place at his knees. The boy abandoned the knife and instead reached for his pocket. Seto barely saw the flash of light on the second blade before he was ducking to avoid the assault.

"Wait! Why are you attacking me!" Seto screamed, pushing chairs to slow the stranger's advance. "I didn't do anything!"

The boy ended his assault with a stop so sudden that Seto was beginning to wonder if he had already died by his hand and was haunting the observatory. However, the frantic beating of his heart told him otherwise, the pace so fast it was nearly painful.

There was a whirring sound, the same electronic sound he'd heard before, and the boy's armed hand jerked spasmodically, fingers loosening on the knife and dropping it to embed itself in the wooden planks of the floor.

"Error...," the boy hissed. "Looks like the fall did more internal damage than I thought."

"What...you fell? From where?" Seto asked, feeling himself calm now that the dangerously fast kid wasn't holding the dangerously sharp weapon.

"There," the boy pointed with the hand that didn't seem to be seizing and Seto followed the finger to the skyway that the telescope peered out of like an all-seeing eye. "I miscalculated and slipped in."

"You could have used the front door," Seto murmured. With careful steps he approached the boy, crouched down to pull the knife away from him.

"Reconnaissance. Commence mission at sundown." The boy muttered. "You are my target. I cannot allow you to leave here."

Suddenly there was another knife in his free hand and the boy lunged again. Seto barely managed to cry out before the whirring began again and the boy's left leg buckled, sending the assailant to the floor.

"Target? Why me?"

"You are the scientist of the Glass Cage Project, are you not?" The boy peered up at him with eyes that seemed too dull. "All uncorrupted statistics say that the target lives alone in his place. You are here. You are my target."

Something chilled Seto's insides. Target? Did that mean Grandpa was this boy's target, and that if Seto wasn't here, then...!

"What are you?" he finally asked, hands tight on the knife's handle.

"Crow," he boy answered. "And you are the scientist of-"

"I'm not a scientist. My name is Seto. I used to be a student a few cities away. I'm sorry, but you were misinformed. There are no scientists here, not since a few years ago. It's just me and Grandpa." Seto was always a horrible, horrible liar, and he honestly had no idea what Grandpa was up to. However, he knew that even if this Crow was planning on hurting him, then Seto couldn't allow it.

"Misinformed? There is a possibility." Crow frowned. "Statistics say that there is no such Seto and Grandpa in this building. Clearly, there has been a miscommunication in the network. Updating datab-augh!"

Instead of the whirring sound, Seto heard a snapping sound like a fire sparking and he almost had a heart attack when he saw a red fluid begin to leak from Crow's lips. "O-oh God! Hold on!" Seto was leaning down beside Crow before he even realized he had moved, before remembering that this was probably a tremendously bad idea, but Crow was bleeding and, despite their less-than-appealing first meeting, Seto was not one to just leave an ailing person be. "W-why are you bleeding?"

Crow moved with twitching muscles and Seto smelled burned rubber. It didn't matter, because Crow was speaking again, "I am not. I am not limited by human faults. However, I do not believe that the breakdown in my function will allow me to complete the mission."

"You're not bleeding? Of course you are! Look – ah!" The red fluid that was dribbling from Crow's mouth had managed to smack onto Seto's hand. Upon closer inspection, the fluid was much too thin to be blood and appeared to be more rustic, had a brown tint. "You're...a robot?"

"Robot? Accessing...Preferred terminology is automaton."

"Automaton," Seto tried the new word in his mouth. It was as good as any other. "Hey! You mentioned something called the Glass Cage earlier? What's that?"

"Confidential. Password is necessary. You do not have proper identification to be granted access to that knowledge."

"O-oh...okay. Um. So this scientist guy...why do you have to hurt him?"

"That is the mission of the C.R.O.W. Program, elimination of undesirables. Any further information is confidential."

"O-oh..."

"Unable to access database. Unable to provide necessary functions. Mission aborted." Crow suddenly drawled. "Another C.R.O.W. unit will be sent when time elapses passed the mark. If you wish to keep this same mistake from happening, Seto, take this Grandpa and leave. It will hunt for the scientist."

Seto paused, then held out his hand to Crow. "By mission aborted do you mean...if you see this scientist you're after, will you go after him?"

"The mission has been aborted. The scientist has been dropped from active priorities."

"Then...what are your active priorities?"

"Shut down."

Seto frowned. That didn't sound good. "Like...stop working?"

"Correct."

He frowned deeper. "Well, please don't! We've just met, but I'd like to be friends! I'll fix you up so you can move, just don't disappear! It's lonely, you know, and...and...make that your priority! Be my friend!"

"Friend...? Cannot access database. What is 'friend'?"

Instead of waiting for Crow to do the sensible thing and take his hand, Seto lurched the automaton to his feet, lugging him carefully to the telescope-come-bridge. "You're lucky there's a library, because there are a lot of things I could say to answer that otherwise."

Seto didn't know anything about automatons and Crow didn't know much in the way of guidance, so repairing any of Crow's damage was slow and trying. Seto had sanctioned a little stool in the corner of Grandpa's room for Crow and would work on fixing what he could while he watched Grandpa out of the corner of his eye, taking note that Crow had managed to catch the old man's undivided attention. Crow never said anything, but sometimes Seto heard the whirring sound coming from Crow's head and figured he was filing away more information.

"That ring...," rasped Grandpa from the bed and Seto started, knocking about inside Crow's knee with a hex wrench. "Where did you get it?"

Seto didn't know what he was talking to, but Crow did, it would seem. He twitched his hand, the fingers still not working quite right, but Seto caught the light from the lantern reflecting off the tiny band. Crow opened his mouth to speak and Seto was glad to hear his voice so clear, having cleaned the part the other day (and doing so with the unsettling feeling of operating on someone's vocal chords).

"From the base."

"Gave that...to an old friend of mine," Grandpa wheezed. "Tell me...do you know about a young girl named Sai...? Or perhaps a doctor by the name of Shin?"

Crow seemed to stiffen. "Confidential."

Grandpa seemed to be expecting that answer and only laughed.

Grandpa died the next week. Seto buried him in the acre spanning behind the observatory, left a tiny flower from the wild patch at the front doors on the mound of dirt. He felt a little guilty for leaving Crow inside, but the automaton wasn't fully repaired and he preferred to spend time in the library, reading anything he could. However, Grandpa had been one of Crow's friends too, right?

Looking sadly down at the grave, he missed the shadows moving stiffly between the trees surrounding the plot of land. It was the static air that finally pulled his attention from the grave, caused him to turn his head to the back doors to see if Crow had decided to join him after all, but what he saw made him scream.

Their bodies were almost human, looking more like disjointed dolls with a strange matter atop their frozen heads. Their faces were emotionless, set in plastic, but the sparks zipping across their bodies didn't melt or mark them. Their movements were jerky and awkward, a little snake-like, and Seto was frightened.

They all stopped in one motion, heads cocked to the side before a voice that sounded too machine-generated filled the space. "Target lives alone in an old observatory on the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan. All uncorrupted data concludes affirmative." And within a blink's instant, they were rushing him.

Seto backpedaled until he tripped over Grandpa's grave and landed gracelessly on his backside, and would have been embarrassed if he hadn't just missed being stabbed in the cranium by the doll's lethal striking hand. Clutching at Grandpa's locket like a holy cross, Seto mumbled several nothings, tongue stumbling over words. His other hand reached blindly behind him, closing over the rough bark of a fallen branch, and he swung it forward. It struck the closest doll in its brain matter and the thing grunted, stumbled backwards, but then resumed its slithering stalk forward.

"N-no!"

"No!"

The second voice gave Seto pause and he braced himself with the branch. In the back doorway stood Crow, putting all his weight on the knee that hadn't been half-shattered. In his hands were his old knives, deadly, gleaming, and sharp.

"Crow!" Seto cried, pushing himself to his feet. The dolls were still, heads seemingly on springs as they twisted between Seto and Crow.

They didn't have to decide on a target, not even assess the situation. With the same catlike speed he'd displayed previous, Crow had rushed the dolls, and two of the swarm found themselves headless. "Out of date C.R.O.W. models, you stand no chance against me."

And Crow seemed to have a point, Seto conceded, as he watched Crow acrobatically and strategically pick off the abominable automatons. Seto thought that Crow was winning, really, when they suddenly retreated, backing up with the grace of dancers even as their hips spasmed. Crow held his ground, knives braced in front of him.

"They're leaving...Crow, you did it! I can't belie – Crow!"

The dolls once again rushed forward, but they were no longer sticking to their one-at-a-time pattern of attack. The group must have been of at least fifteen, and Seto felt something in his chest stop as they swamped Crow, leaving not an inch for Seto to see amongst their squirming limbs. Steadily one would fall back and crash to the ground, jerking and dismantled, but it took a long time of Seto waiting in hushed agony for them all to fall.

The horrid mob was dreadful, but Seto almost wished for them back. The sight before him was tragic. Crow still held the knives, one cracked, in a combat position, but his legs had snapped off in a show of sparks, chips, and red-brown fluid. There were holes in his skin, showing mechanical muscles and bone. One of Crow's eyes had been stabbed out, leaving a sparking hole in his face.

"Seto." Crow acknowledged. "You're fine. They did not hurt you." His head jerked suddenly to the side and he couldn't seem to make it lift back into a proper position. "I'm...glad."

"Glad...?"

"Friends don't let their friends get hurt, right? I read that."

Seto approached Crow on shaking legs before he fell to his knees, reaching unfeeling hands for Crow's disfigured face. "I-if that's true, then why are you hurt...I wouldn't just let you..."

"Seto did not allow me to get hurt. I have no pain receptors, I cannot be hurt."

"Don't say that!"

"Seto. They will continue to come here. You need to evacuate."

Seto pulled at Crow's arm, but a sudden shock from a mangled wire inside burned him and he let go. "Seto. You are human. You will die. Find more friends before that, though. Friends don't like to leave each other alone."

"Then...then come with me, okay? We'll patch you up again, and..."

"My battery core has been dismantled. It is falling apart. My battery is dying. You cannot fix this."

"N-no! No, don't leave me alone again, Crow!"

Crow's broken arms reached forward and pulled Seto closer, and Seto almost cried as Crow's lips brushed his. There was something strange about the kiss; it wasn't warm like human lips, but it wasn't cold – like the dead. Crow's lips were just that. Crow's.

"Friends give each other kisses, right? I read that, too."

"Crow...?"

"And you're...my best friend."

"Crow!"

The next day, Seto's bag was filled with supplies and a silver ring was hidden in the safe confines of Grandpa's locket, swinging from his neck.

A/N: I freakin' love this game. ALSO SLIGHT AU. And CrowxSeto makes me sad, but I love it so much.